Vignerons | amarchinthevines

November 16, 2021
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Renewal

***Peilhan from a distance*** ***showing the new parcel in preparation top right***

I had intended to write about the new developments by Jeff Coutelou to follow the article about the new vineyard at St. Chinian. Sadly, that plan was foiled by the incident at Peilhan which I reported last time. However Jeff’s determination to carry on and continue his plans is undimmed. So, what’s going on?

Let’s start with the regular renewals. Every year vines die off for various reasons, e.g. age, disease and drought. In some vineyards such as Rec D’Oulette where all the vines are Carignan Noir then clearly they are replaced by more Carignan Noir vines. However, the pattern for some vineyards recently has been for Jeff to diversify planting. The model is Flower Power where over twenty varieties are planted, all mixed up. That is what we were doing at St Chinian by adding varieties such as Mauzac and Fer Servadou to the range of vines already in place.

In larger vineyards such as Segrairals and Peilhan there are a number of different areas. In Segrairals for example there were areas of Mourvedre, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Jeff decided to grub up the Cabernet as it is not a traditional grape of the Languedoc and he replaced it with plantings of Oeillade, Aramon and others.

***Planting new vines in Segrairals 2020, the new vines growing*** ***in 2021***

I have already mentioned that there is a new parcel below Sainte Suzanne which we harvested this year for Jeff’s PetNat, Bibonade. The new vines are Macabeu and Clairette, white grapes which originate in Spain and the local area and will hopefully stand up well to climate change. The Syrah of La Garrigue which goes to make La Vigne Haute in good years is going to be expanded. The parcel next to it has been purchased by Jeff, former vines taken out and ploughed. Syrah vines will be planted there in coming months, the north facing slope helping this southern grape to produce well. All the new parcels need time to grow and it takes three years for them to be also certified as organic.

***Matteo in the new Ste Suzanne white vines, the new parcel of La Garrigue ready for Syrah***

This type of expansion is not new to Jeff, I reported upon the expansion of Peilhan back in 2015 when I helped to plant the terrace area with varieties such as Morastel, Riveyrenc Noir and Gris, Terret Blanc and Noir and Piquepoul Gris. These vines are now healthy, mature and producing good fruit. The parcels of Ste. Suzanne and La Garrigue will hopefully produce more great wine for us to enjoy.

***The 2015 vines on the terrace at Peilhan***

The most exciting developments though are in the Peilhan vineyard. Jeff has purchased the large plot next door to his existing vineyards and work has begun to transform them. The old vines are torn out and will be replaced with more unusual varieties, this is Jeff’s work after all. At the ends of the rectangular plot trees have been planted already, for example with olive trees, there will be one tree at the end of each set of two rows, roughly 1m-2m apart. On the eastern side various types of tree were planted. Unfortunately these were part of the arson attack two weeks ago and will need to be replanted.

***Olives planted on the south side, there are partner trees on the north side***

Most spectacularly, to the west a large earth bank has been constructed. It creates a large basin behind which will be lined and used as a water reservoir, storing rainfall. The slope will be gentle in order that wildlife can gain easy access to drink. Jeff described this project to me proudly as his “legacy to the area”. Ironic then that the attack should happen here. Be sure that Jeff will press on and it will be fascinating to watch this project develop.

November 1, 2021
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Looking to the future

Many winemakers state that they are custodians of their land rather than owners. The emphasis is on the land rather the winemaker. The land has been there, often as a vineyard before the winemaker and will be there for a long time after the winemaker has departed. Therefore, the human interaction with that land is one of care and nourishment rather than exploitation. Whilst many say that, not all of them fulfil that important statement. It is a fact that as winemakers age the future of their vineyards becomes an issue, what will happen to them, who will take over?

Jeff Coutelou is aware that as he gets older there is a question mark over the future. He has no children and his nephew and niece are not interested in becoming winemakers. Jeff is the 4th generation of Coutelous and has built upon the work of his family to create a domaine renowned around the world. After 20 years of making the wine himself he is also looking to the future. I will explore some of the new vineyards he has purchased in the last year or two but in this post I want to describe how work has begun for his own personal future.

The Coutelou family have their origins in St. Chinian and Jeff himself attended school there. The family home is still there with its small vineyard but there is also a vineyard just outside of the village itself. When he retires Jeff would like to have that vineyard so that he can look after himself without the need to employ others and the associated bureaucracy and social charges of the current large domaine. The vineyard is in a quiet valley, on a slope looking over towards St Chinian and the dividing line in the appellation, there is schist soil to the right in the photo below and limestone to the left. At a couple of hectares it would keep him busy but not overwhelmed.

Back in 2019 the vineyard was cleared and planted with some classic Languedoc grapes. However, due to the pandemic the vineyard has not had the attention Jeff would have liked until we went there on September 23rd. A bright, sunny day started off chilly but by mid afternoon we were working at almost 30c temperatures and were in the direct sun. It was hard work. The vineyard had overgrown with weeds, brush. Quite a few of the young vines planted in 2019 had died, as is the norm, and needed to be replaced. A full day’s hot and sweaty work lay ahead.

Manu, had rejoined us towards the end of the vendanges and he spent a lot of the morning with Gilles strimming away large clumps of weeds and brush and using a pick and pioche to dig some out. Matteo was hard at work on the drill which was a heavy machine, vibrating heavily as it scooped out the hole which would be used to plant the replacement vines. Steeve, Joffroi and myself busied ourselves mainly with the planting.

As ever these days Jeff wanted to create a complantation on the site. Mixed in with the traditional varieties planted in 2019 would be some Grenache, Macabeu and Muscat d’Alexandrie, one of Jeff’s favourite grapes, but also Fer Servadou and Mauzac. Fer Servadou (often just called Fer) is relatively unknown, mostly found in Marcillac and Gaillac between Languedoc and Bordeaux. I like it as a grape as I am fond of wines from both areas and it gives a distinct spicy, peppery flavour to wines and, maybe its name is suggestive, but a sense of iron filings. Mauzac is widely planted in the Limoux area as well as Gaillac again. A white grape, usually made into sparkling wine, it adds weight to blends with its white fruit flavours.

We were under strict instructions from Jeff to spread the new plantings around the vineyard and avoid clumps of the same variety, forming a true field blend but also hopefully reducing the risk of disease spreading from one variety to another as some are more resistant to mildew than others. Into the hole went the young vine, organic fertiliser and the hole was refilled. New plants need watering, especially on a hot day like that so Jeff was to and fro with containers. Matteo and Steeve have returned regularly to the vineyard to ensure these tender plants have been watered and are healthy.

By 4pm we were tiring and the machine must have been to, a part sheered off and we had to abandon the work with just a few rows to finish. They were completed the following day with a repaired machine.

**The broken drill with harvesting going on next door**

It was hard work but rewarding for many reasons. It is good to see a vineyard developing with its promise for the future, especially this one as it will mean a lot to my dear friend in years to come. The views over the St Chinian hills were a treat and the camaraderie was, as ever, fulfilling – sharing lunch and wine whilst looking out over our work and the scenery with great people. Living in the moment but also looking to the future.

October 15, 2021
by amarch34 1 Comment

2021, vintage views

When I first became interested in wine vintages were one of the mysteries which intrigued and infuriated in equal measure. Back in the 80s and 90s Bordeaux and Burgundy ruled the world of wine (plus ca change) and anyone wanting to buy such wines looked at vintage reports, vintage charts and vintage prices to research which wines to seek out. A 1989 or 1990 Bordeaux (my first venture into en primeur purchases) was superior to a 1987 or 1994 simply because of the weather in those years. Things have changed.

Climate change is an obvious cause, it is a rare year now where grapes don’t ripen in cool conditions. Indeed we are in a situation where Bordeaux now allows different grapes, such as this blog’s favourite Castets, to temper the (over)ripe Cabernet and Merlot. Burgundy producers worry about the future of Pinot Noir in their region, a grape which now thrives in cooler Alsace and Germany for example.

Better winemaking and vineyard care are the other major reasons why wines tend to be more consistent year on year. Science, technology and the education of new generations of winemakers mean that vines are given cover crops, different canopy systems, grapes are fermented cooler or longer or on skins more than they used to be. Winemakers through skill (and maybe some artifice) are able to smooth out those vintage chart curves, very few years would now be as scorned as those 87s.

For Jeff Coutelou in the hot Languedoc you’d assume that vintages weren’t that important either. There is hot sunshine every year, grapes ripen ready for harvesting by early September. But there subtle differences, sometimes less subtle. 2017 had a big outbreak of mildew, 2019 saw temperatures reach 45c (I remember it well). Those 2019 grapes were actually harvested in prime condition, the best of any of the seven vintages I have helped with, as good as any Jeff can recall. There was little sorting to do. Yet, those grapes proved difficult in the cellar, fermentations slowed and got stuck, not all but many. The fermentations were not completed until the temperatures picked up again in the Spring of 2020. Was that a product of the overheating of the previous summer?

***Outstanding Grenache in La Garrigue this year***

Every year is different. Similar problems arise due to climate and disease, drought, mildew, oidium, ver de la grappe. The scale of those issues varies though and in different vineyards. The Grenache of La Garrigue was badly hit in 2020 and produced tiny yields. This year when most vineyards suffered that Grenache was beautiful and abundant. Such vagaries are what keeps a vigneron on her/his toes. What quantities of wine will there be from each vineyard? Will there be some outstanding grapes that should be used for a special cuvée? What might be blended to provide the wine for popular cuvées such as Classe or Le Vin Des Amis? With twenty tanks full of fermenting grapes Jeff must juggle figures, analyses, tastings in order to decide what to do with those wines.

2021 was undoubtedly a vintage which reflects most the circumstances of the year, in my opinion more than any of those seven I have witnessed. It was shaped by the frost of April 12th. That single night wreaked havoc upon the vineyards, throughout France yes, certainly for Jeff. Havoc all the worse in that it was unexpected, there was no warning that it would hit the area. 50-70% of potential fruit was wiped out in those few hours, hitting the vines as they flowered and began to bud. From there on 2021 was a year of catch up. Yes the vines, some of them anyway, produced secondary bunches but nothing like the quality and quantity of what was lost. The vines though were weakened by that night, a situation compounded by ongoing drought. Jeff told me that there was only one significant rainfall in Puimisson from the previous October through to the end of summer. This is a perennial issue in the Languedoc now, climate change in action. The consequence of frost and drought was vines pushing energy towards survival rather than fruit and that when summer’s heat and humidity combined to produce oidium (powdery mildew) the vines had little resistance.

***Peilhan, dry and with small yields, we harvested the Carignan in an hour or two. Yet it produced lovely red and white grapes***

Doom and gloom. And yet there was that Grenache. And most of the fruit was decent quality and fermented well (though with delayed malolactic fermentation in some cases). And the resulting wines taste very well after those fermentations. Jeff will make good wines. He will have to juggle those figures again and no doubt produce different final wines to the norm, there isn’t the quantity to make all the usual bottles. Indeed I can report that Jeff bought in some grapes to bulk out his own this year. Carignan and Syrah were brought back from the Minervois thanks to Vivien Hemelsdael of Le Clos Des Jarres , an excellent producer of natural wines himself. That area was relatively untouched by the frost and Vivien kindly agreed to provide grapes to his friend. Matteo, Steeve, Louis and Jeff went to pick those grapes and were enthusiastic about them, especially the Carignan. Incidentally I can honestly recommend seeking out the Clos Des Jarres wines.

Photo from http://www.moncavisteadomicile.fr/

2021 will certainly be a year that Jeff recalls with little fondness. Personally I was delighted to be back there after missing out in 2020. Moreover it was an excellent team to work with, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. The white wines which I tasted from tank just before I left Puimisson are in fine fettle, Jeff assures me that the reds are too. Perhaps vintage is less important to wines these days, but do remember unfortunately there won’t be much of them from Jeff Coutelou. There were new aspects of winemaking in 2021 though and I shall be reporting on how Jeff is looking to the future as well as getting the best out of this year. 2021’s wines were certainly a reflection of the difficult year, maybe vintage does matter after all.

October 6, 2021
by amarch34 Leave a comment

Making Wine

En francais

Most of the focus of the posts on Vendanges 21 is on the picking and sorting of grapes, exploring the different varieties and how they are gathered and sent to tank. However, these are the early stages of vendanges and there is much work to follow, not so glamorous but just as important. I have heard a number of vignerons say that their job is to ensure that quality grapes which arrive at the cellar are allowed to express that quality and not to mess up their potential. So, what happens?

The making of wine begins with decisions about how to transform the fruit. The most obvious influence on how to proceed is the colour of the grape. There are some white wines made from red grapes but those are rare. Quality and quantity of the grapes will also determine decisions but let us start with that primary difference.

White grapes will go into white or orange wines. For white wines the grapes will be pressed (usually) soon after picking and the juice is sent to tank for fermentation. For dry whites the winemaker might seek to have only the alcoholic fermentation, not the malolactic in order to keep the freshness of the malic acid. Again, that is a decision for the vigneron. There will still be pulp and pips in that fermentation tank and after fermentation the lees or dried yeast cells will fall to the bottom of the tank after completing their work.

The young wine will be run off that rather dramatic looking sludge to avoid the danger of it spoiling the wine. The vigneron will then decide how to age the white wine, the type of container to use, stainless steel, barrel, amphora, egg, glass. The choice will again be based on the quality of the wine and what the vigneron wants to achieve, a commercial large scale wine or a smaller, more specialised or select wine.

***A range of containers for the white wines of Jeff Coutelou***

I described the process of orange wine in a recent post. The white grapes will stay on skins to extract tannin, flavour and colour. The length of time will depend upon the preference of the winemaker. Again, the juice will be run off the skins either naturally or by press.

For rosé wines red grapes (perhaps combined with white grapes) will be used. They might be allowed to spend time on skins to extract more colour or they will be pressed directly for a lighter colour. (I recall Emmanuel Pageot in Gabian making a wine called 48h where its name reflected the time on skins to extract a dark pink/light red colour.) Rosé wines are mostly designed for freshness and early drinking so they will usually be fermented and then go to a neutral container to settle and then be bottled.

Red grapes give vignerons more decisions to make. Will they be destemmed totally, partially or not at all? The latter will be whole bunch fermentation and the stems will add a green, sappy touch to the wine. Whole bunch wines might be fermented using carbonic maceration, as in Beaujolais where the grapes ferment in the skins with carbon dioxide added to the tank. Jeff prefers a semi carbonic maceration, some of the grapes will be broken and will ferment as usual whilst others ferment inside their skins. Wines using carbonic maceration tend to have a more upfront fruit profile. That style might be what the vigneron wants to create or it might be that lesser quality fruit would not respond well to traditional fermentation.

***Whole bunch (left), the égraineur working (centre and right)***

Most red grapes at Coutelou are destemmed. Indeed, the new (2020) égraineur takes stems not just from the bunch but from every grape to reduce the amount of stalk in tank during fermentation (some will get through no matter what). The grapes will spend days in a fermentation tank. The red grapes with skins, pulp, pips and yeasts form a bigger quantity of material so Jeff uses the large cement tanks for this. The juice will be carefully monitored to ensure fermentation is happening. For red wines, winemakers want both fermentations to happen, malic acid would make them too tart. Malic fermentation usually happens alongside the alcoholic one or quickly afterwards. This year’s malic fermentation at Coutelou was the first time that it was slightly delayed, happily only a short delay but a surprise nontheless.

***Fermentation tanks used for red wines***

The bulky pulp has to be then sent to press. Ideally it would travel naturally by gravity but in most cellars a pump is needed, and a heavy duty one at that. The pompe à marc is powerful and noisy but does its work. The press then sends the juice to a tank or other container but usually a tank at this early stage. More tasting and analysis will determine what the winemaker thinks should happen next. Quality, quantity, commercial needs will all play a part in shaping that decision.

***Analyses outside the fermentation tanks, the press red with juice***

Let us not underestimate the commercial aspect of winemaking. The livelihood of the winemaker, their dependants and staff depend on selling the wine. Some cuvées will be made for easy drinking in large quantities, the wine will still be good quality of its type. Le Vin Des Amis and Classe are perennial wines from Jeff Coutelou and are always very good (try the 2020 VdA for proof) but they also provide a financial security. As well as covering costs of equipment, personnel, utilities etc the money helps to subsidise the smaller production wines which often also cost more to produce, eg barrels and longer ageing.

So, though my articles have focussed on the first stages of the vendanges, please don’t think that is the end of the story.

September 17, 2021
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Vendanges Coutelou 21, Variety Show

En francais

Having talked about new varieties of grape planted at Jeff Coutelou’s domaine in Puimisson the last few days have been about a variety of different activities, vintages and grapes too. After the rain break on the 9^th, we restarted on Friday 10^th by spending the morning in the vineyards of Segrairals and Peilhan picking Cinsault and Carignan respectively.

***Cinsault, big bunches and those rejected***

The Cinsault often comes in large berries and bunches and, as a consequence, the open bunches can be prone to disease and ver de la grappe. As we picked, therefore, we took great care to conduct a triage on the spot leaving a lot of the grapes behind as you can see. To paraphrase the old John West advert, ‘It’s the grapes we reject that make Coutelou the best.’ Even in a year with much reduced quantity the emphasis has to be on quality, clean grapes if the wines are to be good.

***Carignan loaded straight into press by Matteo as Louis, Boris and Jeff look on***

Peilhan was quite badly hit by the April frost and the Carignan was particularly damaged. Some vines had no fruit, others still produced well. Again we sorted the grapes carefully in the vineyard. Both harvests went into the press directly. When grapes are not of the highest quality it is not worth destemming and fermenting separately as any taint will spoil the wine. Without the comfort blanket of SO² Jeff wanted to get the juice from the grapes quickly, likely to produce rosé rather than red after spending so little time on skins extracting colour.

In the afternoon, the Moroccan pickers moved on to the Mourvèdre back in Segrairals. Meanwhile I and some of the team were given a different direction altogether. Jeff had selected some of the best white Macabeu grapes of 2019 for ageing in barrel, they had recently been moved to stainless steel tank in the white wine section of the cellar. The juice was run off the top of the tank and then the marc (skins, pulp, pips etc) were brought to the basket presses.

Operating these presses was one of the first jobs Jeff gave me in 2014 and so I set about extracting more juice from the marc. The pressing must be light as the marc contains more tannins which might make the overall wine more bitter. It is surprising how much extra comes out of the marc, and even more surprising to see whole grapes still amongst it after 2 years. The final wine tasted great and I can’t wait to open a bottle and see how it develops further.

***Basket press loaded and extracting the rest of the 2019 white***

The following day, Saturday, brought more variety and a new job for me. Macabeu and Grenache Gris from Peilhan was brought to cellar and the first couple of rows of vines were sent to press. Jeff, however, decided that the rest was higher quality and wanted to use these grapes for fermenting and maturing in amphora. There have been 4 of these for a while now and Jeff is convinced they do improve the quality of some wines. However, he did not want anything but the grapes themselves in the amphora. Therefore, we used the égrappoir to destem the bunches but then had to pick through every grape to remove any remaining pieces of stalk or stem. Painstaking, meticulous work.

In the afternoon it was time to bring in the Grenache of La Garrigue. I identified this as the best parcel of the vintage in my first blog of this year’s vendanges, the grapes were of very high quality. You might recall that apparently this was hard hit last year and it was as if nature was offering compensation. The quality brought a smile to Jeff’s face and raised the morale of the whole team. The grapes went through the égraineur (which separates each berry not just the whole bunch like the égrappoir), and the juice already tasted especially good, confirmed by the technical analyses.

***Grenache from La Garrigue, best of the bunch***

Monday 13^th brought the longest and hardest day of the vendanges for me personally. It started in typical fashion with the remaining Grenache being sent to a separate tank for using with other wine. However, we then moved to the Carignan of Rec D’Oulette, the parcel which produces Flambadou in good years. Unfortunately, this is not a good year, unless you’re a fan of Grenache and white wines. Jeff decided that the Carignan should be made in whole bunch, carbonic maceration style. Instead of destemming the bunches, everything goes into tank and is protected by CO² which also kicks off fermentation in the berries themselves.

That meant we set up sorting above the tank which would hold the grapes. On a hot, sultry day that meant working inside and above the rising heat from the grapes. Matteo and I spent the best part of six hours processing the Carignan, it was back breaking, sweaty work and tested this 62-year-old man but I made it through. Just.

From direct press to basket press, destemming single grapes to whole bunches, whites to reds and orange wine too, even grapes from an older vintage. This was a period of the vendanges which was all about variety.

***Sorting Carignan whole bunch, Flora stepped in for me for a few minutes***

September 12, 2021
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Vendanges Coutelou 21, the Plot Thickens

En francais

***Jeff with a big bunch of Aramon Gris***

Vendanges continued for the next couple of days, September 7^th and 8^th, but there was a literal dark cloud on the horizon in the form of a stormy forecast on the 9^th. The predicted rainfall would do even more damage to this benighted vintage. Two varieties are especially vulnerable to rain, Aramon Noir and Cinsault. These varieties have big juicy berries and thin skins so with rain they swell and become dilute and prone to disease. Therefore, the team picked it by that evening.

The new plantation of Sainte Suzanne was revisited too, some of the bunches having been used for the PetNat a few days earlier. Clairette and Macabeu grapes were finished off, as the vines are young we left one bunch on each vine to help the vines mature.

***Aramon Noir and Gris behind, Clairette leaf, Clairette Gris grapes***

Some lovely Grenache followed those white grapes to the cellar tanks, just next door in Sainte Suzanne itself. There is one more big parcel of Grenache to come from La Garrigue, it looks the best parcel of the year to my eyes. Then came the move to Segrairals to collect the Cinsault and Aramon. In recent years that vineyard has been transformed. Out went the Cabernet Sauvignon to be replaced by a myriad of varieties including the Aramon. Amongst the Noir was also Aramon Gris and some Aramon Rose, just to provide a little diversity and interest.

I have mentioned new plantations in Ste. Suzanne and Segrairals, there are others which will come on stream soon too. The Coutelou vineyards are being transformed year on year. This reflects Jeff’s philosophy and his passion for nature, different grapes and moving towards an era where varieties will have to respond to climate change which some of the imported grapes like Cabernet and Merlot might not do so well in the Languedoc. Aramon, of course, was widely planted in the region at the start of the 20thC, it was used to provide the light wine given to soldiers in World War 1. The Aramon picked here weighed in at a light 10% alcohol, the large berries providing much needed juice.

Another of the grapes from Segrairals was Mauzac, known more around Limoux and Gaillac, bright green in colour and very healthy. It looks an interesting addition to the Coutelou collection along with Grand Noir De La Calmette with its intense red juice from quite small berries. These small quantities will be blended together, Jeff will have a bigger colour palette with which to create his art. Blending is a skill, there have never been many single variety wines but it looks like there will be even fewer.

***Mauzac and Grand Noir De La Calmette***

The forecast storm and rainfall proved to be lighter than expected though there was enough water to delay picking for a day. Cellar work is pressing ahead with the team carrying out the remontages etc. Fermentations have kicked off well, the small slates on each tank revealing the lowering of density in the juice as it turns to alcohol.

More bad weather is unfortunately predicted for next week, yet another problem to add to this year of non-stop problems. The pressure is on to use the next few days to harvest provided the grapes are right. The plot thickens.

September 9, 2021
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Vendanges Coutelou 21 – First Act

En francais

***Jeff with a hefty bunch of Cinsault***

The rather gloomy nature of my last post might have made you think that we’re all doomed and no good wine will emerge from the Coutelou vats this year. Of course, that is not the case, there are still 50% of the grapes and Jeff can conjure up magical wines from just about any grape juice. So, let’s be positive and report on what is happening here with the 2021 vendanges.

Jeff has assembled a big team of assistants, as he told me it’s rather ironic that should be the case in this vintage. Firstly there’s Matteo, from Rome, who has been in Puimisson with Jeff since January. He helped to prune the vines this year, together with Englishman Matt who I sadly did not get to meet. Matteo, therefore, knows the vines and vineyards well and leads the team equallly well. Steeve is a friend who has visited Jeff many times and done harvest before with us. From the Jura region, Steeve has decided to change career and is spending the next few months with Jeff to learn more about his new vocation. Gilles, an ebullient and cheerful local man, has been working with Jeff for some time, happy amongst the vines after having his own vineyards for many years. Louis is from Narbonne, did harvest here last year and has returned. He is hard working, cheerful and speaks excellent English. Boris is another local who comes every year to help with vendanges, a lovely guy who works with nature conservation in his full time job.

***Steeve, Jeff, Matteo, Boris, Louis and Gilles***

We are also fortunate to have Jeff’s sister Catherine helping with picking and looking after us as well as her daughter Flora Rey. You will have seen photos from this talented artist on my blog before as shse has been recording the story of the vines and domaine through her photography and film. I urge you to have a look at this film which Flora put together showing the harvesting of Sainte Suzanne Syrah with music composed by Catherine. Consider subscribing to the Youtube site Vins et Spiritueux Coutelou for more great videos about events in Puimisson.

As I mentioned previously the first stage of the vendanges was to focus on Syrah, most affected by frost. Sainte Suzanne, the young vines of Segrairals and my beloved Syrah from La Garrigue were picked on August 30^th and 31^st. One third of the normal yield and quite concentrated, Jeff will have to consider how to use it in blending.

***The glass on the far side contains Syrah from Ste. Suzanne, very good it was too.***

I joined the team on September 1^st appropriately in Rome vineyard, my favourite. We collected the Cinsault, Grenaches of three colours and some Muscat before heading to the last few bunches of the La Garrigue Syrah and then on to the complanation of 20+ grape varieties, known now as Flower Power, more correctly as Font D’Oulette. That the few of us picked those three vineyards in one morning is not good news. In the afternoon the Moroccan team went to Segrairals and collected some of the Cinsault grapes of the younger vines. These were full and generous and will add much needed bulk to the grapes from the morning. The Cinsault filled the tank though much of that is pulp and the quantity will fall as the juice emerges.

***Rome vineyard with Grenache Blanc*** ***amongst many others***

***Me in La Garrigue attacking the Syrah***

On September 2^nd Jeff wanted some fresh white grapes to make into the PetNat (sparkling), Bobonade. Muscat, Macabeu and Grenache Gris from Peilhan were in good condition and then we moved to the new plantation at the bottom of Sainte Suzanne. These were newly planted when I saw them last but they have grown quickly. The young vines managed to twist themselves round the wires of the trellising so it wasn’t the easiest to pick but the Clairette and Macabeu were fresh and acidic, just what is needed for sparkling wine. They were sent direct to press.

***(Left)Macabeu, (centre) Macabeu, Muscat and Grenache Gris, (right) Steeve putting the grapes into press***

And that brought the first act to a close. Pressing followed the next couple of days but picking resumed on Tuesday September 7^th. So, until shortly after then, there will be an intermission.

September 6, 2021
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Vendanges Coutelou 21 – setting the scene

En francais

*Picture from The Express Tribune, Lahore*

Most readers will already know that this has been a difficult year for winemakers across France and Germany amongst others. Here in France a series of frosts in April damaged vines in regions from the Jura to Provence. When I spoke to Jeff Coutelou on April 11th he was reassured that Puimisson had avoided such calamity, but then disaster struck. On April 12th the frost, unforeseen by forecasters, struck many parcels with temperatures sinking to -7˚C. The Languedoc is no stranger to frosts even if not as vulnerable as other regions but this was sharp and the timing was disastrous. Vines had begun budding and flowering in the previous couple of weeks and the young growth was dried to a crisp by the cold. Jeff predicted that yields might be down as much as 70%.

*Photo of a frost hit vine in 2015 from my blog*

The vines fought back a little through Spring and Summer, secondary bunches forming but they cannot replace the original growth properly, being smaller and of lesser quality. However, the frost was also part of an ongoing problem with lack of water. Jeff told me that there had been little rain since the end of vendanges 2020, with just one sustained period of rainfall this year. Vines, weakened by drought and frost, become susceptible to other problems too. Every summer downy mildew and oidium (powdery mildew) are present and they found easy targets in 2021.

*Oidium on a leaf this year, and on the right a bunch with grey oidium from 2016*

Ironically, after my first tour of the vineyards this year, it was the Grenache of La Garrigue which stood out as being the best with healthy foliage and beautiful, good sized bunches of grapes. Ironically because last year that was the parcel worst hit by mildew, nature was giving back a little this year in compensation. La Garrigue is also the home of the Syrah which makes my favourite wine, La Vigne Haute. Unfortunately those vines had been damaged this year and were looking sorry for themselves. Syrah does seem to have been particularly badly affected. The first days of this year’s harvest concentrated on Syrah from Sainte Suzanne, Segrairals and, then, La Garrigue. Yields were one third of last year.

In the last 5-6 years Jeff has replanted many vineyards, some of which had been fallow for some years. The fruit of these young vines can be used this year to help produce wines such as the PetNat, Bibonade, that will boost production a little. The estimate is now that there will be just under 50% of a normal year. So, the scene is set. I wish I had a prettier picture to paint, it is the least promising of the seven vintages I have witnessed here. Let us hope for a twist in the tale.

September 3, 2021
by amarch34 Leave a comment

It means the world to be back

En francais

Getting out of bed on Thursday morning, back aching in various places, the tips of my fingers stained black and blue and a matching bruise on the palm of my right hand. How did I feel? Just great thank you. These were the signs that I was back after two years, back in the Languedoc, back in Puimisson, back in the vines and back with my dear friend Jeff Coutelou.

For six vintages I had reported on how the year on a wine domaine wound its way through peaks and troughs. Six vendanges, hesitant the first time in 2014 then with growing understanding of what was happening, why it was happening and what I could do, in a small way, to help produce the excellent Coutelou wines.

During that time I had progressed from basically standing guard over a basket press (when in reality nothing much could go wrong) and doing rudimentary sorting as the grapes arrived to becoming a much more confident ‘cellar rat’ knowing how to carry out remontage, pigeage, operate the pumps and to stand at the sorting table knowing exactly what I was looking for as the bunches arrived, from disease to ver de la grappe, the feel and the smell of the grapes able to tell me that those grapes did not belong in the tanks of quality wines we were making.

I came to love the various vineyards and to get to know their quirks, strengths and weaknesses. But especially Rome, sheltered from the world by surrounding trees, teeming with wildlife, complex in its geology and filled with its gnarly, gobelet old vines, standing free. My oasis. I came to love the philosophy behind Jeff’s winemaking; biodiversity, supporting nature not exploiting it, grapes, work and love. I already loved the wines but being part of their story made them even more special. And, above all, I came to love the people I met through the years, the revolving cast of characters who spent time with us.

Whether based in France pretty much full time for three years or spending half a year there I felt at home, but I took my happiness and good fortune for granted. If the COVID-19 pandemic did one positive thing for me, in preventing me from being in France and the 2020 vintage, it was to make me realise how much I missed being part of the wine, how much I did love the place, vines and people.

It is a pure joy to be back, the aches, bruises and stains are very welcome.

July 16, 2021
by amarch34 2 Comments

Updates from Puimisson

All photos by Flora Rey unless indicated

A continuing absence from Jeff, Puimisson and France. This blog was started in 2014 in order to share my experiences as a novice about winemaking spending time with my friend Jeff Coutelou, an expert. The pandemic has made that next to impossible. I am grateful that Jeff and his niece, Flora Rey, keep me updated with messages and photos. Fortunately, they are happy for me to pass them on and I continue to hope that I shall be able to join them soon, fingers crossed.

The vines are ten days or so behind the usual dates for véraison (when red grapes begin to colour) and this will mean later vendanges of course, usually 40 days after véraison. You will recall that April brought devastating losses to this year’s production with up to 70% being damaged by the frosts of April 12^th. The grapes which there are look to be in good health though Jeff was worried this week about a weather forecast which could raise the risk of oidium (powdery mildew) due to a northerly wind. This meant he has been out in the vines in a week which was supposed to be a rest time spraying with organic treatments (and made more complicated and time consuming by a puncture).

Meanwhile the plants which are allowed to grow between vines, such as grass and flowers, have been cut down as they start to offer competition for water in the hot summer and will also compost the soils. It has been a very dry year, just a couple of storms worth of real rainfall since last year’s vendanges, so water levels are very low. There was some useful rain a couple of weeks ago to everyone’s relief.

Meanwhile the new plantations need care, they will have been watered as they will produce no crop this year. At the Ste. Suzanne plantation of 2020 young vines need tying up (palissage) a labour intensive job. These are Clairette vines producing their first grapes, not that they will go into the wines.

**Matteo tying up young vines (palissage)**

The week beginning July 7^th was an intense period of bottling most of the 2020 wines, I recall long days of hard work in the past. There’s an intriguing new name for one cuvée and a topical inscription on the corks. The wines are apparently very good and I can’t wait to try them. The third cellar at Jeff’s is his stock cellar, always a good place to visit as you can see here.

Meanwhile there was a new delivery last week, a concrete egg. Many wineries now use them to age wines as the shape of the egg is believed to make for better fermentations and ageing, adding more energy and vitality. We shall see. When I asked Jeff what would be going into it he told me that I would see when I got there for vendanges and I hope that will indeed be the case.