Picking started on August 24th — eleven days earlier than anything in my father's notebooks. Here is what the season gave us, parcel by parcel, while the fermenters are still bubbling.
A Cool Spring Did the Pruning For Us
May stayed grey and drizzly, and for once we were grateful: flowering stretched over three weeks instead of one, which thinned the crop naturally. Small, loose clusters with thick skins — exactly what you want for colour and concentration, and none of the green thinning we usually dread in July.
The Whites Came First
Sauvignon blanc off the dawn slopes tested perfectly balanced on the 24th — grapefruit bright, acidity singing — so we picked the whole terrace before lunch. The rosé lots followed two days later, pale and fragrant. If you drink one wine to taste this weather, make it the 2026 Rosé de Vallée when it lands next spring.
“The old vines simply shrugged at the heat spike. Seventy-year-old roots have seen worse summers than this one.”
Reds Are Fermenting Now
Pinot came in during the first week of September, black and perfumed; cabernet will hang until October if the mild nights hold. The cellar smells of crushed berries and ambition. Punch-downs at dawn, tastings at dusk — visitors this month get the full aromatic chaos free with every flight.
What It Means for Your Glass
Early verdict: a fresh, fragrant vintage — lower alcohol than the big 2024s, higher perfume, and whites with real nerve. The reds will need their full fourteen months, but the barrels already smell promising. Come judge for yourself at the Autumn Crush Festival.