Small volumes
With a volume of 3,772,000 hectolitres, the Bordeaux harvest is the second lowest in the last fifteen years. Only the 2017 vintage did less with 3,500,000 hectoliters. As in Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne, where volumes are also low, a devastating frost in April and attacks of mildew are the causes. The winegrowers had to fight on all these fronts, which was costly. And even though sales are also sluggish.
Following the small 2017 harvest, bulk prices soared, causing sales to plummet. It remains to be seen what repercussions this weak 2021 harvest will have, knowing that stocks from previous vintages – of good quality – are available. After these two episodes of frost (2017 and 2021), many wind turbines are being installed in the vineyards.
The timing of the campaign
“In this month of February, the wines of the 2021 vintage are in the barrels and we are finalizing the blends to present them for en primeur tastings”, explains Antoine Médeville (Oenoconseil), oenologist in the Médoc. For their part, the 2020s have finished their aging (twelve to fifteen months on average) and are ready for their next bottling.
As always, the activity of the winegrowers straddles several vintages. For those who raise their wines little – there are many for the generic Bordeaux and Bergerac AOCs – the first bottles arrive on the market, in particular the rosés and the whites. For the elite properties – like the two previous years – the tempo of the campaign has changed since the en primeur tastings will take place at the end of April, and not at the beginning of April as before. This discrepancy, originally attributable to the Covid, could become permanent because it satisfies both producers and traders. Note that the volumes being lower, it is likely that the prices of the major labels will be on the rise.