” Gorgeous ! In the middle of the vineyards of the family estate in Aube, Elise Torchet does not hide her enthusiasm. The harvest began this morning in some Champagne communes and is already looking exceptional. “The harvest will be abundant”, confirms his son Pierre-Henri without taking too many risks.
You just have to look at a few vine plants to realize it: the clusters of grapes are numerous and above all of an unusual size. “On average over the last ten years, they were 160 grams each. This time, we are at 220-230 grams! “, explains the winemaker based in Villenauxe-la-Grande. “It’s a record since we took readings in 1956,” says the Champagne Committee. “The previous one dated from 2005, with 175 grams. There it is way above. »
How can such a result be explained? “Apart from climate change, we do not see”, still indicates the spokesperson of the interprofession while evoking nevertheless a rather favorable weather. “We had the driest winter on record and then a fairly normal spring in terms of rain so the vines were able to grow normally. And this summer, no hail, no illness… At the end of July, all the lights were green. It just deteriorated a bit with the heavy August rainfall. Mixed with the heat, it brought out outbreaks of Botrytis, gray rot, but nothing serious. And the grape continued to grow! »
So that the cutters will have the choice this year in the ranks. In some plots, they shouldn’t even take everything. At the risk of not respecting the regulations. The Champagne Committee has in fact set yields for 2023 at 11,400 kilograms of grapes per hectare, slightly less than the 12,000 kg/ha for 2022. “The goal is to always find a balance between supply and demand”, explains Guillaume Doyard, harvester-handler in Vertes (Marne). “In some vines, there must be 20,000 to 25,000 kg/ha…”
“We can store more juice”
Why force some owners to leave half of the grapes on site? Not quite since overruns of the yield are authorized. First to supply individual reserves, previously authorized at the rate of 8,000 kg/ha. The ceiling has just been raised to 10,000 kg/ha by the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO). “That means that we can store more juice and that will be useful in the event of poor harvests in the coming years,” continues Guillaume Doyard, who also plans to pick grapes as part of “authorized yield overruns (DRA)”. “I plan to make fines which will later be used for marc de Champagne or ratafia”, he specifies again, he who therefore plans “to harvest almost everything”.
At the Torchet estate, it will be different. “We are going to leave the less beautiful plots and we often have less qualitative juice at the end of the press. We will therefore allow ourselves to replace it with more qualitative juice”, foresees the buyer, who has just gone organic. “But grapes will surely remain. It’s a bit of a shame, it’s true. »
Future consumers should forgive them. Especially if the Champagne turns out to be better on arrival? “We can’t know yet, it’s too early, it doesn’t just depend on the abundance”, we answer the interprofession. “A Champagne is an assembly over three years”, adds Pierre-Henri Torchet. “But when it’s excellent, it’s a combination of small details, including the quality of the grapes. »