Firstly, news from Puimisson. If you want to keep up with Jeff Coutelou then his Facebook and Instagram pages are the places to find posts and videos. He has certainly been busy planting. Trees, shrubs and flowers by the hundred in various sites, reinforcing his belief in biodiversity and breaking up the monotony of the monoculture of the area.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeff Coutelou (@jeffcoutelou)

Meanwhile planting of new vines continues. The extension of the Syrah part of La Garrigue took place. The land has been fallow for a few years and will now add more to the production of La Vigne Haute in the best years (though these new vines will need many vintages to be properly mature). Meanwhile the new land in Peilhan with the animal reservoir, bat and bird sanctuaries in the background is being planted with Spanish white varieties such as Parellada, Malvasia de Sitges and more Muscat D’Alexandrie. This will be alongside the planting of Xarel-lo which will go into production in 2024. The Spanish influence is one of Jeff’s responses to climate chaos alongside the planting of trees seen above.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeff Coutelou (@jeffcoutelou)

Over a few days with friends and family I shared some favourite wines including a youthful, vibrant 2021 Flower Power in magnum from Jeff as well as a prime 2015 Barral Faugères full of dark fruit and spice. The Gahier Lou Blanc 2020 was fresh, full and delightful made from Chardonnay in the ouillé style, ie topped up barrels. A word too for the delicious South African sweet Chenin which delivered lots of fruit and a cutting freshness to the richness.

The meal at Askham Hall’s Michelin starred restaurant Allium included wine pairings and they were well chosen by a very good team. Highlights included a lovely Puligny Montrachet and Spätlese and a real treat with a 1928 Maury fortified wine made by Gauby.

The London trip was to visit two very good tastings which I shall write about soon. However, it was also a great time to revisit Noble Rot restaurant. The cod dish I had was superb but the star was a wonderful Savennières La Roche Aux Moines 2021. It delivered rich fruit with a fresh acidity, beautifully balanced and a great wine with food though it would be great to drink at any time. It was expensive enough at £74 but the retail price is over £40, I wish other restaurants would price wines with less than 100% mark ups! This is certainly already a candidate for my wine of the year, superb.

Wishing all my readers a happy new year, health and good wines. January is always a bleak month here in the North East of England and we have had stormy weather though not wintry, so far. Therefore, like many others, it is a good time to plan for warmer weather; trips to the Languedoc and to Australia and New Zealand beckon in 2024. They should bring plenty of wine experiences.

In recent years I have seen in the new year with a bottle of Jeff Coutelou’s wine, and this year it was La Vigne Haute 2017, none better. It is in a good place though still has plenty of life ahead, no need to open any bottles if you have one still. I also enjoyed one of Jeff’s magnums of Le Vin Des Amis 2018, appropriately with friends, full of juicy red fruits but, again, in early maturity rather than at its peak.

Other good bottles opened this month (no dry January in the March household!) include: a 2018 Belle Lurette from Domaine de Cébène in Faugères, yet another fine example of Brigitte Chevalier’s talents; a 2021 version of Becker Grauburgunder which was bone dry, citrusy but with yellow fruit and texture; Casa Pardet Roiget 2017 made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Trepat. Perhaps best of all was Maxime Magnon’s Métisse 2020. Métisse wines, blending red and white grapes, have become increasingly popular in recent years and I am a fan of the typically light red fruit and acidity which comes with the style. Maxime’s bottle combines Carignan, Cinsault and the Grenaches Noir and Blanc from his Corbières vineyards. The result was a deep rosé colour, overt fresh fruit and a clean, lingering finish.

In France it is tasting season with Montpellier events last weekend and the annual Loire events such as La Dive next weekend. I will be attending events in London in February, sadly missing out on the French events.

January is pruning month. This is a vital part of the year for the vines, cutting away the deadwood from last year whilst preparing the plant for this vintage and the next. I have been watching videos and reading about pruning as practices are changing. I recommend this article on Jancis Robinson’s website which is free to read. Youtube has a lot of videos, look out for Simonit & Sirch or Marceau Bourdarias. My friend Ines, who worked harvest last year with us, is doing a lot of research on the subject and it was fascinating listening to her talk about the subject last year. The new methods are looking to allow the free flow of sap through the vine and keep cuts and scars away from that flow. It is complicated but needs to be repeated for every vine, tens of thousands in Jeff’s case. He posted a video on his Facebook and Instagram pages of this year’s pruning.

Meanwhile January brings the newsletter from Jeff with its carte des voeux, his humorous poster reflecting wine and current events as well as a report on last year’s vintage and thoughts for the future. It’s fair to say that Jeff is anxious about climate change in this newsletter. “Let’s not bury our heads in the sand, if the climate continues to unravel like this then it will be increasingly difficult to continue winemaking.”

Why the despair? Jeff repeats what he told me last autumn. In the last decade there have been four years of drought, one of frost and one of mildew with severe heatwaves almost every year on top. As it is a ‘carte des voeux’ he wishes for a calmer decade ahead. However, he is pessimistic about that and describes how the new parcel of Peilhan, which has lain fallow for a few years now to attain organic certification, will be planted with Parellada, Malvasia de Sitges (both Catalan grapes) and Muscat d’Alexandrie which grows so well in this vineyard. This will complement the parcel of Xarel-lo in the vineyard which will reach early maturity in 2024 and make a small quantity of wine.

Jeff’s notes on 2023 rue the severe drought stretching from the previous autumn, through Spring (just 40mm of rain) and into a very hot period in summer which brought harvest forward. Harvest, as I reported on here, was straightforward since the dry conditions meant next to no disease. However, Jeff reports that the fermentations were difficult with some stopping altogether and one or two smaller tanks having to be abandoned. Nonetheless, this Spring will see releases of familiar named cuvées such Le Vin Des Amis, Ploutelou, Clairette, 7, Rue De La Pompe and TSCA. Couleurs Réunies will be revamped with older varieties and there’s a new cuvée, Macaboeuf (Macabeu raised in concrete egg, hence the pun). Other cuvées will follow on as they complete fermentation and reach maturity.

All we can do is join Jeff in wishing for a kinder climate and do all we can to help fight the chaos which we are seeing year in and year out. Let’s hope that 2024 be the start of a turnaround.

It hasn’t been a good year in so many ways, losing my mother in particular and too many friends and former colleagues. The positives were a long break touring the eastern side of France and the vendanges with Jeff Coutelou, completing ten years of harvests. Throughout the year I enjoyed some very good wines and from those I have selected my case of the year.

The tour of eastern France began in Champagne, the Côte des Bar rather than the main Rheims / Epernay area. This has become quite a hotbed of new producers and organic farming and is much more diversified than the main region. It was interesting to see the infrastructure for protecting vines from frost, the financial rewards of champagne making it possible. If all the wines I tasted there the outstanding one was a familiar bottle, Montgueux from Jacques Lassaigne which has featured in previous selections of wines of the year. This is Jacques’ basic wine, based on Chardonnay and brings biscuity notes but a lemony freshness, exactly what I like in a top Champagne.

After Champagne came the beautiful Jura region, a lovely week with wine visits, including to the up and coming Thomas Jacquin, but tourist visits too. Thomas’ wines were excellent but not available in bottle so I have opted for two other wines from that time. Savagnin is probably my favourite grape in the Jura and the 2018 version from Overnoy-Crinquand was a lovely example of the region’s wines being slightly oxidised since it isn’t topped up in barrel. That sherry like note with spicy, peach like hints is exactly what I imagine when thinking of the Jura. Perhaps even better was the Melon from Michel Gahier though. The photo shows the 22 which was actually taken from barrel but my choice is the 2017. The Melon Queue Rouge grape is still subject to debate about whether it is simply Chardonnay or a cousin of it with its distinctive red stalks. The wine was dry and straight, nutty, spicy with white fruit flavours too – complex, lively and delicious.

Two more white wines make my case plus a white from Jeff Coutelou, my obligatory Jeff wine. TSCC 21 is made from young vines of Terret Blanc, Servant, Clairette and Clairette Rose from the Segrairals vineyard. Only 400 bottles were made in 2021 from a small plantation, I do hope more will come along in future as I loved this wine with its freshness and white fruit profile, direct but full too. Jeff is making some excellent white wines these days, a match for the more celebrated reds. Cosmic Valentia 21 is made near Barcelona in the Emporda region with Carignan Blanc (Cariñena blanca) grapes on 60 year old vines. Freshness again, appley notes but also aromatic, very satisfying and long. I bought more on the strength of my first bottle, evidence of how I loved it. The final white was an older wine and, sadly, the only bottle I had of Weingut Werlitsch Morillon vom Opok 2015, Chardonnay from one of the best Austrian producers. I am lucky enough to have met Ewald Tscheppe a number of times and taste his wines, the high standards of farming and winemaking shining through every time. This Chardonnay (Morillon is a local name for it) was like a very good Burgundy with acidity cutting through the biscuity notes from oak age and a full, complex, lingering richness.

Regular readers will know of my partiality for orange wines. The Friuli region of NE Italy could be said to have led the resurgence of orange wine in recent years and one of the more famous producers is Radikon. It was the Slatnik 2016 which gave great pleasure this year. Deep amber in colour, resulting from the Chardonnay and Tocai Friulano grapes being left on skins for 12 days, the wine was dry, saline and had apricot and bitter orange notes, memorable and classy.

On to reds but another north Italian bottle, this time from the Dolomites. I have tasted Foradori wines at several tastings and I must admit I had never been overly convinced even though they garnered rave reviews from many respected judges with better palates than me. They specialise in the local Teroldego grape and it was one of their young vine wines which finally won me over this year, Foradori 2021. Lovely fresh, cherry and red fruit notes, good complexity and length, quintessential Italian red wine. The website is also very good. In my 2022 case I selected the first vintage of the Carignan of Thomas Angles, based in the St. Chinian region of the Languedoc. Thomas is a young producer who did harvest with Jeff in 2020, the one vintage I missed. The 2021 is aging very well indeed and I have to include it in my 2023 case too, it is joyful wine, fruit to the fore with a light touch of tannin and genuine complexity for a simple wine. Hugely promising.

This year was also one where I rediscovered wines from classic regions. The tour of eastern France took us to Burgundy and I was fortunate to taste a range of wines, a 2014 Ladoix premier cru was memorable but two more humble bottles from natural producers make my list. Due thanks to my friend Aaron Ayscough for recommendations, it was good to catch up with him at a restaurant in Savigny les Beaune. Julian Altaber has worked with long standing natural producer Dominique Derain in St Aubin but has also started to produce his own wines under the Sextant name. I found a bottle of his Maranges 2020 in the Athenaeum in Beaune and it was excellent, classic red Burgundy with Pinot Noir at its best, fruity and light at first but with a serious depth of flavour lingering in the mouth. Lovely. Chapuis et Chapuis Bourgogne En Montre Cul 21 is an even more humble wine but showed exactly why Pinot is so great. The photo shows how this bottle was consumed at a picnic, no delusions of grandeur. Yet it is a wine I will long remember, delicious.

My final choice is also my favourite wine of 2023, a Merlot from Bordeaux. Not long ago I’d have laughed at such a thing, Bordeaux and Merlot were deeply unfashionable for natural wines. However, better farming, attention to modern winemaking and empathy with natural methods have come to the fore. At a tasting in Newcastle I tasted the superb Le Puy Emilien 2020. Merlot dominates with small amounts of the Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon and a little Carmenere. Plummy, red fruits dominate with great depth of flavour, ripe tannins and a refreshing line of acidity to bring balance. An example of great winemaking.

I’m hoping that 2024 will bring better news on a personal level but a repetition of great wines would be most welcome. Thanks again to all who read my blog, may I wish you all a very happy new year and good wine.

Mea culpa.

Back in early August local restaurant Cook House in Newcastle held a wine tasting called ‘Soaked’ with the focus on natural wines from merchants across the country, As I dashed off to France for an early vendanges with Jeff Coutelou I overlooked the fact that I had not written about this very enjoyable event. Having long bemoaned the lack of wine events in general here in the North East, let alone natural wine events, this was a bad mistake on my part. Apologies to all who made Soaked a success.

Cook House is a very good, easily recommended restaurant and the range of merchants invited was exciting. I managed to taste through most of the vines on offer and I have added images of my notes for the favourite wines on the day. (Green – white wines; orange, pink and red speak for themselves)

Dynamic Wines

Sager & Wine

Otros Vinos

Modal Wines

Wright’s Wine

Les Caves De Pyrene

Vine Trail

Roland Wines

Sevslo

Thanks to everyone who contributed, it was a very good tasting with some different wines. There was a big range of Central and European wines which was exciting as, in my opinion, this is the most exciting area of the wine world at present. I would caution that quite a lot of these wines were very lean and lacked some fruit. Maybe it was that which persuaded me to choose a wine from a traditional region as my highlight of the event. Le Puy is a celebrated Bordeaux producer who have long eschewed synthetic chemicals in their vineyards and SO2 in their cellars. Cuvee Emilien 2020 is very much Merlot led with bits of the two Cabernets and Carmenere too. In other words, not my usual choice of grapes but this was full, fruit led and very long and complex with excellent structure. Exemplary wine making. I was also very fond of all the Roland Wines’ bottles that I have described.

Soaked was clearly a resounding success with large numbers attending, a very busy food area serving tasty choices and enthusiasm all around. Let’s hope we get Soaked again soon.

On Friday November 3rd I led a wine tasting at a local community centre to raise funds for the centre itself. I decided to focus on grape varieties, mainly because it is a topic that I find fascinating but also because I would like people to try different wines. In the UK 65% of the white wines which are purchased are from just three grape varieties, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. There are 10,000 wine grape varieties in the world but 40% of wines come from just ten.

In recent years Marks and Spencer introduced a range called ‘Found’ highlighting more unusual varieties and I welcomed that step in this article. Waitrose followed suit with their ‘Loved and Found’ range and I focused this tasting with eight wines from these two ranges. All of the wines are priced at a maximum of £10, most were £8.99 and 25% discounts are currently available at Waitrose.

Why am I so passionate about promoting different grapes? Firstly because of diversity, the figures above show a narrow choice for consumers. Winemakers like to experiment, Jeff Coutelou for example has planted over 50 varieties in his vineyards and part of his motivation is simply his own curiosity as to how different grapes will grow in different terroir and what wines will be produced. He stripped out the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and replaced them with the likes of Servant, Clairette Musquée and Terret Noir.

Widespread plantings of the same grape can encourage the spread of disease, variety makes that spread more difficult. Finally, climate chaos is clearly changing terroir, for example with earlier budding and subsequent frost risk, with drought conditions such as we experienced in the Languedoc this year leading to us completing harvest by September 1st, a date which was often the start of harvest in the past. As I pointed out Spanish origin grapes such as Macabeu and Grenache handled the heat and drought much better than French grapes like Clairette and Syrah. New plantings of the Catalan grape Xarel-lo show that winemakers such as Jeff are preparing for a more unsettled future in their vineyards.

I opted for eight grapes which together make up less than 0.8% of worldwide wine grape planting. They came from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Georgia, Germany and Hungary. My notes and research are shown below.

White wines

Treixadura – £8.99 Waitrose

Made in Galicia by Via Barrosa named after the Roman road from Galicia to Rome. The grape is also grown in the Vinho Verde region in northern Portugal.

Difficult to grow, buds late and ripens slowly so vulnerable to disease. Prefers valley slopes. Usually a blending grape as it adds body and freshness.

Tasting notes – faint citrussy notes, fresh green apple. Food wine

Loin D’Oeil  – £8.99 Waitrose

Known as Len de l’Elh in the local Gaillac slang. NE of Toulose a typical regional wine area with its own grapes, eg Mauzac, Braucol, Fer Servadou and Negrette. The name means far from the eye or bud because of the long pedoncle or stalks.

Buds early (frost risk) but ripens early which means it can be left on vine for longer and make sweet dessert wines. This wine is made by Jean Noel Barrau, a highly rated producer working for the Rabastens co-op.

Tasting notes – Tangy, juicy, pink grapefruit and nectarine. Some weight from fermentation on lees which add texture.

Weissburgunder  – £9.50 M&S

The most widely planted grape of my selection, known as Pinot Blanc in France. Good example of climate chaos and improved winemaking helping to make a grape better.

Mutation of Pinot Noir, indeed there are often white grapes in the middle of PN vines, a cane can be wholly white. Prefers deep soils, buds early. Made in Pfalz, 2^nd largest German viticultural region, bordering Alsace. 4% of its vines are PB. Made by a former M&S wine buyer, Gerd Stepp.

Tasting notes  –  creamy, textured from lees contact. Pears, quince and wet stones, fresh palate cleansing

Furmint  – £8 M&S

Hungarian grape famed for Tokay wines from the region east of Budapest. This from a 500 year old winery Chateau Dereszla renovated by Champagne maker Piper Heideseck.

Name means wheat gold. Offspring of Gouais grape which also parented Gamay, Riesling and Chardonnay. Buds early, ripens late so rosk of frost and mildew but the late ripening and thick skins encourage sweetness, Tokay was the most famous sweet wine in 18^th and 19^th centuries. Thick skins mean less juice and more concentration. 8.6g/l of residual sugar so off dry

Tasting notes  –  aromatic, floral, juicy pear, apple and citrus. Winemaker Bai Istvan says best suited to seafood such as the local fisherman’s soup. Telegraph critic Victoria Moore says orange peel, apricot

Red wines

Trincadeira  –  £8.99 Waitrose

Needs hot, dry conditions, this is from Alentejo in Portugal, east of Lisbon. Made by Joao Portugal Ramos.

Very thin skins make it a difficult grape as they will split easily and vulnerable to insects so rot is a danger. It is used in the Douro valley for making port too where known as Tinta Amarela, which means yellow grape! Pick too soon and herbaceous, too late and it is jammy so picking date is crucial. Another problem is the overproduction of foliage so costs a lot to keep trimming it back so it is being ripped out.

Tasting notes  –  Ripe, blackberry, oak notes too.

NB – no wine capsule saves half a ton of packaging

Lacrima  –  £8.99 Waitrose

Full name Lacrima di Morro d’Alba (the tears of the Moors from Alba). Why tears? Some say shape of bunches, others that the thin skins split easily so teardrops of juice emerge.

Dark skinned, gives colour. Only 6hectares left in 2003 but resurgence so now 250ha, almost exclusively in the eastern Italian Marche region. This one from organic producer in Ancona.

Tasting notes – aromatic, rose petal and Turkish Delight according to Matthew Jukes. Blackberry, cherry, refreshing finish. Can be chilled. Raspberry, spice notes.

Nerello Cappucio  –  £7  M&S

Made from slopes of Mount Etna by famous company Settesoli and first pure version on sale in UK.

Nerello genetically linked to Sangiovese. Two forms Mascalese and Cappucio, usually blended. Cappucio is lighter of the two. Name means hooded as the grapes grow into the canopy and protected from direct sun. Lighter structure than Mascalese, sometimes made into rose. But dark skins add colour to blends even though soft tannins.

Tasting notes  –  Cherry jam , floral, flinty minerality. Low acidity so not a wine to keep. Raisiny port notes, liquorice and cocoa. Good for pizza and caponata.

Saperavi  –  £10 M&S

Georgia – with Armenia one of the crucibles of winemaking. The other was the Levant and that’s the one now thought to have sent grapes to western Europe.

Name means ‘dye’ in Georgian and this is a rare teinturier grape, it produces red juice.

The key red grape from Georgia, others include Rkatsiteli. Georgia has 500 indigenous varieties. Made in Kakheti province east of Tbilisi. Matured in oak rather than qvevri unlike M&S orange wine. Buds early but this is a grape resistant to frost, mildew, oidium and even grapeworm. Hence being planted around world eg NE of USA.

Thick skins, dark colours, big tannins and high alcohol / acidity – it will age and soften. Reflects terroir so can be freshened up by growing at altitude but this one is from valley slopes so mid range.

Tasting notes  –  Ripe cherry, blackberry, soft pluminess, vanilla from oak.

On the night the Nerello Cappuccio didn’t show particularly well, the tannins felt rather harsh and it certainly wasn’t the light, juicy red that I expected. The Treixadura was very fresh and good for food, I liked the others and had made the Weissburgunder my favourite in the article I quoted from 2021. Most people in the hall liked the Furmint best, and least popular was the Loin D’Oeil which was my own favourite! Of the reds I love the Lacrima, it is deep with lovely fruit but the most popular seemed to be the Saperavi which was very good but needs more time or opening / decanting. It was encouraging to see the reaction to Saperavi and even more to hear people say they would be heading to these two supermarkets to explore the ranges for themselves. I wish I had been on commission!.

A very good evening which raised £1000 for the community centre itself. It was flattering to hear that it sold out without really going on sale and to be asked to go back again for a third tasting. Well done to everyone there, to these two supermarkets for seeking out interesting wines at keen prices. Let’s support those winemakers, proud of their local grapes and keen to diversify.

After each harvest it has become almost a tradition that before I head home Jeff Coutelou leads a taste through the wines which are being made from the work we did so recently. As it happened some of the team working with Clos Fantine (and harvest was still going on up in the hills) were coming on the 20th too, so Jeff combined the two events. We went on to taste some older wines from barrel as well as going to the solera to taste a number of the fabulous wines there.

Photos by Flora Rey

However, here are some thoughts in the 23 wines and how they are progressing. It’s always difficult to taste new wines, most were nearing the end of fermentation and most are wines which will be components in final bottlings rather than the end product itself. Rather than run through each of the twenty one wines these are my general thoughts.

It was interesting to hear Jeff say something I have been thinking for a couple of years. White wines are becoming some of the best, most interesting wines which he produces. Though he is best known for the excellent red cuvées such as Classe, Le Vin Des Amis and La Vigne Haute many of my favourite bottles have been white (and orange) wines such as OW, TSCC and Macabeu. I’d have assumed the warmer temperatures of recent years would not be good for white grapes but they have flourished under Jeff’s care. Perhaps the switch to grapes such as Macabeu, Clairette and Servant are helping, more suited to heat and with characteristics such as bitterness which prevent any tiredness in the grapes.

As I said TSCC 21 has been one of my favourite Coutelou wines recently, this time around Jeff has added Aramon Blanc to make TSAC (Terret Blanc, Servant, Aramon Blanc and Clairette), which is progressing nicely. Clairette found the hot vintage difficult and was picked early to maintain those bitter notes and both tanks were doing well, I preferred the one with the addition of Clairette Rose (yes, another new grape) with its liquorice notes. Two cuves of Macabeu are being made, both in concrete egg. The first, from Sainte Suzanne vineyard, had finished fermentation and was lovely with clean, direct white fruits and good grip. The other, from Peilhan, was still fermenting and had sherbety notes and a distinct orange, citrus note, interesting.

Another interesting wine was Grenache Gris made in amphora. It had grapefruit notes and was very clean but there were also distinct red fruit notes, perhaps from the distinctive pinkish skins – such a fascinating grape. The macerated Muscat d’Alexandrie (probably the future OW) was also worth a mention. Muscat always shows itself in a wine with its exotic, aromatic spiciness. It can have a sweetness, even in dry versions, but the maceration had extracted lots of juice and the skin contact adds texture and slight bitterness. Muscat grapes are usually quite big and have thick skins, the long maceration meant they had released the juice more than a traditional press.

Syrah found the 23 vintage difficult too, the vast majority was picked early and the grapes were very small with less juice than normal. Jeff’s decision to bring in those grapes has paid off in three separate tanks. Segrairals and La Garrigue Syrah was pressed after a short maceration and there is good, rich, red fruit. The whole bunch tank was still fermenting and there was a clear stalk influence with its freshness. No Vigne Haute in 23 though, unfortunately. Cinsault is another major crop for Jeff and it has done well, offering lots of attractive light fruit. I am sure it will be used for blending as well as, maybe, a 5SO. Grenache too has done well and brought lots of red fruit. Mourvedre, not always my favourite, has also brought bright fruit, promising.

Flower Power is one of my favourite Jeff wines with its expansive list of grapes from Font D’Oulette and the Peilhan terrace, over thirty varieties in total. Most surprising was the emergency pick. We harvested Grenache, Morastel, Aramon and Clairette on day one of the harvest as the vines were suffering. Yet, the wine shows no sign of stress and offers dark, rich fruit with good structure. Another example of Jeff’s insight and expertise.

My favourite wine of the whole tasting though was the Carignan from Rec D’Oulette/Chemin De Pailhès which goes to make Flambadou. There were already rich black and red fruit notes, structure and acidity, already very good and one I shall hopefully acquire when it is bottled.

The 23 vintage has tested Jeff sorely, the drought creating stress for him and the vines. He has had to plan carefully whilst also responding day to day to the needs of his vines. This tasting showed his skills as a winemaker faced with those climatic problems and the difficult fermentations that resulted. Whites and reds of promise, decent quantities, 2023 will not be a stellar vintage but there will be plenty of very good wines to enjoy.

As it’s been ten years of vendanges with Jeff Coutelou I was thinking about how my role has changed. In 2014, my first harvest, I found myself in a confusion of relentless activity with a background of heavily accented Occitan French coming from different directions of the cellar or vines. Jeff, Carole, Tina and others helped me learn about what was happening. I wanted to help but was aware that I just needed to keep out of the way a lot of the time. I did learn, however, to sort grapes from case into the destemmer and to operate the basket press. Even to distinguish a grau from a saut.

2014

With each year I understood more and more what was going on and became confident of helping rather than just being there. I worked alongside Jeff for three years and spent time getting to know the vines, cellars and most of what goes with winemaking.

By 2017 I could deal confidently with just about any of the jobs which needed to be done. 2020’s covid enforced break and my turning 61 meant that by 2021 I was physically less capable and bigger teams of helpers meant that I didn’t need to do the heavy lifting, especially in the cellar. What I could do though was sorting / tri. Jeff has taught me so much about vines, wines and nature. I can readily recognise diseases on grapes, problems with bunches and so on. So, my role at harvest time has fixed on that ability as well as helping out with other jobs, like picking, when needed.

Fortunately, 2023 saw very few real issues for us to tackle as the grapes arrived at the cellar. The drought meant that downy mildew never really started, it requires more moisture in the soils to take hold. Oidium (powdery mildew) starts later in the season and the thunderstorm of June 29^th brought a tiny amount to one or two parcels but much less than most years. Even ver de la grappe seemed to be reduced despite the threat from the cryptoblabes which I have written about before. Snails, however, were everywhere as they climbed the vines to the grapes looking for moisture in the parched vineyards. Dried leaves are inevitable in the cases but, again, there were more than usual as vines had shed leaves early in order to give all available energy to the fruit, their means of reproduction.

Snails and leaves do not require huge skill to sort out from the grapes on the table. (We only had a sorting table after 2016). However, on September 1^st, the last day of picking, there were a couple of issues to sort through and I wanted to explain how you tackle them. The video was made whilst grapes were still coming in so it’s not the best quality, apologies.

How could you tell if you needed to cut out some of the bunch?

Visual clues first, some of the bunches looked a little wet, juice had escaped, a sign of something in the bunch damaging it. Next, touch. If the bunch felt firm then it was likely ok though I would still break open some of the bunches to confirm that all was well. If the bunch felt squishy then it definitely needed closer examination. Finally, smell. Was there a vinegary odour which would indicate the worms had eaten some grapes and juice had flowed inside the bunch causing rot and harmful bacteria to flourish? Fortunately, the latter was not the case at all but there was some careful sorting nonetheless to ensure only good grapes went into tank. If it means rejecting whole bunches even then it has to be done.

Doing this at speed with several tonnes of grapes arriving in a day involves practice and experience to do well. It’s just one, small link of the chain of making wine but Jeff and all good winemakers insist upon careful sorting to avoid, as much as possible, threats to the health of the wine. This may well be my final full vendanges, they have all been memorable for the people I have met, the wines I have contributed towards and the insights into viticulture and nature which Jeff has given me. When I arrived in 2014 I had no idea that I’d still be making great wine ten years later.

A visit to Peilhan on Tuesday was more evidence of just how dry that part of Puimisson vineyards has been. Cracks in the ground, vines looking tired from battling to produce fruit at risk to their own health. It must be a concern as to how they will respond next year, hopefully the early picking has offered remedial support. Most obviously there was an alarmingly low water level in the new reservoir, Jeff planted bullrushes at a height expected to be fine for them but they have dried out. Ironically, it rained for an hour in the afternoon but much, much more is required for a full recovery.

You can see the importance of water in this photo of the shrubs on the side of the new parcel. Jeff has watered these as I described here and they look green and healthy, especially in contrast to the parched vineyards. People often ask me why Jeff doesn’t irrigate the vines like most vignerons in the area. The main reason is principle, not wanting to interfere in nature and produce wines that are artificially boosted. However, have a look too at these photos of a neighbouring vineyard.

These vines were planted early this year, have been irrigated (note the rubber pipe) and are already 1.5m high and expected to produce usable grapes next year. However, look at the trunks, they are like matchsticks, lacking any real strength or longevity. I doubt they are there for the long term, how sustainable are such practices?

Midi Libre, the local newspaper, ran an article today (Sept. 15th) about a viticulteur in Fitou further west from the Herault in Occitanie. He stated bluntly that with rainfall of 150mm in 17 months his vineyards were officially a desert and they are dying in front of him. Jeff was telling me last night that four of the last ten years have seen such drought conditions now, though this is the worst. Another, 2021, was hit by frost. As da Vinci said we should be very aware of the importance of water for life.

Back in the cellar Jeff was carrying out the last of the main décuvages. This is where the grape juice / wine is run off from the tank leaving the solids behind, pips, skins and stalks. They have to be manually removed from the tank, backbreaking work, and re-pressed to produce more juice, vin de presse which will form around 8% of the final wine if put back with the free juice. The vin de presse is more deeply coloured and tannic so needs to be carefully managed, you wouldn’t want it to dominate the overall wine. Timing the décuvage is an art in itself, too soon and the wine would be very light in colour and flavour, too late and it would risk bacterial damage as well as developing quite strong alcohol notes.

https://videopress.com/v/BY4u19TW?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

A smaller tank of Macabeu and Clairette was also ready for décuvage. Jeff raised it by forklift and the wine ran off into another tank below, a variation on the modern gravity operated cellars! The wine has fermented nicely, smells and tastes really good and will now be given time to rest. Interestingly, the sludge in the bottom of the tank was also put into a container. It contains active, beneficial bacteria which have helped fermentation. If other white tanks become fermentation stuck, then this could be added to give it a jump start.

Things have settled down now, the big tanks are now wine tanks rather than simply full of grapes, fermentations are ticking along quite nicely, Jeff is more relaxed about them. The 2023 vintage will be unveiling its quality in coming days and weeks.

Hopefully, substantial rain will also arrive soon to ensure the future of winemaking in the area.

An extreme year for weather brought an unusual harvest to Puimisson. Starting on August 21st, finished by September 1st, at least a week earlier than usual. I checked my notes from the last ten years and in 2020 the finish was on the 8th with other years going on until the 21st and 22nd of September.

The drought of late 2022 and 2023 was certainly the biggest influence on this year’s vendanges. It meant having to pick some grapes early to relieve vines which were literally diverting their last reserves into grapes as part of the reproductive cycle of the plant albeit at risk to their own health and future. It meant that Syrah, one of the cornerstones of Jeff’s vineyards, struggled badly, the grapes were small, the skins and flesh containing far less juice than normal.

It meant altered patterns of microbial nitrogen production in the soils. Studies suggest that the nitrogen stays in the topsoils rather than getting into subsoils where vine roots extend. Lack of nitrogen in the grape must can bring problems for fermentations as it is needed to feed the yeasts carrying them out. If there is not enough nitrogen the fermentation can become stuck leaving it vulnerable to harmful bacteria and volatility.

I know that scenario was causing Jeff a lot of stress and he has had to manage the various tanks carefully to ensure that some grapes with more nitrogen e.g. Grenache, were used to boost those not so rich. Fortunately, he is a very experienced and skilled winemaker, the analyses show that fermentations are now moving, slowly but surely. A wine writer said to me this year that Jeff’s greatest talent is turning grapes from quite unpromising land into something very good, he adds value to the wines by his understanding and handling of the grapes. I think this year will prove that to be a very astute observation.

Vendanges 2023 was also very speedy, the picking team often larger than the usual dozen. The last day when we harvested Muscat, Mourvedre and Carignan was quite an achievement. The one positive side of the drought was the lack of disease so that there was little real trouble in sorting grapes at the cellar, otherwise it would have been impossible to get through so many in one day. The early pick may have helped too. The cryptoblabe/honeydew moth which is ravaging its way across the Mediterranean likes to eat ripe, sugar rich grapes. Perhaps, and it’s only a guess from me, the early harvest meant they never really got to work in damaging the bunches.

Whilst I’m throwing out unproven theories, I mentioned grape varieties and their response to drought and heat in an earlier post. Sainte Suzanne has plantings of Syrah next to Grenache and Macabeu next to Clairette, the latter a much younger plantation. The Syrah and Clairette, which is a local grape, both struggled this year at the of the village most affected by drought. The Grenache and Macabeu (aka Viura) fared much better in coping with adverse conditions. They have their origins in Spain and I posed the question to Jeff as to whether they were, therefore, more at home with warming temperatures. He was noncommittal to be fair. Interestingly he has planted a parcel of Catalan grape Xarel-lo in Peilhan, will that reinforce my theory? Time will tell as vintages become warmer.

I mentioned in one post that we had filled a 100 hectolitre tank with grapes one day. I’m sure Jeff would love it if that was all wine. I should have added that as much as 30% of that tank is made up of skins, pulp and pips which, even after a second pressing, won’t be making wine. However, better a full tank than low yielding years like 2021.

As ever, one of the joys of vendanges is the team I spend time with. Jeff himself, his sister Cathérine and niece Flora, Gilles, Ines, Boris, Mouss, Vincent and Andrew, thank you, it was fun despite the stresses of a difficult year.