The Older the Better?

I've long been an advocate of drinking Grenache relatively young and fresh...it seems to have such energy and vibrancy in the flushes of youth, and certainly doesn't have a powerful tannin structure suitable for ageing.
However, a regular visitor to the winery brought us a real treat last week: Schistes 2002 and Schistes 2004! Since we have virtually no library stock of our wines, we were thrilled to taste these, and in the wonderful setting of the the restaurant La Côte Vermeille in Port-Vendres.
2004 was still fresh and packed with fruit, and really impressive tannins that indicate further capability to age. The 2002 was more gentle with obviously developed fruit flavours, and delicious truffle and mineral notes. Both wines proved that there is immense pleasure to be had from sticking these bottles away for a few years...if only we (and our customers) had a little more patience.
So thank you David - it was a pleasure to taste these with you!

Stormy Weather

Torrential rain and very high winds wreaked havoc in our vineyards last week. With the shoots still young and fragile, many vines were ripped apart. It was particularly bad for the Syrah, which is less robust than other varieties. Normally we attach the shoots to the trellising round about now to help the plant survive and bad weather, but the storms came too soon.
It looks like we won't have any Syrah to make our cuvée Abysses this year, which is a huge blow. The vines will compensate by producing new shoots and bunches, but it is very unlikely they will ripen sufficiently to make decent wine.
On a positive note, Folio White 2009 is now bottled and is already tasting sumptuous - a decadent and weighty vintage for early drinking, with musky, spicy notes and juicy fruits. Quadratur 2008 is also in bottle, but needs a couple of months to settle down into what will be a very serious and structured wine.