TRENEL : 2023, wines of balance and pleasure
TRENEL : 2023, wines of balance and pleasure
In the vineyard
16 January 2024
After a mild start to the year, temperatures climbed well above normal from the end of March, triggering the resumption of the vegetative cycle.
In April, temperatures yo-yoed, limiting the risk of excessively early bud-burst. Chardonnay reached mid-budding on 2 April and Gamay on 12 April.
The end of April was mild, May more up-and-down. The very first flowers appeared over the Pentecost weekend and flowering spread rapidly to all parts of the vineyard, with mid-flowering reached on june 5 for Chardonnay and on the 13th for Gamay.
July was hot and wet. Monthly rainfall was above normal for the Beaujolais region, at 78mm. There were also some stormy spells.
The first ten days of August were very cold (2.6°C lower than the usual average), but then gave way to a scorching second fortnight (4.3°C above the usual average). The end of the summer was also marked by drought. At the end of August, the water deficit recorded since the start of the year was 60mm, the equivalent of a month’s rainfall.
The regular, albeit scant, rainfall was conducive to the development of fungal diseases, and some vineyards were badly affected by mildew. The situation remained under control, and the hot weather at the end of August meant that conditions stayed healthy for the end of ripening. Some plots suffered from the heat and drought, which caused ripening to stall in places.
The harvest period for the Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages appellations begins on September 1st. We started picking Fleurie La Madone on 5 September and Fleurie La Levrattière on 8 September. The Quality of the harvest bodes well for a delicious, well-balanced vintage for 2023.
Crème de Cassis
Having escaped the increasingly frequent spring frosts, the blackcurrant bushes went through a patchy flowering period, but above all suffered severe hail in June. This suggested that the harvest would be small, but in the end we picked far more than expected. From a quality point of view, the ripening conditions, although warm, were conducive to good levels of ripeness. Aromatic intensity was more than adequate when harvesting took place on 10 July.
