March ’09; I’m sitting on the TGV on my way from Paris, it’s the middle of March and as the suburbs of Paris fade away, the landscape becomes softer and the idylls more rural. The vines change from greyish to springy green shimmering, still with greyish shimmering elements of a long and bitter winter. Most vineyards are in the starting pits to shoot away their beautiful shoots, later everything is in the hands of the winemakers who expectantly and eagerly wander between the fermenting vats and to see what will happen. How is the 2008 vintage? Is it a legendary vintage on par with the ’96, the ’88, the ’79 or even the ’61? Anyone who has patience will know in a few years.
