France - wine - vintage 2009

2009 set to be a great French vintage

by Tony Cross

Article published on the 2009-10-05 Latest update 2009-10-06 06:54 TU

Naked volunteers pose for US photographer Spencer Tunick in a vineyard of Pouilly-Fuisse in Burgundy for a Greenpeace campaign highlighting climate change
(Photo: Reuters)

Wine writers and wine makers are predicting a historic vintage for 2009 from most of France's vineyards. As villages celebrate the vendanges, or grape harvests, there is optimism about quality. And prices are down, after several years of rising.

A harsh winter killed off many pests; a rainy spring watered the vines; a warm, dry summer was good for the grapes; and rain has mostly held off until the beginning of October, which has kept the harvest from being harmed before it was brought in.

"The Bordeaux wine trade, bellwether of French wine, will be relieved that, after two vintages that have been notably difficult to sell, it looks as though they may have something highly desirable to tout during the en primeur tastings next April," commented British wine writer Jancis Robinson in the Financial Times.

Bordeaux winemakers are predicting a vintage to rival 2000, while growers in rival Burgundy, the Rhone valley and Alsace were equally optimistic in September.

The only doubts seem to hang over the south, with fears that the summer may have been too dry for some vineyards in Languedoc-Roussillon, according to the Midi-vin blog.

Villages and towns have been celebrating the vendanges since the end of September.

Visitors to Paris can take part in the annual festivities in Montmartre, where there is a small vineyard that makes a lot of noise every autumn. This year's festival is on 7-11 October.

And as the 2009 wine is coming in, there is more good news for wine lovers at this autumn’s annual supermarket wine fairs: after years of unremitting price rises, especially for Bordeaux, Burgundy and the more ambitious Languedoc growers, many bottles seemed to be cheaper, or at least no dearer, than last year.

Crise économique oblige!