A vine affected with esca

I'm afraid if you clicked on this page expecting to read some sensational new exposé about some famous footballer and their 'steamy' sessions with an exotic prostitute I fear you will be disappointed. This post is about esca – the deadly vine disease.

Over the past couple of weeks La Nouvelle République has carried several articles that reflect mounting alarm about Esca and its increased prevalence this year. Esca like eutypiose attacks the roots and the wood of the vine blocking off the sap. The consequences for the vine are usually fatal, although it appears that there is a slow acting version of Esca and one that kills the vine rapidly. 

'En attendant, l'esca fait des ravages. Tout particulièrement cette année, où la maladie s'est développée à la faveur de longues périodes de sécheresse. « Auparavant, on avait 2 à 5 % de mortalité. Là, on dépasse les 10 % pour les cépages sauvignon notamment. C'est devenue une préoccupation majeure », témoigne Serge Bonnigal, vigneron à Limeray.' (From La Nouvelle République 20.9.2010.  Read the rest here.

These are apparently not new vine diseases. Until 2001 they were kept in check by using sodium arsenite. However, its use has been banned because it is a dangerous chemical and can leave residues. To date there is no alternative treatment, although Didier Barouillet (Clos Roche Blanche, AC Touraine) suggests that vines that have always been cultivated organically show a lower incidence of the disease and that the planting of wild leeks can help the vine to resist and even overcome esca,

In Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc is particularly prone to the ravages of Esca. This, of course, is the sole variety that will be permitted for AC Touraine if the reforms go ahead. A true stroke of genius by those responsible!

Furthermore Hervé Lalau reports on his Chroniques Vineuses that the UK's passion for Sauvignon Blanc may be abating. See here.

I suspect that the impetus behind making Sauvignon Blanc, the only permitted variety for AC Touraine, is to avoid having to use the name of the grape variety on the label. I will be amazed if AC Touraine will ever be sold in the UK without Sauvignon Blanc appearing somewhere on the label. Almost all Bourgogne Rouge sold in the UK mentions Pinot Noir somewhere on the label and Chardonnay for Bourgogne Blanc. I cannot see why Touraine Sauvignon will be any different.    

 

Nearly dead vine

Very enjoyable dinner with friends at La Lionnière last night with the highlight being an excellent terrine made from a blend of the lamb, chicken and goat liver. The choice of main course was lamb or coq au champignons with the lamb being the better deal. A bottle of 2008 Gamay from the Clos Roche Blanche – good concentration, spice, certainly drinkable now but will be better in six months to a years time – started us off. Then we had a well made and attractive 2006 Cabernet from Jean-Christophe Mandard (Vignoble du Haut Bayneux). Someone else that I need to go and visit!

Sauvignon Blanc 2009

The La Lionnière farm is organic, which unfortunately is far from the case for the producer who owns the completely blitzed vineyard just to the north. Before sitting down to dinner I have a quick look at the vines. The grapes (probably Sauvignion Blanc) looked healthy enough apart from those being shrivel on a vine rapidly dying of Esca but the vineyard was a sad sight entirely devoid of any biodiversity.

Dying vine – grapes now shrivelling but shows how rapidly Esca (equally eutypoise) can kill a vine as it must have been reasonably healthy very recently for the grapes to be this far advanced

Dying vine – dead earth

Monoculture – only vines no other life here

Driving over to La Lionnière much of the pasture was brown showing how dry it has been recently. There are some interesting rainfall figures for 2005 to 2009 (June to August) on the Living the Life in St-Aignan blog. These are recorded by Ken Broadhurst and his partner Walt.

2009 is the driest year so far with just 76 mm (3.0 in) since the beginning of June, although we still a third of August to go. 2007 was easily the wettest with 230 mm (9.1 in). Contrary to popular belief 2008 was actually a dry summer – 112 mm compared to 119 mm (2005) and 124 mm (2006). I suspect it was the 2008 cold summer that makes people remember it as being wet.

Although we have had some hot days this August with temperatures up to 35˚C, it has been nothing like as hot as 2003 (around 40˚C). Nor has it been anything like as continuous and the nights have been much fresher – around 14˚/15˚C compared to staying over 20˚C.

Weather figures in Tours and elsewhere

Following on from Mark Robertson's comment, the Méteo-France figures show that it has hardly rained in Tours since 23rd July (1 mm recorded so far for August) and that July's total was just under 40 mm, some 12 mm below normal. June's rainfall at over 50 mm was above average but around 35 mm of that fell on Monday 8th June – a day of torrential rain. From 11th June virtually no rain fell for the rest of the month.

Not everywhere in the Region du Centre has been so dry – Chartres has had 7.4 mm, Orléans 7.2 mm, Bourges 14.6 mm, Châteauroux 11.6 mm, Nantes 17 mm (all in one day) and Beaucouze (near Angers) 5.4 mm.

Frédéric et Françoise Bouland, Ferme Auberge de la Lionnière.
1 rue de la lionnière, 41110 Mareuil sur Cher
Tel: 02 54 75 24 99
Email : fa-lionniere@wanadoo.fr

Following on from the end of my last post with some small, high-quality Loire producers deserting appellation contrôlée because of its perceived failure to incorporate environmental concerns within its rules, Bertrand Celce has another excellent article on his blog – Wine Terroirs. It's an interview with Didier Barrouillet of the Clos Roche Blanche. Didier explains how he uses plants to build micro-diversity in his vineyards and micro-bacteria in his soils. He claims success against esca, which is a grave threat to the Sauvignon Blanc vines. Didier is convinced that there is a link between esca and the widespread use of Roundup that in time leaches down to a vine's roots killing the micro-bacterial life that can protect a vine. Typically the INRA (France's vine research institute) considers Didier to be a 'lunatic'!

... and this is sane!?

I was aware, and Bertrand's article confirms this, that Didier, like Claude Papin and others, has grave doubts about turning the soil over and thus destroying its profile.

Didier is nearing retirement – he and Catherine Roussel have reduced the size of Le Clos Roche Blanche to nine hectares – and he intends to concentrate on his work in the vineyard. It would be good to see Didier set up a website or a blog to spread his ideas and findings to a wider audience.

See also here comments on Bertrand's article on the Clos du Porteau blog – Aynard is very concerned by the threat that esca poses to his Sauvignon Blanc.

Also a very brief report here on the Porteau blog on Esprit Vif held yesterday at Château des Couldraies in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. It appears to have been a success.

(This post was originally tacked onto the my previous post but I think it makes more sense to post this separately.)