2008 at Domaine de Marcoux

Winter was relatively mild: just a few cold days in November and late February, and a huge Mistral in early March.
In late April, the rain settled in, alternating with sunshine and warmth. We know what that means: downy mildew. But even when farming organically, we managed to keep it at bay on practically all our plots. Only two of them, in a wetter district, were slightly worse affected.
Summer wasn’t great, with a storm every week! And then on 11 September, a deluge: it bucketed down (60-160 mm, depending on the districts), huge gusts of wind, and hail on Pradel and Arnesque. We thought the crop was lost, and our minds went back to 2002; but a strong cold Mistral got up the very next day, drying the vines and concentrating the grapes.
Fine weather then settled in, enabling us to finish the harvest with no hitches on 7 October – just in time, as rain fell relentlessly on the 8th and 9th, and lasted throughout autumn!
The crop was small, and demanded very conscientious sorting.