France
The wine year in France has been very problematic throughout the 2024 season and with great variation across the country. It started with frost in the spring, then during the important flowering the weather was cool and rainy so the flowers were affected by coulure and millerandage which causes the grain to fall off which will produce fewer grapes and undeveloped seedless grapes, respectively.
Then, once the grapes had formed, hail storms came in many places that broke leaves and grapes. Several of the last few years have been dry in France but now the rainfall was abundant in many places and as it is warm and humid the leaf mold mildew thrives. If the leaf mold is not treated it can lead to lower yield and rot-damaged grapes. Paradoxically, southern Languedoc and Roussillon have been affected by severe drought for several years, and so also this year, and which soon risks killing the vines.
For all of France, the wine harvest is estimated to end up at a low 37.5 million hectoliters of wine, which is 15% less than the average for the last five years. Worst hit is Jura (-75%), followed by Burgundy (-35%), Champagne (-33%), Loire (-30%), Provence and the Rhone Valley (-16%) and Bordeaux (-14%) and others.
France the largest wine country in 2023, but this year?
Italy, France, and Spain are usually in that order the three largest wine-producing countries and for 2023 France was at the top of the podium, but how will it be this year?
In Italy, the harvest this year is expected to be 41 million hl and even there with large variations between the regions. In the north and central parts of Italy it was rainy, while in the south it was heat waves and drought. In Spain, the harvest is expected to yield 39.8 million hl, which is an increase of 20% from 2023.
So, France falls from first place to third place for 2024!
The wine year in Provence
The precipitation
In Provence, 2022 was an extremely dry year and it continued the same way for the first four months of 2023 but then came rains that filled the reservoirs and the thirsty soil and that for 2023 saved the vines from severe water stress. Overall, 2022 and 2023 are characterized by an extremely dry and a dry year, respectively. But what about 2024? The precipitation for season 2024 is 20% above normal so it can be considered a relatively rainy year.
I usually have Le Luc in the middle of the department of Var as my “reference city” and there the rainfall in March was extreme, a total of 262 mm during the month and 150 mm during the worst week. Then came the hail, mainly on the 16th of May, with hail that was up to 3 cm in size and that just when many vines are in the delicate flowering phase! The inner parts of Var were hardest hit.
The summer months of June, July and August had little rainfall, but then the rain came in September with 97 mm. Half a week into September there was a thunderstorm with 37 mm of rain, i.e. this came in the harvest period with the risk of mildew and rot attack on grapes and dilution of the juice in the grapes. Those who were late with the harvest had even more problems with the rainfall, when three weeks into September was another 38 mm.
In addition to the risk that the wetness deteriorates the grape quality and the size of the harvest, it will be significantly more hard work in the vineyard. The ground in Provence is like concrete during the dry summer months, but during a wet autumn it becomes a veritable mud slurry that soaks boots and makes it difficult to use a tractor. I made the mistake one fall of stepping out into a vineyard to take a photo for my book, and I will not do it again!
The advantage of all the rain is that the water reservoirs are filled up, both those in the ground and those in ponds, etc. For the “wine year” September 2021 – August 2022, the rainfall was only half of normal, while for September 2022 – August 2023 it was a little better with ¾ of the normal rainfall. For 2023 – 2024 the rainfall as mentioned was 20% above normal and there should therefore have been no risk of the vines suffering any serious water stress for the 2024 wine year.
I usually have the water reservoir St Cassien northwest of Cannes as a reference and there you can clearly see the difference in precipitation between the extremely dry 2022, 2023 and the wet 2024.
The temperature
Every single month in 2024 has averaged temperatures equal to or above normal, but that does not prevent there being cold nights with frost during the vine-sensitive spring.
After the heavy rains at the end of March, the vines flourished and were about 10 days earlier than last year, which was not so good when the frost came on the 19th of April! The frost was so strong that temperatures of -2 ℃ were still measured at 7 in the morning. The frost hit pretty much all of Provence and only the coastal vineyards survived thanks to the proximity to the Mediterranean.
A whole 3000 hectares were worst affected and for 300 vineyards the average loss was as much as 77%!
During the months of July and August, which are so important for grape ripening, the temperatures were high, i.e. the same as for 2022 and 2023. From mid-July to mid-August, the temperature was consistently above 35 degrees, with a record on the first of August of a whopping 42.4 degrees!
The harvest
The heat meant that the harvest started extra early for some areas in Provence, for example the cooperative in Cuers already started the harvest on the 14th of August. So, the harvest started at the same time as the temperature for the coming month started to be above 35 degrees!
Harvest work in the afternoons was not possible due to the heat, both regarding the quality of the grapes and the health of the harvest workers. So early start of the harvesting work immediately when it gets light is important, alternatively to harvest mechanically starting already before the sun rises. Especially for Provence’s signature, the light and fresh rosé wine, it is important to harvest before it gets too hot during the day to preserve the freshness of the grapes.
The good availability of water and the warm summer months resulted in vines in good condition with good foliage. The grapes are bigger than last year and their weight the highest in the last 5 years. However, the heat causes the concentration in the grapes to increase rapidly and speeds up the reduction of the malic acid in the grapes as well as a reduction of the anthocyanins, so both the freshness and the colour of the wine can be affected. So, it is important to harvest at the perfect time, i.e. early for rosé wines where you want the typical Provençal freshness and light colour, the same for the white wines and later for the red wines so that the so-called phenolic/skin maturity has been reached.
Vintage 2024 will be a good vintage, probably with a large variation between different areas depending on how the forces of the weather affected and the knowledge/ambition of the winegrower. For areas closer to the coast where the harvest started early, the quality should be more even, while for the more northern areas with a later harvest start, it was about getting the harvest in before the thunderstorms at the beginning of September. Especially for the red wines, with a later harvest start, it may have been a challenge to avoid problems with mildew and rot, so it was necessary to sort both at harvest and on the sorting belt!
Harvest volume
For the 2023 harvest, the “Syndicat des Vins Côtes de Provence” decided that the harvest withdrawal for rosé wine in the Côtes de Provence would be reduced, the reason being that since a few years ago there has been a slight overproduction of rosé wine in the world and that sales of Provence rosé wines have also decreased.
But this year the volume will be lower, due to frost, hail, and leaf mould, so a similar decision is not relevant this year.
Sources: Vitisphere, Le Figaro, La Gazette du Var, Vinifierat.se, Winenews.it
Published: 2024-10-18
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Provence expert Göran Boman, Author of the books “Provence – Vita, röda och även roséviner” and “The Wines of Provence – Tricolour “.
