| Domaine de l'Amauve |
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| The vintages. | . |
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| A very nice vintage despite a small crop. |
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The winter of 2024-2025 was normally cold, with
no heavy frost or snow. However, it was very wet, which began to
replenish soil water reserves.
Spring was cool at first, then there were a series of cool mornings followed by mild afternoons. This allowed the vegetation to catch up a little. Spring saw regular rainfall, initially in the form of winter rain, then stormy rain towards the end of April. . These good soil water reserves will be welcome during the summer. However, mildew was able to develop in these humid and mild conditions. Numerous (yellow) mildew spots appeared on the young leaves. Fortunately, the warm periods between rains caused these attacks to necrotize, preventing them from spreading too far. A few mildew attacks directly on the bunches were observed, but fortunately, these were very limited. . Everything changed in mid-June. Temperatures began to rise, reaching scorching levels for over a week. Vine growth accelerated, disrupting the normal stages of vegetation. Fortunately, temperatures returned to normal at the beginning of July. However, the vegetation had already progressed significantly and on July 13, the Grenache Noir grapes were beginning to ripen (two weeks ahead of schedule). Official inspections indicated that the harvest would be four days ahead of schedule in 2024. Personally, I thought the harvest would be much earlier than that. . July was a normal month in terms of temperatures. But it was a month without rain. So the drought began to set in. August arrived with a very hot first week, which is normal for this time of year. The second week of August brought the second heatwave of the summer, with temperatures soaring once again. The vegetation began to suffer, and there was still no rain in sight. . We therefore had almost three months with virtually no rain, with hot and sometimes scorching temperatures and long periods of Mistral wind, which dried out the soil even more while promoting evapotranspiration in plants. . The first rain finally arrived on August 28, followed by another heavy rainfall on September 1. . The harvest began on August 18 at Domaine de l'Amauve with the white grape varieties. Due to the acceleration of ripening caused by the summer heat, all the white grape varieties were harvested within a few days of each other. The harvest of red grape varieties for rosé wine followed. Starting on August 27, we harvested the first red grapes for red wine production: Syrah. Then, in early September, the first Grenache Noir grapes were ripe and ready to be harvested. We had to wait a few more days to allow the Grenache grapes, which were still pink/red, to finish ripening. . Heavy rains accompanied this harvest, forcing us to drive only on the grassed rows (tractor + dump truck and harvesters). Since all of the Domaine de l'Amauve vineyards are organized in this way (one row permanently covered with natural grass, alternating with one row that is worked), there were no particular problems during the harvest. . However, these rains had no impact on the quantity of the harvest (e.g., grape size) because they arrived far too late. The 2025 harvest was therefore affected by the summer drought. It was a small harvest in terms of quantity. Grapes that had been candied by the heat and drought were often visible. They were very flavorful and contained a lot of sugar. . However, the summer drought had a direct effect on the quality of the harvest. It strengthened the grape skins and made them more resistant to humidity and rain. As a result, the grapes did not deteriorate following heavy rainfall. In addition, the tannins contained in the skins of red grapes ripened earlier. The wines of the 2025 vintage are therefore rich in fine tannins and have a beautiful aromatic expression. It is therefore a very nice vintage with a small crop. . | |
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The team for the harvests in 2025.
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The
first harvest team : From left to right : Christophe, Jean-Pierre,
Marie-Agnès, Juliette, Christian (who doesn't harvest grapes, but was
in the photo), and Laurence. In the cellar : Nicolas and Christian.
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| . The end of harvest team : From left to right : Christian (who still doesn't harvest grapes but was in the photo), Jacky, Marie-Agnès, Christophe, Laurence, Juliette. . Still in the cellar : Nicolas and Christian. . |
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| The 2025 wines from Domaine de l'Amauve are getting the organic certification. .   |
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