Vintage Report: JM Raffault

Rodolphe remarkably reports that he has brought in a normal size harvest with healthy fruit and alcohol degrees between 12.5% and 13.5%; lower than the 14-15% levels of the last few years, but still with ample maturity and balance. He finished picking on October 13.

How did he manage this?

In small part because Cabernet Franc buds a little later and he tries to prune late. Several of Raffault's sites (Les Picasses and the Chenin Blanc parcel) are quite cool.

But the main reason is that Rodolphe took careful precautions (based on experiences of recent years). Starting in 2016, he put in place 3 kinds of vineyard protection: Three towers to circulate air; 8 hectares of water aspersion; and candles over 18 hectares of vineyards. By using all of these methods, he was able to greatly reduce the crop losses caused by the April 7th frost in his vineyards.

But the frost was not the only challenge vignerons faced in 2021. Due to the persistent rain and cool temperatures over the summer, mildew was a major worry (Many regions lost as much fruit to mildew as to the frost). Rodolphe carefully treated his vineyards with organic products at the right time over the summer. He is certain that these efforts helped to save the vintage -- until good weather finally arrived in August.