Harvest Report 2007 : France

This was a crazy year for grape growers throughout France. The hottest April in 30 years had vines flowering and had most forecasters predicting an early harvest. But somehwere along the line, Ms. Nature decided not to cooperate. A horribly wet, and cool summer left most just scratching their heads. Roussillon, in Southeastern France, did start picking on August 2 which was the earliest ever. But overall August was very uncharacteristic and some of the grandest of of the French regions are still waiting for the skies to clear.

For most of France, the soaking started in May and, like many vacationers, decided to stay put for the summer. The unfortunate result was a widespread vine mildew that affected greatest of the wine producing regions, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, and Champagne. It even reached as far south as Languedoc which usually manages to stay clear of such problems.

Is there a bright spot? The Rhone Valley, which includes the venerable Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Hermitage regions, benefitted from a hot dry summer, unlike the rest of France. Both the Northern and Southern Rhone are looking to begin harvesting ion September 5, which is only a few days before normal.

Not so for the rest of France. Results seem to be mixed in Burgundy and Champagne. Early reports suggest that the cool summer will allow Chardonnay to retain a level of good acidity that hasn't been seen in years. But Bordeaux has been one of the hardest hit by the mildew. And the clay soils of the lovely St.-Emilion (a merlot-based Bordeaux wine) have fared much the worst as the clay component just retains the water.

Hope springs eternal! There is a saying in Bordeaux,"Wait until the last grapes are in before making a judgment." A week of warm dry weather could turn things around. But at a certain point Nature takes over, and they are left with no choice.

To view the full report click here.

Comments

[Estelle Platini]

Thank you for the useful digest.
I just posted an overview of harvest in the Northern hemisphere. I could not find a trackback URL here. You will find it by clicking on my name. My post links to the present post.