2023 L'Évangile

L’Evangile has enjoyed a new lease of life since the arrival of Olivier Trégoat and Juliette Couderc. It was the latter that welcomed me at the estate. “April, May and June were very dry,” she told me. “We didn't have the storms from the Gironde in June as they went more towards Fronsac and Castillon, so the flowering was very dry. We were worried about hydric stress due to the gravel soils, and we needed water. Then, we had 70mm in seven days between June 19 and 26. This meant we had to treat every day due to mildew pressure, then wait 15 days to see if it exploded. We were happy we didn’t have mildew, but the vines were laden with bunches, so the potential yield was up to 70hL/ha. We had to green harvest, and in the end, we cropped around 45hL/ha, taking out around 25% of the grapes. June’s rain replenished the water supply. July was cold but dry, and véraison was pretty late. Then August saw the heatwave with some days around 34°C until mid-September, so we had some échaudage [shriveled berries.] We started the harvest on September 4 and started on the eastern part with a bit of burnt berries used for the Blason. In the second week, we picked the Merlot and Cabernet Franc until September 28, though the final Cabernet Franc, which was a bit flabby, is also in the Blason. It was my easiest vinification as I could push the extraction for the first time since I arrived, pumping over in the morning and using longer maceration. It was much easier to choose the identity of the lots and how to blend them, unlike in 2022.”