July 2021

Jack Frost visits in April … far too often!

April 2021 stood out for the remarkable number of consecutive nights of deep frost. For once, Bordeaux wasn’t the worst hit region. Still, the Grand Cru and Premier Grand Cru Classé vineyards were taking no chances. Jean-Marc reported one night waking up to a scene from Apocalypse Now – he counted about 30 helicopters circulating, trying to get the air moving to stop the frost settling, a hail ball exploding (another rather spectacular method), giant gas heaters with mega fans, plus swathes of vineyards aglow with burning fires and bougie candles. You need a great deal of financial clout to pull off some of those stunts.

The Entre-Deux-Mers had a little, Gascony further southwest got it badly, but at La Clarière, we were almost untouched. Perhaps 5% of vines were hit by frost ... at the end of the rows, where the vines and their new shoots were a little more exposed.

Jean-Marc insisted their escape was down to more than luck – the hard work Vincent and the team put in the vineyards, make the vines strong and healthy, which helps them better withstand the cold ... to a certain temperature only, of course.

Many other French regions fared much worse, the Languedoc in particular. Overall, yields could be 30% down.

Bees – we need them

We all need to look after our bees ... they are essential for all we grow, and we’d like more of them in our vineyards. So, we have introduced three beehives at La Clarière, tucked away, so the bees won’t be disturbed, but near enough vineyards so they can find their way there.

We don’t claim to have expertise in apiculture, so have brought in the professionals to look after these hives and their residents. And when the time is right, they will come along and harvest the honey for us.

On top of the honey and the need for pollination of the vines, the hives are part of an experiment being run by Bordeaux’s Chamber of agriculture. They want to measure if any of the substances sprayed on the vines is absorbed by these furry flying creatures. We are keen to play our part in this and the results will be interesting ... a lesson for us all.