Chat with Vinny
Jean-Charles Duran had reason to be joyful this winter just gone – Maury in the Roussillon had its first proper rain for two years! Lots of it to raise the level of the water table, so there’s hope for the 2025 vintage at least.
You’ll hear about the tricky conditions of 2023 below, but 2024 has proved the driest vintage on record. The usual tiny yields were even smaller. Those century-old vineyards planted on the slate-shale soils had little, if any, moisture to draw from.
Then, come harvest time, it was even more difficult than usual to find people to bring in the grapes. There just doesn’t seem to be the locals nowadays willing to spend a day helping in the vineyard.
It’s amazing that Jean-Charles manages to retain his smiley demeanour. He’s near retirement age and the government is offering lucrative incentives to grub up vines. We need to keep him sweet.
This June, Vineyard Partners will receive the powerful, velvet fruit of the 100+ 2023 vintage. Yes, it’s a big red, but thanks to the slate soil and a shorter time in oak barrels, it retains good freshness.
Jean-Charles does the initial winemaking, but with very little room in his shed, as soon as the malolactic fermentation has taken place, the wine is transferred to the cellar where Mark Hoddy is stationed. There Mark can transfer the wine into oak barrels and monitor its progress.
Five years ago, in a bid to increase freshness, they started introducing ‘malo bugs’ which help to start the malolactic fermentation, so it’s finished before Christmas. Mark says it makes all the difference to the wine ... a big, bold red, beautifully balanced by an undercut of freshness.
As regards the weather conditions that year … one striking figure summarises the vintage: a 45% decrease in production compared to the year before. That is significant, especially when yields even in a good year are never large. First, there was little winter rainfall in 2022/2023, with lower than usual temperatures as the growing season started. Consequently, vegetative growth was slow to get going.
Then storms with rising temperatures hit in June. Maury escaped the hail that hit some, but downy mildew caused havoc in many vineyards. Mid-August, severe high temperatures (we’re talking 43°C plus) initially accelerated ripening, but then led to vine shut down. This relentless heat persisted for a number of weeks so berries ended up like raisins with thick skins and low juice.
After that confluence of testing weather conditions, yields are low, concentration is very good, alcohol is sensible, but making the wine was hard work … the fermentation kept getting stuck. Just how it goes in some years. It took a great deal of patience, hard work and skill to see the wine through to the end and make such a fabulous, rich red.
Our scout, buyer and winemaker in the south, Mark, commented, “as winemakers we had to demonstrate technical mastery with staying power regarding the climate and its consequences in the vineyard, being brave to wait to pick at the right time, then precise and constantly monitoring in the cellar at every step of the winemaking process. Certainly a winemakers year!”
As always the wine is a mix of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah from Jean-Charles’ vines that are 100 years old and more. The grapes are gently pressed and the juice fermented in open-top vats, with regular plunge down of the cap of skins into the wine. Ageing in cask was just under 6 months, then the final wine was blended and bottled.
Deep garnet in hue, the wine exudes juicy plum, ripe damson and black fig fruit with a real lift of wild herbs – thyme, mint and rosemary. It’s firm and well structured with velvet tannins and a remarkable balance of blackberry and cherry fruit. 2023 is what I’d call a ‘solar’ vintage, lower in acidity than some, so great for drinking early – now until Christmas 2027. Enjoy.
