At the cusp of autumn, I will try, as usual, to give you my read on this 2018 vintage. The vinification isn’t yet complete, and even if it was a vintage that often left us puzzled, its current contours confirm its very seductive quality. After a very “low yield” 2017 vintage, the budbreak started vigourously […]
As life today becomes increasingly complex, we are all looking to simplify choices, whether at home, at work or even in our free time. We all want to believe that in response to the onslaught of information and the growing number of decisions to be made, a standardized and systematic approach is a factor of […]
We hear it all the time: eating organic is more expensive! It’s true that most organic products are more expensive than their conventional counterparts. But are they really? Not if we integrate the environmental, health and social costs of conventional agriculture. Impact on the quality of water: the best quantified effects are those related to […]
2017 will remain on record as the smallest harvest in France since World War II. A combination of factors including freezing, hail, shattering and drought severely limited production in France, and across Italy and Spain. For the first time in a very long time, world wine production will be significantly lower than consumption (I am […]
2016’s growing season was exceptionally favorable to the vine. Nature has given us a vintage that won’t soon be forgotten. After a mild and slightly rainy winter, a cool wet spring triggered a somewhat delayed bud break (marking the end of winter dormancy, bud break is the moment when the new leaves push through their […]
The terroir of the Costières de Nîmes is sedimentary, a “layer cake”. Huge variability of the contents of this “millefeuille” exists, not only from one zone to another, not only between vineyards, but sometimes even from one vine to another. To simplify the overall pattern, today we see two broad geological types in our vineyards, each one with significant nuances.
One of our family’s favorite spots is a knoll that to the north is sheltered by a small Garrigue forest and to the south is blessed by an unsurpassed view of our vineyards descending toward the marshes of Camargue (and in the evening the lighthouses that dot our part of the Mediterranean). On the center […]
Driven by a desire to do better, each year Eudes and I think about aspects of our craft that we can improve. This year we met Roman Mirc, a young consultant specializing in vine training and pruning. Competent, passionate and full of a farmer’s common sense, he quickly opened our eyes on the improvements we […]
Here in Costières de Nîmes, we had a late bud break but by bloom the vintage had caught up with a normal year. No significant shattering to report and crop size is looking good. The summer was hot and dry and veraison started late mid-July. Late August produced two storms with, in some cases, significant […]
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