The 2020 vintage is approaching
The first grape berry samples confirm that the 2020 vintage is approaching at CHAPELLE de NOVILIS. We took our 4 white grape varieties, Vermentino, Viognier, Grenache Gris and Marsanne, as well as that of our reds which seemed the most advanced, our Alicante. Although the tasting results and those of the analyzes give us the Grenache Gris as the most advanced, we will probably not harvest before the week of August 24th.
Early or normal harvest date?
If we compare to 2019, whose start date was September 08, we will start a priori 2 weeks earlier. But 2019 was a vintage marked by 3 waves of heat waves. These resulted in blockages of maturity and we had to wait beyond normal.
If we compare to our usual dates, around August 27 or 28, we may be 4 or 5 days early.
Why so little in advance when all the wineries in Languedoc note 1 to 2 weeks in advance?
Quite simply because at CHAPELLE de NOVILIS we made the choice at the beginning of the year to prune late to delay the release of the flower. This decision, aimed at limiting the risk of frost on the flower at the end of April, also obviously allows us to let the berries mature quietly. This bodes well for the quality of the vintage.
Photos: Here the berries taken, then pressed. There are 200 berries in each container. We take 5 berries from very specific places in each cluster, from 40 different clusters per grape variety, spread over the entire plot so as to have the most uniform possible view of the level of maturity of the plot.
