A Good Vintage?

French winemakers hope for a fine vintage

Wine lovers rejoice. The weather gods have smiled on French winemakers, raising hopes in the country’s vineyards that, after two years of dismal sales, 2009 will produce an outstanding vintage.

Vintners this week expressed optimism about the prospects of producing a highly desirable vintage .

The grapes, they said, had benefited from a severe winter that killed off harmful bugs and allowed the vines to rest. A wet spring had also replenished a depleted water table, helping to produce a bumper crop.

Most important, summer has been unusually fine, warm and dry yet not too hot. Nights were noticeably cooler than in the heatwave vintage of 2003, for example, when many grapes turned to raisins on the vine.

Frédéric Engerer, who straddles two regions at Chateau Latour in Bordeaux and Domaine d’Eugénie in Burgundy, eastern France, said this year’s grapes were very good and reminded him of the 2000 vintage, another standout year for red bordeaux.

In the far east of the country, 12th-generation Riquewihr vine grower Etienne Hugel reports that 2009 “looks to be a great year in Alsace”, while in the Rhône Valley, Jean-Luc Colombo describes this year’s growing season as “exceptional”. He began picking as early as September 1, a week ahead of usual, a sign of unusual ripeness.

The mid-August holiday in France is traditionally associated with a break in the weather and potentially dangerous storms that can precipitate rot in underripe grapes. But this year, the weather held in all significant French wine regions right through the month, resulting in healthy grapes with relatively thick skins.

Unusually, the weather in September has so far stayed dry. Eric Boissenot, the famous oenologist and consultant winemaker, described 2009 as “magnificent with very, very healthy grapes. July was good and August was great. The quantity will be a bit more than in 2008 and 2007 but it won’t be a massive vintage”.

The Bordeaux wine trade, bellwether of French wine, will be relieved that after two vintages that have been difficult to sell, the 2009 vintage looks highly desirable.