With  Spring disbudding, the grapes are equally distributed over the branches of the vine.

        Thereafter, we patiently awaited the organoleptic maturity of the fruit, passing daily through all the vines to taste the grapes 
           in the early morning freshness.
        Discovering day after day the translucency of the grapes and the brilliant light in the flesh of the fruit.
          Guessing, and finally counting the seeds with the naked eye. 
          Today, in the palm of my hand they indeed have a brown hue, the grape is ripe.

This quality of the grape, healthy and physiologically ripe, meets our full appreciation.

         This quest for the maturity of the grape becomes obsessive for those who seek ever better quality.
         For he or she who has understood that a wine is born on and after the instant the grapes come under 
            the presses.
         Last minute harvesters have in common an immense love of their work and utmost respect for those who will taste their wine.

Line of 3 BUCHNER pneumatic presses, loading the harvest.

         This voluntary waiting on razor edge, between neither too ripe nor insufficiently ripe, is possible for winegrowers helped by modern 
            high-performing equipment to gain control over time. It is here that the year’s wine, the Millesime, is written. 

         The Millesime: is to choose the winegrower, the person who is able to carry through what is expected of him, paying heed 
            to his art and to you consumers.  

           The pneumatic presses are clean, they receive the grapes straight away, no instant being lost, they delicately 
            compress the grapes, without pounding them, with no mechanical  brutality.

Arrival of the harvest at the Estate. Preparing the filling of the press.

Evacuating the juices, protected from oxygen in the double-base of the gondola.

         The juices are yellow, golden green, filling the air with the characteristic pleasant smell of the freshness of the ripe Chardonnay
            grape in Chablis. They exude unparalleled sensuousness.

         They will then be stored in an insulated vat and decanted at low temperature, protected away from oxygen and all other oxidations.

         Each juice or climat i.e. from a given vineyard site, is housed in its own vinifying vat at a temperature of below 5°.

Low temperature decanting,  placing the decanted juices in vinifying vats. 
At the end of harvesting, the juices are left to ferment.

When harvesting is over, the equipment is cleaned and placed in store.

         All the juices collected will be tasted and analysed, climat by climat, appellation by appellation.
         Under no pressure, unhurriedly and in an impeccably clean environment, we can then set in motion the alcoholic fermentation 
            of the entire harvest so that the grape juices may turn to wine.   
         The speed of harvesting increased its pace, settling at a sound cruising speed.  
         It was a splendid harvest, in a magnificent light, all those partaking being prompted by joy and eagerness.

            I can now calmly take the time to look back on the highlights of this campaign.

         As over numerous years now, after pruning from November to March, our vineyard is disbudded in Spring to gain best control 
           over yield and to organize each plant, distributing fruit over 17 buds.

Chablis appellation vine.

The grass sown in the centre of the trellises  is a natural regulator of vegetation.

         Spring brought no significant frost, giving us hope for a full harvest, even though lack of water was becoming an increasing threat. 
           As for all cultures, rain is a source of life and abundance for the vine.

         June, start of the Summer, the vines were a sight to behold, their flowers filling the atmosphere with a heady balm.

         On 7 June, a sudden change in the weather, with wind and cold, disrupted the flowering and blew away our hopes for a full harvest.

         Under these conditions, the grapes will show partial millerandage (uneven berry development, formation of seedless berries 
            concentrated in juice but which will remain small).

         On and after this moment, one certainty: the 2005 harvest will be a quality harvest on account of this millerandage but yields 
            will be limited, even lower than the quantum allowed by the appellation.

         The Summer was globally warm with lots of sunshine. Very heavy hail storms devastated entire vineyard sectors 
            on the borders of Chablis. 

         The Grands Crus bear numerous subsequent scars, a reminder to Chablis winegrowers that they were extremely lucky during 
            the Summer of 2005. 
         End August and early September, after a few days’ holiday much appreciated by all, the coming harvest we so much looked forward 
            to focused all our attention.
         The vineyards in the heart of Chablis and its winegrowers were confident. The risk of violent storms was over, the days were filled 
            with light and a soft, beneficial warmth. The vines and the grapes were in perfect health.   

A grand ‘ 5’’ Millesime seemed within reach.

Even though …

         In the night of 15 to 16 September, the weather became overcast. At dawn the sky had a polished, leaded appearance, a solid 
           whitish grey with no relief.

        Only a fine drizzle, much loved and revered by gardeners in the Spring, fell relentlessly on the car windscreen as we made our way 
           to Condrieu. We came out of it just before Beaune.

           But in Chablis, it remained steadfast for more 48 hours.

         In the week following after this rain, beneficial for some, drastic for others, it was the sun which gained the upper hand and never 
            left us almost up until harvesting time.

        Without the slightest whiff of wind, the start of this week took on a tropical air, a warm clamminess shrouded the vine.

         In ill-managed vines, suffering from humidity and lacking air, fruit rot started to set in causing serious havoc on a harvest in jeopardy, 
           a harvest that had started rotting and was still not ripe.

         In the vineyards many a winegrower started to panic, emergency exemption from the laid-down harvesting schedule was on many 
           tongues.

        This exemption was published on Saturday 17 September, once again to save these winegrowers from their negligence, 
           who immediately set about picking and pressing unripe grapes.

        Alarm even spread to the alcohol content which soared on account of grape rot. Its concentration reached 13,14° and even higher 
          depending upon the sanitary conditions of the harvest.

In this sad story,

there is a moral to the vine, and thankfully so.

        Not only is it compelled to undergo the whims of nature, but in addition it has to tolerate the mediocrity of those fail to take good care 
           thereof.  It then reaps vengeance.

On the Estate, its harvest, its Millesime.
            

           Manual harvesting with a first team of 18 pickers and 2 hopper carriers began on Friday 23 September on a beautiful sunlit day, 
           fresh in the morning with 7° then 25° throughout the day.

         Each harvesting campaign starts with the vine having the earliest ripening stock.

         On Monday 26th, the team was reinforced and brought to 36 pickers and 4 hopper carriers.

         The temperatures  during the whole week, with a few morning mists, were in the region of 7 to 12° in the morning and between
            28 and 30° in the afternoon. Manual harvesting ended on 29 September under cloudy skies with a small shower at the end of the
            afternoon.

         The perfect health of all our vineyard contributed towards making the daily choice of vineyard site to be harvested, the site showing
            the best quality of grape ripeness.

         The decision to bring the team to 40 harvesters made it possible to pick this magnificent harvest to within the best hour, and to bring
            in healthy fruit with the physiological and aromatic maturity we had wished for.  

         After decanting, the potential alcohol content proved to be extremely well balanced not requiring any chaptalization.

         The fruit and mineral are well underpinned by the Tartaric and Malic content, just as we like it.

         All these separate factors leading us to believe that we will have a very splendid Millesime, but let us wait until April  2006 to
           confirm this with you, glass in hand.  

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