2012 will be written down in the annals of viticulture as a reference for vintages with severe vine disease. A very wet, mild spring that encouraged a swift and significant development of mildew, a catastrophic flowering season (poor fruit set), all of which impacted the older vines the most.
Powdery mildew then settled in once the rains stopped.
We had to wait until the end of July for normal weather conditions to return.
The first three weeks of September were sunny and warm, favoring the ripening process. On September 20th we began harvest just as more gloomy weather moved in.
Yields were far from abundant (35% less than a normal year) but the quality was still high.
The vines made it to the end of their yearly cycle with leaves that were generally in good health and still active, which permitted the grapes to finish ripening and gain in finesse. This high quality of grapes was achieved without us abandoning our convictions or great respect of our soils and Pinot Noir.
In the cellar, a fairly classic vintage unfolded. Each tank had about 15-20% whole cluster.
Malolactic fermentation occurred between January and the beginning of July 2013.