Harvest marks the end of a year of dedication and hard work. Each vintage tells a unique story, and the 2024 vintage is one of resilience and overcoming challenges. This makes this harvest especially meaningful and sets the stage for exceptional wines ahead.
How we prepared
The harvest requires careful preparation. Starting in the summer, we undertook several tasks to ensure a high-quality yield. One week before the harvest began, we sprayed a biodynamic preparation 501 across our entire vineyard. This preparation, made from horn silica, enhances the ripening of the grapes by improving their ability to absorb sunlight and warmth from the sun.
Meanwhile, Jean-Rémi, our Vineyard Manager, conducted several maturity tests to monitor the sugar levels in the grapes closely. Based on the results, we determined the ideal time to begin the harvest, ensuring that each bunch was picked at perfect ripeness.
Preparations also took place in the cellar, involving cleaning and setting up equipment. This year, we made a ‘pied de cuve', a small batch of juice fermented from grapes harvested a few days earlier than the others. This process, which uses only the natural yeasts from our estate, ensured a vigorous start to fermentation, leading to an optimal result for the wine.
Time to harvest
Once the preparations were completed, we began the harvest on Wednesday, September 11. In total, nearly sixty harvesters from all over the world joined us. We started by picking the vines that produce our cuvée Vivant Micault, all while facing very rainy weather. Fortunately, the weather quickly improved, allowing us to continue with the vines dedicated to Grands Esprits and Émilie, which make up nearly half of Clos Marey-Monge.
At Château de Pommard, it’s all hands on deck during the harvest! From Accounting to Marketing, every team member comes to help with picking or sorting, sharing in this essential moment of the year.
The 2024 vintage was notably impacted by significant pressure from mildew during the growing season, which affected part of our harvest. As a result, yields are lower than in previous years. However, thanks to the meticulous efforts of our sorters, we were able to remove the damaged grapes and retain only the healthiest ones, ensuring exceptional quality.
The low yields didn’t dampen the spirits of our team, who enjoyed lively musical breaks every day, provided by our Italian harvesters.
After eight days of hard work, we harvested the last grapes from our Bourgogne Chardonnay plot, marking the end of the 2024 harvest. A big thank you to all our harvesters for their presence and efforts. Now, the work continues at the winery!
