A Hidden Gemme: My experience of the 2016 Bordeaux harvest at Château Caronne

This October, I had the pleasure of heading across the Channel to participate in the 2016 harvest (or vendange) in Bordeaux. My hosts were the good folks at Château Caronne Ste Gemme: a family-owned estate in Haut-Médoc about an hour north of the city of Bordeaux, close to the small town of Saint-Laurent-Médoc. I was to stay with the Château owners, the Nony family, at the estate during the harvest, observing the inner workings of life in the vineyard and the winery and pitching in wherever I could. Below is an account of my time spent at Caronne Ste Gemme, along with some poorly-shot touristy photos. Here's to what promises to be a great 2016 vintage!

Disembarking from the plane, I breathed in the warm early evening Atlantic air and headed towards the terminal at Bordeaux Airport (warm being a relative term of course; it had only been about 5 degrees in Luton!). After clearing security and picking up my rental car, I left the airport and drove the 45km northwards into the Médoc and towards the Château. I always love spending time meandering through France and taking in the sights and sounds of daily life, but it's rather more difficult to do when driving on the wrong side for the first time and trying to remember which side the gearbox is on. Suffice to say, the car's windscreen wipers were my primary source of indication at roundabouts. After a traumatic drive, I pulled up at the Château where I was warmly greeted by François and Georges Nony, two brothers who were the estate's owner and manager respectively. I settled into my room in the surroundings of the beautiful Château and looked out upon the rows and rows of vines stretching out into the distance. A hearty family meal later, supplemented with much wine and bonhomie, I turned in for the night, anxious to see what the upcoming week had in store for me.

The view from my bedroom window looking out across the vineyard. The winery and cellars can be seen in the background.

Directions outside the winery. Ch Labat is a smallish 7ha plot also owned by the Nony Family, effectively the second wine of Caronne

The first and second days were spent in the vineyard itself, of which Caronne comprises 45 hectares planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. The Cru Bourgeois-rated estate (a labelling term granted to the best Médoc châteaux who were overlooked in the 1855 Classification) possesses an enviable location, on the borders of the St-Julien appellation and flanked by the classed growths of Gruaud-Larose and Lagrange. As such, Caronne shares the same gravelly soils which are so suited to growing high-quality Cabernet, as well as sandier, clay-based soils ideal for Merlot. Stepping out into the crisp morning air, armed only with a pair of gloves, a small basket and secateurs, I joined my fellow vendangeurs and began collecting the fruit. We worked row by row, vine by vine, occasionally stopping to pour the grapes into the larger bucket on the back of one of my colleagues. The difference between manual and machine harvesting is much discussed, and I'm a firm believer in the former raising the quality of the finished wine. Certainly, we were able to discriminate much better between the ripe grapes and the rotten ones, which the machine harvesters working on different vineyard plots were unable to do. Despite the strenuous nature of labouring among the vines, I cherished every second of the work as it really brought home the importance of good base material to the finished product. Without respect for proper viticultural practices (i.e. correct trellising, leaf stripping etc.) and respect for terroir (i.e. which grapes grow best on which soils), there would be little point in expecting a successful end result. More and more Bordelais wine producers now understand that the quality of the wine comes primarily from the vineyard, not the winery, and I think this is certainly evident in the quality of Caronne's finished wine.

Gravelly soils for Cabernet...

...and sandy soils for Merlot

 

My fellow vendangeurs at Caronne

Towards the middle of the week, I hung up my secateurs and went to work in the winery itself. Château Caronne was one of the last estates in the Médoc to harvest in 2016 (the threat of rains and rot virtually non-existent), but the forecast had begun to turn and so more machine harvesters were sent out to the vines, whereas the manpower was concentrated in the winery. To my mild surprise, operations in the winery were headed up by 24 year old maître de chai Henri, assisted by his equally young colleague Alex. Henri and Alex were in charge of everything from the moment the grapes arrived on the sorting table to the final fermentation. Both worked with an incredible mix of whirlwind energy and cool-headedness which showed a maturity far beyond their years. For someone like myself who had no prior experience of working in a winery (manual labour and retailing I can do; scientist I ain't!) I was initially very daunted at the sight of enormous industrial steel vats, an array of interconnected piping and hoses, and noisy equipment and machinery which I hadn't the foggiest as to their purpose. Fortunately for me, also staying at the Château was an American guy called Mike, who had arrived a week prior to me. Because the harvest had been delayed, Mike had spent most of his time shadowing Henri and Alex, and was therefore able to show me the basics of what was going on. Wearing ear defenders and communicating in a mix of hand gestures and broken French, I spent my time scrambling around the vast winery, doing basic tasks like monitoring sugar levels in fermenting juice, mixing yeast and tannin solutions to be poured into the vats and helping to sort the grapes as they arrived on the tractors. Although at the time I felt frantic and slightly useless, in retrospect I think I learnt an awful lot and was exposed to machinery and processes which I'd never known existed. It was also beneficial for me to appreciate the 'intermediary' stage of winemaking: I had good knowledge of processes in the vineyard and, of course, am enamoured with the finished article, but I'd never really given much thought to the place of the winery and its role as the engine room of winemaking. Despite having preferred the relative sanctuary of the vineyard, I certainly don't regret having had the opportunity to experience the other side of the winemaking coin.

 

The winery at Ch Caronne Ste Gemme

Grapes arriving into the winery, where they are subsequently sorted (below)

Henri, Alex and Mike tending to one of the fermentation vats

Not a bad place for a coffee break!

On the last full day, Friday, before my departure the following morning, myself and Mike were allowed a day off to explore the region and visit the city of Bordeaux itself. Bordeaux is an historic port city on the banks of the Garonne River - a fact not insignificant to the success of the region's wines. We spent the morning wandering around the city centre, taking in the sights and doing vaguely touristy things. For lunch, we travelled across the city to St-Emilion and to the Grand Cru Classé estate at Château La Dominique. We enjoyed a three course lunch at the restaurant overlooking the vineyards - La Terrasse Rouge - as well as knocking back a few glasses of their second wine, Relais de la Dominque. On the drive back to Caronne, we toured around some more of the Médoc estates, and even managed to blag a little tasting at Château Pontet-Canet, a Pauillac Fifth Growth and one of the few Bordeaux châteaux to have fully embraced biodynamics. The estate's 2008, whilst young, will remain in my mind as one of the best wines I've tried for many years to come.

View from La Terrasse Rouge at Ch La Dominique

When Saturday morning came, I felt a mixture of regret at having to leave Château Caronne, but also a great satisfaction in knowing that I'd had the opportunity to visit the estate at such an important moment in the year. I felt the uniqueness of my experience too: each vintage in Bordeaux is inimitable, and the wine that is produced at Caronne next year will be different to the one that I had the pleasure to share in. After loading the car, I bade my farewells to the family, Mike, Henri, Alex and everyone who I'd met during the week. François very generously offered me a bottle from his cellar, so my magnum of Caronne 2012 is now under lock and key until an appropriately special moment in my future. I drove down the estate's pebbled road, turned back one last time to look at the Château, then headed towards the airport. Au revoir Bordeaux! I will miss your charms, your beauty and your idiosyncrasies, but at least I will have the pleasure of drinking your varied and delightful offerings until my next visit.

My generous hosts, Francois and Georges Nony, at dinner

Goodnight Caronne!

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N.B. Over the course of the week, I had the opportunity to try many vintages of Caronne Ste Gemme, including several dating back a couple of decades. As with other top quality red Bordeaux, there is pleasure to be had in drinking Caronne at all stages of its life, from infnacy right through to old age. The current vintage of the estate's wine available in the UK is the 2011. Below are some of my notes on the 2011, which is a great example for anyone looking to understand Cru Bourgeois-level Claret. Enjoy!

The 2011 has a deep ruby (still opaque) colour, with an intense nose of blackcurrant, cedar and smoke. With aeration, notes of Oriental spice emerge (jasmine?). The palate is nicely austere, with reassuringly classic Médoc flavours of blackcurrant and pencil lead. The Cabernet is evident in the blend. The wines finishes long and linear, with tannins that are just beginning to show signs of drying. Drink until 2022 with roast beef or similarly hearty fare.