What Summer smells like in the Cellar

To most visitors, summer is vineyard time: vines stretching under the sun, grapes ripening in the heat, and the occasional tractor rumble in the distance.

But there’s another summer scene, one that unfolds in silence, in shade, and in scent:
the cellar.

The chai in summer: calm, cool, but never still

At Château Canon Chaigneau, our cellar doesn’t rest in summer. Even if no one’s punching down or racking barrels every day, the air is alive with transformation.

Depending on the day, you might smell:

• the last traces of oak and red fruit from past élevage,

• damp stone and cool air from the concrete vats,

• subtle, dusty notes of aged wine and silence,

• or freshly cleaned hoses, wax seals, and corks.

It’s like walking into a memory, one that changes slightly each day as harvest gets closer.

What we’re actually doing in July and August

Summer in the cellar is not glamorous. But it’s essential.

We use this time to:

• Prepare tanks and equipment for the upcoming harvest

• Monitor bottled wines (capsules, corks, any signs of seepage)

• Rack and taste-test older vintages

• Sometimes, even bottle late cuvées or magnums

Everything is slow, methodical, and almost meditative. You hear footsteps on stone, a single bottle clink, maybe a bit of jazz from someone’s phone.

A sensory moment before the storm

The smells in the chai become sharper in August, like the air is holding its breath.
It’s a mix of dust and tension, readiness and restraint.

Each time we enter, we’re reminded that the wines we love don’t start at harvest — they start with the care, cleanliness, and quiet rhythm of the cellar all year long.

A quick note about summer shipping

We do our best to ship your wines promptly year-round, but during peak summer heat, we may occasionally delay an order by a day or two, simply to avoid transporting your bottles during a heatwave or extreme temperature spike.

Most of our shipping partners use temperature-qualified logistics and our packaging is designed to protect the wine. But still, if in doubt, we prefer to wait just a little longer, rather than risk compromising the quality we work so hard to preserve.

Thank you for your understanding, it’s all part of the same attention and respect we bring to our vineyard and cellar.

If you ever wondered what Bordeaux smells like in the summer: it’s a bit like humid oak, cool stone, and a future vintage waiting patiently in the dark.

Want to connect with those vintages yourself? Our Mixed Case lets you travel through six different years, all born, at least partly, in this same cellar.