February and March at the winery

February came and went, and it was very warm. This possibly explains why this post comes so late: maturity raced ahead and is about two weeks ahead compared to last year. There was a lot to do to prepare for the harvest and at the same time too warm to be able to do much. Fortunately the evenings were getting cooler, and it became quite awarding to leave things for later on.

Overall, we felt rather satisfied with the way things went. The vineyard is looking healthy and in balance, so no more sprays were necessary and we only cut the grass between the rows a little. We gave the rose bushes at the head of each row and extra dripper, increasing the amount of water they get when irrigating, and the result looks fantastic. A big row of flowers of all colours leading the eye to the end of the vineyard with the Andes Mountains behind!

There was twice a menace of rain, but they remained only short drizzles, so false alarm. I was, however, telephoned immediately by eager salesmen who wanted to sell their products against rot, but we kept our hands firmly on our pockets! We had just a few people going through the rows to take away bunches with signs of rot, which only occurred in the Syrah and Petit Verdot. Especially Syrah has very tight bunches, which increases the risk of rot, even under dry weather conditions. We found that sometimes a small part of the bunch, usually somewhere in the middle, can have rot and then dry up. This eases the tension on the rest of the berries, which subsequently stay healthy until late in the season.

The berries of Cabernet are very small and dark, look very healthy, and they promise some very concentrated and structured wines. There are some attacks here and there of red spider mites (Brevipalpus chilensis, to be precise), which creates tiny, coalescing purple spots on the older leaves, but this late in the season the harm is very little. After the harvest we'll spray a little mineral oil, an organic product that suffocates them, to decrease the risk of having many of them overwintering and attacking next spring.

The other big event, at the beginning of March, was the bottling of the 2010 wines. We made the blends of different tanks and barrels at the last moment, to avoid oxidation, so it was only a few days before bottling that we really knew how the wines were. Of course we blended and analyzed many samples, but it is still a great emotion to taste the definitive blend as it is. And they taste very well. Before filtration the Syrah Limited Edition showed more oak and less fruit, but a light filtration at bottling cleaned the wine and brought back the fruity flavors nicely. The other wines changed less, and especially the Aluvión Red Blend pleased the people present at bottling. The Cabernet is showing a bit more of the fresh fruit flavors that I think are very characteristic for these vineyards close to the Andes. Both the 2008 and 2007 have more dark fruit flavors and seem a little heavier than the 2010. But time will tell how they evolve.

On a sad note: one of my dogs was hit by a truck and died instantly, which left us feeling sorry for a few days. He was buried in block three at the beginning of the third row. The remaining two dogs stayed close to us and didn't go on the street for a few days. Meanwhile I got two new ones from the dog pound in Rancagua, and they are doing very well. Not very good guard dogs, I fear, but hopefully they won't have to chase away any unwanted visitors. Then a friend of mine brought a fifth one, which was rescued from the streets in Santiago, so it's getting busy here, especially when they're playing all together. To any of you who are thinking to bring any other ones: please no more dogs! Five is quite enough. I'll have to build a dog house for them (more of a dog apartment building) as the night are getting colder every week. We're now around 10ºC before sty sun comes up. One of the guards volunteered to build it, and the design is there as well, now I only have to buy the materials and he'll get started.

For my house, I bought an antique -or just old- table that measures 3,5 meters in length and comfortably seats 12. It didn't seem that big at the antiques market, but once in the house it looked much bigger than before. So I put the rest of the furniture away and the living room is now a big dining room which has to fulfill both functions. I like the way it looks and the friends I invited over the weekend agreed -or so they said.

As I'm writing, the harvest has just begun, so there's a busy month ahead, but more about that in the next post...

Januari has seen a lot of activity and events. For a start, temperatures have been dropping since the middle of the month. We haven't had temperatures higher than 32ºC (90F) this summer but especially at night it's getting colder every day and just before the sun comes up we now normally register 8ºC (46F) which is cold! For the vines this means the season is past it's peak and the grapes are starting to ripen. The first variety that started to change color and begin to ripen was Carmenère, although it's normally one of the last ones to be harvested. This is always a good moment to inspect the bunches and eliminate the ones that are most delayed. As it was, we decided to leave only one bunch per shoot, to make sure they all ripen evenly and completely. This is always a difficult decision, as you suddenly see lots of grapes on the vineyard floor, that can not be put back on the plant!

After that we had a look at the Syrahs, which was more or less the same story. The Petit Verdot just keeps falling over, so had to be ordered yet again with some bunches removed to tidy and uniform their aspect. Cabernet Sauvignon on the other hand has very few bunches so hardly anything had to be removed. Just a few leaves to allow the wind and sun to reach the grapes and avoid rot later in the season. The plants of Cabernet were made from cuttings from very old vineyards in Chile, so they are more heterogeneous and less fruitful than clonal selections. Bunches are very loose and small and the grapes are tiny. For our own wines that is just fine, as this means more concentration and less risk of rot, but I'm a little worried that we might not reach the volume of grapes that some of our buyers need to buy. My conscience is clear though, as I'm sure they'll have excellent quality this year.

The mediterranean varieties Garnacha (Grenache) and Mourvèdre were the last to start ripening and are about two weeks behind the rest of the vineyard. To give them a little help we are now eliminating bunches there as well, or reducing the size of very big ones. Next year we'll be pruning them a bit shorter to avoid having to go so many times through the rows to adjust the crop. However, as they're late ripeners, we'll just have to wait until the end of April to start harvesting there.

Our viticultural consultant dropped by yesterday and seemed happy enough (what a relief!). The plants have stopped growing but leaves are still looking healthy and green. He just urged us to irrigate a bit more go help the plants during these last two months before the harvest. The chilean government just declared a state of emergency for this region, as there is a lot of drought. Fortunately we still have all the water we need, let's just hope it lasts!

One of our buyers dropped by as well, together with a grower from Champagne who was visiting Chile. My neighbor is also from Champagne, but wasn't there. It is always interesting to exchange ideas with people from other areas, especially if they are so evidently successful at what they're doing. We only had to hedge once this year, as with irrigation we were able to control growth, whereas in the North of France they have to hedge three times and the pressure of diseases is much higher. I truly admire these guys. No wonder Champagne is so expensive!

For company and a little extra security I got two dogs from the dog pound in Rancagua. They were both thrown away and were a bit shy at first, but they've adapted amazingly well. One of them especially enjoys splashing around in the irrigation canals that surround the vineyard. The other one only touches water to drink!

It looks like next month is going to be a bit quieter, as we're now only waiting for the grapes to ripen, but I'll keep you posted. In March we'll be bottling to empty tanks before the harvest in April so a bit of rest now won't harm!

All the best,

Meinard Jan Bloem

First of all: Happy New Year to everyone who reads this!

As the new winemaker at Lagar de Bezana I just wanted to share some thoughts and technical information on the vineyards and cellar after my first two months at the job.

After a rather dry winter, I was happy to find that the vineyards had been well-irrigated before my arrival, two months ago. This has ensured vigorous and healthy growth to be able to ripen the crop later in the season. We've been spraying against fungal diseases a bit less than usual, and have stopped application of sulphur altogether. Even though sulfur is used in organic and biodynamic viticulture, it tends to burn the fruit when air temperatures are high. For the people in the vineyard it's also better, as the sulfur gets into your clothes and smells really bad! The team I've inherited is very good, as everybody seems to know what they have to do and what's expected of them. I certainly hope to keep it that way.

In the vineyard, the Cabernet is looking great. There were many clusters of flowers this spring, but fruit-set was rather low so the bunches are small and loose which is ideal to avoid rot later on, close to harvest. As a consequence, we didn't have to drop a lot of fruit to balance the fruit/shoot ratio. We stopped irrigating a few weeks ago, and the vines have stopped active growth as a consequence, focussing all their energy on the ripening fruit now. In most blocks we had to tip (hedge) the shoots only once, which saves labour. Since temperatures have been rather high the last few weeks, it's a great bonus not to have to go through the vineyards with a hedger all the time!

We're now thinning the fruit on the Syrah, which is another story. Syrah seems to really like it here, and rewards us with an enormous amount of bunches, at least two per shoot, which is more than they can handle. In some of the blocks, we're eliminating about half the fruit there is, which is a shame, but necessary if you consider that the quantity of leaves we have if only sufficient to ripen about 8000 kg/ha. The same goes for Mourvèdre and Grenache. Since the soil of the vineyard they grow in is very poor, there was little growth in spring so we had to drop a lot of bunches very early on to leave the plants some energy to grow longer shoots. Next year we'll be trying a different way of pruning, to see if we can avoid this problem earlier on.

The Carmenère looked a little uneven, so here we applied the same principle: leaving only the amount of fruit every individual plant can really handle. We're applying cow's manure as well in those areas that we feel need a bit more "energy." We feel this is better for the plants and the soil in the long term than chemical fertilizers. It was provided by one of our workers, to keep the circle closed! The Petit Verdot, with it's dropping shoots, is a very messy grower and needed a lot of shoot positioning but is now looking tidier and growing well.

In the cellar thing have been quiet, as we've only been topping up barrels and racking a few barrels and tanks. This gave us time to fix the tasting room, which is being repaired and getting new paint. We've uncovered some beautiful doors as well, which have just been restored and give some extra "cachet" when we receive visitors, so whenever you have the time and the possibility, do come come and look us up.

On a personal note, I really love the house that came with the job. There's water running beside it, which is very peaceful to listen to in the evenings when I'm enjoying a glass of wine on my terrace, contemplating the vineyards and the mountains behind. What more can you want for!?

Next month we'll be bottling some of the 2010's, and the wines are looking very good. I'll keep you posted on any new activities.

All the best!

Meinard Jan Bloem

Descansa en Paz

Hoy, queremos rendirle un homenaje a nuestro fundador, Ricardo Bezanilla Renovales, que nos dejó hace dos meses. Partió al encuentro con el Señor, tras luchar firmemente contra un abrupto cáncer. Al igual que en todas las cosas de la vida, nunca se dio por vencido, ya que era un convencido que en la vida hay que pelear por los seres queridos, por los ideales, y por las cosas que consideraba justas.

Siempre sonriente, llevaba la Viña en lo más profundo de ser. Le encantaba su campo, sus vinos, gozaba con cada de unos de los trabajadores, y creía firmemente, que los Vinos de Lagar eran simplemente, Los Mejores!

Visionario para los negocios, emprendió el desafío de la Viña contra todos los pronósticos. De un dos por tres, arrancó las manzanas para poner las parras, las que cuidaba como si fuesen parte de su familia. Es que don Ricardo era así: ponía el alma, la inteligencia y el corazón, en cada uno de sus emprendimientos.

Sabemos que está gozando del cielo, que desde arriba nos cuida y guía, y que sin duda está celebrando con el mejor Syrah de Lagar de Bezana!!!!

Equipo Lagar de Bezana

91 puntos en la mesa de cata de la CAV

Nuevamente nuestro Syrah Limited Edition 2007, brilló entre los de su tipo en la mesa de cata de La Cav, obteniendo 91 puntos.

Lo invitamos a probarlo y no quedarse fuera de esta experiencia!

Gran Vendimia 2011

Una vendimia dura, cansadora pero exitosa!!!!!! Al igual que el año pasado, se cumplieron todas las expectativas de la cosecha: se obtuvieron los rendimientos esperados, y la primavera más fría, sólo ocasionó la tardanza en la madurez en cepas como el Syrah y Grenache de entre 5 a 10 días.

Este año, también se aplicaron productos orgánicos en los cepajes más sensibles, con el fin de lograr mejores resultados, y se cosechó como siempre, exclusivamente a mano, seleccionando los mejores racimos. Estamos confiados en la excelencia de la uva, la cual dará vinos de muy buena calidad e intensidad aromática, que son parte de la característica de nuestros vinos: vinos con gran potencia y personalidad!!!

Ahora hay que esperar que el tiempo haga su tarea......

Lagar en Sao Paulo

Tras tres días de intenso trabajo, Lagar finalizó exitosamente, su participación en la feria de vinos de Sao Paulo, Expovini. Esta es la feria más grande de vinos de América Latina, un verdadero referente del mercado internacional del vino.

Por primera vez, Lagar participó de este evento, junto a nuestro nuevo importador, Magnum. En dicha ocasión, se presentaron los vinos del 2007, siendo acogidos favorablemente por el mercado brasilero y latinoamericano.

Se degustó el cabernet sauvignon, el aluvión, pero sin duda la estrella de la noche, fue el syrah, nuestro vino premiun, elaborado con 4 clones diferente de syrah, que lo hacen un vino muy especial.

El encanto de los brasileros, la excelente organización del evento, y alta concurrencia, ayudó al éxito de la feria!

Nos vemos en abril del 2012!