Decanter World Wine AwardsBordeaux, Burgundy expect 2011 harvest to be 'earliest ever'
- Tuesday 21 June 2011
Most wine regions have traditionally counted on full ripeness coming 100 days after flowering. With modern viticultural techniques this often comes down to around 90 days.
Flowering is generally at the end of May but this year, with the driest May since records began in 1920, has been different.
Bordeaux journalist and former negociant John Salvi said, ‘flowering was well advanced by 8 May – and people I trust have told me they saw the first flowers on 1 May.’
He added, ‘The cool nights this year, with temperatures going from 30 down to 8 or 9 degrees, will have slowed things down a bit.’
In Bordeaux, as an average, the dry white wine harvest begins at the beginning of September and the red wine harvest, allowing for differences in ripening time for Merlot and Cabernet, in the last two weeks of September.
In Pomerol, Jean-Claude Berrouet, veteran winemaker at Petrus and other properties, expects the earliest harvest he has ever seen. ‘We have to go back to some anecdotal vintage, the year of the comet, to make a comparison,’ he said.
‘The vines are doing well, but August will be the determining factor,’ he said.
To understand what it could mean for the wine, he compared 1989 and 1990: ‘Both vintages were marked by the sun. They had about the same rainfall, sunlight, and time of harvest, but in 1989 a hot May advanced the vegetative cycle.’
Philippe Dhalluin of Chateau Mouton Rothschild expects to begin picking at the very beginning of September. If it were to rain, the schedule would not change much, he added.
Delphine Kolasa of Chateau Marquise d’Alesme Becker and Chateau Labegorce said she will start harvesting on 28-29 August.
An unprecedented early harvest is also expected in Burgundy, said Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive.
She expects to start the harvest on 25 August: ‘We have not seen such an advance in the vineyard since 1893.'
Frederic Mugnier, of Domaine Jacques Frederic Mugnier in Chambolle Musigny also expects pickings to start in late August.
Mugnier said the risk with such a precocious vintage is that ripeness could come too quickly, and result in wines that would not be aromatically complex
Winemakers made clear they were referring only to the date of picking and that it was far too early to make any comment on the possible quality of the vintage.
Have your say!
James Swann
June 24 14:07
What is clear is that this is part of a prevailing trend, apparently due to changes in climate patterns.
The implications for the market were the coming decade to continue to produce outstanding vintages is clear.
On that note, amid the market focus there seems to be an overall acceptance of a changing climate without much said on where this may lead us. I recall one trade professional, I believe it may have been Robert Joseph, stating once that Europe was unprepared for climate change. I believe this to be the case.
Panos Kakaviatos
June 23 10:05
Dear Karel de Graaf,
We reported "late August", not before August 15. Please re-read. Also, we are not comparing it to 2003; we note that the cycle of the vine is very advanced, according to experienced vintners. Between now and then, there could be rain or more sun... but the date of the harvest will be likely very early in 2011.
Karel de Graaf, Burgundy expert
June 22 13:28
Dear Sirs,
Do you really think the harvest in Burgundy will start before August 15th, like in 2003? Who has sent you this incorrect information? Complete nonsense!
Alexander Bäggli
June 22 10:25
There's still so much that can go wrong, it's only the end of June now, so there's still a long way ahead.
Hopefully there's not another "Vintage if the Century" with silly prices.