2023 A Solar and Generous Vintage 2023 A Solar and Generous Vintage

2023 A Solar and Generous Vintage

At Château de la Chaize, the years follow one another but are not the same! The 2023 vintage will remain a warm year, opening with a mild and dry winter. Thus, there was no rain recorded throughout the month of February which benefited from average temperatures higher than 2°C compared to the climatic normal (1981-2010).

The welcome return of the cold and spring frosts in March fortunately had no impact on our vines thanks to later than average budburst. Spring then continued in a weather context very favorable to the growth of the vines, both in terms of the number and quality of the bunches in the making and the health of the plants.

The first flowers appeared towards the end of May, in an atmosphere very conducive to their blossoming, auguring a fertile and generous vintage.

The summer then continued with a particularly rainy and welcome month of June, making it possible to satisfy the physiological needs of the vine during a period when the formation of the clusters is decisive for the quality of the future grapes. We had the pleasure of finding rain again, this time more occasionally during two sunny and warm summer months.

As soon as veraison began - this year slightly late given the very high temperatures, the evolution of the maturity of the plots was the subject, as always, of very particular attention by our team working in the cellar. Thus, monitoring the maturity on a panel of plots representative of our different terroirs allowed us to fine-tune the start of this intense period in the life of the estate and to draw out the quintessence of our different localities.

It is therefore on very promising notes that the harvest opened on August 29, for a fortnight intense and rich in exchanges, during which the involvement of the teams in the vineyard and in the cellar remains decisive for the success of the vintage.

Winemaking at Château de la Chaize, a passionate team and state-of-the-art facilities

Quality is a major focus at the Domaine. Each operation is the result of meticulous and attentive work.

Upon receipt in our cellar, the harvest is sorted with the greatest rigor. This is followed by gravity vatting - to preserve all its aromatic potential, in our stainless steel and concrete vats, thanks to which fermentations can be finely controlled.

They are followed by a period of maceration which ends with gentle pressing to extract the best of the phenolic compounds, providing volume in the mouth.

The 2023 vintage is now being built in the cellar where it matures slowly but surely in wooden casks, which will give it all the character we recognize today.