The vines have so much to tell us…

In the last few days, a strange music has been heard in my cellar!

The first whites and rosé of the young 2020 vintage are coming!

On the bottling line, in the jerky rhythm of the glass clattering against each other, here they are, these pretty bottles which, like a brass band in tight rows, are now getting ready to leave my cellar to invite themselves to your tables!

This is the sign of a year that is coming to an end and another one that is beginning. This is especially the time for me to share with you my story, the one I live in my vineyard with my vines. However, it will not be me who, through these few lines, is going to tell it to you…. Not because I don’t feel like it, but because I know the vines will accomplish this task!

Who then could take my place to tell you this story? Well, they are my bottles, which once opened are like books in which you can read about the adventures of the vineyard. The vines, thanks to the wine they produce, have this incredible faculty: the power to transmit their emotions to us. So let yourself go, open a bottle, close your eyes and feel… it’s all there!

The vines speak to us and tell us how they live and perceive their environment. They know how to describe to us if the climate has been generous, or if the ecosystem of the soil is healthy. Of course, it takes a little time and a few deciphering keys to understand this language. But don’t be afraid and let your emotions guide you. If you feel pleasure and a few memories come to mind, you are on the right track. It could be, for example, the sensations of a walk in a field covered with flowers in spring, or the smell of strawberries or gooseberries from the vegetable garden,… It’s as simple as that, the vines talk to you and you start to hear their stories.

Perhaps they will tell you my work alongside them. The interest I have for them and the care I take for the soil they feed on. The meticulous work of the men where each gesture requires reflection and attention. The many interesting anecdotes are often the most pleasant moments…

For those who will have the joy of tasting the many cuvées of Chateau de Raissac vintage 2020, it is very likely that my Chardonnay vines will tell them about the snails that last spring devoured their young shoots. But also how their attack was repelled, thanks to a concoction of wild thyme. Those who will taste the “Les Carabenas” cuvée will hear the terrifying tale of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes as they pass through the monstrous clouds that dumped large hailstones on them at the end of July, breaking leaves and grapes as they passed by. You will also perceive their greatest satisfaction, because the water was at the rendezvous this year and the sun was also there.

As you can see, my vines are much more talkative than I am and their stories are always fascinating and varied. So I invite you to let my bottles of wine invite themselves into your homes. They will make you live, I hope, the same happiness that I feel when I am near them.

Mes amitiés,

GUSTAVE VIENNET – Vigneron

Château de Raissac, Bézier France