| Domaine de l'Amauve |
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| The vintages. | . |
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| A new vintage marked by severe drought and a long hot period. |
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| Winter 2022-2023 was normally cold. Spring 2023 was cool, similar to that of 2022. Moreover, the vines started growing relatively late, thus avoiding the Spring frosts. The first four months of 2023 were particularly dry, with only 61 mm of rain. The weather changed from May 15 onwards, with the arrival of thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain. Daytime temperatures hovered around 28-30°C, and every evening thunderstorms brought rain. Conditions were almost tropical. This stormy period lasted a month. Total rainfall over this period at the Domaine weather station was 171 mm. The difficulty was that, in this temperature range and with this humidity, vine diseases develop rapidly. Especially mildew. In Organic Growing, frequent treatments were necessary. Downy mildew did develop, however. However, attacks were limited to young, inadequately protected leaves, and didn’t affect the young bunches of grapes at all, thanks to the heat of the day and the Mistral (our dry north wind) which dried out the atmosphere during the day. Véraison (change in grape berry color) on the Syrah variety began on July 18, around the same date as in 2022. We can therefore assume that the start of the harvest will be similar to 2022, i.e. around August 20. But that will depend of the weather until this date. The hot, dry weather continued until August 26. The Domaine's weather station recorded a temperature of 41°3 C on August 23, 2023. The young vines suffered enormously from the heat and, above all, the drought. The grapes themselves are sunburned. The drought in the vineyards has stalled the ripening process. The harvest was scheduled for August 19. They began on August 28. It took a further 9 days for the grapes to reach full ripeness. Luckily, on August 27, the vineyard benefited from 40 mm of rain. The harvest was saved. Harvesting began on August 28 at Domaine de l'Amauve. Subsequently, and during the harvest, we had several more or less heavy rains which temporarily interrupted the harvest. These rains had no negative effect on the grapes, on the contrary. The harvest ended on September 20. Vinification went perfectly. In fact, the drought slowed down the ripening of the grapes. The sugar content of the grapes was lower and, as a result, the alcohol content obtained during fermentation was lower. At the same time, the acids in the grapes were concentrated and the balance of the wines was excellent. Once again, the severe grape selection carried out in June and July to lighten the load on the vines enabled them to get through this exceptionally dry year without a hitch. The grapes were already smaller because of the drought. The result was a reduced harvest of very nice quality. The white and rosé wines, with their very moderate alcohol content, have a lovely freshness and fruity aromas. The red wines are perfectly balanced, without excess alcohol either, with a deep color, very fine tannins, and lovely expressions of red and black fruit. This is a great satisfaction after a difficult year. . | |
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The team for the harvests in 2023.
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In 2023, the harvesting team was composed of Laurence, Juliette,
Caroline, Christel, Christophe, Thomas, Jean-Pierre. In the cellar : Nicolas and Christian.
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| The 2023 wines from Domaine de l'Amauve are getting the organic certification. .   |
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