The weather is extremely hot in Burgundy … record-breakingly hot, and this is starting to seriously affect the ripening process of the grapes and the potential quality of the vintage – and this in a very dramatic way.
The Winehog posts from the last days have stated this and increased the urgency as the reports from vignerons trying to speed up the process to harvest earlier are coming in – the disaster is sadly brewing.
Today I spoke to a vigneron and he said …” honestly- if I could start the harvest tomorrow .. I would!“.
In theory, this is possible … but in reality impossible … but it is, in my view, full speed ahead for most vignerons…
In reality it is very difficult to move the harvest start forward … so would still expect August 25 to hold for the reds and August 20 for the whites.
An early start could give the best and most balanced result with intact phenolics and acidity. Looking at the weather forecast, the acidity could decrease alarmingly fast as the ripeness increases under the burning sun.
Additionally, we could have all kinds of blockages that can happen when the temperatures get close to 35 or even 40 degrees.
The potential problem – the Catch-25
The issue in 2025 will be to get perfect phenolic ripeness before the acidity drops into the problematic zone. Sugar and alcohol will be what it is … should be quite low ideally …
If the acidity drops too much, we will have issues with the balance of the wines … as they will lack the all important freshness and liveliness – we need this very quality to a great Burgundy – it should be “frais et legér” – vin d´émotion.
And then we have the problems with stability of the wines, where low acidity wines (high pH) will be prone to getting Brettanomyces and or Volatile acidity.
This is Serious – very Serious
This is serious – very serious – and letting the grapes cook on the wines for two or even three weeks more could well be a truly bad decision and a disaster for both the reds and the whites.
Harvest articles
- Harvest 2025 – More Rain …
- Harvest 2025 – And then came the rain
- Harvest 2025 – Full steam ahead in the south
- Harvest 2025 – rain and chapter 2
- Harvest 2025 – Start August 17th … new record
- Planning the harvest – a challenge in 2025
- Harvest 2025 – harvest now?!
- Harvest 2025 #3 – At a record-breaking speed
- Harvest 2025 – #J-14 – Harvest News 2-2025
- Harvest 2025 – #J-15 – the catch-25
- Harvest 2025 – #J-15 – Harvest News 1-2025
Contact – mail me a tip or a photo
Send me an email – if you have some harvest news
- A true vin d’émotion – a Burgundy of passion
- A truly hedonistic wine – lively and enjoyable
- A vivacious wine for pure indulgance
- A potential vin d´émotion - frais et léger
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