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Chateau Gazin - Nicolas and Christophe de Bailliencourt dit Courcol
 The
2002 harvest at Chateau Gazin -
Pomerol
The 2002
harvest, which took place, in
Gazin, from September 19th up to September 26th , went on very well.
The 2002 yield at Chateau Gazin should be twice as low as the previous
vintage, that is to say about
25 hl per
hectare. Such little production is due to the « coulure » and «millerandage
» phenomena which affect the
Merlot variety when the blossoming period coincides with rainy weather conditions. ( As you probably know,
Pomerol’s typical grape variety is Merlot. The average
Merlot surface of the appellation is 80%).
Nevertheless the quality of the
vintage at Chateau Gazin is good, and could be very good. But this latter evaluation has to be confirmed after the
malolactic fermentation.
The Bordeaux winemakers may let out a great sigh of relief…
Few weeks ago, early September, most of the vintners thought that their crop was ruined. Indeed, July and August had been, by and large, very gloomy and wet. These weather conditions followed a rainy period, early June, as the Merlot vines were blossoming, involving the « coulure » phenomenon we mentioned previously. Fortunately, the weather conditions greatly improved when the Cabernets started to blossom, by mid June.
However, a warm and sunny period, in August, allowed to reach a good maturity level of the grapes. (In fact, maturity requires not exclusively sun but luminosity and heat. Therefore a cloudy weather with warmth and brightness can do well. On the other hand it is obvious that too much rain and humidity threatens the crop).
With that respect the rainy weather conditions we had by the end of August were very worrying. The grapes started to go rotten…
Thanks God the weather deeply improved, early September, and in spite of two heavy storms on September 13th and 14th the temperatures went up again, and the sun shined. Since September 23rd, the weather has turned to coolness with sun. This situation blocked the progress of the rot and helped the sugars to concentrate in the grains. Since then, the weather has been sunny and cool, allowing the vintners to finish the
harvest under good
conditions.
Nicolas and Christophe de Bailliencourt dit Courcol, Chateau
Gazin
http://www.chateau-gazin.com/
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