25 September 2024
2024 White Grape Harvest: A Promising Year
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Ideal weather conditions
Château La Garde and Château Rahoul have wrapped up their white grape harvest, showing great potential for the 2024 vintage, particularly for Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
The summer’s alternating warm days and cool nights provided the perfect conditions for enhancing aromatic expression while preserving the grapes’ natural acidity. A welcome rainfall on August 28 accelerated ripening without compromising fruit quality.
Harvesting began on September 3 at Château La Garde with Sauvignon Blanc, followed shortly by Sémillon at Château Rahoul from September 5 to 17, an optimal timeframe to fully capture the richness of these varieties.
The 2024 vintage remind us that resilience is a winemaker’s greatest asset.
– Frédéric Bonnaffous, Director of wines
The entire harvest at both Château La Garde and Château Rahoul was conducted by hand, ensuring meticulous grape selection. For the Sémillon grapes, successive pickings spaced a week apart allowed the team to gather only perfectly ripe fruit, ensuring finesse and exceptional quality.
This rigorous sorting process preserved the finest berries, a crucial step in crafting white wines of remarkable purity and precision.
A fermentation
under control
As the harvest concluded, the first juices began fermenting, already showcasing remarkable freshness and aromatic intensity.
Refined and elegant, they reveal a potential reminiscent of outstanding white vintages such as 2023 and 2019, thanks to their excellent acidity. With an estimated alcohol level of around 12.5%, the wines are poised to achieve perfect balance.
Red grapes harvest has begun
Our estates managers have been through the unpredictable weather, with alternating showers and sunny spells, to determine the perfect time to start the red grape picking. The harvest officially began on September 23 across its vineyards. This extended waiting period promises great surprises for the quality of the vintage. Stay tuned!
