World Malbec Day
La Joly Harvest
Enjoy this very special “La Joly” harvest recap by guest blogger Stéphanie Dolet of Vignobles Raymond. Look for La Joly at fine retailers in the United States.
In October, at the end of the harvest season, we hold the “La Joly” harvest fest. We harvest in the morning and have a great lunch together. When it started, it was only the family and the staff. Then we started inviting our partners, producers, brokers and customers. This year there were 170 people total. They come from the south west of France, the Landes, where it is a part of the culture during fests to have fanfare. Harvesting with music is truly a great experience, it adds the ambiance and provides a very happy “joly” moment! Everyone looks forward to La Joly and it is a great satisfaction to drink a wine you have harvested.
La Joly Bordeaux Superior is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec. This is an atypical blend for Bordeaux which is very conservative with their profiles. It is a very special wine and certainly made with love!
The first La Joly vintage dates back to 2003. We did not make any in 2013, since we did not feel the quality was obtained on this difficult vintage. The 2015 vintage received 91 points by Wine Enthusiast as well as a gold medal from Millésime Bio. The 2018 harvest celebration took place on October 13.
Winemaker Lionel Raymond
La Joly is named after of the plot. All plots on a vineyard have names based on the “lieu dit” place known, locality. That is also how most of the Châteaus got their names. The land was named was named Lagarde and that is how it became Château de Lagarde. The La Joly plot was named by the first generations arriving at Lagarde because it was beautiful land. It is also the oldest plot of the vineyard. The vines are 48 years old. Some plots are named after birds because they set their homes there; or the next plot is named “Terre fortes” because the soil is “strong” with lots of gravels compared to the others.
This year was very hot with a rainy spring. It made for a great vintage of La Joly. This wine is currently available in the US market, made with 100% organic grapes, certified to the NOP standards.
Stéphanie Dolet
Stéphanie Dolet is the Export Manager for Vignobles Raymond. Starting as a winegrowers in 1850, The Family Raymond have acquired and defended their status as a reference in the wine world, with 200 hectares of property in the Entre-Deux-Mers, they are today the largest family owned organic vineyard in France.
Video La Joly Harvest Fest
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Really hoping that it will work out to attend this year!