Bordeaux 2024: Weather & growing conditions
As the official Bordeaux 2024 en primeur week gets underway, we look back to last year’s rollercoaster growing season – a gauntlet of wild weather that pushed winemakers to their limits.
It’s fair to say the Bordeaux 2024 vintage was a demanding one. It was a brutal year, dubbed a ‘war’ by one winemaker, testing the resolve of even the hardiest vigneron.
It was defined by extreme weather swings that necessitated quick reactions, financial investment, increased labour and a bit of luck.
A record-breakingly wet winter, a bit of frost, a mildew-heavy spring, a fortuitously dry summer, and unwelcome September rains shaped a vintage that required relentless vigilance and technical precision.
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Yields hit historic lows, marking 2024 as one of Bordeaux’s toughest vintages in decades.
Amid the chaos, some excellent, balanced and fresh wines have emerged, though quality varies wildly and not every bottle shines.
We’ll soon be publishing a ‘yields and wine style guide’ to Bordeaux 2024 ahead of the big report in May, but before then let’s delve into the gritty details…
Bordeaux 2024: Key takeaways
Producers faced a gruelling succession of crises and challenges in 2024.
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Winter’s unprecedented rainfall – up to 900mm from October 2023 to March 2024 (the wettest in 25 years) – had 70% more precipitation than the 10 year average. It created swamp-like vineyards, delaying pruning and set a gruelling tone for what was to come.
Mildew made an unprecedentedly early debut at the end of March (treatments were applied to some leaves) and was concentrated by the end of April (just in time for en primeur) which demanded constant spraying (amid fighting potential frosts) right through to June’s 93mm deluge, exhausting resources and tiring workers who had to spray up to three times a week.
Some estates sprayed more than 30 times including manual treatments when tractors were unable to move in waterlogged soils.
May’s 126mm of rain caused root asphyxia, stunting vines, while June’s long and wet flowering slashed Merlot yields via coulure and milerandage (see photo below).
Devastating hail hit Fronsac, St-Estèphe, and the southern Médoc, necessitating extra sorting and reducing crop sizes further.
Late véraison (16 August) and September’s 120mm of rain spurred grey rot, further necessitating plot by plot harvests, stretching not only labour resources but financial ones too. Many estates increased harvest teams, doubling in some cases, with an ‘all hands on deck’ approach.
Densimetric baths were employed across the region, sometimes in addition to optical sorting, with some estates discarding up to half their crop. Indeed, many estates presented both ‘potential yield’ figures at harvest and ‘ultimate yield’ figures for grapes that made it into vats.
While winemakers pushed maturity as long as they could, alcohols tended to stay on the lower side with low pHs and high malic acidity. Merlot in particular required widespread chapitislation to reach a minimum of 12.5% ABV.
Economic pressures hit all estates with labour, sorting and disease control straining budgets. One winemaker said; ‘It’s a rich person’s game’ and unfortunately that’s true especially when strict selections reduced yields even further than the weather did.
Renting a densimetric sorting machine costs around €25,000 for the harvest. Another estate said the 2024 cost more than 40% more to produce than 2023 due to both costs and low yields yet the market is calling for up to a 35% decrease in price…the struggle is real.
Important considerations
It’s not always easy summarising a vintage, particularly when the weather only tells half the story.
Terroir played a crucial role in 2024. Gravel soils, with their excellent drainage, and high-quality clay soils that retained water effectively, performed well. In contrast, sandy soils faced challenges and limestone in some places needed to regulate potential austerity.
Yields reflected terroir and strategy. Pessac-Léognan ranged from 19hl/ha (at Château Malartic Lagravière) to 46hl/ha (Château Couhins Lurton).
Pomerol hit 22–43 hl/ha (Château La Conseillante at 22hl, Clinet at 43hl), St-Émilion 30-40 hl/ha (Château Figeac at 31hl), and Margaux averaged 33hl/ha (Château Margaux at 40hl, Château Palmer at 22hl).
Rigorous sorting was critical given uneven ripening plus the danger of rot and botrytis. Château Cheval Blanc discarded 54% of its crop via densimetric baths, Figeac 21%, and La Conseillante 20%.
Technical precision in the cellar helped mitigate challenges, however. Estates adapted with modern tools and extra labour to manage heterogeneity and ensure quality.
Selective chaptalisation was widespread, increasing alcohols by 0.5-1% to a maximum of 13.5% almost everywhere. Many wines sit between 12.5% and 13%.
Estates with new cellars were able to use an increased number of smaller tanks for precision vinifications, cover crops were used to aid drainage and extra harvesters (200 at Giscours, 50 at Beauséjour versus the usual 30) ensured efficiency. Drones were also used for treatments as were tank-type tractors to access soggy soils.
Appraising the vintage
As has become customary, it’s useful to look at the five key stages that contribute to an exceptional Bordeaux vintage as outlined by the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (ISVV).
- Early and uniform budbreak: A consistent start to the growing season sets the foundation for uniform grape development.
- Favourable flowering and fruit set: Ideal weather conditions during flowering ensure optimal fruit set and yield.
- Warm and dry summer: A summer with adequate warmth and minimal rainfall promotes healthy grape maturation.
- Dry and sunny harvest period: Dry conditions during harvest prevent disease and allow for optimal picking times.
Balanced ripening: A harmonious development of sugars, acids, and phenolic compounds leads to well-structured wines.
The fulfilment, or not, of any one of the criteria doesn’t necessarily mean the vintage is a write off given the advances and mitigations winemakers can now make both inside and outside of the cellar, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Assessment of the 2024 Vintage Against ISVV Criteria
- Budbreak occurred around 6 April, aligning with the 10-year average. However, subsequent frost events in late April disrupted uniform development, particularly affecting Merlot vines.
- The flowering period faced challenges due to excessive rainfall and cool temperatures, leading to issues like coulure and millerandage, resulting in uneven fruit set.
- The summer was characterised by intermittent rainfall and moderate temperatures. While not ideal, these conditions prevented excessive water stress and allowed for gradual grape maturation.
- September, typically a crucial month for harvest, was the wettest in 30 years, complicating picking schedules and increasing disease pressure.
Despite climatic hurdles, careful vineyard practices led to grapes with balanced acidity and moderate sugar levels, contributing to wines with freshness and lower alcohol content.
In 2024, criteria 1, 2 and 3 were not met and 4 and 5 only partially.
Comparison to other years
The 2024 growing season in Bordeaux stands in stark contrast to the past four vintages, each of which presented its own unique challenges and characteristics:
2020: A warm and early-ripening vintage, 2020 saw a wet spring followed by a dry summer, with some heat spikes in August. The key challenge was mildew pressure in early summer, but the dry, sunny conditions from July onward helped produce concentrated, structured wines with good aging potential.
2021: A far cooler and wetter vintage, 2021 was defined by severe frost in early April, which significantly reduced yields, particularly for Merlot. The summer was cooler and cloudier than usual, leading to slow ripening, and heavy rains in September further complicated the harvest. The result was a classic, fresh vintage with lower alcohol and higher acidity, requiring careful selection.
2022: A stark contrast to 2021, 2022 was one of Bordeaux’s hottest and driest vintages on record, with extreme heatwaves and prolonged drought from June to September. Despite fears of overripeness, well-timed rain in mid-August helped balance ripening, leading to powerful, deeply structured wines with ripe tannins and remarkable density.
2023: More moderate than 2022 but still warm and dry, 2023 featured early-season mildew pressure due to a wet spring, followed by a hot and dry summer. While early concerns about high disease pressure made vineyard management crucial, the warm and sunny late-season conditions allowed for a well-timed harvest, producing elegant wines with bright fruit and fine tannins.
2024: In contrast to the last two years, 2024 was cooler and wetter, particularly during the critical flowering and ripening stages. A wet winter and spring led to significant mildew pressure, while a relatively mild summer slowed ripening. September saw the wettest conditions in 30 years, forcing many estates to pick earlier than ideal. The result is fresher, lower-alcohol wines, with significant variation in quality depending on terroir and harvest timing.
Stay tuned for more articles on the Bordeaux 2024 vintage, including; the weather month by month; exact yields across the region and within specific appellations; an overview of the wine styles and the market conditions against which these wines will be offered.
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