Vineyard
5 min read
Why we prune in the cold
Pruning starts the week after the new year. A short note on cold hands, two buds per cane and the vintage they decide.
Written by
Hélène Marchal
Vineyard manager
Every January the estate goes quiet, and the vineyard gets loud with secateurs. Pruning is the first decision of the vintage and the one we cannot take back: how many buds we leave on each vine decides how many bunches it will carry in September.
Two buds, not three
On the upper slope we leave two buds per spur. The chalk gives little, and a vine that is asked for less gives better grapes. Lower down, where the clay is deeper, we allow a little more.
What we look for on each vine
We walk every row twice. The first pass removes the dead wood, the second is the real choice.
the cane that grew in the sun, not in the shade
a clean cut, angled away from the bud
enough distance from last year’s wounds
By the end of February the hill looks shaved and orderly. The cuttings are burned in small fires along the wall, and the first bottle of the new Coteau Nord is opened for whoever finished their rows first.
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When to open a bottle early, when to pour straight away, and the one wine we never decant.
Cellar
The barrel is a slow conversation
Large oak, old barrels and very little new wood: how we choose the vessel for each wine.