{"id":4100,"date":"2025-12-20T21:45:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.chateaupapounan.fr\/vendanges-2025-au-chateau-papounan\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T05:27:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T03:27:41","slug":"2025-harvest-at-chateau-papounan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/vendanges-2025-au-chateau-papounan\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvesting at Ch\u00e2teau Papounan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a little before 8 a.m. when we began our third harvest at Ch\u00e2teau Papounan. The morning was cool, typical of autumns in the Medoc<\/strong>, But the sun quickly warmed up our vineyards. The timing was perfect \u2013 a week after the M\u00e9doc Wine Marathon<\/a>, The perfect weekend to harvest our grapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 vintage should be very good!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All the winemakers of the appellation Saint-Est\u00e8phe<\/strong> They all agree: 2025 will be an exceptional vintage. Despite a dry summer that kept the berries small, the aromatic concentration of our grapes is remarkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our plot of 0.2 hectares<\/strong>, planted in equal parts with Merlot<\/strong> and Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong>, which enjoyed ideal weather, sparing us from the usual diseases such as mildew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the lack of rain in July and early August kept the bunches quite small, which concentrates the aromas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Vines<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Bunches<\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, it rained well in late August and early September, just enough to give the grains some volume without diluting this beautiful concentration. When we cut the clusters that morning, we immediately noticed the quality: magnificent grains, a perfect blush, ideal maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old-timers say that years ending in 5 always produce great vintages in the M\u00e9doc. 2005, 2015, and now 2025. Coincidence or not, looking at our clusters this year, we have a desire to believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvesting is so much better with friends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This year, we weren\u2019t alone. Our friends Marc and R\u00e9jane, who recently settled on the right bank after living in a multitude of countries (we met them in the United States), came from Gironde to help us out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what a difference! Last year it was just the two of us for 10 hours \u2013 we were exhausted. This year, with four of us, we finished in 5 hours in a great atmosphere. Amarok<\/a>, Our Alaskan Malamute was supervising us as usual, patrolling the ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Marc<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Rejane<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Smiling<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"R\u00e9jane,<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Jacques<\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A well-organized day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We invested this year in new transport tanks \u2013 real red and grey harvesting tanks that really make work easier. Our small plot of 0.2 hectares is planted half Merlot, half Cabernet Sauvignon, the classic Saint-\u00c9tienne blend<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the middle of the morning, we took a break for a real breakfast: homemade jam, bread and fresh croissants. It\u2019s important to take your time, even during the harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the afternoon, it was all over. Just over 320 kg of grapes ready to be sent to the cooperative. That\u2019s not a huge amount \u2013 all the winemakers in the area are reporting lower yields this year \u2013 but it\u2019s more than enough for us. These grapes will become part of our Marquis of Saint-Est\u00e8phe<\/a>, the wine from the cooperative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Aerial<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Hand<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Marc<\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the effort, comfort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After work, let the party begin! We lit the barbecue, but not with ordinary charcoal \u2013 with vine branches. These vine branches burn very hot and give the meat an incomparable flavor. On the menu: a huge T-bone steak from Pigoud by Dylan<\/a>, the local butcher of Saint-Est\u00e8phe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to thank Marc and R\u00e9jane? We opened a bottle of Pagodes de Cos, the second wine of the Ch\u00e2teau Cos d\u2019Estournel<\/a>. It\u2019s one of our favorites, and it was the perfect opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Orange<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Rib-eye<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Bottle<\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Rib-eye<\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is something special about sharing a meal after working together in the vineyards. The conversations are different, the wine tastes even better, and the memories created are authentic. R\u00e9jane took a lot of photos and even a short video \u2013 simple moments of joy that cannot be put into words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s difficult to predict the exact date \u2013 it depends on the weather, sugar levels, and many factors that change every year. But with climate change, the harvests in the M\u00e9doc are arriving earlier and earlier. The weekend after the harvest M\u00e9doc Wine Marathon<\/a> It\u2019s usually the right time. For the small producers of the Marquis de Saint-Est\u00e8phe cooperative, it\u2019s always a Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to experience this?<\/strong> ? Book your stay<\/a> at Ch\u00e2teau Papounan, in the heart of our vineyards.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immerse yourself in the heart of the vineyards in M\u00e9doc at Ch\u00e2teau Papounan. Share the experience of a novice winemaker in Saint-Est\u00e8phe, from the manual harvest to the tasting.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Les Vendanges dans le M\u00e9doc au Ch\u00e2teau Papounan : Une Exp\u00e9rience Unique \u00e0 Saint-Est\u00e8phe","_seopress_titles_desc":"Plongez au c\u0153ur des vendanges dans le M\u00e9doc au Ch\u00e2teau Papounan. Partagez l\u2019exp\u00e9rience d\u2019un vigneron d\u00e9butant \u00e0 Saint-Est\u00e8phe, de la r\u00e9colte manuelle \u00e0 la d\u00e9gustation.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vigne"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4100"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6465,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4100\/revisions\/6465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chateaupapounan.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}