Bordeaux 2009: Further reports from the frontline

*The growing season was exactly what every winemaker would like to have every vintage, sunny, hot (but not too hot and dry ( with just a bit of rain at the beginning of August).

We started to pick our young merlots (situated on the foot of the slope) on Tuesday; we have just received our first analysis from the lab that shows very high degrees (between 14 and 15°) which is similar to 2005. The color index is also high, but what is interesting is that the level of acidity is also very good (not too low). These conditions show that this vintage looks really great.

We will finish picking the merlot (situated at the foot of the slope) tomorrow then we will start the merlot on the slope (limestone and clay) next week. The weather forecast is good until next Wednesday at least.

The quality of the grapes is very sound. The first juices taste very good (very fruity and intense), the color will come very quickly. The extraction will be sweet but long (time in tanks will be longer than usual).

We don’t expect to pick our cabernet franc and sauvignon before the 5th of October." Jean-Antoine Nony, Chateau Grande Mayne, St Emilion.

And from Jean-Jacques Bonnie at Malartic-Lagraviere in Pessac-Leognan:"To start with, we had a rainy winter which enabled the water reserve to fill at the perfect moment for it. Then the spring was nice and dry when it was needed, to start the vegetative cycle of the plant in good conditions and more importantly to be fine when flowering. This made this flowering quick and therefore homogeneous. This homogeneity then lasted until now, the harvest period. The summer has been dry and the sun shining with no temperature excess and the cool nights that are good for balance. We had 40 mm of rain between the 16th and the 20th of September; just what the plant needed to keep accumulating aromas and tannins and taking them to ripeness. Since the 20th the weather has been sunny and will stay that way until at least 1st of October (as far as the weather forecast goes!).

For the whites, the aromas are very dense and pure and the acidities are present enough for the balance of the wines. For the reds, the grapes we taste are showing an amazing potential with a lot of taste. The little water we had for the plant to keep working and the very nice weather since then and for the next few days give us a very wide smile on our faces!! The wines will show density, ripeness and silky tannins: very pure and dense fruit with a brilliant balance.!