As September comes to a close, we take a look back over the events that punctuated the end of summer. The harvest season, which has a bittersweet taste this year, is in full swing. Vignobles Bonfils has chosen to renew its commitment to environmental conservation and has some new releases in store at Château Capitoul.
It will come as a surprise to no-one, particularly farmers, to hear that it was all but plain sailing this year. It was a year of trials and tribulations for winegrowers, with frost in April, drying winds and blazing sunshine. Although we avoided wildfires, the weather was challenging, causing losses of around 40% compared with last year and making this year’s crop the lowest ever recorded by winegrowers across the region. Frost and drought do not make good bedfellows for winegrowing. The only positive aspect was that the weather kept disease at bay and paved the way for quality fruit. For the red wines, there is no cause for concern as we stock sufficient volumes. For the white varieties, which suffered the most, all we can do now is hope that 2022 will be kinder and not bring any more weather-related disasters.
Increasingly unpredictable weather conditions highlight the importance of support for the French farming industry by loyal sales partners. As wine producers, our task is to demonstrate adaptability by preparing the vineyards of Languedoc for the effects of the weather.
The job of growing wine is riddled with surprises and unforeseen events. So we are already taking good care of our vines knowing that they will yield tomorrow’s crop.
Drawing on an extensive range of varietals, which thrive on the array of surrounding vineyard sites, Château Capitoul offers the ultimate rendition of La Clape. Highlights include a new look for the Rocaille labels (where the logo had a make-over at the beginning of the year), a focus on the red Maëlma, one of the estate’s long-standing wines also available in magnums, and a new range due to be released shortly in the hospitality industry which is now available at the Château!
The range features the rosé Capitoul – Ôde which we introduced you to at the beginning of the summer. Château Capitoul – Rive, another food-friendly rosé matured in oak which is the epitome of finesse, is also part of the range.
The OROS Les Portes and OROS Cayenne labels are single-vineyard selections, because depending on where they grow, grape varieties do not react in the same way. The northern and highest block (Les Portes) is home to soils of shattered bedrock layered over rich humus. It yields fresh, elegant wines, whereas the southerly block (Cayenne) has more of an iodine-like side. The wines are a great opportunity to immerse yourself in two of the eighteen vineyard blocks at Château Capitoul.
The ultimate sun-kissed offering has been crafted and aptly named Solstice. The red wine is made from hand-picked fruit that gets the most sunshine, south of the Cayenne and Les Portes blocks. Finally, Les Oubliés is the delicious result of accidental late harvesting on a plot of Viognier, which was then ‘forgotten’, as its name implies, in barrels for fifteen years!
Journey to the heart of the estate and discover its secrets with these beautifully crafted La Clape and Languedoc appellation wines.
For more information, please contact Château Capitoul by e-mail: caveau.capitoul@bonfilswines.com or by phone on +33 4.48.22.07.24
World Clean Up Day took place on Saturday 18 September when more refuse was collected for the environmental association Project Rescue Ocean, founded by Benoit Schumann in a bid to raise awareness among the public – particularly young people – about the state of the environment. The association’s main objectives are to provide information, look after beaches, seas and oceans and reflect upon the origins and impact of waste. The association lays the groundwork for everyone to play their part. In 2020, 70 tonnes of waste were collected and sorted from 53 clean-up activities around the world.
To ensure the clean-up day was a success, Vignobles Bonfils engaged with local branches in Béziers and Narbonne (which opened in 2021).
The association arranged for volunteers to meet in Valras-Plage. The challenge set was two-fold – to collect as much waste as possible and to travel as many miles as possible without causing pollution, by bike, paddle or canoe, ahead of World Car-Free Day.
