Despite blog silence over recent months we’ve been keeping busy here at clos rocailleux. Of course looking after the vines is the big thing and a massive consumer of time. We did a rough calculation the other day of the number of times we touch our vines each season – pruning, tying down, bud rubbing, shoot thinning, tucking in, green harvesting etc etc. Our conservative estimate was 10 times per vine or a mind boggling quarter of a million touches across our 25 000 vines. So you know where we’ve spent a chunk of 2013!
In addition, this year we’ve had a couple of big, one-off, projects. Firstly we’ve been designing our labels and packaging with fantastic assistance from specialist wine designer Roger Lewis. For anyone who thinks branding is quick and easy – think again! Secondly we’ve been building and equipping a new winery and tasting room. It’s nearing completion and with the harvest fast approaching its just in time.
Along the way we’ve bottled and started to sell our wines locally in France – including at the Gaillac Wine Fair (that’s us doing our stuff in the cute “chalet”). We were also delighted to have our Duras Rosé selected by the Wine Gang to represent the South West of France at the newly opened Maison des Vins in Smithfield Market in London.
The next big event will obviously be the harvest which is likely to start in about 3 weeks time. We’ll keep you posted on developments!