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During some very early morning jogging at dawn in a quite intensive fog, with a visibility of 30 to 50 meters maximally, I discovered Igor Leclere, who was already working in the vineyard. At first almost invisible in the thick, gray soup of the fog, I saw him working with the tractor using a mulcher, which is mowing and shredding between the rows of vines. He was mowing one row out of three to prepare the ground for the spring season. As a rule, we always keep one out of three rows with lawn to allow for passage with the tractor when it rains, and the ground gets muddy.
The next day, making use of the good weather conditions, which is unusually warm this year, the other rows of the same vineyard were worked with an Actisol® device that contains a plough and a harrow. This highly ingenious device contains a straight tine that ensures complete work in compliance with the rules of a sustained and organic agriculture. It performs in one step the mechanical weeding, work under the row, cracking, and preparation of the seedbed. The gentle use of this tool allows to energize the soil by promoting the penetration of rainwater, stimulating the rooting, while keeping organic matter on the surface.
Now that the pruning is finished (see last blog), the branches need to be folded and attached to the wire. For this purpose, Igor Leclere uses a quite efficient, hand hold tying machine using a biodegradable tie. This step will guide the growth of this year’s grapes along the wire in an optimal height.
The unusually high temperatures at around 18-20 °C at the beginning of March have caused the first flowering in our garden. The ornamental quinces (Chaenomeles) made the start this year. As a sign of the upcoming spring season, the flowers add a nice color to the garden, but also give the first nutrition for the humblebees which have started flying.
Finally, we received very positive news a few days ago. Antonio Galloni published the results of his bottle tasting of the 2020 vintage. He writes: “The 2020 Le Pin Beausoleil is just magnificent, just as it was en primeur. Silky, aromatic and nuanced, Le Pin Beausoleil is all class. Crushed flowers, mint, red cherry, red plum, mocha and expresso all open in the glass. Le Pin Beausoleil remains one of the most overlooked wines in all of Bordeaux.” Unfortunately, our 2020 vintage was just sold out. We wish we would have more on stock…
