In a horse race (or any other race for that matter) as the start falls behind you need to get into a prime position. Not too fast or you’ll use up all your energy before the finish. Not too slow so that if things go wrong you’re caught out and in no place to achieve what you want.

That’s how it has felt as the first week drew on at Jeff Coutelou’s this year. The Syrah grape is a fundamental part of the domaine. It is grown in four different vineyards and is used to make pure Syrah wines, such as legendary La Vigne Haute, or for blending into wines such as Classe and Le Vin Des Amis. It also matures relatively early and has formed the bulk of this week’s picks.

The grapes from Peilhan were suffering as I described in an earlier post but since then we have sorted several tonnes of lovely, fresh but ripe grapes in good condition. The sorting table has been mainly a question of sifting out snails, sticking to grapes for any water they can get, earwigs and dried leaves. The vibrating table means that the snails shells rattle and it easy to pick them out whilst it lets the smaller leaves, peduncles and any grit drop through the grilles. We remove larger detritus and any bunches affected by grape moths or oidium. The Syrah from La Garrigue was in very nice condition, Jeff even teased about making La Vigne Haute, I’ll try not to get too excited just yet.

Jeff decided on Thursday to pick some Cinsault which was a little underripe and only around 9% alcohol potential. Why? It will be used to balance some of the riper and higher alcohol yields such as some of the Syrah, adding freshness and energy as well as lowering that alcohol level. It’s decisions like these which mean that Jeff has put us in that pole position going into the second week. The base is there and now we can add the grapes to make very good wines.

White grapes were not ignored, I described the Muscat in the last post and since then the Clairette and Macabeu from Sainte Suzanne has been harvested too. This is a young plantation still, only four or five years old and the heat has got to it a bit. Macabeu had a downy underside on its leaves to help dissipate heat but even that has found 2024 a wee bit much. Nonetheless, early picking and direct pressing means that we have nice, fresh white wine in the tanks, just not enough of it really, the effects of the summer.

On touring the vineyard of Segrairals Jeff felt it was necessary to bring in the rest of the Cinsault, just a couple of days after the previous pick. In those two days there had been great changes, amazingly. The grapes were fuller and riper but they were threatening to go over the top just as quickly. Cinsault has very thin skins and full grapes which provide a rich target for grape worms, wasps and other insects and if they get to work then spoiled grapes in a bunch can turn the rest to vinegar. So, Saturday afternoon brought a lot of Cinsault, its size and generosity means that the big bunches soon fill the cases and we were working flat out sorting to get rid of any potential problems. Again, having that in tank to use for the cuvée 5SO or for blending to add lightness and fruitiness, means that Jeff has greater options in the coming days.

Saturday, in particular, was full on and the temperature hasn’t dropped below 30c any day this week. Sunday, and a day of rest, is a welcome break and chance for Jeff to look at the analyses and make his choices for what comes next. Back to the race analogy, the pace has been rapid but steady and we are placed well to go on and finish the race with energy and success. Problems and decisions remain, there is a threat of rain this week and the machinery has felt the pace of work and given a few headaches and lessons in French swear words with occasional breakdowns.

On to the prize!