Harvest 2007

Another interesting harvest period at Domaine Chater this year! At the time of writing (4th October) we are still waiting to get full ripeness for our red wines. A cool wet August seems to have delayed the ripening process quite dramatically. The weather forecast changes every day so predictions have become very difficult - the last few days have been great (sunny with termperatures into the mid-twenties) and our fingers are crossed for more sun.

We have picked our sauvignon blanc for our white wines and cabernet franc to make our rosé. Left, José's team gets started on the first harvest of the year.

The volume of sauvignon is low this year and this seems to be common across our region but we're very pleased with the quality. It's at an early stage but the aromas of the sauvignon blanc seem very floral this year with good gooseberry and apricot tones.

We take the usual care at reception to sort the grapes, helped out by friends and family.

Taking a break while the grapes are pressed.

A well-earned lunch before picking the rest of the sauvignon blanc.

So, prognosis so far. Sauvignon looks good, rosé is very fruity and possibly slightly lighter in style than previous years. Fingers are well and truly crossed for the reds to ripen!