The first leaves were out around April 10th. Growth has been on ever since. At the moment we watch the buds unfold to reveal their complex inner construction that will develop into leaves, grapes and tendrils.
Luckily for us, only a few buds seem to have been hit by the spring frost of late April that has devastated vineyards all over Europe. In Champagne, the damage is evaluated to a loss of around 20-25 %, obviously with big individual differences. We were more worried about insects eating buds which seemed to happen disturbingly fast. Now their damages are visible, it is one of many nuisances of all sorts to cost us potential grapes.
Dry and warm
Since April, the weather has been very dry and quite warm. We have removed the grass between the vines in most fields to avoid too much competition for water between the vines and the grass.
The warm weather with temperatures well above 20 degrees Celsius most days for some weeks has made it necessary to begin lifting the wires around Ascension Day. It could be another early year, we have begun our comparison with mathcing jobs and dates in 2007 and 2011, both had grapeharvests in late August.
Assortment of Champagnes
The pink of buds and their interior at this crucial moment you will retrieve on the label of our Rosé de Saignée. It is a 100% Pinot Noir champagne, the taste is as powerful as this red grape allows with all the black fruits, you could ever want. It will fit anything from your aperitif to your main course and even a dessert like fruit salad.
We suggest our non vintage champagne of some age - Tradition - based on mainly Chardonnays. You will find it in Rosé and Demisec versions as well. Our two current 100% Chardonnay vintages are both from early years: The Blanc de Blancs from 2011 and the Selection from 2007.
Franco-Danish sustainability
As we have come from different worlds - France and Denmark - our daily work is to bring these origins and views together in our Tange-Gérard champagnes and in our daily work where we have made sustainability a key word of the management of our company. Last summer we were quite proud to receive our "viticulture durable" certification and we continue along this path. The bubbles, we enjoy them as much as ever, and our shared hope is to let them make your world spin in an easy-going, funny fashion too. Even just for a while.
Please mail us if you want to know more. Enjoy, Alain Gérard and Solveig Tange.
