Vintage 2021: Retrospective and perspectives in the Châteaux and Estates Gérard Bertrand
Richard Planas, director of Châteaux et Domaines Gérard Bertrand, takes a detailed look at the 2021 vintage. Climatic conditions, soil preparation and biodynamic inputs, a look back at the year 2021 from the vineyard side.
The essentials
- A dry year with marked and very nuanced thermal amplitudes locally.
- A vintage where the “winegrower” work bears fruit to approach the harvest with well-balanced and healthy vines.
- Balanced charge, freshness in the wines, beautiful acidity : the ingredients of a vintage that will last for decades.
- A vintage with a typically Mediterranean profile, with localized climatic and water nuances - particularly in spring and early summer - which will certainly highlight the typicalities of each of our terroirs: from the Pyrenean borders ( Domaine de l'Aigle , Château la Soujeole , Domaine de l'Estagnère ), to the coastal areas ( Châteaux L'Hospitalet , Château des Karantes , Domaine de Tarailhan) via the foothills of Larzac ( Château La Sauvageonne , le Clos du Temple , Château des Deux Rocs), the Montagne Noire (le Clos d'Ora and Château Laville Bertrou) and the Corbières ( Château de Villemajou and Cigalus).
The harvest began on August 26, 2021, with the Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Cigalus , on a beautiful sunny day without excessive heat.
In all the Châteaux and Domaines Gérard Bertrand , the health of the vineyard is excellent with a very good balance between grapes and leaf surface: ideal conditions for allowing ripening to progress until the end of the harvest.
The acidities are high, which promises fully aromatic and balanced whites and reds with superior aging potential.
2021 wine campaign progress
From a general point of view on our 16 Châteaux and Estates, with low rainfall (-30 to -50% compared to 2020), 2021 is one of the driest years. Everywhere, it rained mainly in autumn and early winter; in spring, the approach is nuanced depending on the territories: rainfall was heavier inland than on the coast and the Corbières before a general and marked "summer trough".
A mild and relatively dry winter led to early budburst of the vines. We had worked the green manures by seeding every other row in the fall.
In the spring , we will remember the night of April 7-8, 2021, when a cold air mass from northern Europe hit Languedoc just as the vines had started their growing cycle. We protected the most exposed plots at the bottom of the hillsides by lighting nighttime braziers, thus mitigating the effect of this spring frost on the upcoming harvest.
When they were hit by this episode, our vines were in very good health . They got through it valiantly, supported by biodynamic care. We were able to see a few weeks later that we had managed to preserve the harvest potential in line with our quality requirements across all our Châteaux & Domaines by limiting losses to 20% of the harvest.
In the weeks that followed, flowering took place without excessive heat. It took its time. The spring rains, few in number overall, fell at the right time , to take over from the autumn and early winter rains, and to guarantee good mineral nutrition , essential for growth and the construction of the leaf surface (photosynthetic engine of maturation).
We prepared the soils by regular work according to the principle "one hoeing is worth two waterings": a technique that promotes the proper functioning of the soils by limiting competition between vines and natural grass and stimulates nutrition by adding organic matter to the soil. This also promotes the mineralization of the soils and the assimilation of minerals naturally present to allow harmonious development of the vine.
We have combined this active presence with the applications of biodynamic foliar preparations (horn manure and silica, herbal teas and essential oils) and the reasoned contribution of organic manure to enable vegetative development consistent with the load.
The summer was mild, with alternating periods of seasonal sunshine and cooler periods. But, without rain , water management was a key issue for the management of the vineyard. We therefore anticipated the destruction of plant cover to limit competition.
The wine yield is established over 2 years, the previous vintage having been generous in water, the floral initiation took place in optimal conditions. We thus note very early a fairly generous release of bunches. The precise monitoring work of our pruners has favored the good number of buds on each strain in line with our ultra-premium objectives of our wines.
We approach the harvest with a well-calibrated “load and leaf surface” balance and functional foliage to ensure the grapes ripen in the best conditions.
The end of the season is looming with the famous "Indian summer" ensuring the grapes are in exceptional health so that they can soak up the sun before being put into vats.
This year in particular, applications of biodynamic preparations have played a particularly important role in supporting the harmonious development of vegetation and stimulating natural defenses against climatic (water stress) or parasitic aggressions.
They followed one another to the rhythm of the seasons and planetary alignments: Maria Thun dung compost in the fall, Horn dung in the spring and Horn silica during the vine's plant growth phases...
Biodynamic applications (based on herbal teas and fermented plant extracts) have played a stimulating role in the vitality of the foliage . This year, depending on the estate, yarrow, nettle and oak bark have allowed our vines to adapt to high temperatures, dry periods or maritime humidity.
The health of the vineyard is excellent , at the cost, as every year, of daily vigilance and attention to accompany each vine until the harvest by surveying each plot.
The harvest has only just begun and we are putting all our energy into this final stretch to bring the grapes to their optimum maturity and reveal all the aromas of an exceptional vintage.
Follow our harvests, estate by estate:
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