Louis Latour Agencies

Henry Fessy: May Vineyard Update

05 June 2015

A few words from Henry Fessy's Director and winemaker Laurent Chevalier.

Winter 2015 was mild in Beaujolais but more rigorous than in 2014, even if we had less rain and no snow. It was one of the warmest winters since 1900 but was colder than last year with an average of 6.5°C degrees!

March was a very sunny month, very mild, with exceptionally high temperatures for the season. Despite that, because of the alternance of rainfall and sunshine, the bud break happened 10 days later than last year, around April 18th on the "Plateau de Bel-Air".

April and May 2015 were two very warm months with temperature never below 4°C and as warm as 30°C. Thanks to those high temperatures the risk of spring frosts was very low. At present the combination of rain and warm temperature makes us very attentive to the risk of oidium. Moreover the sudden warm weather forced us to speed up our work in the vineyards. We have to trim the vegetation between the rows, being careful not to leave new branches to grow too much as a strong wind could damage them. By mid-may the vineyards had caught up the delay that had been accumulated since the beginning of the growing season. To date the vegetation has progressed well and the number of clusters is normal but irregular depending on the area. Overall the growing conditions are very close to the ones of the 2009 vintage.

This all bodes well for a good season if the weather conditions stay stable. The vines are healthy and promising. We now await flowering late May or early June. Hopefully under good weather conditions, that is to say no rain or strong wind.