A lovely day today. The wind has dropped, and it is hotter than it was during the past few days.

This time we are starting our harvest at Vinsobres. The Syrah there is now very ripe and deep in colour. We have about 45 hectares (110 acres) of vines in Vinsobres, at a place called « Les Cornuds ». We purchased this estate in two stages over the past three years. Its vines are terraced and lie at an average height above sea-level of 300 metres. Vinsobres is an area that shows great potential for us, especially for the Syrah grape. This variety seems to show more finesse and crispness of flavours when produced in Vinsobres than in any other village of the Southern Rhône region, and at lower altitudes. In a nutshell, Vinsobres is the Southern Rhône village whose style is closest to the Northern Rhône.

The village of Vinsobres

In 2003 we produced three different wines from our estate in Vinsobres, in the following quantities:
- 6000 bottles of 'Les Hauts de Julien', which was made for the first time in the 2003 vintage, from a plot of old vines co-planted with Syrah and Grenache.
- 18000 bottles of 'Les Cornuds', a 50/50 blend of Syrah and Grenache.
- The rest of the production (around 80000 bottles) is declassified to Côtes du Rhône and goes into the blend of the Perrin Réserve.
These proportions will probably remain steady this year.

At Beaucastel, we pick Bourboulenc in the morning, and continue with the red Grenache for the remainder of the day.

The first box of Bourboulenc grapes come into the winery

At Gigondas and Vacqueyras, we are also in full swing with the harvest. The Grenaches are superb, and most of the Syrah has now been picked.