Most of us by now are used to the changes that our climate has sprung upon us. Humid winters interspersed with extreme weather conditions: flash flooding, spring frosts and hail, followed by a hot, dry summer. We can really no longer talk about “millésimes solaires” (sunny vintages) as the sun seems to be far less of a variable on vintage quality than it was in the past. Thanks to the drought conditions that we have so often experienced during the summer months over the past decade, when rain comes at the end of the summer, it is a godsend rather than a threat. The fear of rot, unripe or herbaceous tasting grapes or a delayed harvest that plagued Bordeaux for generations, are challenges of the past. I can tell you that once again the 2019 vintage in Bordeaux, was SAVED BY THE RAIN.

The 2019 growing season saw temperatures 1.5°C above the 30-year average with 21% less rain on average. There were episodes of both frost and hail, but not as bad as in recent years. Remembering how mildew ravaged a great amount of Bordeaux’s vineyards in 2018, the spectre remained this year but was kept at bay by cool Spring temperatures. Rain in some areas during flowering affected the formation of the bunches which limited yields but in general as the grapes reached the Summer season, they had avoided the hurdles that can harm a vintage.

During the Summer the weather was hot and dry and the vines struggled to keep photosynthesis going. The berries were concentrated and small; the sugars rose and the acidities fell and when the grapes began to change colour, véraison was spread out over several days. We keep a very close watch on the water tables these days and during the Summer we witnessed how thirsty the vines were becoming. As harvest approached, slowed down considerably by the drought, we were praying for rain; twenty years ago, we were praying for sunshine.

Rather reluctantly we started picking the young vines during the third week of September; their grapes had dangerously high sugar levels and we couldn’t allow the acidities to drop any further. Imagine our joy when the next Sunday it rained; a full 20 millimeters in one evening and the result was immediate. We could see how the vines lapped up the water, how the berries began to swell, how the potential alcohol dropped and the acidities pepped up. When we began picking again, the juice that had already been rich and darkly coloured, became aromatic, fragrant and more balanced. 2019 and 2018 have quite a lot in common as vintages and the intensity of the fruit and tannins this year reminded us of the 2018s, although there seems to be more structure, more classicism and perhaps a bit of restraint compared to the exuberantly juicy wines of last year.

Over the next few weeks, it seemed as if the harvest was drawn out more than ever, over our three estates: Le Pin in Pomerol, L’IF in Saint Emilion and L’Hêtre in Castillon. We now have such precision tools (for example at Le Pin and Vieux Château Certan a GPS which is attached to the back of the tractor and monitors the vine’s vegetation and vigour) that we pick each estate parcel by parcel, stopping for several days until we reach perfect maturity. There were intermittent bouts of rain and unsettled skies but by this time, we realised that the grape skins were thick enough to resist rot and the harvest, which had started on the 16th of September in Pomerol, finished in Castillon on the 11th of October.

Throughout Bordeaux, the rain came as a boon; quantities are much better than expected and the alcohol levels have been tempered. Healthy grapes were assured and the rain also meant that the Cabernets in the Médoc could be picked later than expected, thus gaining in freshness, complexity and aromatics over the cool October days. Over in Sauternes, the harvest was late in beginning because of the drought and when the rain came it brought an onslaught of noble rot meaning that growers had to rush to select the right berries before the less noble grey rot took over. What was selected was rich and aromatic with great intensity. The dry white wines came of age during the cooler days at the end of August which lowered the Ph levels and kept the acidities high and lively. In many cases, growers think they made better white wines in 2019 than in 2018.

If wine producers are optimistic about their 2019 harvest, the economic conditions are pretty dreadful. During the vintage we learnt about Trump’s 25 percent tariffs to be slapped on French wines under 14% alcohol sold to the USA from October onwards; (most of us on this continent believe that at 14% alcohol, we begin to worry about our wines being too rich and unbalanced). The unrest in Hong Kong has seen many wine trade events cancelled, importers cancelling shipments and a drop already of 26% in the value of wine imports for the first six months of 2019. China, which still in the largest export market for Bordeaux is also in retreat; partly due to the regime of President Xi and his distrust of conspicuous consumption and also due to the limits placed on how much money can be taken out of China by its nationals. Finally, as I write this, Brexit is still a huge uncertainty and even if Boris Johnson pushes through Britain’s departure, the shock waves are set to remain for several years ahead. That means that Bordeaux’s top four export markets have seen significant setbacks during 2019.

Finishing however on an optimistic note, we can only hope that in this economic context, the Bordeaux châteaux will be compassionate to their clients when the 2019 vintage is set to be released en primeur next year and we will have a wonderful vintage to offer you at an interesting price.

© Fiona Morrison M.W.