I’m biased because my great friend James Madden lives and makes great wines in the region but, given a free choice, I’d always choose Adelaide Hills as my favourite Australian wine centre. In the first place it is a beautiful area with rolling, sometimes steep, green hills just a few kilometres from the centre of Adelaide. Small villages, fruit orchards and vineyards present much greater variety and wildlife than regions such as The Hunter and Yarra Valleys.

Visiting the Adelaide Hills in 2018 I was fortunate to be taken by James to meet very good winemakers such as Gareth Belton (Gentle Folk) and James Erskine (Jauma), falling for their great wines and the natural beauty of their vineyards with spectacular views across valleys and greenery. Changes afoot in the Hills though and that ties in with a trend against natural wine in Australia. James had mentioned to me that most winemakers, even when producing 0/0 organic, sulfite free wines, are not using the word ‘natural’ as there has been a kick back amongst Australian winemakers. This matched a comment from Howard Stamp, owner of Bar Thyme in Melbourne, who no longer describes natural on his wine list. It’s a great shame to me that people have to almost surreptitiously disguise their clean winemaking but people have to make a living. Gareth still farms organically but has become interventionist and conventional in winemaking practice though people like James Erskine and James Madden still work ‘naturally’.

A scheduled visit to Jauma had to be put aside unfortunately, due to family circumstances, but we made an enjoyable trip out to the Barossa and Eden valleys. The Eden valley, despite its name, looks much more desolate than the Barossa, its landscape looking almost parched even in Spring. It is home to excellent Riesling and Shiraz such as the famous Hill Of Grace. We drove around the Barossa and visited tourist oriented wineries such as Seppeltsfeld and towns such as Tanunda and Lyndoch, home of famous wineries such as St. Hallett whose Old Block Shiraz was a key wine in my education. Unfortunately modern producers such as Mac Forbes were unavailable for visits but good organic wines such as Kalleske’s Moppa Shiraz were much enjoyed.

By good fortune we managed to meet up with winemaker Brendon Keys, proprietor with his wife Kirstyn, of BK Wines based in Uraidla. Brendon kindly invited us up to his winery and new cellar door, so new that James hadn’t been before, and he led us through an extensive tasting from barrels, eggs and bottles. The wines were consistently very good right across the range. Brendon has somewhat bucked the trend I mentioned above by becoming less interventionist and the results were energetic, clean wines full of fruit, character and complexity.

The grapes are bought in and included many varieties including some interesting Nebbiolo in barrel. Personal favourites were The Fall Chardonnay from Carey Gulley, the 23 from bottle and 24 still in barrel showed fruit, minerality and freshness and the beautifully made Yellow Wine Blue Sky, a Savagnin made under flor and tasting fresh, yeasty and persistent. A fortuitous meeting, much appreciated.

We were staying with James Madden and his family in their new home which happens to be next door to perhaps the region’s most famous natural producer Anton van Klopper of Lucy Margaux wines. He kindly invited us up one evening and whilst the children enjoyed the homemade pizza Anton shared a number of bottles. I will confess that some of Anton’s wines have been a bit too unpredictable for me at times but I can honestly say that every one of the bottles opened that evening were clean and, simply, excellent. Certainly amongst the best wines of the whole month in Australia.

From the parcels of vines spread across the hills to the carefully produced labels Anton puts his heart and soul into the wines. He also has a new market garden venture partly run by Andrew Douglas who did harvest with us at Jeff Coutelou’s in 2023.

Anton himself is often portrayed as a wild man of natural wines. That may be the case but I met a generous, thoughtful, searching man passionate about nature and the wines he makes, always wanting to learn about them and about life. I had a great time and enjoyed bottles such as the Gamay of Noir de Florette, the terrific Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon Sensual and especially the Homeblock with its Pinot Noir and lots of other grapes mixed in. Such a beautiful place to live too.

I’ll conclude with James’ wines which stand tall with any others. When I visited in 2018 he was working under the name Little Things but a big company objected as they called one of their wines by that name. He changed to Scintilla which essentially means the same thing of course. I was thrilled by James’ first wines back then, have tasted one or two of the Scintilla wines since but was happy to share a number of the wines with him and with Andrew who has done a lot of work to help James.

The wines are consistently clean, vibrant and a pleasure to drink with good fruit and complexity. He puts a lot of time into the sourcing of his grapes and getting the highest standard with which to work. He is also starting to buy vines and, on his new property, is planning where to plant more vines of his own, together with his partner Sam and their two lovely daughters. The small winery on the property is just big enough to cope with the production and he works with barrel and eggs to cultivate his wines before bottling and labelling by hand.

I liked his Mountain Pinot Noir 23, true to the grape in being light and fruity with a nice acidity but the whites were the big hitters. Sauvignon Blanc again, this time skin contact made was a treat, just enough maceration to give texture whilst bolstering the fruit, Moontide Maceration 23. My favourites though were the single vineyard Chardonnays, River and Forrest, both different and reflecting their vineyards with generous fruit and a clean, refreshing finish. Good man James, be proud.

A great way to finish our stay in Australia before heading to New Zealand. I heartily recommend the Adelaide Hills to anyone planning a visit Down Under or buying wines and, of course, any of the producers I have mentioned. Love and thanks to James, Sam, Flo and Augie for putting up with us.

After all the hard work of the first week and a half with the main picks completed successfully there remained lots of the more interesting grapes to bring in. The main picks remaining were the Carignan of Rec D’Oulette and Mourvèdre of Segrairals. Of more interest were the multitude of different cépages / varieties which make Jeff Coutelou’s vineyards and wines so fascinating.

Jeff, his niece Flora and Linus (see previous posts) shared lots of pictures of these picks on their social media and I share some of these here.

Jeff sent me the analyses of the wines and he was very positive, more so than usual, about the harvest overall. The wines are fermenting at a good pace and consistently, the alcohol levels at 13-14% are spot on for balanced wines. Everything is looking promising for the ’24 vintage which maybe Jeff and the rest of us were not expecting just a month ago.

The parcel which excited me most when I toured the vineyards in August was the Xarel-lo at the top of Peilhan. Despite being only 4 years old the bunches were full and ripening well and this is a variety which is making some of the best white wines in Spain and Catalunya in particular. I was, therefore, delighted to see the grapes being sorted and looking so well, I can’t wait to taste the resulting wine.

Reaching the finishing line in such style was a real boost, it was so good to hear Jeff so happy and positive. Therefore, it was doubly disappointing and infuriating to hear from Jeff that vandalism had returned on Sunday September 15th. Peilhan is the usual target as it is isolated and well away from the village of Puimisson. Once again someone had set fire to the hedge at the side of the main vineyard with its planting of trees and shrubs. I get so frustrated and angry about this and it must hurt Jeff but he was quick to respond with a message headed ‘RESILIENCE’ and a promise to replant even more trees and shrubs. Why someone hates Jeff’s desire to introduce biodiversity into a vast expanse of vineyards I cannot understand.

A sour note on which to finish what had been such a successful period of vendanges. We can only lend our support to Jeff. His resilience is one of many factors which make him such a talented vigneron.

After a traditional Sunday of rest week two of harvest with Jeff Coutelou recommenced with a LOT of fruit. I had only two days left before I started the journey back to North East England but there are some busy days ahead, more later.

I wrote last time that by getting a strong base of wines in tank Jeff is in a handy position to finish this year’s harvest well with plenty of options. I did, however, mention that there would be challenges ahead and that was another reason to get those early Syrah and Grenache tanks full. There was a little bit of rain on Sunday and the forecast contained the threat of a lot more and even storms at the end of this week. That would bring a temporary halt to picking as you don’t want grapes with a lot of water on them which would dilute the wine flavours. It would also make it more difficult for vehicles to get in and out of the vineyards to bring back the grapes. Therefore, Jeff was pushing us to work even harder to try and get ahead of the weather, as much as can be done without compromising the quality of the grapes. No picking early and under ripe just to avoid the weather, for example.

Rain would also increase the threat of damage to the grapes from rot. Though much of the Syrah was very dry and healthy it lacked volume in some vineyards such as Peilhan. The Cinsault on Saturday afternoon was picked just in time from a parcel of Segrairals where it ripens earlier than other rows of vines. A day or two of rain would have quickly made it go over the top though.

There has been some oidium (powdery mildew) in some parcels but nothing out of the ordinary. The main damage to some bunches has come from the perennial issue of ver de la grappe, grape worm. I have written about this many times before and it continues to be a problem with no real organic solution. Jeff has tried using tricholine, a white card containing the eggs of many tiny wasps which predate the grape worms. However, he seems resigned to them not having enough effect. The grape worms lay their eggs inside a bunch and they damage the bunches by piercing some grapes for food, the juice then runs on to other grapes in the bunch and this causes rot. Have a look at the bunch and the black powdery rot which results, up to the pickers and sorters to keep this out of the wine. Rain would simply compound that risk of rot.

On Monday we brought in the grapes for one of Jeff’s most successful new cuvées in recent years, Ploutelou. This is mainly Aramon, the traditional Languedoc grape which is having a small scale revival in recent years. The Aramon, from Segrairals vineyard, provided probably the best quality grapes of my six days of work. Lovely big, conical bunches many a dark black, others shining like rubies. Mixed in were some Mauzac, Aramon Gris, Clairette and Cinsault grapes.

One interesting point to emerge was the grappillon. These are bunches of grapes which grow from secondary flowering, after frost damage or pruning. They don’t ripen fully as a consequence but harvest brings some in, most have been removed as they will use up the vines’ energy at the expense of the main bunches. They will add acidity to the wine rather than flavour and depth. The photograph below shows a grappillon on the left and a full bunch (grappe) alongside. We don’t want to add many though.

Tuesday brought around seven tonnes of fruit, it was full on. Mostly this was the big, juicy Cinsault grapes from Segrairals from the older plantings than the Cinsault mentioned earlier. Once again there was Mauzac and Aramon Gris from a few vines planted in the parcel. The tanks were filling fast, a contrast to the meagre Syrah yields. Clairette was also brought in from Segrairals and direct pressed, it was already showing the slight bitterness which means that the resulting wine stays fresh and dry even with low alcohol.

The other big challenge Jeff now faces is utilising the team to best effect. Those full tanks require care and attention too, for example remontages to keep fresh the cap of skins floating on the wine. Bart, with his experience of winemaking in Tasmania, is taking charge of those jobs, helped by Flora and others. The balance has to be right between picking and processing grapes too, Jeff doesn’t want grapes piled up waiting to be processed because too many are picking, but he equally doesn’t want the sorting team to be standing around waiting for grapes. People, climate, machinery, pests – no wonder Jeff gets stressed. Fortunately he has been in good humour, things have gone well so far. Hopefully, that will survive the challenges and he and the team can finish vendanges with style.

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!

Eleven years of coming to vendanges (minus covid year), my tenth experience. Is there anything new to say? Well, yes, of course. Each vintage is different, the weather, the new plantings and the people. Jeff Coutelou is the central figure and around him there come and go people from all over the world, each bringing new eyes, new stories and they become an extension of the Coutelou family. There are quite a few who have gone on to make their own wines, some who move into different aspects of the wine world and others who simply put it down to experience.

When I tell people that I do wine harvest each year the most common response is that it must be lovely, how romantic the idea is. They obviously don’t recognise the brutally hard work which harvest brings, the aches, pains and cuts which follow and the heat! It has been a hot start to the ’24 harvest, every day well into the 30s centigrade. I drank many litres of water yesterday (August 28th) and still felt parched. Clothing covered in dirt, grape juice, sweat and blood are a commonality between many of us. As I have reached 65 years of age I am starting to feel such days take their toll so have taken today to recover from yesterday’s sweltering conditions and hard work, but I shall be doing six of the first seven days of vendanges.

After so many harvests it has got to the point where Jeff and I reminisce about past experiences, how we had to work differently, problems that arose in the past and which recur – shall we do the same thing this time? Something which did come back was the sorting table which broke down twice last year and had to be replaced. It is high tech, vibrating to winnow the loose debris from the bunches together with insects and snails and it makes sorting bunches a lot more straightforward. Hopefully it will continue to work for the whole season in 2024.

Tuesday was, as many first days have been, a day for Syrah. The grapes from Sainte Suzanne vineyard were somewhat lacking in juice because of this year’s drought. Healthy bunches but small grapes and Jeff felt they would be best vinified in whole bunches to bring out the fruitiness of the grapes. Normally we have sorted such grapes by hand straight from case at the top of the fermentation tank. However, Jeff decided to hang on to the original sorting table and so this was used inside the cellar to make it a more comfortable and efficient operation. Joining me at the table were Tys, a Dutchman who lives in the Auvergne and is considering winemaking for his future. He was there for just one day. Alongside him was Bart Johnston, an Australian, the fourth in my time with Jeff. From Sydney originally Bart now lives and works in Tasmania, running a wine operation as well as making his own wines under the L’Appel label. He was all set to come and do harvest with Jeff in 2020 but, for obvious reasons, that had to be postponed. His experience will be a big help to Jeff this year.

In the afternoon the pickers moved to the large Segrairals vineyard and its Syrah. As I mentioned last time this vineyard has suffered less from the heat and drought than the other side of the village so the grapes were bigger and juicier than those in the morning and by balancing them out Jeff hopes for a good base of Syrah wine, probably for blending into classic cuvées such Le Vin des Amis. The team of Moroccan pickers returned and were joined by Flora, Jeff’s niece. Dario, an Italian who has been working in Puimisson since March after coming for harvest last year forms another experienced hand. Linus, from Sweden is here for the harvest, he works in the wine business there and is looking for more experience of real winemaking. Gilles, as ever, ferries the grapes to and fro and keeps Jeff up to date with how the picking is going.

Day 2 brought a change of personnel. Another familiar face returned for a day. By coincidence the person who replaced Bart in 2020 was Louis from Narbonne and he ended up working for Jeff for a year or so. As it happened I had seen him at Jeff’s in April and it was good to catch up. He and Linus did half a day each of sorting and picking. The morning brought white grapes. Muscat À Petits Grains from Peilhan was collected and pressed directly into tank.

Back to red grapes and Grenache from Sainte Suzanne which, as I wrote last time, had fared much better than the Syrah. Good, healthy and full bunches meant a lot of work and, hopefully, a fuller tank than the Syrah from there which Jeff had estimated to be about half the usual yield. It was a sapping, hot afternoon and I must admit, a tiring one but it was good to have had a successful day.

Compare these two pictures to see how much sorting the grapes has become more mechanised and efficient.

It’s that time of year. the harvest is just around the corner. We’ll be starting next Monday at Jeff Coutelou’s domaine. I’ll be here for some but not all of the vendanges as I have a lot of travelling coming up and a much busier time here on the blog lies ahead. I shall be updating about the harvest whilst I’m here and with reports passed on to me when I return to the UK.

It’s been an ‘interesting’ year here weather-wise in the Languedoc. When I was here in April it was grey, damp and colder than average. Since then though the region has a long period of hot weather, it was still 38c when I arrived a week ago and that was cooler than the previous fortnight. I toured the vines and talked with Jeff who was rather downbeat about the vintage.

Mildew, the powdery version, has been prevalent from Spring onwards, the humidity and warmth setting it off. There is downy mildew, oidium, too. The vines look parched, the grapes struggling to swell because of the dry summer. A couple of storms last week offered a brief respite, sadly no more rain is forecast. It reaches a point where you just have to harvest as the vines are struggling and their long term health needs to be protected.

There was also a lot of evidence of the difficult Spring with coulure. This is caused by strong winds damaging the flowers and buds at that time, which was exactly what conditions were like when I was there in April. The result is bunches with a lot of gaps.

Jeff was clear that not all vineyards were equally effected. Peilhan, to the West, has suffered most whilst Segrairals, to the Eastern side of Puimisson, has done much better. There will be good grapes and good wines from 2024.

There were also a couple of other observations I thought to pass on. One vineyard area which was in good condition in Peilhan was the new plantation of Spanish grapes such as Parellada, Malvesia de Sitges and Macabeu. I assumed that they must have been irrigated as they are in their first year, they were a lush green in colour and looked strong, holding their branches out wide. Jeff corrected me though, they were watered on planting and then once in their early weeks but not since then. In vineyards such as La Garrigue and Sainte Suzanne it was also noteworthy that Grenache, (Spanish origins) was also doing well compared to most. Similarly, the Xarel-lo, now 2 years old, was looking strong with good, full bunches. Perhaps the deliberate policy of Jeff in moving towards grape varieties more adapted to hot and dry conditions is already proving a wise one?

Visiting the cellars on the 20th Jeff had emptied all the main concrete tanks and they were being cleaned thoroughly. The harvesting machinery is also being prepared, checked and cleaned. Lots of hard work to get things ready. there will be plenty of triage for me to do next week but fingers crossed for a successful harvest despite the worst nature can throw at it.

One last oddity. In the midst of the good looking Grenache vines of La Garrigue, one vine has mutated to offer Grenache Gris instead.