Loire 2016: The Harvest
While the start of the growing season could hardly have been worse (although 2017 has perhaps shown it could have been worse), the end of the season could hardly have been better. The conditions for the harvest were nothing short of perfect. Sadly, the damage was so extensive in some parts that there was, for some growers, almost nothing for them to pick. Some left the Loire Valley to go and find fruit from elsewhere in France, some names that spring to mind including Nicolas Grosbois, Sébastien Jaulin and François Chidaine. I will look at their activities in my regional reports, but here I will focus solely on the harvest in the Loire Valley.
Early Ripeners
The official start for the Muscadet harvest of Melon de Bourgogne was September 15th, a week or so later than 2015, but in truth many of the more quality-conscious growers such as Pierre-Marie Luneau (pictured) started a week or more later than this. This meant the vines could take advantage of those mid-September rains to finish ripening the fruit before it was time to pick. The fruit was generally in very good condition, the combination of low yields and a long period of warm and dry weather bringing unparalleled levels of concentration with some wines overshooting the 12% mark and ending up closer to 13%. Nevertheless, whereas quality appeared very good, the quantity was much reduced, largely a consequence of the frost. The yields were generally much lower than usual, with 25 hl/ha not atypical.
As for Sauvignon Blanc, in the most famed appellations, namely Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre, the harvest did not begin until the very end of September or early October, the official ban des vendanges for these two appellations in 2016 being September 30th and October 1st respectively. Picking in other appellations, including Reuilly and Quincy, began about a week earlier. Some parts, in particular Sancerre and Châteaumeillant, enjoyed good yields for the vintage, with a loss of only 10% in parts. Overall the Central Vineyards lost perhaps 30%, although it was much worse than this figure in Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon and the Coteaux de Giennois.
