Following up on Tam's March visit to France's Roussillon, when the wild rocket and cherry trees were in full bloom and the vines seemed impressively resilient despite the long drought, vintner Jonathan Hesford writes in with a less rosy report.
Up until 2016, when people used to ask me whether it was going to be a good year, I would reply 'It's always a good year in the Roussillon.' The Mediterranean climate was much more consistent than Atlantic regions such as Bordeaux or continental climates like Burgundy. However, since then, nearly every year has dealt us climatic surprises that have made the...