Corkr Fine Wines

August is the month that the Chateaux prepare for the vintage; the cleaning and servicing of all the equipment that will be used in the making of the wine.

August is also the month that the grapes can be seen ripening. The grapes change colour and veraison happens; the swelling of the grapes as they reach maturity.

August seasonal temperatures were above average for the time of year and was a particularly dry month. Overall monthly temperatures varied from a low of 10% Celsius at night on the 30th August to a high of 36.2% Celsius, the hottest day of the year, which was recorded on the 15th August, but on average the daily temperature was around 21.9% Celsius. Bordeaux basked in a total of 270 hours of sunshine, 8 hours more than July, well above average. The relative Humidity averaged 63.5% with rain varying from a low of 0.25mm on the 14th and 18th August to a high of 10.92mm on the 10th August. The total days with rain were 5 days with more than
0.25 mm of rain fall.

August started on the damp side with 7.87mm of rain on 2nd August and 0.51mm of rain on 3rd August, then clear warm skies until the 9th August with temperatures ranging from 23.8 % Celsius on 9th August to 31.9 % Celsius on the 6th August.

The 9th August saw the only thunderstorm of the month with 3.56 mm of rain falling continuing into the next day with 10.92mm. Apart from a sprinkle on 14th August, the only rain to dampen the vines up to the end of the month were 0.51mm on 17th August and 0.25mm on 18th August. From the 19th August to 31st August was dry and hot with most days averaging in the high 20’s or low 30’s Celsius.

In general August weather was excellent and the grape maturation is well advanced for this time of year. This vintage is looking like it could be a classic. Next month the Chateaux start the picking of the red grapes and we are sure that the Bordelais will be praising the vintage from the rooftops. Will it be as good 2005?

Link to article from Jancis Robinson- 2009 in France - yet another great 9.

July is the month that Accolage happens in the vineyards, the trimming of the vine shoot-tips to see the maximum amount of nutrients are diverted to the grape bunches.

July is also the month that the Chateau owners put their thoughts to bed of additional sales from the en primeur campaign which apart from a trickle of sales is mostly over and start putting all their efforts into the vines for next years vintage to ensure a good harvest. But as we all know a wine harvest is not just about the management of the vines but also about the weather. Good weather over the growing season and an excellent vintage can provide considerable wealth to the Chateau owners and if disastrous can put them on the verge of bankruptcy and the sale of their chateau, their pride and joy and life’s work, which has probably been generations in the same family.

July seasonal temperatures were average if not slightly below the normal for the time of year. Overall monthly temperatures varied from a low of 12.7% Celsius at night on the 11th July to a high of 35.4% Celsius, the hottest day of the year, which was recorded on the 21st July, but on average the daily temperature was around 21.5% Celsius. Bordeaux basked in a total of 262 hours of sunshine, well above average and evenly spread through the month. The relative Humidity averaged 70% with rain varying from a low of 0.25mm on the 5th July to a high of 16.51mm on the 2nd July. The total days with rain were 9 days with more than 0.25 mm of rain fall.

July 1st started off the month well with a fine sunny day with temperatures recording a high of 35 degrees Celsius. The 2nd July was a hot and muggy day with temperatures reaching 33.9 degrees celcius but with the temperature came the first rain and thunderstorm of the month. For the next 3 days the temperature averaged 25 degrees celcius and was strewn with scattered showers. The 6th – 16th saw temperatures creep up from a low of 23.2 degrees celcius on the 6th July to a high of 33.9 degrees celcius on 16th July. Thunderstorms came on 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th July. The 17th July saw temperatures drop back into the low 20’s which continued until the 20th when 30 degrees celcius was reached. The days from the 20th to the end of the month showed an average temperature of 28 degrees celcius with thunderstorms on 21st and 23rd July.

In general the weather has faired well for the vineyards and the grape maturation is normal for this time of year thanks to extensive vegetation management, spraying and good weather conditions.

With the Bordeaux En Primeur 2008 Campaign coming to an end, fans of Bordeaux Wines; Drinkers and Investors are already looking to the
2009 vintage and wandering what the weather holds for us this year and
if 2009 is going to be a vintage year.

It hasn’t started off well in Bordeaux so far, with severe Hail Storms in mid-May with many hectares of Vineyards being destroyed.

June has faired better with seasonal temperatures above normal. The
vines started flowering end of May beginning of June. Overall monthly temperatures varied from a low of 12 degrees Celsius at night to a high of
34 degrees Celsius which was recorded on the 30th June, but on average the daily temperature was around 25 degrees Celsius, well below the June record of 38 degrees Celsius. Bordeaux was blessed with a total of
293 hours of sunshine which is well above average for the month, but this came mostly in the second half of the month. The relative Humidity averaged 91 degrees Fahrenheit in the mornings and 62 degrees Fahrenheit in the evenings, with average precipitation of 65mm. The total wet days were 11 with more than 0.25mm of rain fall.

June 1st – 4th saw fine sunny weather, then continuous rain until the 10th with 40mm of rain falling in this period. Then from the 11th to the 16th were a mix of sunshine and showers and from the 16th to the 20th no rain fell and Bordeaux was basked in sunshine with warm conditions with average temperature around 24 degrees Celsius. Temperatures from the 20th to the 30th steadily increased averaging around 26 degrees Celsius and culminating in the hottest day of the year to date on the 30th June of 34 degrees Celsius.

If the weather in July can better June and no hail storms or freak weather decides to take its vengeance on Bordeaux, then the vineyards which weren’t hit by the hail in May, could be in for a good vintage, but as the saying goes, you can’t control the weather.

Hail storms fell across the Bordeaux region this week causing widespread damage to vines in Margaux and St-Emilion.

The hail, which in some cases measured 3cm to 5cm across, fell in separate storms on 11 and 13 May. In most cases, the storms lasted only 20 minutes.

Widespread damage has been reported in the Medoc, particularly around Margaux and Moulis.

In St-Emilion, Chateau Angelus reported hail damage for the first time since 1999. There are also reports of severe damage around the vineyards of chateaux Canon, Haut Sarpe and Trotteveille.

Official reports say that up to 3,000ha of vines have been affected in St-Emilion.

'We will know more after flowering how much potential fruit has been lost, but at this stage it can only affect the quantity, not quality,' said Angelus winemaker Emmanuelle Fulchi.

In other Bordeaux regions, the storms caused severe damage.

'At the speed at which they dropped, they chopped everything to meat,' Michael Affatato of Chateau La Gatte in St Andre de Cubzac told decanter.com. 'It is still too early to ascertain the damage caused, but on one plot of 1.5ha (hectares) we lost around 80%.'

Chateau La Rose Bellevue in the Blaye area of the Cotes de Bordeaux reported damage to over 40ha of their 45ha estate.

'The Syndicate of Blaye is helping the winemakers with their insurance claims – although not many of us are insured,' said estate director Valerie Eymas. 'We are going to have to rent vines or buy in grapes from other vineyards to be able to supply our clients'.

Persistent rain now falling in the Bordeaux region is also making it increasingly difficult to treat the damaged vines. - Article from Decanter Magazine.