Domaine Cady, 2022 Update
The 2021 vintage was an eventful one along the length and breadth of the Loire Valley. The most significant problem was frost, the most devastating since 1991, with a reduction in production volume of at least 30% across the region. Many individual vignerons and domaines faired much worse than this average figure suggests, however, with losses of 70% or more commonplace in some regions.
And it is not as if a vigneron can simply hope for better luck next year. Climate change means that frost is the new norm in the Loire Valley. Methods of working must be adapted, and investment in anti-frost measures a necessity. Expectations, lives even, have to change.
The 2021 vintage did not end with frost though. There was mildew and a miserable summer, and as a result it was one of the more difficult vintages Ligérian vignerons have experienced for many years.
None had it so hard as the Cady family though. On April 1st 2021 they found themselves surveying the smouldering ruins of their cellars in Saint-Aubin de Luigné, destroyed by fire during the night. It laid waste to all their winemaking facilities, their equipment, vats and barrels, and a library of older vintages.
The little world of wine, or at least that little part interested in the Loire Valley and the fortunes of the Cady family, rallied round. Help was forthcoming, both in the provision of money to help the family get back on their feet, and the provision of wine, so they had something to bottle and sell to their regular clients. The one-off cuvée Résilience, produced only in the 2020 vintage, was the result.
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