2020 Canon Pécresse (BIO ORGANIC)

Canon Pecresse is only 4Ha, a jewel situated on the top of the limestone plateau. Clay-limestone soils Manual harvest Vinification : Barrel fermentation of 21 days, Fermentation at moderate temperature, Gentle extraction Maturation : 2/3 French oak barrels (40% new) 1/3 concrete tank CERTIFICATION BIO ECOCERT 2020 CANON PÉCRESSE 2020: AN INTENSE FIRST ORGANIC VINTAGE by Jean-Francis Pécresse 37.2°C in the afternoon. Or not far off... On 17 September 2020, when we started picking the young Merlot of Canon Pécresse, on this limestone plateau which had been reflecting the sun’s rays since morning, the thermometer went over 35 degrees in the afternoon. Unheard of in the forty-year memory of a grape picker... To preserve the quality of the grapes - and the health of the pickers – the harvest had to be suspended and started later “in the cool”. Even in 2003, a heatwave year, when we also started the harvest on 17 September, it wasn’t that hot... These high temperatures, peaking at 40 degrees in August, marked out 2020. Fortunately, they did not leave their mark on this vintage of Canon Pécresse. Started ten years ago now, with the arrival of Stéphane Derenoncourt as consultant to the estate, working the soil has allowed the vines, with their deep root network, to find the water and nutrients they need. They therefore stood up admirably to the water stress, without any blockage of ripening. With a complete absence of rainfall in July, the vineyard also benefited from a few providential storms in mid-August, which restarted the ripening process. The most difficult thing in 2020 was resisting the pressure - both symptomatic and psychological! - of downy mildew, favoured as rarely before by the rain that fell in abundance between mid-April and mid-June. It required extreme vigilance, being ready to respond to any alert. In the end, the intensity and frequency of attacks remained very low, with less than 4% impact from mildew, at the end of the growth cycle, across the entire vineyard. Proof here again that well-balanced plants have better capacity to resist. It is sometimes said that early vintages are the easiest. 2020 proves just the opposite. It was a gruelling season with important stakes: after three years of conversion, Canon Pécresse was preparing its first application for organic certification (with Ecocert). When it came, this 2020 exceeded expectations. This young wine has an unprecedented aromatic radiance, a purity of expression, an intensity too, which are certainly attributable to the years of organic work in the vineyard. The wine has got more volume and precision on the mid-palate. This 2020 is both a culmination and a beginning. The culmination of an approach carried out with conviction in favour of living soils. The beginning of a journey towards greater harmony between nature and the people who cultivate it.