Rain was not the one drawback in 2021. It’s exhausting to consider a calamity through the grape-growing season that didn’t occur that yr. As I wrote in our first report on Bordeaux earlier this month, the 2021 grape-growing season was one of the tough on report, giving wine producers nearly each drawback conceivable together with spring frosts, mildew, botrytis, numerous rain, a scarcity of daylight and gentle temperatures throughout key months in the summertime.
“We misplaced like 250 hours of sunshine in comparison with earlier vintages,” stated Olivier Berrouet, winemaker of Chateau Petrus. “The bud break appeared concurrently 2020, however there was a spot [delay] of three weeks for the harvest.” In line with Berrouet, if you happen to accepted the “typicity of 2021” and waited for full maturity, in the long run there was little strain at harvest. Who is aware of what wines Bordeaux would have made if some solar and heat hadn’t arrived in elements of August, September and October?
“What was essential was to be not too centered on the challenges,” stated Baptiste Guinaudeau, the dynamic proprietor of the legendary Pomerol property Chateau Lafleur, who made one in every of our unicorn wines in 2021. “That’s harmful. You’ll be able to’t battle mom nature on a regular basis. You needed to keep in mind that you’re vignerons [viticulturalists] and also you wanted to be one from April 1. In any other case, some individuals have been simply frost fighters. You needed to do all the pieces in 2021.”
