Launch of the 2016 harvest

The 2016 harvest promises to be very different according to the appellations.

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Vendanges 2016

As for Fronton, the vintage was watered until the end of July and recent heat has allowed it to mature and reach its normal peak in early September.

In Gaillac, the harvest will be later than last year. This is due to a rainy, cold spring and a fairly cool early summer, thus delaying ripening and, therefore, maturity. From a quantitative point of view, the harvest looks very good. Their health is, for the moment, very good, despite a strong late blight and early summer rains. Qualitatively we can expect a very good vintage because the soils are not lacking in water and that day/night temperature variation is optimal for the accumulation of qualitative compounds in the grapes.

In Cahors, the 2016 vintage is marked by exceptional weather conditions with several episodes of hail from April on the plateaux, frost in the valleys and a difficult flowering, where rains and low temperatures have led to run-off. The low rainfall recorded since June (about 10 mm) continues to stress the vineyard and cause a marked delay in maturity. The harvest will probably not begin before the end of September for the early sectors.  The high phytosanitary pressure in the spring was very well controlled by the winemakers. The yields of this vintage will be relatively low, our estimates announce a loss of 40% of volume from the vineyard of Lot.