This week, wine trade professionals from around the world descend on Bordeaux for the annual circus of tasting wines from the latest vintage.
I wrote three 2012 harvest reports for Jancis entitled Scorching summer but no rush last August, followed by The Late Show in October and lastly The end in sight at last. Given these headlines, you’d be right in thinking that it was a late harvest. What was largely missing from those articles were some facts about the weather, so here they are in a graphical format.
After the two outstanding vintages of 2009 and 2010, it's only normal that onlookers will compare 2012 with 2011. Yet the weather conditions in 2011 and 2012 could hardly have been more different, even if we like to slot these two years into the same bracket of ’good but not great’.
12 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS IN 2012
1. A late budburst and a wet April meant a slow start – the opposite of 2011
2. Mildew was a real threat and had to be kept in check
3. Mixed weather in June resulted in a very extended flowering
4. Bordeaux enjoyed an excellent summer from mid July to late September
5. August was dry and hot but veraison (when grapes change colour) was spread out
6. The dry whites were picked in fine September weather
7. The weather changed towards the end of September, and October weather was very variable
8. Humid, drizzly weather from 6 October encouraged many to pick
9. Expensive grape-sorting machines earned their keep
10. Sauternes had a challenging year after three great vintages
11. Yields were low but not as short as in other parts of France
12. Quality is uneven but there should be some very good wines
THE WEATHER CHARTS
Late winter, late season
The 2012 spring budbreak in the vineyard was much later than usual and a full three weeks later than in 2011. Winter was mild until February and the vines didn’t shut down properly for their much-needed winter rest until quite late.
Then we had a bitterly cold February, much chillier than the norm, and the ground froze. It was to be some weeks before the ground warmed up and the vines came out of hibernation.
We’d had three dry vintages on the trot (2009, 2010 and 2011) and the winter of 2011-2012 was quite dry. There was a deficit in the amount of water (December being the exceptional month), with only 336 mm of rain here from October 2011 to March 2012, compared to 457 mm as the Bordeaux average of the previous 10 years.
April showers, summer drought
After very little rain in February and March, it bucketed down in April – 194 mm compared to a 30-year norm of 78 mm – and it was cold too (9.9 °C on average compared to 12.4 °C). Vine growth crawled along at a snail’s pace and mildew soon became a huge threat. May, thankfully, was comparatively dry.
Between March and September 2012, total rainfall was between 420 mm and 460 mm, depending on the sector. That’s close to the 30-year average in Bordeaux of 476 mm. But what matters is the timing of the rain, and almost half the rain in this period fell during the month of April. (Irrigation is banned in Bordeaux, as in other AOCs, so just the right amount of rain and at the right moment is something we pray for.)
The extremes of the rain in 2012 are shown here, compared to the average each month. An April deluge, a little too much in June, a very dry summer and then rain again in the early autumn.
Rainfall compared to recent vintages
The April deluge stands out (see comments above) but a key period was during the flowering over a fortnight in the middle of June. The rain in June (80 mm here against an average of 62 mm) fell on 12 days from 2 June to 20 June, and it was cold in the second week too – a critical moment of flowering.
As a result, the flowering was drawn out and fruit set was uneven and inconsistent. Some vineyards were absolutely fine, although I have rarely seen bunches of grapes at such different stages of ripening – not just in different plots but from one vine to another, and even from one cane to another.
Many Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were comparatively large but slightly fewer in number per bunch. One oenologist friend reckoned it was because the vine was allowing for room for expansion in the event of rain late in the season. If true, this could have an impact on the quality and character of the wine.
It should be noted just how dry it was during July and especially August. This sets 2012 apart from years such as 2006, 2007 and 2011.
These are the rainfall figures for the month (and the 30-year average in brackets). and the number of days of rain.
April 194 mm (78 mm) over 24 days with rain
May 44 mm (79.8 mm) over 8 days
June 79.6 mm (62.6 mm) over 12 days, notably 2 and 9,10,11
July 35.5 mm (50 mm), 8 days
August 26.5 mm (56 mm), 7 days
September 56 mm (90 mm), 7 days, notably 25 (see below)
September rain was lower than the average and most of the rain came towards the end of the month (see below).
Note: my figures are from my local weather station, some 15 miles south east of Bordeaux, except the 'average' figures quoted, which are for Bordeaux itself.
August hot and dry
April was not only very wet, but cold, accentuating the slow start to the growth of the vines.
Here are our monthly temperatures (against the 30-year average):
April 9.9 °C (12.4 °C)
May 16.5 °C (16.1 °C)
June 19 °C (19.3 °C)
July 19.4 °C (21.3 °C)
August 21.8 °C (21.4 °C)
September 18.5 °C (18 °C)
This doesn’t really tell the full story. August, for example, was cool at the beginning and at the end of the month, but we had 12 days of 30 and over between 9 and 27 August, with minimal rain. Many vines, especially young ones, suffered from heat and water stress.
Hours of sunshine
2011 had far more hours of sun in April, accelerating the early growth that year. However, 2012 had more sun than 2011 in each of the months of June, July, August and September, and this should be evident in the wines.
2012 compares very favourably to years such as 2006, 2007 and 2011 from June to September, and isn’t far short of the top years. Note how the total hours of sunshine per month in the excellent years of 2005, 2009 and 2010 stack up, and how, for example, the weaker vintage of 2007 was saved by September.
Bordeaux 2012 – a fine September
After a hot and sunny August, the fine weather continued well into September. Sauvignon Blanc and then Sémillon were picked in excellent weather for the dry whites. The temperature dropped in the second week, which also proved helpful when harvesting the whites. Dry white, however, makes up only a small percentage of the harvest in Bordeaux (less than 10%), so the real money was on how the reds would ripen.
The weather turned on the weekend of 23 September, and a handful of estates began picking young Merlots that week.
In 2011, almost all the reds had been brought in by the end of September but in 2012 very little had been picked to this point. It was a huge contrast, and a reminder of just how the weather controls the vintage.
October harvest for reds
The red harvest began in earnest in the first week of October on both banks. Pomerol was largely completed by the end of the week, with the top estates of St-Emilion only kicking off from Monday 8 October.
The weekend of 7 October proved to be a turning point, as it was both humid and drizzly, forcing many to bring forward their harvest plans in case rot took hold. Some had to compromise between harvesting healthy grapes and physiologically-ripe ones.
Most estates had wrapped up the red harvest by the time of the heavier downpours on the 19 October. This would have favoured Merlot from the better terroirs over the later ripening Cabernets. Having said that, all the Cabernet Sauvignon I saw being brought in on the left bank in mid October looked in very healthy condition.
The above rainfall figures are from my local weather station. Rain in Pauillac, for example, was heavier than here around 14 October to 20 October.
Meanwhile, it was a difficult year in Sauternes as a result of the drought in the summer and rain in the autumn, with Yquem, Rieussec and Raymond Lafon declaring that they wouldn't be making a Grand Vin this year.
Personally, I think Bordeaux needed a fortnight of better weather at the end, but that’s always going to be the risk with a later harvest. It's not that the grapes were unripe, it’s just a shame that after a marathon growing season and a fabulous summer in 2012, we limped across the finishing line. The opportunity to make outstanding wines across the board disappeared as autumn closed in.
