Chronicle n° 134: the upcoming 2012 vintage and conventional, organic and biodynamic approaches (part 1). Calon Ségur sold

The upcoming 2012 vintage and conventional, organic and biodynamic approaches. Calon Ségur sold Ducru Beaucaillou vertical Chronicle n°134 –September 17th, 2012 Whether farmed to conventional, biodynamic or organic principles, how did Bordeaux wine estates dealt with the endemic cryptogamic pressure of the spring and summer? Bordeaux winemakers were at last allowed a small break in their hectic schedule late August early September after long weeks spent wrestling with Mother Nature’s excess, only mildly eased off by one of the driest months of August in the past 20 years. How did they bear up through the summer and what is situation for the upcoming 2012 vintage on September 1st? Everyone agrees on the complexity of 2012 – a real rollercoaster of a year since budding. Spring was waterlogged and particularly cold, with temperatures even plummeting down to freezing levels and resulting in very slow growth. 1980 and 1992 sprang back to mind. Blight immediately appeared in vineyards making us fear similar dreadful deeds to 2007 and 2008, particularly for the more sensitive merlot. The July heat accelerated the vine’s growth to a mad pace. Tasks telescoped each other in a desperate need to deal with one extreme one day and another the next. New shoots had to be eliminated whilst excess foliage was being propped up. Not to mention the countless spraying to protect the leaves. Exceedingly thick laterals sprouted out on chaotic looking vines, so vigorous that they would in turn burst with new shoots. This excess growth took time and energy to eliminate and slowed down the work. Once blight under control, oidium set in, forcing staff to maintain a high level of vigilance. As regards bunches, flowering took place in June but was soon brought to a standstill by a sharp drop in temperatures before being resumed a few days later. As a result, many green berries could be seen among bright red clusters at the end of August. The veraison (the change in colour) is still uneven and extremely slow, which is a serious handicap to the harmony of the maturity to come if nothing is done to even out the crop. So staff are now tackling the multitude of tasks at hand. The maturing of the grapes has fallen behind and the vines are still growing. Water stress is not working 100% and much energy is still spent on foliage instead of being concentrated on the berries. We already know that 2012 will be determined by the way the grapes have been tended and cared for from green harvest to sorting. Today, the situation is inconsistent all across Bordeaux. Graves and sandy soils, which are warmer, are less behind, if at all, than cooler clayey-limestone soils, which have been affected by a chilly spring and will need a warm Indian summer to reach their full maturity. Generally speaking, winemakers are all in favour of rain to boost up the plants, speed up the end of veraison and give the maturing process a kick start. How efficient have conventional, biodynamic and organic treatments on foliage and green clusters been? In the conventional way to tend the vineyards, phytosanitary protection is based on the use of chemicals, active synthetic molecules in contact with the leaves or penetrating the plant through the stems and sap. Treatments should be applied from budding until a couple of weeks before harvest, twice or thrice a month, for a total of about ten to twelve treatments. In times of severe need, they may be applied every week. To complement those treatments, applied on foliage and clusters when still at a green stage i.e before the berries start changing colour, specific extra treatments might be needed to control or prevent pest invasions. They are treatments against: - botrytis (or grey rot). Usually 2 treatments are applied, one at the cluster closing stage, the other half way through the veraison stage. - the grapevine moth - one to three treatments -the flavescence dorée - two to three treatments. This is a mandatory pest control treatment and is usually ordered by the “*Prefet” on the advice of the supervisory board. The aim is to eradicate the cicadellid, a vector for the micro-organism responsible for the vine degenerative disease that lives in vine stocks. Such conventional preventive actions are extremely efficient. They do not come cheap: 500 to 1,000 euros per hectare for chemicals not including fuel and staff cost. Those who question such methods mainly express concern on the possible consequences on man, staff and nature. The warning signs on chemical barrels recommend that no one should enter the vineyards for at least 6 and up to 48 hours after treatment. Too bad for hikers and enthusiastic wine tourists! Unfortunately, chemical treatments fail to target only the responsible agents but and destroy the micro-flora on the berries, which means winemakers then have to use commercial yeasts for a more controlled fermentation process. For people in favour of organic and biodynamic practices, the method currently used to fight against the flavescence dorée is a complete and utter scandal. It blindly destroys all micro-flora around the bunches. They simply recommend cutting down each affected stock. One essential would be to be able to identify which stocks might be infected but unfortunately there is a serious lack of training, education and experience. Organic and biodynamic vineyard care. Possible alternatives to the use of synthetic chemical molecules is organic or biodynamic vineyard care, which use solely natural ingredients, and particularly copper and sulphur. The vision is essentially preventive. Both organic and biodynamic treatments work through contact, without seeping into the sap. Conventional partisans argue that such treatments lack efficiency and that the risk of losing everything is too high. Organic and biodynamic champions reply that, though it is indeed a little more complex than chemical responses, it is not impossible. Being exposed to insecurity forces people to remain vigilant and to go back to the good old methods of observation dedicated land workers have always held dear. Without man’s capacity to anticipate, without drive and determination, this preventive system cannot be successful. How often the treatments will be applied depends very much on the weather. They have been intensively used in 2012. Spraying and powdering must be done before the rain comes. The treatment is not so efficient beyond 25mm of rain. This makes the work fastidious and time-consuming with a higher cost for fuel and labour than for the treatment itself. But how wonderful it must be to be rid of one’s sense of guilt and to feel great pride in a renewed sense of responsibility. Some put forward the lack of efficiency for the time and effort spent, along with the amount of product leaking through to the sub-soils. They particularly focus on the damaging effects of copper on soils. Biodynamic and organic champions argue they are aware of the issue and follow strict rules on its use -also adding that copper is not harmful to man. And as most chemicals contain hard metals, they in turn accuse conventional methods of blindly polluting soils, zinc and aluminium being components of the anti-blight treatment for example. They also criticize the number of times tractors have to go up and down the vineyards to spray copper, sulphur and any other concoction whenever machinery is needed. They hold heavy equipment responsible for soil compaction and its consequences on vines’ roots – an unfortunate argument when one thinks how ardent defenders of micro-biological life biodynamic and organic practices are. They, in turn, blame conventionalists for not ploughing anymore but weeding with chemicals instead. The amount of copper used is limited to 6 kg per year and per hectare, with a maximum of 30 kg/hectare every 5 years. Proportions used are thus adaptable and strictly regulated. Land workers and staff seem to be the ones rejoicing the most about such softer and more responsible practices. Many had friends, relatives or acquaintances who died prematurely and can connect their loss to repetitive exposure to toxic substances. Today, only 2 to 3% of the vineyards in Gironde are run according to biodynamic or organic principles compared to at least 10% in Burgundy. Among the classed growths, I only know of Fonroque and Moulin du Cadet in Saint-Emilion, Pontet Canet in Pauillac and Guiraud in Sauternes - since 2011. Of course it does not mean that the more conventional way is all negative and insensitive. The truth is that labels such as Latour, Margaux and Ausone, among others, try out new more eco-friendly techniques, keep tabs on the results and often opt for compromise, without entirely embracing new systems and their regulations – an absolute nightmare for winemakers. . In the next report we shall see what attitude to treatment those in favour of biodynamy adopt. Calon Segur sold Calon Segur was sold to Crédit Mutuel Arkéa for 200 million euros- 93 hectares in total, 55 for Calon Ségur classed growth, 38 hectares for Capbern Gasqueton, cru bourgeois. An extremely clever sale, respectful of the path Mme Denise Capbern Gasqueton, who died last year during harvest, had chosen for the estate. The family did not go for the highest, yet meaningless, bids. The efforts and drive shown ever since 2007, leading to the emergence of an extremely elegant style the estate manager Vincent Miller brought out even further, will no doubt be pursued. Mme Barritault, Mme Capbern Gasqueton’s daughter, will remain at the helm until the end of the year, when Jean-François Moueix (Duclot group) is said to take over. To me, it all sounds great news for fine wine enthusiasts – often enough when an estate changes hand new options tend to be hard to understand. I strongly recommend the 2011, which I have tasted again many times since the en primeur and always with absolute delight. It is a shining example of the gout à la française. Ducru Beaucaillou vertical – bottles from private cellars. On September 3rd, my Swiss friends organised a comparative tasting between Ducru Beaucaillou and Grand Puy Lacoste – a great way to react to the excessively radical position Ducru took towards me during the 2010 en primeur campaign. The vertical was held blind and in public with bottles bought en primeur and from private cellars. You’ll soon read all about it . Kind regards. Jean-Marc Quarin __________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, BP 40, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

2012 Chronicles

Chronicle n° 134: the upcoming 2012 vintage and conventional, organic and biodynamic approaches (part 1). Calon Ségur sold

Subscribe

Subscription

Wine name	(Producer, appellation, etc.)