2017 is a year of all contrasts: the winter, excessively beautiful and mild, favored an early and rapid budburst. Unfortunately, this great start was brutally stopped by 2 terribly cold nights at the end of April.

The frost hit 45% of Château Paloumey vineyard: the last time it happened was in 1991! The frost was so vigorous that the affected vines could not be harvested.

Fortunately Mother Nature was much more lenient in the months that followed. The heat of May allowed the grapes to come out very well and the dry summer without excessive heat favored obtaining healthy grapes that were balanced. The good ripening of the grapes was facilitated by the good weather in September and early October.

So yes, the yields are low, certainly but the quality is there and we are happy to share with you this vintage that we like to describe as "survivor".

The conversion of the Château Paloumey vineyard to organic farming started 3 years ago. The 2017 vintage marks the first year of official transition to certification.