Loire 2015: Summer
Having visited the Loire Valley in June, I zoomed out to Portugal for a couple of weeks of poolside gin-sipping before I returned to the Loire again in July. This time I lingered for a week, basing myself in Saumur and visiting locally, including Château de Targé and Château du Hureau, but also heading out eastwards as far as Bourgueil. The warm weather continued, with virtually no rain during the entire week (I recall just a little pitter-patter of raindrops with a storm late one evening, and a few fantastic sunsets, as pictured), and this dry weather was typical of the month. It also remained warmer than average (and the modern-day averages are based on three recent warm decades, not ancient measurements made in cooler times, so to be ‘above average’ means it is really warm). It was also very dry, the rainfall well below average. Anjou saw just 18.4mm during the entire month, Tours just 14mm, Bourges a paltry 12.8mm, less than a quarter of the average. The temperature of 37.5ºC recorded in Tours on July 16th set a new record high for the month.
The very fine weather seen during May, June and July continued into August. It is perhaps important to note, however, that although it was very warm and dry for a prolonged period of time there was no surge of high temperatures, no 40ºC heatwave to wither the vines and burn the developing fruit. Most regions saw continued warmer than average temperatures during the first few weeks of the month, and it was also still very dry. Although Touraine saw some rain between the 12th and the 14th, it was not really until the 22nd of the month that the weather changed. During the five days between the 22nd and the 27th Muscadet saw over 65mm rain, and the total for the month was twice the average. Anjou saw over 60mm, and Tours received double the average rainfall for the month, most of which came after the 22nd although as noted above there was a little earlier in the month, plus a little on the 31st as well. The only vineyards to escape the deluge were in the Central region, somewhat favoured in this vintage; here it was relatively dry until a 34.5mm downpour which, as in Tours, arrived on the 31st.
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