Vintage Report 2021 - Domain de Roc des Boutires
In the vineyard - A warm and sunny weather at the beginning of the year led to a medium-timed bud burst around the 5thof April. If winter was mild, the second quarter is unusually cold and rainy. A memorable frost impacted 70% of the vines on the 8th of April. Due to cold months in April and May, flowering was late (9th of June). The first two weeks of June were particularly warm, and shortened the flowering time down to 7 days, instead of 9 in average.
On the 21st of June, a hail storm damaged some of the vines spared by the frost: a total of 60% loss is estimated!
Following this trend, July was cold and very rainy, giving berries with a high acid content. The ripening time started later than the average, around the 4th of August. August was dry and quite cold compared to the average temperature. Hopefully, a heat wave mid-August and a summer-like weather in September led the berries to a great ripeness. A few days before harvest, sugar levels were similar to those of the 2014 vintage, but with more acidity. The mildness of the very last weeks have led to a clear improvement of the vineyard's health.
Finally, 2021 is a late vintage, which was difficult in terms of vines management. Despite tiny yields, quality is unprecedented : 2021 is a great year for our Chardonnay!
Technical : Harvest dates: 21, 28 and 29 September (3 workingdays)
Working conditions: 30 pickers; harvest was both mechanic and manual; our Premier Cru plots were manually harvested in 30 liters small boxes
Yields: 22 Hl/ha (against 58 Hl/ha authorized) Frost - the most impacted terroirs
"En Bertilionne","Aux Bouthières", "En Barvais", "Aux Combes"
Hail - the most impacted terroirs
En Bertilionne","Aux Bouthières", "Aux Chailloux"
Harvest order by terroir:
21.09: "En Bertilionne", "En Barvay", "Aux Combes","A la Roue", "Les Lithes"
28.09: "Vers Cras", "Aux Chailloux", "Aux Bouthières"29.09: "La Grange Murger"
Maturing forecasts - around 1/3 in barrels (87Hl) and 2/3in stainless-steel tanks (137Hl)
In the Cellar - As soon as they arrived, the berries are introduced by gravity into the wine-press for a better filtration of the juice. Pressings are long and light enough not to extract too much potassium, then unbalancing the wines. Once this is done, juices are cooled down around 8°Cfor 2 days. Then, the must deposits can sediment. Cold "débourbage" preserves the musts quality and their primary aromas.
This year, we are considering 3 single-vineyard cuvées: "Aux Bouthières", "La Grange Murger" et "En Bertilionne".
During harvest, grapes showed a great balance between sugar and acidity with a low alcohol content. 2021 wines are elegant and aromatic with notes of apricot, honey and a pronounced minerality. Due to low temperatures, wines are fresh with an alcohol content around 12.5%. They will offer remarkable ageing potential!
2021 will not break the rule: late harvest, wonderful vintage!
Château du Moulin-à-Vent
TOP 100 wineries, in 2021, 2020 & 2017 | Wine & Spirits