Bordeaux wines: 2014 harvest low in volume but good in quality

Despite the poor harvest in 2014 can not be forgotten that historically low yield in 2013, the Bordeaux wines welcomes a vintage "rare" where all colors, red, white and rosé, have taken advantage of the exceptional autumn sunshine.

With production estimated between 5.2 and 5.4 million hectoliters (hl), remaining quantities refine mid-January with the full harvest, 2014 is low in volume but much more satisfactory than of 2013, where the consequences of climatic hazards (hail and small quantity of grapes clusters) were strongly impacted the amounts of grapes harvested. 

With only 3,838 hl, the 2013 harvest was lower by nearly 2 million average the last 20 years, except in 2008 when it reached only 4.8 million hl. You must then go back to 1991, with 2.6million hl to see a Bordeaux harvesting fall below 5 million hl.  

According to Bernard Farges, president of the Interprofessional Committee of Bordeaux (CIVB), the very poor harvest in 2013, combined "the weakest stocks in 15 years in Bordeaux," has resulted in the Bordeaux wine "losing market share the rapid market development wines "such as rose, red and Bordeaux AOC Côtes de Bordeaux. 

And it is in 2015 that this impact will be felt for wines aged in barrels, placed on the market two years after harvest. 

"If there had been such a low harvest in 2014 that 2013 would have been a disaster for the entire wine industry, not only producers but also trading and all providers of the industry," added Mr. Farges, who believes that "despite this small volume in 2014, stocks may nevertheless recover although it is still not enough." 

However, "this vintage 2014 will be remembered as a happy harvest, both crop conditions are perfect," added the president of the inter, noting that the temperatures of the "month of September summer" were up 2.2°C compared to the average of the last thirty years. And "those of October were notable for their gentle" with 2.6°C above average even and 193 hours of sunshine, a record since 1991. 

The consequence of this fall "exceptional" is that, according to him, "all our wines have benefited: sparkling wines, white, red, pink, sweet," homogeneity as a same vintage "it's so rare," he noted.