“The 2008 Burgundy harvest will be smaller than last year, following a poor fruit set and hailstorms in the region.
Although insiders say it is too early to judge the quality of the vintage, regional trade body, the BIVB, said fruit set had been adversely affected by a cold and wet spring. “
Of-course many growers will tell you this was a good thing as the yields were ‘naturally’ reduced and they have much smaller berries with a higher solids to juice ratio. With another month to go, there’s no point second-guessing…
And from Clive Coates
August 9th. 2008 : HAIL IN SOUTHERN BURGUNDY
“The southernmost part of the Mâconnais and the northern sector of the Beaujolais suffered a devastating hail-storm during the night of Thursday 7th. August. Reports circulate of hail stones as big as tennis balls, not only knocking of what would have been this year’s harvest, but badly damaging the green shoots as well. As it is this year’s canes which will provide the wood on which next year’s harvest will develop, this damage may well compromise the 2009 vintage. We saw this in 2004/2005.
The storm seems to have centered on Saint-Verand. Juliénas, Saint-Amour, Chénas and Moulin-à-Vent in the Beaujolais, and Leynes, Pruzilly, Chaintré, Fuissé and Vinzelles in the Mâconnais are the worst-affected villages.