This is the 498th article on here so forgive me if posts are fewer at present as I am trying to save #500 for something special, plans are afoot with Jeff so please look out for that.

Three days of really big crops coming into the cellar, Friday 28th, Monday 31st and September 1st. When I arrived in the Languedoc I was worried that Jeff Coutelou would be facing smallish crops due to the prolonged extreme heat of summer 2026. He told me that vines were struggling to cope and that it would impact upon the size and quality of harvest. Well, these three days allayed fears about quantities. When Flora is instructed to change the tank because the original tank is full, then it is good news. Whether the quality is there remains to be seen. Acidity levels are low, the wines won’t be peak Coutelou. With the juice that is in and fermentations kicking off nicely there should be plenty of good quality wine. As I said to Jeff, vins de plaisir (wines to enjoy soon). No doubt, being the gifted winemaker that he is, Jeff will find a way of confounding the odds and produce some special wines. My money is on the Xarel-lo so far but we shall see.

Friday was Grey Day, a harvest of grapes with Gris in their name, Piquepoul Gris, Terret Gris, Aramon Gris, Riveyrenc Gris, Grenache Gris. Bottled as Le Gris De Coeur in 2022 this could be making a comeback. The grapes were colourful and in good condition, fleshed out with some juicy Macabeu too. The Terret Gris was a little prone to rot for some reason but that was soon sorted at the table.

The afternoon saw the pickers move from Peilhan along the road to La Garrigue vineyard. Time to pick the Syrah from the older vines. Sadly the vintage issues means that this will be another year without La Vigne Haute but the Syrah is always good whether bottled under its own name or On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que. The grapes were in excellent condition, Syrah bunches are usually compact, conical and firm. They took little sorting but with a double team of pickers we were under pressure to sort and send to tank.

Monday was centred at Segrairals vineyard, closest to the village and cellars. It kicked off with that most generous of grapes, Cinsault. Big bunches, big juicy grapes but with thin, fine skins which means that it has to be picked at the right moment or it will soon turn rotten. This first crop of the day went to direct press, possibly for rosé? Then onto a really interesting collection of white grapes. Terret Blanc, Olivette, Servant, Picardan, Mauzac, Aramon Gris, Clairette, Clairette Rose. Bottled as TSCA (the 2025 tastes fabulous, can’t wait for its release) these were a joy to work with, variety keeping us guessing whilst Jeff confirmed or denied our guesses as to which grapes were which.

The afternoon brought more Cinsault, this time from the better parcel and ready to be destemmed. It was plump and ready, a few more days and it would have been spoiled. Lovely fruit and it should be an ingredient in blends such as Le Vin Des Amis or in its own 5SO format.

After all that variety on Monday it was just two grapes that featured on Tuesday. The morning saw the pickers head to Sainte Suzanne vineyard and the Clairette grapes. This vineyard was affected by the heavy rains of winter, it has an underground stream beneath and so the ground remained wet for months. It was May before Jeff and the team could get in there to prune, tidy and protect the vines. The Macabeu vines have suffered as a result but the Clairette has thrived, no doubt to make its own eponymous cuvée.

In the afternoon attention switched back to La Garrigue vineyard but this time for the Grenache from the south facing slope. This was bountiful and we filled the original tank and more. I also learned something new. The Grenache often looks varied in colour, even within one bunch from dark purple to greenish. Jeff explained that Grenache flowers at 2 or 3 different times in Spring and so when the grapes ripen they are at varying stages of ripeness. It is just the nature of the variety. Well, this crop will certainly provide good fruit for blending (Classe for example) and, hopefully, might make one of my favourite wines, Grenache Mise De Printemps, with its light, fresh and fruity character.

We are entering yet another heatwave in the Languedoc, the 8th or 9th of 2026 and temperatures of 36c or more make harvest hot and tiring work. Fortunately the good humour of the team, supplemented by another New York arrival, Aldo, make sure that we can get through the challenge and produce some good wines for you all to enjoy.