nicholas, Author at Maison Harbour

La Grande Vitesse

Posted on July 18, 2013 by nicholas

Summer has finally arrived in Burgundy. After a somewhat dreary June the past month has been filled with long and hot summer days. Over the span of three weeks the flowering of the vines was completed, the grapes began to form, and we now have what looks like the beginning of a beautiful harvest, fingers crossed. Of course we still have a long way to go until harvest and plenty of things could still affect the development of the grapes but it certainly appears to be promising thus far.

Things around Maison Harbour have been progressively picking up speed. The “cuverie” is currently in the middle of reconstruction and is looking more and more like a winery every day! We finally managed to get our water and electricity hooked up so no worries about making wine in the dark and we are preparing to lay a new cement floor in the next few weeks. Nick and his dad have been spending long days and nights taking out the old stones from the floor, digging, and analyzing all aspects of the winery plans. Never a dull moment around here luckily we have Nick’s parents around to help out, lifesavers.

Other than manual labor our days have been filled with purchasing equipment for the harvest ( vats, hoses, buckets, etc.) and completing the final paperwork in order to secure our license as winemakers. The French Douane (customs) stopped by the other day to give us a little lesson on all the forms and paperwork we need to submit each month, yikes!

As the grapes develop we are gradually receiving more offers for contracts which is both exciting and nerve racking for us both. We have not made any final decisions yet but we are getting very close. When we visit vineyards we are looking at the soil, the parcel’s exposition and contours, the health of the vines and chatting with the farmers to ensure our philosophies on are in line.

We will keep you updated with all the exciting developments so check back soon!!

Update from the Cave

Posted on June 20, 2013 by nicholas

It has been a while since we wrote about the wines we made last year, which we have called Cuvée 1 and Cuvée 2. The wines were made from Pinot Noir grapes, verjus, which were picked from a Corton grand cru vineyard. The two wines have been aging in oak barrels in our cave, “wine cellar”. Both wines have developed nicely. However, Cuvée 1 which was picked earlier than Cuvée 2, has yet to go through its malo-lactic fermentation. We are hoping that as the temperature outside raises the cave will warm up and the malo-lactic fermentation will kick off.

Since putting the wine in the cave the only intervention we have had has been to top up the barrels. Topping is done because over time a small quantity of wine evaporates. In French we call this, “les part des anges”, which means the angels part. We top the two barrels with the same wine that is inside each barrel. To do this we had set aside a small amount of each of the wines when the alcoholic fermentation was completed. Topping up is done regularly thought the élevage. In the first couple of months that follow putting the wine in the barrels it is generally weekly. Later as the wine saturates the wood less and less topping is required. At this point we are topping up once every month.

So, the other day when we were topping up the barrels we thought, why not take a half bottle of each wine to really give them a try… Here is what we thought.

Cuvée 1

The wine is clear with a brilliant a ruby red color. Swirling the glass releases aromas of dark red fruits, blackberries and raspberries. It hits the pallet quick with a sour raspberry acidity mellowing out into ripe red fruits. The mid-pallet is leather, fresh herbs and oak tannins. The wine has really evolved well and while the attack is slightly acidic it is a nice wine. Fingers crossed the malo-lactic fermentation will start and take care of that acidity.

Cuvée 2

As the wine takes the shape of the glass the clear cherry red color shows itself. Directly we are greeted by young red fruits and spices a classic Pinot Noir nose. Tasting the wine the aromas translate directly, strawberry, cherry and red licorice. The wine develops beautifully and ends with a spicy, white pepper finish. The acidity is also quite high but it is well balanced with the tannins and the alcohol.

Spring in Burgundy

Posted on June 3, 2013 by nicholas

The beginning of the year is a special time in Burgundy. As the days grow longer, the vines start to come alive. This year the temperature crawled up from zero and slowly the first signs of life appeared in the garden. The vines start their year crying (1st April), in French we say, les vignes pleurent. This is the sign that the ground is sufficiently warm and the water conserved in the root system is being pushed back up into the plant to nourish the buds that stayed tightly bundled up during the cold winter months. During this period water drops like tears from the pruned shoots of the vines. Shortly after the buds start to wake and swell (19th April), then they break (23rd April) and small green shoots begin to change the color of the country side. Today (3rd June) we are starting to see the separating of the flower buds which is the final stage before the flowering (mid June?).

Spring in Burgundy this year has been plagued by rain. In May we had just shy of 100 mm with only 5 clear days. April was not very different. In fact, there was so much rain the ground has been totally saturated for weeks. Mix the saturated ground with the 10+ mm of rain we had on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May and you get flooding. Apparently, the last time this much water fell during Spring in Burgundy was in the early 1950s.

The result of this unusually cold and rainy weather is that the vines growth is delayed by a few weeks. This is not much of an issue. However, we will harvest later this year than usual. Is it possible we will harvest in October? The other problem with the rain is the increased threat of disease. Mainly, mildew, however up to this point the cold weather has protected the vines and they are looking healthy. Besides missing a few barbecues and picnics we are very happy that we made it through spring with no frosts!

All said, Burgundy is a magical place in spring. Watching the vines come to life has been inspiring.