Following a hot, dry summer 2017 saw the earliest harvest recorded for Domaine Boutinot’s Cairanne cru vineyards.

Some images from March to July, through bud break and flowering to the first signs of fruit set.

After a long, dry summer Harvest 2016 is underway here at Domaine Boutinot, Cairanne. It’s a busy time so here are just a few pictures from the past few days……

In Cairanne berries on our Syrah vines are ripening and entering the véraison stage, when the grapes’ skins turn from green to purple and the texture changes from hard to soft as the berries ripen. As we tend to the vines during this crucial stage we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on what’s happened so far in the vineyard during the 2014 vintage.

Outside our cellar the almond tree has burst into flower; the bees are buzzing and the air is noisy with the excitement brought by the Spring equinox. In the vineyard all is quiet though and we must wait a little longer for our vines to bud and flower. As we wait, we savour the fruits of our most recent harvest – olive oil from the ancient tree in Saint Andéol.

Generally we don’t subscribe to the ‘out with the old; in with the new’ mantra. Vieilles vignes (old vines), well tended and low yielding are generally a source of pride among vineyard owners and we are no exception. Yet sometimes we have to make the decision to clear a plot, dig up the vines and start anew – the vignerons equivalent of de-cluttering if you will. This was the case recently in our beautiful Saint Andéol vineyard…

October’s here, the harvest is still in full swing and we’re still standing! After a cold night the weather today is again warm and sunny and our team of pickers went high up the slopes of La Montée du Ventabren to harvest old vine Grenache. Back at La Ruche (Cairanne) our cellar is gradually filling up and grapes are slowly turning into wine in our open top tronconiques (wooden fermentation vessels). Today the fermentation in tronconique 10, filled with incredible 53 year old Grenache Noir, came to its natural end and the tank has been racked, filling the cellar with enticing cherry and spice aromas.

The Boutinot Rhône harvest 2012 begins….at last! So far the weather has been perfect (sunny clear days with a good mistral blowing) and now it’s full steam ahead in the vineyard and the cellar. Days are busy and long but satisfying….no time for a long post so here are some images from the past week. A full 2012 vintage report will follow soon.

Exciting times in the vineyard! ‘Véraison’ or grape ripening has now started which allows us to judge when the grapes are likely to be ready to harvest. The predicted date of harvest is especially important because we harvest by hand and must make sure enough teams trained pickers are at the ready. This week we follow activity in our Cairanne La Ruche vineyard as the ‘véraison’ of Syrah is starting to take place.