ALL THE NEWS
08/09/22 – 2022 Harvest
2022 Harvest report
2022: A joyous vintage
2022 was characterised by a mild winter with little rainfall, followed by a typical spring. Indeed, bud burst started mid- April while flowering began in early June. Despite a few spells of drought during the summer, the rain was well-timed, especially in the Aube, allowing the vegetative cycle to run its course smoothly, allowing the grapes to reach the optimum maturation in perfect condition. Thanks to the location of our vineyards on moisture-retaining chalky soils, the vines were able to seek the water and nutrients they needed to flourish.
An important decision
Three teams were tasked to determine the best time to start picking with one key point of vigilance: the weather forecast over the week was dry but warm which could potentially harm certain terroirs of the Marne Valley. As a result, we chose not to delay harvest, taking advantage of our most precious assets: the northwest location of our pressing facilities in Reims which allowed the grapes to be kept cool as do the thermoregulated settling vats.
HARVEST LOG
- Saturday August 27th & Sunday August 28th: The harvest began with a reduced team, in the key grand crus of the Côte des Blancs, including the low yielding vines destined for our Côteaux Champenois (4 to 5,000 kg/ha).
- Monday August 29th: A second team was dedicated to the Marne Valley and got going with the few parcels of Chardonnay as well as the very young vines of pinot noir and Meunier. Tuesday, August 30th: The third team gathered in the village of Les Riceys at the southern border of the Champagne region.
- From September 4th: The whole team joined force in the Montagne de Reims to start on the pinot noir, which were in perfect health and ready to pick. They began picking in Verzenay first before finishing in Mailly on September 6th.
- The last bunches were picked in Les Riceys on September 5th and in Festigny on September 8th where our Meunier were starting to get affected by the cooler weather at night.
