After a rainless month of December the vines received plentiful precipitation, sometimes in the form of thunderstorms – 200mm/m² in January and 135mm/m² in February.

With just a handful of morning temperatures under 0°C, the three first months of winter were constantly mild: as far as we can remember, the last two major episodes of snowfall and freezing temperatures date back to January 2007 and February 2012.

This winter, the moist and relatively warm soils gave us a chance to plant replacement vines. The weather conditions also fostered growth of the green manure crops (cereals and pulses) sown in the autumn.

As a result, by February 20th, the vegetation was one month ahead compared with the same period in 2015; this advance was evident in the growth of the buds on the Merlot and certain blossoms (willow, dandelions, etc.).

Since then, chillier temperatures and a northerly wind have been the norm and by March 15^th, the advance was virtually imperceptible. We’ll keep you posted.