Loire Valley Wines 2018: outstanding vintage announced for the entire region

What a year! Even the oldest winegrowers can scarcely remember a better Loire Valley harvest, both in quality and yield; 2018 will be etched on our memories as a historic vintage. From Nantes to Sancerre we’re seeing highly aromatic, flavourful wines across all three colours.

Spring weather was very favourable, promoting remarkably early flowering and excellent fruit set. Unhampered by hail or frost, the vines continued to develop normally with no major problems – until June. June brought bouts of heavy rain, followed by serious attacks of mildew. On the whole, however, these were skilfully managed by the winegrowers. Summer temperatures then reached an all-time high; grapes continued to grow well and remained in robust health, with harvests throughout the vineyards being almost as early as those of 2017.
Conditions were excellent throughout, from the end of August right through to October; growers harvested their fruit with total peace of mind, knowing the grapes had reached full maturity.

WHITES AND ROSÉS WITH GOOD AROMATIC COMPLEXITY
In the Nantais, the first Melon grapes were picked in mid-August. Balance was excellent, with acidity lower than average. The grapes are rich, with good aromatic complexity.
Chenins and Chardonnays destined for dry whites and sparkling wine bases were picked between the end of August and 20th September 2018, and show similar results.
This has been a good year for sparkling wines, and balance is admirable. Stocks are set to be replenished with a very high-quality product indeed.
In Touraine, the first Sauvignons show thiol-based flavours of citrus and pineapple while those picked later are full of peach and apricot, giving plenty of scope for some superb blends.
Cabernets to be used for rosés feature a wealth of deliciously fruity flavours, particularly cherries and redcurrants, while rosés made from Grolleau, Côt and Gamay also promise excellence.
Turning to sweet wines, this year’s hot weather caused a certain amount of passerillage, a natural drying-out of the grapes while still on the vine; this is different to botrytisation, where grapes are affected by a microfungus which slowly reduces moisture content. Again, the grapes are in robust health, and should produce an outstanding crop of sweet wines this year.

SMOOTH, WELL-ROUNDED REDS
The future looks as bright for reds as it does for whites and rosés, in yield as well as quality.
The hot weather has led to higher potential alcohol levels even than last year, and as we speak our winemakers are hard at work in the winery, keeping a watchful eye on fermentation and preparing to put together some amazing blends.
This year the Cabernets grown in sandy terroirs show thiol-based flavours, along with red fruit and florals, notably violet.
Tuffeau wines are fruitier and more concentrated, with morello cherry and raspberry jam flavours. Colours are deep and intense, almost black. The first wines are well-rounded and velvety-smooth; the Côts are magnificent, their profiles quite unlike what we’re used to.
We’re looking forward to seeing some good vins de garde this year, wines that will age for 10 or even 15 years.

An article from Loire Valley Wines
https://www.vinsvaldeloire.fr/en/2018s-vintage

HAWKE’S BAY WINE PRODUCTION DROPS IN 2017

Wine production in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay has suffered losses due to incessant rains in March, bringing down its total production from 2016’s 42,000 tonnes to 33,000 tonnes in 2017.
The news was revealed recently by Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association chairman, Michael Henley, when speaking to New Zealand Herald.
According to the newspaper, the heavy rainfall during the harvest in March created some lower than normal volumes for growers.
Despite being a challenge, the 2017 vintage is still “much stronger” than 2011 and 2012, said Henley, adding that it has the potential to produce some “outstanding” wines that could rival great vintages of 2013 and 2016.
Chardonnay is said to be unaffected because it had been picked before the rains hit. Cabernet Sauvignon is another grape that was spared from the heavy rain thanks to its thick skins, and the region’s overall good drainage.
“It is still a wait and see thing because they are still youthful and in the barrels, but there will be some fine wines come out of this vintage,” he added.
This year, globally wine production has suffered due to a string of natural disasters including frosts and hails in Europe, which is faced with its lowest wine production since WWII.

An article from The Drinks Business by Natalie Wang
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/10/hawkes-bay-wine-production-drops-in-2017/

Early harvest in Champagne (in french)

Les vendanges en Champagne ont démarré dans une partie de l’appellation, laissant entrevoir une récolte “prometteuse”.
Les premiers coups de sécateurs ont été donnés samedi dernier dans le vignoble de Montgueux (Aube), selon le calendrier des dates de vendanges publié par le Comité Champagne, l’organe institutionnel de l’interprofession.La plupart des 319 communes viticoles de l’appellation emboîteront le pas de la Côte de Bar début septembre.
Ces dates ont été déterminées grâce à des prélèvements “réalisés deux fois par semaine à l’échelle de l’appellation dans environ 600 parcelles : le raisin est pressuré et le moût est analysé. Ces remontées permettent de mesurer la dynamique de maturation des raisins et d’anticiper le moment où ils devraient atteindre leur maturité optimale, donc quand il faut les cueillir”, a indiqué le Comité Champagne.
Au regard de ces relevés quelques rares secteurs avaient été autorisés à commencer dès vendredi en raison de la maturité très avancée du vignoble.
La précocité des raisins place cette vendange dans le top 5 des vendanges les plus précoces dans l’appellation, en avance d’une dizaine de jours sur la moyenne décennale.
Elle se caractérise par une très belle dynamique de maturation, des grappes présentant une bonne charge en sucre mais une acidité encore élevée, ce qui laisse entrevoir une récolte prometteuse et un bon potentiel pour élaborer les futurs vins.
Toutefois, la récolte s’annonce inégale, marquée par une très grande hétérogénéité agronomique notamment à cause du gel au printemps qui a sévèrement affecté la Côte des Bar.
Selon les chiffres de l’interprofession, environ 120.000 travailleurs saisonniers sont employés en Champagne durant les vendanges.

An article from Le Figaro with AFP
http://avis-vin.lefigaro.fr/economie-du-vin/o133307-champagne-coup-d-envoi-pour-les-vendanges-precoces-de-2017

Burgundy 2017 : an early vintage ?

No two years are the same in the Bourgogne winegrowing region. After fast flowering, which was over by mid-June, even in those areas that tend to tardiness, any fears about springtime frosts were soon a distant memory. Now hopes are high for a fabulous harvest.
Even the Chablis region, which suffered the effects of frost at the end of April, is in a much better place than it was at this time in 2016.
Flowering is finished across the Bourgogne region, with only a few days required for the vines to move from first flowers to producing fruit.
With favorable weather conditions, sunshine and heat alternating with short spring showers, the vines were left to follow their growth cycle at a good pace, without hindrance.
On average, flowering reached mid-point by the first week in June. On the Côte de Beaune, flowering started on 31 May for the Chardonnay and 1 June for the Pinot Noir, soon followed by all other regions. The further north the vines, the earlier they flowered, compared to the average for the period 1994-2016.
In the Mâconnais, flowering mid-point was reached between 3-5 days earlier, while in the
Grand Auxerrois and Chablis, it was eight days.
The 2017 vintage is therefore gradually emerging as an early one. It is ranked among the top three earliest years on the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, similar to the 2009 vintage. The nascent grapes are already between 3-5mm across and the bunches should be closed by early July if the weather continues to be fine.
With optimum weather conditions keeping the grapes healthy, the Bourgogne winegrowing region is thus heading for a lovely harvest. In Chablis, things are more mixed. Although globally, things are looking promising, there are a few areas where the grapes are lacking, mainly in the Petit Chablis appellation, and on a few plots of Chablis.
But despite the reigning optimism, it is preferable to be prudent until harvesting is complete, with picking predicted to start in early September.

An article from Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB)
http://www.bourgogne-wines.com/news/latest-news/2017-an-early-vintage,2536,10366.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0xODY3JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RGV0YWlsJmlkPTE1OCZ8

HomeWine News ‘Lucifer heatwave’ kick-starts early Franciacorta harvest

Hot weather and drought mean that some sparkling wine producers in northern Italy have started harvesting grapes 12 days earlier than normal.
Producers of Italian sparkling wine Franciacorta, in Lombardy, east of Milan, officially began their 2017 wine harvest on 3 August.
Picking began as the so-called ‘Lucifer heatwave’ became the latest spate of hot weather to arrive in parts of Europe this summer; leading to health warnings for citizens and problems for public services in several countries.
In the vineyards, many areas have reported that vines are ahead of schedule in 2017.
Franciacorta producers do not normally start harvest until after ‘Ferragosto’, a national bank holiday, which falls on 15 August.
‘The extremely high temperatures we’ve been having lately made us start the harvest,’ Mauro Piliu, export director of Castello di Gussago, told Decanter.com.
The estate was harvesting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The official regulations of the region dictate that the grape harvest must not begin before 1 August. ‘It seems that recently we’ve been getting closer and closer to that date,’ said Piliu.
It’s been a year of extremes in many of Europe’s vineyards.
Earlier in the year, some areas of Italy, Spain and France experienced early blossom followed by devastating frosts, while others were affected by hailstorms.
Franciacorta is expected to see overall yields down by 30% due to earlier frosts, according to the region’s wine council.
Piliu estimated that, due to the weather conditions, the 2017 production of Castello di Gussago will be 10 percent lower than last year.
Italy’s Coldiretti agricultural lobby said it expected wine production across the country to be 10 percent to 15 percent lower than in 2016.

An article from Decanter by Andrzej Binkiewicz
http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/lucifer-heatwave-franciacorta-harvest-374030-374030/