° Vintages 2023 and 2024
° Pulling out, distilling, market
° And in Bruignac?
° Best vintages of Bruignac wines
° Visits, meetings in Bruignac and New York City

2023 vintage:
In 2023 mildew and drought reduced our crop by 60% compared with a «normal» year: only 3600 bottles of Bruignac Premium and 930 bottles of Donjon. The Bruignac Premium 2023 is still aging in casks and will be bottled in May 2025. The Donjon 2023 was bottled in May 2024 and is aging in our cellars.

2024 vintage:
Rain (floods) and cold were dominating between November 2023 and June 2024: water tables are now fully recharged…..
At the end of March and as a complete and early surprise there was a heat wave that provoked a vicious resurgence of mildew. Everybody was caught pants down. Mildew spots on leaves and on some bunches had to be removed by hand. And preventive and curative treatments had to follow: to-date 15 treatments. The situation is now under control.
As of now, mid-July, maturity is about two weeks late (due to rain and cold in March to June). We have just completed removing leaves on the bunches (one side) to speed maturity. If the rest of July, August and September have good weather with only a bit of rain, regularly, harvests may happen in early October without a cinch. To follow.

Pulling out, distilling, market:
The program put in place in 2023 to pull out «excess» vines and to send to the distillery «excess» inventories of wines was executed as planned. About 20% of surfaces of AOP Bordeaux vines were pulled out (mostly in Entre-deux-Mers). Also about 25% of surplus wines that were stored in wineries (producers and traders) were sent to distilleries for destruction.
Finally the 2023 crops were about 20% below «normal» quantities because of vines already pulled out, because of mildew and of drought. Therefore a mild and slow regain of the market of bulk red bordeaux is taking place.

And in Bruignac?
From November 2023 to May 2024 we had no bottles nor magnums of Bruignac Premium to sell (out of stock). But sales of large formats of Bruignac Premium (double-magnums, jeroboams, imperials, balthazars, various vintages) were excellent. As well as the sales of Donjon de Bruignac 2017 and 2018.
Further on May 20th, 2024 we bottled the Donjon 2022 (2630 bottles) and the Premium 2022 (6530 bottles). And the sales of these two wines immediately took off, in France, to Barbados, Quebec, Washington DC, and in the near future (reservations) New York, Switzerland and Germany.

Best vintages of Bruignac wines:
We are often asked: which are your best vintages?
It is clear that the Bruignac Premium 2016, 2019 and 2020 have been voted by our clients, by the oenologists, the sommeliers and guides and competitions as being top. We agree (see section Distinctions of our site).
The Bruignac Premium 2022 is also on the way to such recognition.
The Donjon 2017 has also been thus recognized.
It must be said that it was aged one year in casks of two and three Bruignac Premium wines leading to more body and rounder.
And the Donjon 2022 which has just been bottled was also aged one year in similar casks.

Visits, meetings in Bruignac and New York City:
Throughout the year we receive clients with family and friends. This is most pleasant.
We also receive groups, for example:
° in June 2022, 120 alumni of Arts et Métiers- Bordeaux came to Bruignac for their Annual
Countryside Day: historical and architectural visit, visit of gardens, of the vineyard and the
winery, swimming and games for the children, wine tasting and sale, etc..
° David Souny, Medieval Historian and author of The History of Bruignac written at our
request, come regularly to Bruignac with groups for a guided tour of the Tower and the
gardens.
° La Société Horticole de Gironde has recently come to Bruignac with about 60 members for
a historical and architectural visit guided by Jean-Pierre Errath, Architecte des
Monuments de France and lover of Bruignac. Then a guided visit of the gardens was led by
Marie-Claire Sérougne, Head Gardener of Bruignac.
In February 2023, after 3 years of iatus (due to Covid) we have resumed our food and Bruignac pairing dinners in New York City. About 15 US friends and clients met us at Marc Forgione’s on 5th avenue. A very pleasant evening of friendship, good food and excellent wines.