The lovely misty morning here remind us that it’s that time of year again – just in case you has forgotten! Mist as of mid to late August is of course just what is needed in the south west of Bordeaux for the sweet white wines but it is also a good sign for the red. This means cooler nights helping to preserve the aromatic complexity of the red and white and phenolic complexity in the red berries.

White grape harvesting has started across Bordeaux. Château Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion are always some of the first to start, as being surrounded by Bordeaux suburbs they have a warmer urban microclimate.
Other properties started last week. Château d’Yquem started the first selection of Sauvignon Blanc for Y d’Yquem and nearer to me here in the Entre Deux Mers Château de Sours started handpicking their young Sauvignon plantations on the 1st September.
Despite a damp June, the growing season has been very dry with rainfall about 20% below an average year, however temperatures and sunshine have been above average. There is an excess of water stress for younger plants that do not have a well-developed root system yet. It’s all about terroir again : soils with cooler limestone subsoils such as Saint Emilion, Fronsac and Cotes will experience less hydric stress than clay, sandy or gravel soils. However lighter soils with a good subsoil, such as in the Medoc, have vines with deep roots which will enable them to find water from the subsoils even dry conditions.

May and June also had a lot of temperature variation leading to some uneven fruit development – so that will mean eagle eyed sorting (or optical sorting for those with the budgets).

The dry conditions also have another advantage : lovely ripe berries – very little mildew, so no need for much spraying and the grapes should be coming in beautifully healthy.

A little light rain would not go amiss for the reds in particular – it’s forecast for Tuesday – fingers crossed.