Vintage conditions

The autumn and winter of 2019-2020 were very wet. Total rainfall reached 519 mm in March, more than half the annual average. It was accompanied by mild temperatures, leading to bud break more than two weeks earlier than usual. This advance persisted, even with significantly cooler weather at the end of the month and a frosty day on 27th March.
The rest of the season remained fairly mild and rainy, requiring increased vigilance against mildew.
Flowering, although early, took place in unsettled weather, causing coulure. The impact was very irregular, varying according to the terroir, how early the plot developed, and the age of the vines.
Fine weather returned in July, with conditions becoming very dry, and above all very hot. The water reserves enabled the vines to withstand the successive heat waves, and a little rain in mid-August brought the ripening of the grapes back on track.
The ripening process drew to a close about ten days ahead of schedule under very favourable weather conditions: hot days and cool nights, which preserved the range of aromas.

The harvest began on 27^th August with the Semillon grapes from Boutoc and the Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the plateau. The next day, we harvested the second batch of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. We waited for the perfect maturity of a last plot of Semillon to end the harvest on 2^nd September.
In total, it took only 7 days to harvest the grapes for our dry white wines; the 2020 harvest was the fastest and earliest in the last 15 years.