Winery & Vintage Info
August makes the must, while September makes the wine. 2014 was no exception to this ancient wine-growing saying.
The high quality of this generous vintage was enhanced by exceptional late summer weather. The determination and hard work of the growers were rewarded this year by the arrival of a wonderful
Indian summer which allowed us to bring out the full expression of the typicity of the different terroirs of Prieuré-Lichine.
Winter was quite mild and rainy. Bud-break occurred around the usual dates in mid-March and indicated a potentially large-sized and even crop. Spring was particularly rainy and mild, which brought about the threat of fungal disease in the vines, forcing us to keep a very close watch on the vineyard to make sure it stayed in good health. June was quite dry, which ensured good flowering. A de-leafing was carried out to provide good ventilation of the bunches. Normal July weather was followed by particularly cool and damp conditions in August. The temperatures, 2 to 5°C below the seasonal norms, stretched out the veraison process and forced growers to remain on their guard against any outbreaks of disease in the vines.
At last, the much-needed hot, sunny weather allowed us to select and ferment high quality grapes, while preserving the identity of each individual parcel. We began the harvesting with the first Merlot on September 25. The last Cabernet was brought in on October 17.
The vinification process went smoothly with relatively long macerations for the vats and resulted in wines with ripe, very fine tannins and precise, complex aromatic expression showing floral, fruity and spicy notes. For their second year, the tulip-shaped vats, together with our use of pigeage (punching down the cap of skins), played an important role in our search for the highest quality. We were able to vinify each individual parcel separately while adapting the extraction precisely to the potential of each lot. The wines have a flavoursome profile with a dense, full and velvety mouth-feel and fully express the greatness of the Prieuré-Lichine terroir.
