Last autumn, our wine tours took us to a number of wine regions and wine countries, including France, Italy, Portugal, and Austria. We took the occasion to ask some of the winemakers what they thought about the 2022 wine harvest. Everyone agrees on one thing. 2022 is a year that will produce excellent wines. They are also unanimous in saying that it was a year with special difficulties: very hot and very dry. But in spite of this, many wines show a remarkable freshness. Listen to what the winemakers say on our videos in this article.
2022 will certainly get a mention in the history books as a very unusual year for wine producers in Europe. In most regions, there was very little or no rain for several months. This did not have as catastrophic consequences as some feared. In most regions, 2022 will be a year of very good and even outstanding wines. We travelled to several wine regions and countries during the harvest period and just after and asked some of the winemakers what they thought.
2022 is dramatically different from 2021, which, in particular in France, was marked by very difficult weather, with hail, frost, rain, and rain again, vine diseases and other difficulties that led to a very small harvest of modest but quite drink-friendly qualities.
This is a longer version of an article published on Forbes.com.
Let’s start with the Bordeaux vintage 2022.
The 2022 wine harvest in Bordeaux, according to the winemakers
2022 was a hot and dry year in Bordeaux. There was plenty of sunshine and very little rain. The vines sometimes suffered from the heat and lack of water and quantities are therefore relatively low, but the quantities are better than the meagre 2021. The quality is overall excellent to outstanding. It is perhaps not a typical year, with much concentration and density. A few wines may have somewhat strong tannins when young but most wine producer will make excellent wines, delicious to drink young but that will also age well.
Three winemakers explain what they think about the harvest:
- Fabrice Bacquey, winemaker at Chateau Phélan Ségur in Saint Estèphe in Bordeaux
- Véronique Sanders, president of Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan in Bordeaux
- Juha Berglund ex-winemaker (now succeeded by his daughter) and owner of Château Carsin, Cadillac Côte de Bordeaux
Fabrice Bacquey, winemaker at Chateau Phélan Ségur in Saint Estèphe in Bordeaux. Chateau Phélan Ségur is in Saint Estephe, the commune that is just north of Pauillac in the Médoc. It is on the level of many more famous chateau in the Médoc but probably due to its remote location it is not quite as well-known.
Fabrice Bacquey: “2022 was an exceptional year in Bordeaux. We had a hot summer and high temperatures. The grapes were very ripe. We harvested very early. There was a lot of evaporation. We will have a lot of concentration and density. It will be a special vintage”.
Véronique Sanders, president of Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan.
Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan is one of the most prestigious chateaux in the Graves region. It is today owned by the American Wilmers family and managed by Véronique Sanders.
Véronique Sanders: “2022 will be a very nice wine. We had perfect weather. In terms of quality, it will be a great vintage. In terms of quantity, we will miss a little bit of it because of the drought. It is extremely promising.”
Juha Berglund, Château Carsin, Cadillac Côte de Bordeaux. Château Carsin was bought by Juha Berglund’s family in 1990. It is one of many “normal” wine estates in Bordeaux, some 6000 of them, that are not world famous. It is today run by his daughter, the very talented Nea.
Juha Berglund: “This year has been very unusual for many reasons. We’ve had a lot of drought, perhaps 20 mm of rain since June. This led to a lot of stress for the vines. Harvest started record early. Now it is almost a rule that we start in August. We still (on October 2) have some grapes in the vineyards for the sweet wine, but even though we’ve had some rain, the noble rot has not started. We did a sweet wine without noble rot in 1997; perhaps we’ll have to do that this year too. The quality potential for the red wine is very good. The tannins are soft, there’s good colour, and we’re getting wines with flavours of plums and black currants. Since my daughter Nea took over, we have been making wines with a bit more tension. The whites will also certainly be good. But both red and white will be lower quantity.”
Listen to more of what they have to say about the 2022 wine harvest in this video:
The 2022 wine harvest, in Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhône Valley according to the winemakers
All of France had a very hot and dry 2022 growing season. How this affected the vines – and the future wines – varies, but in general it has been a very successful vintage. In the Rhône Valley the grapes resisted the drought very well, perhaps because it is a region already used to hot and dry weather – and a few drops of rain. Burgundy also suffered high temperatures and little rain but in contrast to many other regions, quantities have in many cases been generous. Very healthy grapes. And the quality of the wines is excellent. Champagne is unanimous in saying that it is an excellent vintage and also an abundant one. Thanks to the flexible harvesting yield rules here big volumes of grapes have been brought in to fill up cellars after the small (and not very quality oriented) 2021 harvest.
Five winemakers explain what they think about the harvest:
- Philippe Bernard, owner and winemaker at Clos Saint Louis, Fixin, Burgundy
- Flavien Rutat, co-winemaker at Champagne Rutat
- Alexandre Penet, owner and winemaker at Champagnes Penet-Chardonnet
- Kate McKinlay, Domain de Mourchon, Séguret, southern Rhône Valley
- Laure Couturier, Domaine Rabasse-Charavin, Cairanne, southern Rhône Valley
Philippe Bernard, owner and winemaker at Clos Saint Louis, Fixin, Burgundy: “This year, I am very happy because we get both quality and quantity. 2022 was a difficult vintage, very dry and lots of sun, but it will be very good.”
Flavien Rutat, co-winemaker at Champagne Rutat: “2022 was a really, really dry year, with no rain. This gave a lot of difficulties for the vinification. The first tastings of the ‘baby wine’ revealed surprisingly fresh aromas. We think it will be good for ageing.”
Alexandre Penet, Champagnes Penet-Chardonnet: “This year’s harvest is excellent. Very promising. The weather was a bit of an issue, but the harvest ended up being great. We’re very happy with the results. We’ll make an excellent 2022 vintage.”
Kate McKinlay, Domain de Mourchon, Séguret, southern Rhône Valley: “It’s been an extreme vintage, hot and dry. The vines suffered. We were saved by rain in late August and early September, which came and rehydrated the grapes. We have beautifully balanced juice. Plenty of sugar but freshness there too. Nice tannins but not too much. Looking very promising.”
Laure Couturier, Domaine Rabasse-Charavin, Cairanne, southern Rhône Valley: “It may be too soon to say (about the quality). But I think it will be a really nice vintage. The grapes were nice, the weather was nice, everything was nice. It is going to be a good vintage.”
Listen to more of what they have to say about the 2022 wine harvest in this video:
The 2022 wine harvest, in Austria, Piedmont and Portugal according to the winemakers
Austria experienced similar weather to the other countries mentioned here. There were spots of rain but nothing that seriously trouble the harvest. The hot weather particularly benefitted the red wines but the whites also promise to be excellent. The Douro Valley in northern Portugal is used to hot and dry weather but in 2022 they had more of it than usual. Some vines suffered and quantities are low. But in spite of this many wines have good freshness and promise excellent wines. Italy maintained its position as the world’s biggest wine producer in 2022 but many had feared that the hot and dry weather would have an impact on quantities and quality. The Piedmont harvest was slightly less than in 2021 but the quality was outstanding.
Six winemakers explain what they think about the harvest:
- Franz Leth, Weingut Leth, Wagram, Austria
- Max Trabitsch, Weingut Jurtschitsch, Langenlois, Austria
- Diana Muller, Weingut Muller, Kremstal, Austria
- Niki Moser, Weingut Sepp-Moser, Kremstal, Austria
- Vasco Lopes, Pedro Milanos, Douro Valley, Portugal
- Flavio Sobrero, Cantina Sobrero Francesco, Barolo, Piedmont
Franz Leth, Weingut Leth, Wagram, Austria: “We picked our grüner veltliner and rieslings in perfect conditions.”
Max Trabitsch, Weingut Jurtschitsch, Langenlois, Austria: “The vintage looks promising. We have high acidity, not as high as 2021, but still good. We have appropriate alcohol, not high and not low. This is going to be a good vintage.
Diana Muller, Weingut Muller, Kremstal, Austria: “If the weather gods don’t give us rain the last days of the harvest, we will have a great vintage.” (The comments were made before all grapes were in from harvest.)
Niki Moser, Weingut Sepp-Moser, Kremstal, Austria: “Harvest started very early because it was a hot and dry vintage. We wanted to bring in the grapes with a good content of acidity, and the ripeness was there. The basis is there for a great vintage.
Vasco Lopes, Pedro Milanos, Douro Valley, Portugal: “It was a very, very hot year. The grapes were a bit unbalanced and sometimes burned by the sun. But we managed to pick earlier than we used to. This is the new normal of climate change. We made a nice harvest, and the wines are looking good. They are not as alcoholic as they used to be even though it was a hot year, which is a bit strange. I think the wines will come out really nice.”
Flavio Sobrero, Cantina Sobrero Francesco, Barolo, Piedmont: “This year was very warm and dry, but the quality is amazing. The wines are amazing. The grapes that arrived in the winery were perfect.”
Listen to more of what they have to say about the 2022 wine harvest in this video:
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