Maison Tardieu Laurent - Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes 2001

The vintage

The vines are asleep and restore their potential.
The temperatures are mild, and the rains heavy : almost twice as much as the average quantity of water.
Rather warm and sunny, March initiates the vegetative cycle of the vine, which seems to portend an early vintage. But, then, the coolness of April slows the pace down. The vines flower without a hitch.
Quick - it lasted between 8 and 10 days. No coulure, but on some Grenache aged over 40 years. The prospect of a beautiful crop !
Very warm, July and August have contributed to a good maturing of the berries. Two big thunderstorms have helped the berries not to suffer from dryness. In August, the heat wave has had a dramatic impact on the evolution of the sugar in the berries. Still, the maturity of the skin had not been reached. As this maturité pelliculaire is essential in terms of colour, aromas, tannins, it was more than urgent… to wait !
Not one drop of water since July 15th ! And most windy conditions : for 11 days the speed of the wind was over 50 km/h ! It had not been the case for thirty years. In the southern Rhône, the strong Mistral wind has blown for the 20 first days of September, producing concentration in the berries, but, also, in some exposed zones, a beginning of stress due to the lack of water. Fortunately, cool nights and sunny days have built up the maturité pelliculaire. Healthy and firm skins have maintained the fine sanitary state of the berries. Heat and wind have resulted in a concentration which has lowered the quantities produced by some 5 to 30% under 2000, depending on the vines and grape varieties.

Type of soil

Round pebbles and blue clay.

Ageing

New and one year old barrels.