“A month ago I wrote that August and September were the all-important months in making the quality of a vintage. Well, August is almost done and to be honest, it has been grim – about 2ºC cooler, and already 40% wetter, than average. Thank goodness the forecast is perfect for at least the next week.”
Read the words of David Clark…
There are 4 responses to “vintage 2008 update”
Looks like this year’s vintage could be poor? Does the excess rain make the grapes swell but with less taste?
Hi Bob,
So far it’s too early to infer that much. Quality comes from clean, ripe, concentrated grapes. So far the grapes are cleaner than 2004/6/7 – so far. Rain only really makes a difference if there’s a lot of it in the few days before harvesting – this is where the grapes can swell and and dilute their flavours. With 5-6 weeks before many start harvesting there are no issues wrt rain right now.
With a late September, early October harvest, September’s weather will largely make the harvest…
Cheers
The problem with rain at this stage is the potential for mildew from extended wet conditions. Grapes also go into phases of slowed and uneven development. September may well make the vintage but July and August make the fruit!
As already stated by David Clark – the mildew – despite the extra rain – is on a lower level to most recent vintages; a combination of lower humidity and spraying.
Quite obviously you cannot separate them, but many is the vintage that looked like it would be terrible, only to be saved by the September weather – 2002 for instance was literally saved from the brink by the September winds, and look how that turned out…