Castle of Yquem - Sauternes 2001

Castle of Yquem - Sauternes 2001

The year had started in line with the deluge of late 2000 and in April, the excess of winter water reached records (one year of rain in six months). Fortunately, from May onwards, nature became reasonable again, with almost normal precipitation until the end of August. During this same vegetative phase, the vineyard will benefit from temperature conditions too without excess except the somewhat high minima which will explain the rather early maturity of the 2001. In September, the first fortnight very dry, sunny but very cold, will allow a slow maturation of the grape, preserving the capital of acidity often undermined by the scorching summer end of the last decade. The precocity of the vintage and a few drops of rain at the beginning of September allow, on the 18th and 19th, a first pickup to very high degree on half of the domain. The 30 mm of rain falling then causes an explosive start of the Botrytis cinerea and, from 27-28, we can finish the first sort. On the 1st of October everything was dried and the real harvest began. After a last scare with 17 mm of water on October 3, an ideal weather settles for twelve days. Botrytis is perfect. A real "sprint" starts on October 10: for eight days, we start a race to cut, before the degree is too high, the terroirs in the order in which they present themselves.