Let's face it, the current climate is challenging, with a damp, complicated spring, and heavy thunderstorms. However, the 2023 harvest is already looking promising, as for the moment, the vines have not suffered from any water stress or hail, and the high humidity has allowed the foliage to develop, providing both shade and freshness.

From a viticultural and sanitary point of view, everything seems to be going well. Increasingly fresh wines, with moderate sugar-alcohol balances; wines without excess maturity, less generous than their counterparts from hot, dry years. Just the right style for these times!

We haven't suffered from the drought so far, nor from a lack of water in the vines, although water management remains an absolute priority. The favorable temperature variations mean we can start the cycle with optimism and expect a fine harvest. A year that should ward off the bad luck of 3-year past vintages...

Let's be clear, however: this happy outcome is not the result of chance nor the goodness of the climate. It is first and foremost the result of hard work and increasingly precise monitoring; spraying is better targeted, thanks to technical progress, and everything is much better managed, from treatments to water usage.

The only downside is the lack of manpower! Finding agricultural workers for disbudding, green harvesting, and even grape harvesting has become a real problem. As a result, we have to pick by hand twice as hard and double our efforts in the hottest hours of the day. Xavier Vignon's organic, hand-grown vineyards require a lot of people; the terraced vineyards even take up to 5 times longer.

But there's no choice: the countdown is on, and the grapes won't wait. At the beginning of September, everyone will be ready to welcome the harvest. The grapes should give very nice wines, not too high in alcohol, where the high-altitude terroirs, in particular, will give their coolness their due! We'll know the outcome in just a few weeks.