The 2023 vintage was very mixed in the Rhône Valley, from a meteorological point of view.
For our Labadens wines, the harvest was staggered: the white grapes at Vacqueyras were picked in the middle of a heat wave on August 22, with the roussannes and white grenaches already reaching 14.5° alcohol; fortunately, the clairettes, picked a month later with several rains in between, only reached 13° alcohol. The last grapes harvested were for the Cuvée César, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where the Grenache and Mourvèdre were picked on October 5.
Other vagaries of the weather, this time in Crozes-Hermitage: the Syrahs in the cuvée Panisse had to be picked urgently on September 20, after a storm broke out on the 18th, bringing a sudden 200 mm of rain. 10 days earlier, 100 mm had already fallen: this was beginning to take its toll on the grapes, which were in danger of rotting.
Despite all these ups and downs, which made harvesting stressful and tiring, the final quality of the wines is very satisfactory: the whites are aromatic and well-balanced: we were able to keep freshness by harvesting early enough to preserve acidity, and not go too high in degree.
The reds are generous, with beautiful, intense colors and reasonable degrees for the Syrahs, which balance out the Grenache, which is sometimes high in alcohol.
Just a little more patience and we'll let you discover the 2023 vintage for some of the cuvées from next spring!
