November 2020: Domaine de la Pousse D’Or’s 2020 harvest is predicted to be one of their best yet, as the biodynamic work starts to shine through the adverse weather conditions and while the estate adapted to the impacts of the pandemic on harvesting. The Domaine de la Pousse was this year blessed with a combination of quality grapes and extreme weather conditions which resulted in a bumper harvest and is set to produce an eagerly anticipated fine Burgundy wine.
Harvesting took place in the early hours of the morning between 6h30 and 7h30 and was carefully navigated around the hottest parts of the day to ensure sorting of the grapes could take place during the cooler hours of the day. The manually intensive process was impacted by the global pandemic as owner & winemaker, Benoit Landanger explains: –
“Usually we accommodate 36 harvesters onsite at the domain. This year, because of the COVID-19 social distancing rules we were only allowed 12 people which simply isn’t enough to harvest our full crop safely. We partnered with a local specialist service company to fill the gap. Each worker was pre allocated a bubble; with harvesters kept separate and went straight into the vineyard to ensure no mixing between people working on the sorting table and in the winery.”
The estate’s conversion to biodynamic viticulture in 1997 by Benoit’s father, Patrick Landanger is what Benoit believes has resulted in this year’s particularly fine vintage. This is because the practice of biodynamic viticulture relies on no chemical intervention possible in the process of winemaking, the soil is ploughed mechanically to ensure that it is kept soft and aerated, meanwhile the cellars are managed in accordance with the phases of the moon. Meaning that the soils, considering the hot weather, are well balanced due to the biodiversity and therefore retained humidity during the warm year. The estate believes that the practice of biodynamic viticulture, seen by the estates DETEXER qualification gained in 2014 will ensure that the 2019s are some of their most impressive wines yet.
The 2020 harvest saw Domaine de La Pousse D’Or’s 17Hectare estate reach volumes of 25-35 hectolitres per hectare, a satisfying quantity for the estate.
