With the world of fine wine descending on Bordeaux to taste the latest vintage in the second half of April, here's my report on how the weather in shaped the wines and the size of the crop. It should help to serve as a backdrop as to why the wines taste the way they do — even at this early stage for the most sought-after reds — and to put into context by comparing the conditions with previous years. The en primeur tastings of young samples by critics, commentators and merchants are aimed primarily at the upper end of the market though it's worth looking at the Bordeaux region as a whole when it comes to a vintage assessment.
As we shall see, is another year when the overall volume is quite low, yet the yields for the more prestigious appellations are comparatively generous.
As ever, I've put together a formidable series of tables, graphs and maps on both the weather and the production statistics. Some graphics are new while others are updated with the new vintage. I'll drill down on these under 'Production details' further on. In — Bordeaux made half much as more wine each year on average, with million litres average per annum.
Generally speaking, the years where low yields are highlighted in pink were the most challenging. There were spring frosts, too, in , another tricky vintage, and although saw extended drought and heat affecting yields, it's considered by many as an excellent year for quality. As we shall see, many vineyards were hit by downy mildew in but it is a case of 'the haves and have-nots' across the board. It's not for me to say but this may have an influence on the pricing strategy of certain estates during the en primeur campaign.
At this point, a map of the Bordeaux vineyards might prove handy to see where these places are, and what constitutes left and right bank and so forth. The Entre-Deux-Mers is where most of the generic red Bordeaux comes from, as we shall see further on when I focus on the production statistics. One question people often ask during the primeur tastings is 'is this vintage similar to any previous years?
