Vintages

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2001 vintage: 2001 in Centre-Loire: a vintage of patience

Patience, because to succeed it was necessary to wait for the fair weather which arrived in the last weeks of the maturation and to take the time necessary to eliminate the inferior quality grapes.
Patience, because to fully appreciate these wines you mustn't hurry – their evolution will be slow. Their lively structure is a harbinger of their aging ability and longevity.

The Year in the Vineyard

The mild winter favored an early budburst in mid-April. The flowering was from 10 to 25 June, which is normal for our vineyards. The vegetative season was more humid than in recent years.
The threat of mildew, principal problem for vines, was very strong throughout the season and required constant vigilance.
The climate of 2001 divided the maturation into two phases.
First, September's cool temperatures slowed the gain in sugars and the loss of acidity which prompted the wise decision to delay the date of harvest by about ten days in order to obtain good maturity.
Then the first couple of weeks of October brought warm weather – day and night – and rapidly accelerated the ripening of the grapes: strong rise in sugars, balancing of acids, refining of aromas of the Sauvignon and accumulation of coloration in the reds.

The Harvest

Returning to more normal harvest dates, the first grapes were harvested around 25 September in Reuilly and Quincy; Menetou-Salon and Sancerre began harvesting in October.

The reds were harvested first with strict sorting, both in the vineyards and in the wineries, in order to eliminate unripe or otherwise inferior grapes.
The harvest of white grapes started soon after and many winemakers, encouraged by the continuing fair weather, chose to wait as long as possible before harvesting – some waited up to 15 October. They were well rewarded; the last grapes harvested we're the finest quality.

The wines

White wines
They present pleasant aromas – nuanced and varied: fruity (white fruits), floral (rose), minerals and varietals (grapefruit, blackcurrants). Their vivacity indicates wines that will only find their true expression after several months of ripening.

Red wines
With intense to average coloration, express classic odors of cherries and redcurrant. The tannins are more or less pronounced according to the length of their vatting. They will require aging of at least 6 months to 1 year.

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