The 2022 Harvest
“2022, a long-awaited vintage!!”
Start of harvest – 31st August 2022
After a complicated year in 2021, winegrowers are smiling again with the arrival of the 2022 vintage, which is characterized by quality and quantity despite frost, heat waves and drought. But the road towards the harvest was fraught with difficulties. After a milder and drier than normal winter, 2022 began like 2021, with spring frosts. The winegrowers once again had to battle against frost. They feared the worst. Fortunately, at the end of March, on the eve of the frosts, the vineyards were at the stage of bud swelling and thus the development of the vine was a few days later than the average over the last 20 years.
This period of cold weather was quickly followed by mild temperatures which allowed the vines to quickly recover and the fruit-bearing buds to develop. The heterogeneity of the stages and situations seen during this period continued throughout the vine's growth cycle. On May 8th, there was a hail storm that hit a narrow strip of vineyards, with limited damage. The exceptionally warm spring of 2022 was a turning point: the rise in temperature in May gave a boost to the vegetation. Topping and trimming were performed at a frantic pace. Full flowering was observed at the end of May. The conditions were excellent, with little shatter or millerandage. And the result was beautiful! Although the vines were late in March, they were now ten days ahead of the average for the last 20 years. The vintage was shaping up to be an early one. On May 19, the Yonne department was placed under a drought watch.
A new hail storm hit the eastern part of the vineyard on June 19th, without causing too much damage. Then finally, a long-awaited rainfall arrived between June 21st and 25th, with variable accumulations depending on the sector, ranging from 42mm to 88mm in the Chablis area.
A dry spell followed throughout the month of July. The health of the vines was excellent: no rain, no disease! August 10, the Serein valley was designated as a drought crisis area; restrictions on water use were reinforced. The effects of the hot spells on the vines were limited and they withstood the hydric stress rather well. However, vineyards did suffer in shallow or sandy soils. Rain finally fell in mid-August, although the benefits varied according to the millimeters of rainfall.
The Domaine Servin began harvesting early the 31 st August to preserve as much acidity as possible. Small amount of rain fell either in the late afternoon or at night. The foliage, which was still in good health, benefited from it. Thanks to the rain, juice concentration was limited and the bunches of grapes were able to provide a good balance between sugar content and acidity. In the end a perfect balance was achieved and the vintage will go down as an excellent one with both the quality and quantity!!
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