After a mild autumn and winter, the vines budded very early. The weather in spring wasmagnificent, with record-breaking sunshine and drought. Favourable weather in early Juneproved perfect for flowering. At the same time, it was so dry, everyone was desperate for rain.Then, rain it did! The weather went from one extreme to the other throughout the entire summer: abundantrain and August temperatures that could only be described as ‘autumnal’. We had to wait untilSeptember for a return to warm, sunny weather – and crucially, it was absolutely dry. In short,the ideal conditions for the grapes to ripen. The chardonnay grapes flourished, gaining power right up to harvest, which began on 11thSeptember for the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs. Spared any incident of pests ordisease that had developed here and there in the Champagne region, our chardonnays wereharvested in pristine condition. They also presented exceptionally high bunch weights – over150 grams – resulting in a comfortable yield, the ripeness balanced by fine acidity. Howeverdisconcerting the weather during the 2014 season, Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2014 has a fine future ahead.