queenie with our home made faggot IMG_6836 IMG_6834 IMG_4966
6th september 2015
Cinsault is a red grape often used in the Languedoc to make Rose- it reaches maturity with a low potential alchohol ,has a thin skin, gives little colour and is full of red fruit aromas.
The parcel of cinsault here is up on the ridge behind the Mas .There is a fine view of the Mediteranean and a good breeze . The soil is not rich, full of round sandstones, quartz and granite and it drains well .
We had earmarked 4 rows to make our first wine that was to be juicy fruity easy drinking red “vin de soif” -thirst wine. We watched the grapes mature , squeezing, tasting ,checking their sugar content from mid August.
Everyone said its going to be an early harvest this year -it had been very hot , little rain , the fruit would sweet …and then the rain came . The heavy downpours reduced the concentration of the fruit and worst of all created perfect conditions for grey rot. Lots of the grapes gorged with water and split ,juices running ,the fungus invited by humidity .We needed the dry wind from the south but got more moisture from the Med. Looking back on it a lot of the rot could have been avoided – we chose our grapes carefully only putting deliciously ripe and healthy fruit into the cuve and learnt alot
The syrah however did not do so well :before it reached maturity it was devasted by the pouriture .We had taken a risk that it would survive and we had to save what we could.