Bordeaux 2010: helpful rains in early September? (with Mouton Rothschild video)
September 11, 2010
Just came back from a visit to Bordeaux, where top enologists reported arid conditions in July and August, with heat stress in some cases blocking maturity of the grapes. Rain was needed, they said. Well, rain came – from 6-8 September. Will 2010 mirror 2009 with rain coming at just the right time? No rush to judgments, please, as we are still almost 3 weeks before the harvest, notes Philippe Dhalluin, winemaking director at Château Mouton Rothschild (and many other properties belonging to Baron de Rothschild SA, including Opus One in Napa Valley, Almaviva in Chile). Check out the links to decanter.com articles I co-wrote with Jane Anson and the video below. Furthermore, I noticed more wrinkled grapes in the vineyards this year than last year, and many Merlots were affected by shattering, so you will likely have lower amounts of fine Merlot in the blends: this is for Bordeaux in general, not Mouton Rothschild, which is basically mostly Cabernet Sauvignon from optimal soils.
Decanter.com articles:
