1998 VINTAGE

Beautiful, brilliant, golden colour.

WEATHER DURING THE GROWING SEASON

Bud break came early, starting in late March. The hot weather in May made up for a cool, wet month of April. The flowering took place in less than a week at the end May and the very beginning of June. There was quite a heat wave in the latter month with a record temperature of 36°C on the 19th. It became very hot again after July 14th, and this hot spell lasted two thirds into the month of August. The vines suffered somewhat from the high temperatures and drought conditions. A few scattered showers in late August and early September helped the grapes to ripen beautifully. Botrytis set in just at that time, and became widespread by the middle of September.

HARVEST

Warm sunshine and a southerly wind encouraged concentration. The first wave of picking began on September 22nd. This was shortly followed by a second one. Within 8 days, two thirds of the harvest was over. This included grapes grown on the most gravelly soil, but not the old vines. It rained a great deal in early October. Then sunshine and morning mists brought on another round of botrytisation. Picking of the remaining plots began on October 17th under clear blue skies and cool temperatures. The fourth and final wave of picking drew to a close on October 28th. As this vintage was picked in two parts, two different types of wine complemented one another in the final blend; wines from September were quite elegant and the ones from October were full-bodied and rich.

THE WINE

Fermented and aged in 3 year-old barrels Production: 25,000 bottles Alcohol: 13.5° Sugar: 125 g/l Acidity: 4.10g/l