Our properties: the impressions of Jacques De Schepper
Already during the flowering of the vineyard the vintage 2003 was marked by an significant physiological fact: an important "coulure" caused a loss of 20 to 50% in our earliest vineyards, especially in Château Tayet and in Château Haut Breton Larigaudière. A heat wave began on June 15th and lasted until the end of Augustus; it was only interrupted twice by a violent thunderstorm: the first one on June 23rd over the regions of Entre-deux-mers and Libourne, the second one on July 15th, rather over the Médoc region. In each case the hail caused a loss of volume of approximately 10%.
The flowering of the vine
During the last weekend of August there was some rain at last followed by nice and dry weather: perfect conditions for the harvest that began on September 10th on all our estates (two weeks earlier than last year); we finished harvesting on September 22nd in Saint-Emilion and on September 26th in Margaux.
Quality of the harvest:
The vines planted on heavy soils (such as our clay-chalk soils in Saint-Emilion, our vineyards on the ancient marshes of Macau and those on the clayey subsoil in Margaux) suffered less from the heat and the drought this year than those on very draining soils, because those heavy soils retained a maximum of humidity. On the whole we suffered a loss of volume of 5 to 10% due to the intensity of the sun. Thanks to the efforts of all our collaborators we harvested grapes of superb quality.
A team of young Belgian grape pickers
Maturity of the grapes:
There is a difference between two types of maturity: the technological (based on the potential alcohol level and on the acidity or the pH) and the phenolic maturity (mainly the maturity of the colour and the tannins). This year the problem was not to get a high alcohol level, but to maintain a certain freshness and in the same time enough maturity to have a nice colour and ripe tannins.
We think to have made the right choices in order to make great wines and are very optimistic as for the final result…
The vintage 2003 in Château Garraud, AC Lalande-de-Pomerol:
Château Garraud and the cellars
After a cold and dry winter the beginning of the season was sunny and warm with an early sprouting as result. Only in April we had the first big showers, and May was characterized by important variations in temperature and rainfall on and off. Then June, July and August arrived with much higher temperatures than usual and nearly no rain.
Start of the harvest: September 8th 2003, never before in the last three decades the picking started so early. The volume is about 40% lower than usual duet o the drought, but also due to the " coulure " on the merlot, caused by the strong growth of the vines in spring, to the detriment of the flowering.
The wines are very powerful with very present but supple tannins, an intense colour and a velvety, silky character which seems typical for this vintage of Château Garraud.
