Not really a fan of early vintage reports and classifications, I still would like to tell you some words about the grape quality of this year’s harvest at Domaine Santa Duc. Regarding bud-burst and flowering, one could say that 2011 was a precocious vintage. And though cool temperatures and sporadic rainfalls in July somehow dampened the enthusiasm of the vines, the following heat of August still predicted an early grape ripening. But experience tells, that one should be patient with “headstrong” grape varieties like Grenache, which never unfold their whole potential when they are rushed. So we decided to wait for them…

Harvest started on September 14^th, followed by 16 days of hand picking and sorting. All fermentations were done with natural yeasts and we waived destemming on our ripest grapes. Due to this game of patience, the considerable gain of grape quality enabled us to go for long term macerations – up to four weeks – alongside with delicate extraction, to build up a solid but soft tannin structure.

Today, the young wines are plenty of fruit and spices, but also show depth and continuity. Many reasons to start ageing of the wines in a quit manner.