While the grape harvest ended on September 7, the 2018 harvest is already a milestone in the vineyards of Maison Mumm. Its precocity, yield and quality make it exceptional in more ways than one.
We have to go back a few months to understand how nature shaped the harvest. The rather cold winter in Champagne, with even a few days of snow, was particularly rainy. This humidity of course made it possible to supply the vines with water until the summer, while ensuring good diffusion of the minerals necessary for the growth of the plant.
In spring, the good weather settled in for a long time, only a few bad weather events refreshed the vines at the right times and in the right quantities. It was from the flowering that the year began to show its precocity, with the appearance of flowers from the first three days of June, almost two weeks in advance.
With the dry summer that followed, all the conditions were then met to write the ideal scenario for a superb harvest. “At the end of August, the vineyard was revealed to be in impeccable health, without any trace of disease or parasites such as botrytis,” emphasizes Thierry Bidaut, vineyard manager. For once, it was not the Chardonnay but the Pinot Noir that were the first to reach optimum maturity. On August 24, about two weeks early, the harvest was able to begin in the villages of Aÿ and Bouzy, vintages that can be found in the RSRV 4.5 and Rosé Foujita cuvées.
During the harvest, cool nights followed by warm days provided ideal conditions for preserving the berries, contributing to the fine quality of the harvest and its quantities, which were greater than the average for previous years.
The grapes already have a good balance between sugar and acidity, guaranteeing the freshness sought for RSRV vintages. While waiting for the tasting of the clear wines at the beginning of 2019, work in the vat room was able to begin with a promising outlook.
