Bordeaux harvest down 20% on last year
Bordeaux is facing its smallest harvest since 1991, 22 years ago, according to the Bordeaux Wine Bureau.
A difficult spring, a wet early summer and a series of devastating hail storms have reduced the Bordeaux 2013 crop by around 20% versus 2012, which came in at 5.25m hectolitres.
A hot and sunny July and August has helped to minimise vine diseases but ripening is still about two weeks behind average. Winemaker in the Pessac Léognan region which is traditionally the first to bring in the white grapes said winemakers were not expecting to begin picking before September 15.
