Wine Diary
Finally: the Sun!
The climatic conditions we have been longing for -- sunny days and cool nights -- have finally arrived and yet rise to great hopes for the 2010 vintage.
Excess water is evaporated by the autumn wind and taste and sugar content of the grapes are improving with every day, that personality of individual vineyards is gradually becoming apparent. Berries infected with botrytis (noble rot) are reducing in size and are easily picked out with a bunch.
This is extremely important particularly for the lighter wines, which had to be pressed out of 100% healthy grapes ordered to achieve a fresh and clean and taste. This means careful, painstaking work in the vineyard and slow progress during harvest.
During the next week we hope to be harvesting the red varietals: Zweigelt, St Laurent, Pinot Noir. Only a small amount of these grapes is still in the vineyard, the largest proportion has already been harvested for the Brut Rosé. These red wines will be light and fresh. At the moment that tannins are still green and it will take a while until they are ripe and harmonious. We will need to be patient.
This is the kind of red wine which I learned to know and love as a young man: unpretentious, light, pleasant and most enjoyable after a few years of cellaring.
I am also reminded of the times when even the greatest Bordeaux wines had no more than 12.5% alcohol. Back then, these wines were elegant and balanced, a little closed during their youth, but showing beautifully later.