We ended up in the middle of the harvest when we visited Bordeaux around September 20th. We had expected to see some gloomy faces, but it was mostly happy faces. We knew about the severe attacks of downy mildew, a fungal disease that affected large parts of Bordeaux this summer, especially merlot, which accounts for over 60% of the plantings. And it didn’t look good in some places.
At the small vineyard Paradise Rescued in Entre-deux-Mers, David Stannard says that parts of his vineyard turned completely grey in two days. “I estimate that 75% of all merlot in Bordeaux has been lost this year,” he says. He did 14-15 sprayings in his small vineyard, but even that was not enough.
The problems with mildiou, and in some places hail, does not necessarily affect the quality, it will probably be excellent this year, if you are careful with the sorting.
Travel: Come on a wine tour to Bordeaux with BKWine.
