Though the 2016 season was fraught and tense with many challenges, the quality of the grapes and the fun enjoyed during the harvesting of Clos Marey-Monge buoyed everyone’s spirits. With Harvest 2017 just around the corner, starting September 9, let’s remind ourselves of the fun to be had at this once-in-a-lifetime experience we are lucky enough to enjoy every vintage!
Here were our Top Ten 10 favorite moments from Vendanges 2016.
1. Sunrise in Clos Marey-Monge
Harvest 2016 started with less with a bang and more with a yawn. Emmanuel Sala, our winemaker d’extraordinaire, requested that the Vineyard Team and the 30-strong pickers and the sorters turn up at the Château for 7am sharp to watch sunrise over the Clos together. Our first of many bonding experiences we would share that week.
Emmanuel traditionally accompanies the sun rise with a rousing speech to say thanks for everyone’s forthcoming hard work, as well as asking for complete attention to the traditions and protection that arises from picking millions of grapes from over 200,000 ancient vines for the next seven days.
2. Pickers and Sorters
A team of more than 30 willing and able pickers stand out like technicolour thumbs among the sea of green vines. Emmanuel chooses the plot to be picked the night before, based on all the right conditions and tasting the grapes to make sure they have reached that sweet-spot of maturity – where acidity and sugars collide – and the healthy grapes from each parcel are picked in its entirety before selecting the next plot. In this picture, below, the 1.29ha Micault plot, the vines immediately in front of Château Micault, were ripe for the picking on the second day of the harvest.
“2016’s harvest was a lot of hard work… but a lot of fun.”
Emmanuel Sala
3. A Celebration in Clos Marey-Monge
Harvest 2016 was Emmanuel Sala’s 10th Vendanges at Château de Pommard. We stopped work to celebrate for a couple of minutes, raised a glass in salut of Mr Sala, but then Emmanuel put us back to work! It was lovely to see the Chief cheerful, if chaotic, during what usually can be a winemaker’s most stressful period.
Three Amigos: Biodynamic consultant Antoine Lepetit de la Bigne, Emmanuel Sala and vineyard manager, Samuel Grivaux share a moment in Chantrerie
4. Lunchtime Parties
It’s not all work among the vines during Harvest time. The grape pickers had time to stop and breathe in the beauty of Clos Marey-Monge and have a little bit of fun too, especially at lunchtime when a selection of Family wines were served to accompany the baguettes, cheeses and other treats. As one of the pickers said, “If the pickers are happy, the grapes are happy… and that makes the wine happy!” We couldn’t agree more.
5. Thirty Years of Harvest
Harvest 2016 was an extra-special year. Not just for Emmanuel, but for two of our pickers. This was their 30th harvest in a row that they have been picking grapes in Clos Marey-Monge. Ladies, thank you! See you in a few weeks!
6. The Sorting Table
Harvest isn’t just about picking grapes. It’s about sorting them out too. Great grapes go into the fermentation vats. Not-so-great grapes are sent to detention. The sorting happens, as it has done for almost a century, on our Sorting Table in the cuverie. Though, these days, the Sorting Table ever-so-gently vibrates, which never would have been thought possible in Nicolas and Émilie’s tenure.
7. The First Harvest Experience
Our inaugural Harvest Experience was a massive success. Twenty wine lovers from China, the US and the UK, joined us and got their hands dirty among the vines snipping grapes, sorting grapes and, somewhat exclusively, enjoying a first super-sweet tasting from the fermentation vats and an exclusive walk-and-talk around the cuverie with winemaker Emmanuel. For 2017, we’ve upped our game and made the Experience even better. Reserve your special spot for the Harvest Experience 2017 here!
8. Team Photo Among the Vines
On the final day of Harvest, we organized a staff photo in the Chantrerie plot for the whole team, including vineyard staff, sales staff and the executives. Every year, all staff are required – mandatory fun, as we like to call it! – to don a Harvest t-shirt and venture into the vines for one day of picking. It’s hard work but thankfully at the end of day, a glass of Clos Marey-Monge Monopole soothes the backache away. Most of the team leave the vineyard with a smile on their face. Though that could be the wine!
9. Into the Vats
After the rigorous inspection on the Sorting Table by our Cuverie team, the grapes from each individual terroir are finally transported into their respective stainless steel fermentation vats. They’ll stay here for a few weeks. We like to keep the grapes whole for as long as possible, so we won’t disturb them at all for the first week.
10. Into the Air
Harvest 2016 was the first year we sent a drone into the sky to capture the Harvest from above. We’ll be doing it again in 2017 with our very-own drone, because the results we got in 2016 were super spectacular. So, remember to smile when you look into the sky!
Pommard From Above: Our Phantom DJI drone captures sunset over the vines of Clos Marey-Monge in August 2017, a few weeks before Harvest.