Loire 2018: Spring Rains
Although the frost risk had long passed, the weather during spring still gave the Loire Valley vignerons a real headache. In the Nantais there was a little rain towards the end of the month, with 14 mm recorded on May 24th, followed by scattered showers, but overall May was relatively dry. It was in June that the heavens really opened, with 41 mm recorded on June 5th and over 70 mm on June 11th. Up in Anjou there was rain on May 26th, and again through to June 11th here. Further upstream in Touraine the heavens opened on May 22nd, May 26th and onwards, through to three days of rain on June 8th, 10th and 11th. A similar pattern of persistent rainfall was seen in the Central Vineyards, starting on May 29th, with further downpours on June 3rd, 5th and 10th.
I spent three weeks in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley in May and June 2018, and witnessed this ongoing cycle of wet and dry weather firsthand. First it would rain, and then there would follow a day or two of increasingly warm and, with the ongoing evaporation of the groundwater, increasingly humid weather. As the humidity continued to build eventually storm clouds would gather, the heavens would open (usually with some thunder and lightning for good effect) and the whole cycle would begin again. It is a weather pattern that causes havoc in the vineyard. A big downpour might look more dramatic, but if the weather dries up again afterwards the disease pressure will remain low. It is interminably damp, drizzly or humid weather that really increases disease pressure, and it will keep the vignerons busy with their sprayers as they try to ward off the mildew. Mornings like the one spent with Arnaud Couly (pictured) of Couly-Dutheil on the Clos de l’Echo, more than a little misty, were typical.
Regardless of what precautions were taken, many domaines were indeed hit by successive waves of mildew at this time. In speaking to growers in the region, most are content with the way in which they responded. They were prepared with adequate treatments and equipment, and as soon as the weather turned they were out spraying. As the persistent rain soon washed away the treatments, they would then return to the vineyard every three or four days, as required, to do it all again. Those who responded in this manner reported only minimal losses to mildew. Of those who had some losses, the organic and biodynamic domaines were naturally (no pun intended) the hardest hit, these vignerons being limited to only copper and sulphur-based treatments.
