Above: Merlot grapes being sorted at Le Pin earlier this month. See our guide to coverage of Bordeaux Heat and drought are the markers of this Bordeaux vintage along, of course, with frost, hail and forest fires. Frost hit during the nights of 3 and 4 April and will have an impact on quantity and occasionally quality but less so than in and All told, 10, hectares 24, acres suffered damage to some degree or another.
As for the forest fires, two broke out on 12 July, one near the holiday resort of Arcachon on the coast and the other on the edge of the Graves region at Landiras. Over 20, hectares of woodland were destroyed over a two-week period and there was concern that smoke taint could filter into grapes and eventually wine. But only a tiny percentage of vineyards in the Graves were close to the fire and a prevailing wind took much of the smoke away from vineyard areas.
This has turned into one of the earliest harvests ever. Temperatures in May were 2. Flowering started 16 May and was completed successfully by the end of the month, putting the vintage 10 days in advance of As for rainfall, winter precipitation in November and December had topped-up water tables but by mid June water deficiency was already being felt. One of the consequences of the hot, dry weather has been a reduction in size of the berries, another major reason for the drop in yields.
The white wine harvest started as early as 16 August with the majority harvested the week beginning 22 August dates for Ch de Fieuzal, for instance, were 18—23 August.
The heat and drought have reduced acidity levels as is also the case for reds so pH levels are generally a little higher than ideal. On a case-by-case basis there will probably be some recourse to acidification [though the university counselled against this, pointing out that acid levels tend to increase after fermentation — JR]. Thereafter, the quality of the aromatic profile is variable so it looks like a heterogeneous year for dry whites with yields on the low side.
