Loire 2025: The Weather
Un binage vaut deux arrosages.
(One hoeing is worth two waterings.)
– Traditional French agricultural proverb
The 2025 growing season gave the majority of Loire Valley vignerons an easier time than the exceptionally challenging conditions of 2024 had done. Whereas the previous vintage had been dominated by persistent rainfall, mildew pressure and difficult harvest conditions, wiping out almost entire harvests for some, 2025 was characterised by a much more settled growing season, albeit one that was unusually dry and warm.
All along the Loire, from the Atlantic vineyards of the Pays Nantais to the volcanic slopes of the Upper Loire, the vintage combined a mild, wet winter with an unusually dry spring, a hot and predominantly sunny summer, and one of the earliest harvests in recent years.
It was certainly not all plain sailing, with some appellations suffering coulure and hail. Then again, in a region as widely distributed as the Loire Valley, with such a diverse array of varieties, climates and terroirs, has there ever been a vintage you could describe as plain sailing for everybody? Probably not, although 2025 certainly came as close as you could imagine. In the dry conditions the disease pressure remained low and when it came to the harvest the fruit was in excellent sanitary condition, to a degree some vignerons had never seen before. Not even light harvest rain could spoil the quality of the fruit or, it seems, the good spirits of those out doing the picking.
