2008 started off badly. We had a lot of rain during the summer and even at the beginning of September.

Mildiou was controlled but we were worried that we would get more rain but then the Mistral started to blow on the 11th September. It was a very strong Mistral and it blew for 5 days with an average of 35-40km/hr and gusts of 80km/hr.

This kind of weather that makes winemakers happy but drives holidaymakers crazy dried out the ground and the grapes very quickly and saved the first week of the harvest, see detail bellow.

It is too soon to come to any kind of conclusion on the vintage but if the weather remains stable we shall be producing some lovely wines. The yields will be low due to the wet weather we had at the moment of the flowering of some of the varietals.

Monday Sept. 15th

The mistral blew all weekend and is still strong today.
Temperatures are falling : 14°C in the morning : 21°C in the afternoon
These are ideal temperatures for harvesting the whites and the reds before fermentation
We started at 8am today with a small team of harvesters:
- Syrah from Coudoulet
- Grenache from Laudun (North East of Châteauneuf du Pape) for our Perrin Réserve, AOC Côtes du Rhône

Tuesday Sept. 16th

The Mistral is still blowing! and the temperatures are identical to yesterday.

- We finished harvesting the Syrah from Coudoulet
- We then followed the day with the Old Vines of Roussanne (3 hectares) and some slightly younger ones for our traditionnal Château de Beaucastel White.

- Finally we ended the day harvesting the small plot that we farm next to the Castle in Châteauneuf du Pape. These grapes are used in Les Sinards blanc, Perrin & Fils, AOC Châteauneuf du Pape.

Wednesday Sept.17

The intensity of the Mistral has reduced.
We decided to harvest part of the Grenache from Coudoulet that has matured

Thursday Sept. 18

Today the wind has stopped, the sky is cloudy but it's not raining.

The temperatures are seasonal with 23°C in the afternoon

We decided first thing this morning to finish the plots of Château de Beaucastel White: Grenache blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Picardan and the younger Roussanne.

We also started harvesting the Syrah at Beaucastel for the Châteauneuf du Pape.