An exceptionally dry winter followed by a strong wind and frost period in April caused damage to all vineyards in the country, with some even losing their entire harvest. In addition, there was a very low rainfall of 150mm/year (compared to 500mm in a average year).
Consequences: This year, due to a shortage of grapes, the harvest lasted only a brief two and a half weeks. The climatic effects (frost and drought) reduced our yield of white grape varieties by 50% and red/rosé grape varieties by 60% (compared to our usual average).
In that respect, the only positive comment I can make is that we have now put this wine year behind us.

In our vineyards this year, we grew Bourboulenc, Grenache Noir and Cinsault: 1,5 hectares of Bourboulenc – the typical white grape variety of La Clape, 1 hectare of Grenache Noir – a Mediterranean grape variety considered resistant to drought and yielding good tannic red wines as well as 1 hectare of fruity Cinsault for our rosé wine.

On a happier note, we won seven medals in competitions for our white, red and rosé wines:
– 1 medal for our ALBUS 2020 white wine: gold at the Concours International de Lyon
– 2 medals for our CHAMPS ROUGE 2019 red wine: gold at the Concours des Grands Vins de France in Mâcon and bronze at the Decanter Awards
– 3 medals for our AUSINES 2019 barrique-aged red wine: gold at the Decanter Awards and the Terre de Vins competition and silver at the Concours des Grands Vins de France in Mâcon
– 1 medal for our SARRIETTE 2020 rosé: silver at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

Yours, David Amiel