Flowering passed off in good conditions, confirming the potential for a large crop as long as there would not be any weather induced accidents further down the road. Harvest dates could be projected for just about the same time as 2020, in other words exceptionally early, starting shortly after mid-August for the earliest areas.
However, unlike the three hot dry summers of 2018-2020, there was much more of a westerly airflow in place, with occasional bursts of heat from the south, notably over the weekend of 18th-19th June, leading to storms which were especially violent on Monday 21st. In the Côte d’Or it was the Côte de Nuits which suffered worse, with various localised hail storms and massive flooding in Gevrey-Chambertin, leaving heavy mud on many roads and some flooded cellars. In Chablis there was a bit of hail on Montée de Tonnerre and Mont de Milieu, and the plateau above.
The wet weather continued for the rest of the week and through to the following Monday: inconvenient for those who needed to get into the vineyard for their regular spraying problem, but the storms were less violent and the volume of rain which fell an absolute boon, given the history of drought from 2018 to 2020.
The first half of July was mostly sunny, without excessive heat, and with noticeably cool nights for the time of the year. Then came the heatwave which affected the UK and the South-West of France especially – but happily, not nearly so much in Burgundy. The duration was really just two days, 18th and 19th July, and temperatures remained comfortably below 40°C, followed by valuable heavy showers on the following day and a return to more manageable warmth.
Discussing the state of the vineyards with Ludivine Griveau at the Hospices de Beaune, it now looks as if harvest dates will be a bit later than in 2020. She confirms that the work in the vineyards is now done and barring the arrival of damaging storms – not currently forecast but there is still a long road to run – we can expect a good crop of healthy and ripe grapes. Ludivine reports that the véraison – when the grapes change colour – is currently underway but still at an early stage: 10% of the grapes in Beaune and Pommard have changed whereas on the same date in 2020 the figure was around 60%. Cool nights (despite the hot days) and a larger crop than in the last three vintages have happily delayed the ripening, and harvest is therefore expected for the last days of August.
Temperatures have not been as extreme in the Côte d’Or as elsewhere in France, and the vineyards of the Hospices de Beaune have been barely grazed by hail. Instead, the storms in late June have provided very welcome water. The vines are happy and healthy and are not showing signs of stress!
A relief for the producers this year! After 2021 I am sure they would like to see a normal crop for a change