Author: nicholas

So things change and then they change again.  Nevertheless, everything seems to be coming together. The life of a wine négociant in Burgundy…

A few weeks ago we announced our first wine of the 2013 vintage, a Gevrey-Chambertin Village from the lieu–dit (parcel) of Baraques.  Things are still a go for the Gevrey-Chambertin Village however the lieu-dit has changed. We managed to trade up from the lieu-dit of Baraques to the well-known and respected lieu-dit of La Justice!

La Justice is one of the larger village level parcels at 18.28 ha and is located on the east side of the RN74 just north of the village center. The relatively flat vineyard composed of a mix of clay and chalk soils is known for producing rich, intense, and fruit forward wines with an emphasis on black fruits.

Considered by many to be one of the best village level lieu-dits in Gevrey-Chambertin, we are thrilled to be able to harvest from it! The vines which are around 40 years old are producing beautifully concentrated and ripe berries. Nick and I went to take a sample this week to test their maturity before harvesting. Based on our results (in which we look for sugar levels, acidity and pH in the grapes) we expect to be harvesting this parcel either next weekend or early in the following week.  We are so excited!

In other news we are pleased to announce the second wine of the 2013 vintage, a Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru “Combe-aux-Moines”. This small vineyard (4.77 ha) located at the mouth of the Combe de Lavaut and is the highest elevated vineyard in Burgundy.  The view from the parcel is just magnificent. We did not plan to focus on producing Gevrey-Chambertin wines but just happened to be given the opportunity and we are definitely not complaining! They are absolutely delicious wines.

It will be an absolute pleasure to harvest this parcel! With a north-eastern exposed face and limestone dominated soils wines produced from this lieu-dit have been characterized as some of the best in Gevrey-Chambertin with a tendency to exhibit a touch of rusticity. We expect to harvest between 2-3 barrels in about two weeks as the grapes still need a bit of time to ripen up. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather in the meantime!

We are still hoping to find some more grapes but cannot be sure of what will come our way, if anything. The harvest is underway here in Burgundy so things are really moving, a very exciting time. Nick and I still have a few challenges to overcome before harvest next weekend, most importantly the electricity. Yet again we face another battle trying to get someone to come and switch on the power.  A process we started with the electricity company 6 months ago in March! We hope to get things sorted out this week; if not we may face destemming at a friend’s winery and hauling the grapes back to our cuverie for the fermentation. We can’t be sure of the outcome, in any case we are extremely grateful to have found these beautiful parcels, to be harvesting their grapes so soon, to have our winery ready (almost) and most importantly to be truly following our dream and passion, making wine!

The last few weeks have been super exciting around Maison Harbour. A lot has happened since our last update. Summer has been complicated in Burgundy, although the temperatures have risen since June lifting spirits and moral. The warm weather has brought fierce storms which have not been so gracious.

At the end of July the Cote du Beaune was hit with an awful hail storm that ripped through Savigny, Beaune, Pommard and Volnay. The hail came down in white sheets and did not let up for over 30 minutes ravaging the canopy, grapes and vines. It was a very sad day for many of the grape growers and vintners in the area. Some vineyards reported 80-100% loss of their harvest for the year which will make it the third year in a row the area experiences diminished volumes. We had been in touch with a few grape growers on the Cote du Beaune to source grapes but after the storm most of the grapes were lost and thus the contracts were lost as well. Very disappointing.

On the bright side August has been very productive for us.  We have had a lot of projects on the go. One of the most exciting has been pouring the cement in the winery.  After taking out the old stones and gravel in the floor we put in a drain, laid the re-bar, poured the cement, smoothed it out and then waited the long week for it to completely dry and it looks great!   We also got the  hot and cold water hooked up in the winery yesterday which will be very helpful throughout the year. We are just waiting on the electricity to get connected and we will be in business!

We haven’t been the only ones working hard  as Gary (Nicholas’ dad) has been tirelessly refurbishing our vertical press and building a platin for the bottom and top . A very time consuming and tough task but the results will be worth it. After we put in the new basket staves and put on a fresh coat of ” food-safe” paint it will look as good as new!

Cuvee 2 was finally taken out of the barrel a few weeks ago and we are currently letting it rest in a stainless steel tank to settle the rest of the lees before bottling. Of course we had to taste the wine again during the racking and we are extremely pleased with its turnout. On the nose we smell small red berries,  tangerine and a hint of vanilla from the oak. A fresh attack with an explosion of fruit mid palate, soft tannins,  notes of cherries and black pepper on a lingering finish.   All over a very pleasant drinking wine!

Despite the difficulties we encountered at the end of July in terms of weather and grape sources we have a few prospective contracts on the Cote du Nuits which is super exciting for us. Most of the final contracts will be made mid-September and even into harvest (expected the first week of October- super late) we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Nick has been busy with all things renovation at the winery, from digging trenches and laying cement to sanding doors and getting the barrel cellar ready. He has been working day and night and it shows, he is getting so buff! I finished my internship at Champy mid-August and have finally been able to get my hands dirty too which has been great. Other than working hard we have been trying to relax a little before harvest, cooking some great meals and enjoy everything Burgundy has to offer. The next few weeks should be equally exciting as the last if not more as we should have some grape contracts made and the harvest just around the corner!