BWFS: Bordeaux Region ravaged by frost

French Winemakers Weathering Worst Frost in 25 Years

Wine Spectator, James Molesworth, Suzanne Mustacic

" 02 May 2017

Vintners are reporting widespread damage in Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, with some losing their entire 2017 crop

Cold weather struck France's young vine buds again this week, and Bordeaux is the latest region to suffer frost damage. Farther north, Burgundy and Champagne also weathered cold conditions and frost. Damage reports are incomplete so far, mainly because winegrowers have been busy preparing anti-frost measures.

Bordeaux's Right Bank Hit Hard

"We can already estimate that we have lost nearly half of the potential crop,” said Xavier Coumau, president of Bordeaux's Syndicate of Wine and Spirits Courtiers.

Many are calling it the worst frost since 1991, as temperatures dropped to nearly 26° F in some spots. Damage has been reported on the Right Bank, including in Pomerol and St.-Emilion - though the plateau of St.-Emilion was spared - as well as Pessac and Graves and even up in the western edge of the Médoc.

"It is rather dramatic," Stéphane Derenoncourt, proprietor of Domaine de l'A in Castillon and consultant to dozens of Right Bank estates, told Wine Spectator. "Only the plateau and the tops of slopes are spared. There is damage everywhere, sometimes 100 percent. We haven't seen everything yet, and it is forecast to freeze again tonight."

"Really bad news," said Stephan von Neipperg, who owns a cluster of elite St.-Emilion properties, as well as Clos Marsalette in Pessac. "Château Canon-La Gaffelière is touched as well as d'Aiguilhe, Marsalette and some plots in Clos de l'Oratoire. No damage in La Mondotte, which is on the plateau. Very difficult to tell you the percentage we lost but it will be rather hard."

Vineyards in low-lying areas, where cold air settles, are more susceptible to frost than sloped vineyards or higher plateaus. However, the extent of the damage won’t be known for several days.

In Pessac and Graves, growers were checking their vines as well. Véronique Sanders of Château Haut-Bailly reported a significant frost. By Friday morning, she had inspected the fields and found one-third of the buds were dead and another third were damaged. From Château Villa Bel-Air in Graves, Jean-Charles Cazes reported that 90 percent of the potential crop was gone.

To read more online, click .Here

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. You may copy, re-use or re- print any of this information as long as wine.co.za is quoted as source.