Harvesting the 2013 vintage (video)

Following on from a cold and wet spring and an exceptionally warm and sunny summer, the weather forecast for late September and early October was not very good. In anticipation, and to speed up the harvest, the call went out to all the employees of Baron Philippe de Rothschild to join the pickers. Leaving their day-to-day tasks, 125 irregulars rallied round with enthusiasm to join the battalion of regular harvesters. The harvest at Château Clerc Milon took place from 1 to 10 October 2013. Starting with the Merlot, the pickers went on to harvest the Cabernet Franc, the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Petit Verdot and the Carmenere.

Hand-picked then transported to the Château Clerc Milon winery in open baskets to keep them intact, the grapes entered a meticulous selection process. Having been hand-sorted by the harvesters, they were then fed into the optical sorter which, applying precise criteria, selected only those grapes worthy of making Château Clerc Milon.

Now in the winery’s gravity-fed vat room, the grape must has started to ferment. This stage of the vinification process will come to an end in a few weeks’ time, when the wine is run off and the pomace pressed. The wine will be taken in barrels down to the Clerc Milon barrel hall, where it will begin an 18-month maturing process.

Headed by Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, the technical team taste each vat every day and are already talking of a fine structure with ripe, almost jammy fruit flavours. 2013 looks like being a promising vintage !