BILLAUD-SIMON: HARVESTING OF THE 2004 VINTAGE

Dear fellow lovers of fine wines,
At last a harvesting time in line with the usual Chablis schedule …
On the 4^th day of October 2004,
The start of harvesting was announced at Domaine BILLAUD-SIMON: the harvesting of a grand Chablis classic, this 2004 vintage will be:

Bright, Lively, Fresh, Candid, as Pure as Gold

Nature has been kind: No Spring frost.

As is usual on the Estate, the vines were disbudded between April and May leaving only 17 fruit buds, which were chosen with care and method to prevent any overcrowding of foliage and especially of fruit.

Then, throughout the whole Summer, we trained the vines on trellises and cut away the shoots which in our trade are called
“entre coeurs” or “rebaltures”. This cultivation method is of capital importance on several counts:

Pre-flowering, start-of-cycle vegetation growth, trellis training through Summer up until harvest time

The grapes in Spring, Before flowering… The foliage in Spring Disbudding Summer trellis training and trimming

- Natural elimination by the vines of the malic acid in the fruit.

- General aeration of the vines, considerably quicker moistening time, natural prevention of disease and pockets of rot.

- Enhanced (mother) leaves, a prerequisite for proper photosynthesis

- Chlorophyll plus light =

Excellent grape ripeness laden with glucose

- A Summer of abundance on our soil: fruit and flower.

Gaining control over yield was compulsory for those laying claim to quality. Our vines that had been well disbudded in the Spring and healthily managed throughout the Summer were eligible to aspire to making this claim.
Harvesting in July’s green is for us the acknowledgement of failure.
At this advanced stage in the cultivating season the vine has given everything it can; it is weakened through an excess of fruit.
This weakness opens the door wide to phytosanitary disease. For the future harvest, the vines will need substantial fertilizer support.

Disbudding: Methodical control over fruit and foliage.
A healthy environment for the grapes, the very best structure for fruit quality and ripeness.
The risk of spread of disease is largely reduced.
Easy, pleasant harvesting for all concerned.

      -     Slight setback: unlike 2003, August gave a hazy sunshine, a filtered light that lacked warmth, typical of Chablis.
      A hovering danger: the harvest was increasingly threatened by powdery and downy mildew.
      An unceasing fight against this vine pest had to be maintained up until 18 August, which is exceptional.
-     Satisfying reward of effort: a splendid month of September, luminous, tranquil, gentle heat, recalling what our forefathers
      were wont to say:

“August stokes the vines with alcohol,
September builds their finesse, their elegance
and imprints the hallmark of the land”

Well-deserved grape harvest: The grapes are magnificent, perfectly healthy. The seeds can be seen through their fine, translucent, golden skin. They are truly visible, their brown colouring indicative of their ripeness. The distinctive tinge on each grape, the so-called
oeil de perdrix, is undeniable proof of the rich sugar content and full maturity of the fruit. We are witnessing a splendid harvest…
The wine can be none other than good.

The distinctive “partridge eye” tinge on our Chardonnay

Abundance: But not in excess, the Spring disbudding has regulated the yield. To bring our work to perfection, strict care must be given
to picking and pressing. Any grapes showing traces of mildew or black rot must all be discarded.

A watchful eye and prompt action, nothing evades attention for ever better quality.

Scant rainfalls sometimes beset the harvest . On several occasions it was decided to interrupt picking and to wait wisely for better skies.
It was with joy and satisfaction that this harvest was brought in. It had been fashioned throughout the entire season by persons with a passion for their work, carrying out their profession of winegrower with simplicity but with unsparing love.

“And could it be otherwise for those aspiring to make good wine”?

Every best effort was put into human and technical means to honour the work done by these men and women of the vine, who at times had laboured hard whatever the weather.

When the grapes are perfect, harvesting is truly pleasurable

A team of 30 pickers and hopper carriers, happy and proud to harvest high quality grapes which are taken to a stainless steel gondola having a double base to drain off the free run juices.
(These juices are discarded on reaching the winery – they are not used for vinification)

Loading of the presses and quality checking of the grapes by the Estate’s permanent staff

The presses are loaded using a conveyor belt on which the harvested grapes can be sorted. Any grapes showing a defect are rejected.
The grapes are pressed by the inflation of a membrane that is programmed on a computer panel. This membrane compresses the grapes to extract their juice towards the wall of the cylinder but does not crush or pound them like the mechanical presses of former times.
The pressing time is modulated to take into account harvesting characteristics. The memorized programmes are stored in the general record of the vintage.

Set of Bucher pneumatic presses Pumps fill the tanks for cold decanting of the juices

The juices start to flow when the filling doors reach their lowered position, and are collected in a vat from which they are immediately conveyed by pumps towards isothermal tanks for cold decanting, shielded from oxygen. This highly technical method requires sophisticated equipment and extensive cooling energy.
The juices are housed in their respective tanks and labelled.
First traceability for subsequent bottle tracking.
They are held here until the harvesting has been completed awaiting the cellar master's decision to start 15 to 18 days of alcoholic fermentation followed by several weeks of malolactic fermentation.

The juices are cold stored and labelled in their respective tanks

Initial ALCOHOLIC fermentation over 15 to 18 days

Vinification is also controlled with professional care, passion and know-how.

Using suitable equipment and under conditions of total hygiene with no precipitation, the wines are raised on their fine lees over a time
of up to 18 months for the Grands Crus and Cuvées Prestiges, 10 to 12 months for the Premiers Crus and 6 to 8 months for Chablis and Petit Chablis.

Bottling of the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus does not use cold tartaric precipitation.

The 2004 vintage will not be high in alcohol, the average density of the harvested juices is 12. Acidity is truly present which should give a balanced wine.
It should have a delicate, luminous finesse reflecting the month of September to which we have much to owe.
We will be able to say more in March April 2005.