Version française: Cliquez ici. Could you give us some indications, as of today, on the status of the vegetation cycle in your various vineyards from Roussillon and Rhone Valley? Michel Chapoutier: “ Overall the vineyard throughout the two areas are 15 days in advance in their vegetative cycle. This is valid for both the Northern & Southern Rhone Valley and Roussillon as well. I have to admit that this advancement, if it does not allow us to draw any conclusion about the quality of the future harvest, demanded an incredible intensity of work in each single vineyard! “ Concretely, what is the status of the vegetation cycle in your vineyards? MC: “From a technical standpoint and considering in progress work done on various plots, we are in full bloom period (earliest vines are already finished and late-developing vines began the fall of flowerhoods). I must say that we consider a phenologic stage has been reached when 50% of observed criteria are met. In this case, the plant is in good health and condition is good. On the northern Rhone Valley, as of May 24th, nearly 80% of clusters are in bloom for the vines planted in Syrah. Regarding Viognier, our beautiful vineyards of Ardeche (Mirabel), we reached 35% so far. “. And regarding the South? MC: “For Grenache, almost everything in Chateauneuf du Pape bloomed as of today. It should be noted that for the same cluster, flowering is homogeneous, which was not the case last year. However, within a same vine and by sectors, some clusters can be formed and some can still be in the phase of early drop caps. In Roussillon (Latour de France), 50% of the grapes are at blooming stage (Grenache and Syrah.) There is more heterogeneity within the clusters and vines, which may be related to a cooler period experienced some time ago.”. What would be your conclusion? MC: “It is generally agreed that the harvest takes place 100 days (varies by region, grape variety, wines …) after flowering. This would take us then to the second half of August or early September. But, like every year, summer has still a few surprises to show and vines have a long way to go before we harvest its beautiful fruits. “. (Leave your comments at info@vitabella.fr)
Michel Chapoutier : "This advancement of 15 days in the vegetative cycle demanded an incredible intensity of work in each single vineyard!"
Throughout France, the beautiful weather over the last 3 months led to an unusual advancement in the vegetative cycle. This interview with Michel chapoutier adds some fresh information about his estate vineyards in the Northern and Southern part of Rhone Valley as well as in Roussillon.
