Loire about to set unwanted weather records + Bordeaux view

Cabernet Franc vines at Nau Frères, Bourgueil 6th May 2011 (above and below) –

already the first signs of flowering were apparent

The weather in the Loire continues to be unseasonably cold with little sunshine and well above average rain in May. Unfortunately at the Bourges weather station May 2013 has already set a record for the lowest amount of sunshine and has broken the record set in May 1996. Although the stats for today are not yet available, only 141 hours of sunshine have been recorded to 30th May and this comfortably below the 156 recorded in May 1996. The average sunshine (1991-2010) for May here is 210 hours and the record for most hours of sunshine is 311 hours in May 2011 – well over twice the number of hours!*

Except for brief glimpses of sun today has been overcast. At the Tours weather station things are more finely balanced. To date 142 hours of sunshine have been recorded just short of the record low of 144 hours established in May 2007. Did Tours have two hours of sunshine today – I doubt it.  

Château Soucherie: debudding Chenin Blanc on 27th May 2013

Admittedly the area is different as is variety but the growth on the vines at Bourgueil 

on 6th May 2011 is significantly further advanced than here over 20 days later in 2013

Flowering is not expected to start here for another two weeks

27th May was easily the sunniest day since we arrived 

on 23rd May but it did then rain all night   

 Quarts de Chaume 2013: young buds and a potential grape 

well off flowering: 27th May 2013 

     

The vines are well behind a normal year and far behind 2011, which was a particularly early year. Flowering is unlikely to start until mid-June and the vines also have a lot of growth to make. 

In early June will post final stats for May for a number of Loire weather stations.   

* Source: Meteo France

Plus a view on 2013 from Bordeaux:
'With the dust now settling on the 2012 campaign, thoughts are gradually turning to the 2013 vintage. Liv-ex has opened up the blog to Bordeaux grower, local winemaker and writer Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney). His insider’s view on the growing conditions - and prospects - for this year's vintage are below. All photos in this article are copyright Gavin Quinney. 

There hasn't been a poor vintage in Bordeaux for twenty years but the cold, damp weather, as we approach the critical month of June, is a gentle reminder that anything can happen.

The 2013 harvest will be my fifteenth (a rookie still) and the development of the vines across Bordeaux this year is the most backward I've seen. Our vineyard manager, Daniel, will tell you the same thing, and he's been here since the 80s.'

Read the rest here:  

Loire 2013: bad news frost strikes for second year

Anti-frost device in Touraine Noble-Joué

There was a widespread hope that the late budbreak this year would mean that growers would avoid a spring frost in 2013. After the quite widespread frost of mid-April last year, especially in Touraine, the last thing anyone needed was a second frost. Unfortunately the late budding has only meant that the damaging frost came later this year – in the early morning of Monday 29th April.  

The 29th April frost appears to be less extensive and more localised than that of last year – 16th/17th April – but some areas, especially Montlouis, have been badly hit with reports of damage up to 80%. Unfortunately Montlouis was badly hit in 2012, so this is very bad news for any producer severely hit two years running. Even in Montlouis I gather that the damage although severe is patchy with some parts hardly affected if at all.

I expect to gather more news at the RAW wine fair tomorrow.

Here are two reports from La Vigne on the frost:    

Val de Loire

Coup de gel sur le Saumurois

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, certains producteurs du Saumurois ne vont pas remplir leurs cuves. On s’en souvient : 2012 avait été maigre pour tous. Alors que les feuilles viennent de faire leur apparition, quelques zones ont été frappées par un coup de gel ce lundi 29 avril à l’aube, où des températures autour de - 3°C ont été enregistrées au niveau du sol.

http://www.lavigne-mag.fr/actualites/val-de-loire-coup-de-gel-sur-le-saumurois-71717.html

Touraine

Quelques dégâts de gel dans plusieurs AOC

Publié le mardi 07 mai 2013 - 16h44

Le 29 avril, le thermomètre est descendu sous la barre des 0°C, provoquant quelques dégâts dans les vignes d’Indre-et-Loire et du Loir-et-Cher. Mais ils sont sans commune mesure avec ceux de l’an passé.

La gelée printanière du 29 avril a provoqué des dégâts en Indre-et-Loire. Sur l’ouest du département, dans les AOC de Chinon, Bourgueil et Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, 10 à 20 % des bourgeons ont été détruits, selon la chambre d’agriculture.

À l’est de Tours, Montlouis-sur-Loire a été plus touchée, avec 30 % de dégâts en moyenne, mais certaines parcelles ont été endommagées jusqu’à 80 %, voire 100 % pour des plantations de 2012. Le gel a également eu un lourd impact sur des vignes en AOC Touraine Azay-le-Rideau.

http://www.lavigne-mag.fr/actualites/touraine-quelques-degats-de-gel-dans-plusieurs-aoc-71885.html

Les 5 du Vin: Loire vignerons happy with cold March

 25th March 2013: tight bud somewhere off bud burst

2nd April 2012: Already small leaves forming

My post this week on Les 5 du Vin contrasts the weather this March with that of last year. In 2013 the vines are three to four weeks behind what they were last year. The vignerons are happy about this as there is less risk of being hard hit by a severe Spring frost, which almost inevitably happened last year during the night of the 16th/17th April 2012.

Another short harvest this year would doubtless be crippling for a good number of Loire producers.