Bordeaux 2023: Weather Report
Flying into Toulouse airport might not be the most obvious way to reach Bordeaux, but with direct flights from Edinburgh (and none to Bordeaux, obviously) it made sense when organising my in-bottle tasting trip in December 2022. And it served as my introduction to the winter weather that preceded the 2023 growing season; the late-night drive north to Bordeaux started out cool and crisp, but before I reached the more southerly vineyards of the Graves appellation I was driving through torrential rain, the autoroute disappearing beneath a lake of standing water.
In truth the December 2022 rainfall in Bordeaux was below average, even if right at that moment it did not feel like it. But November was much wetter than average, as was January, with modest rainfall in February. Combined with mild winter temperatures the budbreak was a little early, but only by a day or two; having said that, one has to ask the question, at what point will we redefine which dates for the budbreak are normal, early and late? Regardless, with the tender leaves out, and the ground saturated with water, the risk of frost damage was high.
Happily, however, this was no re-run of 2021 in Bordeaux. Or of 2017 for that matter. Or 1991. Many had their smudge pots out in readiness, as shown (with Château Angélus behind, the crane towering over ongoing construction work), neverthless despite a few colder nights in early April the period of frost risk passed without major event, but it was not without its challenges. The first challenge to be addressed was the early threat of mildew in the vineyard. And the second challenge? That was mildew as well.
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