11/10/2026
Extreme year, extreme vineyard
Bleuwen, our Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) plot, has very stony soil with little topsoil. We could see the drought stress in the vines early on. The leaves turned yellow and brown, the berries stayed small and thick-skinned, and the yield was very low…
In July, a hailstorm came on top of that. We were lucky, it only caught us at the edges, and the damage remained manageable. The affected berries had dried out well, and mostly we only had to sort out individual ones. Still, Bleuwen was the plot where we sorted the most this year. A big thank you to our harvest crew for sorting berry by berry with us and never losing their good mood!
But the drought and the hail also had an upside: ripening was delayed. This allowed us to give the grapes more time to ripen, without excessive sugar levels. On September 2, we picked the last Pinot Noir grapes of the year here, with a yield of 20 hl/ha.
The result is a w**e that is very concentrated, ethereal and dark – yet only 12% alcohol. We’re curious to see how it develops. It will be available in bottle in 2028. ✨
🜃
Harvest at Bleuwen through Lizzy’s eyes.
Photos: Lizzy Zaanen
