2020 Bordeaux vintage completed after year of extreme weather

After a tumultuous year in which growers have had to contend with some extreme weather conditions, Bordeaux producers are now able to breathe a sigh of relief with high hopes for a good 2020 vintage.  

Volumes, however, are likely to be slightly below the ten year average of 5m hectoliters, according to the CIVB while the entire vintage was nearly 15 days early at every stage of the growing cycle resulting in an early harvest – albeit one which was long, kicking off in mid-August and lasting through until the end of September.    

But growers had to contend with a wide variety of weather conditions before harvest. The CIVB reported that a very mild winter was followed by a disrupted spring, which brought hail, frost, snow and floods. Two spells of frost at the end of March hit certain estates, though damage across the Gironde was limited.

However, the extremely mild winter of 2020 boosted bud burst, which occurred two weeks earlier than usual. April was very mild, and several storms hit the Entre-Deux-Mers, Franc Côtes de Bordeaux, the area around Saint-Émilion and the Sauternes region. While the damage was significant it was very localised  

Very sunny, mild weather in May was marked by plenty of rainfall for the first half of the month, with downy mildew very aggressive this year. Flowering occurred two weeks ahead of schedule, around the 20th of the month, and this was followed by a very wet and cloudy June with little sun.

However, a searingly hot July ensued, with 24 days when the temperature exceeded 25 degrees, and 12 days in excess of 30 degrees, with very little rain.  

The first coloured berries appeared in mid July and become widespread during the week of July 20th, and by August, all the berries had changed colour in the blistering heat, though without any obvious signs of water stress except on the very youngest plots. Fortunately rain in mid-August helped relieve any water stress, and helped increase yields in others.  

The first grapes to be picked was on August 15th with those berries intended for the Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and the Crémants. This was followed by the red varieties earmarked for the production of rose wines before the end of August.   

Moving into September, and the CIVB describes the first two weeks of the month as “exceptional” in terms of sunshine, before rain took hold at the end of the month. Wide variations in the day and night time temperatures allowed for good phenolic ripeness, boosted by long days of endless sunshine, and the Indian summer made it possible for each plot to reach optimum ripeness before being picked.

The Merlot harvest, the earliest ripening red variety started around 5th September, while harvest for the Cabernets had started by the middle of the month, with the vast majority of growers completing harvest by 30th September.