Harvest has been finished since September 12; we are doing the last rackings. The vintage was difficult in the South for the vines and for the winegrowers. You have probably heard about it because we have never before seen such mildew! But together we battled valiantly and, despite moments of despair, doubt, thinking that all was lost and that we would never succeed, the battle against mildew was won!
The vines were heroic: after an intense episode of tropical rains, they had to resist a heat wave and the dryness of the summer. The first person who tells us that climate change does not exist we are going to hit!
The harvest started August 25 with the whites and the rosé, followed by the grapes for Pétanque, then Bout d’Zan, Khayyâm, and the Mourvèdres for La Calade on September 12. And in spite of all expectations, we have a ‘normal’ yield in terms of volume and wines which are gentle and tender. (We look at them as children who even though small had to take on such hardships and who proved in spite of it all to be very resilient.) Hooray!
Hélène Thibon
Mas de Libian, Côtes du Rhône
October 16, 2018
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Magnificent harvest such as one sees very rarely in the life of a winegrower. Winegrowers much older than I have never seen anything like it. Very beautiful quality with a good-sized harvest.
Thierry Merlin
Domaine Merlin-Cherrier, Sancerre
October 5, 2018
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You can tell your customers that 2018 is a very good year!
Didier Richou
Domaine Richou, Anjou, Loire Valley
October 4, 2018
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The harvest was long. This year we were blessed by the gods: quantity and quality!
Elise Villiers
Domaine Elise Villiers,Vézelay, Burgundy
October 2, 2018
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To sum up vintage 2018–unbelievable! We began harvest on August 24 with the Mercurey 1er cru rouge. The grapes were of a beautiful ripeness, and because we harvested early we were able to conserve the natural acidity which was a good thing because it was very hot. We harvested some very beautiful colors.
The whites made us wait a bit longer and we feared that we would have a small yield, but that was absolutely not the case!!! Quality and quantity were both present, which surprised everyone here!
Everything is now in barrels, the cleaning of the cuverie is done, and we have started again getting the vines ready for the next vintage.
Gaëlle Meunier
Domaine Gaëlle & Jérôme Meunier, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy
October 2, 2018
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Harvest time is an ongoing buzz of activity. The culmination of a year’s work in the vineyards, this year’s later start date 6 September had a consequently later end date 25 September. The first parcels were picked for our Porto Rose and Douro DOC red wines, others lacked higher sugar levels for other Porto production, so there were some days when we didn’t pick, very unusual! We picked about 30% less grapes, as is true for most of Douro Valley. This year has been a challenge, a combination of rain until July (instead of March), and cold weather mixed with some burning days. Since we practice organic viticulture, we use a minimum of certified organic treatments. Certain parcels, due to the multitude of microclimates on our property, suffered from either uneven ripeness, mildew and/or powder mildew. This is a first for us, to have this problem. As climate change is no longer a trendy word, for viticulture there are ramifications and we are not spared. Still we harvested many parcels with promising fruit under the beautiful Douro Valley sun.
Kay Bouchard
Quinta do Tedo, Douro, Portugal
September 30,, 2018
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Here harvest is still going on – we picked our Gewurz and Riesling the whole week, and will finish on Monday. Juices taste very good, and fermentations are smooth so far. But Rieslings do not ferment yet, so we will see. Running back to my tanks!
Mélanie Pfister
Domaine Pfister, Alsace
September 28, 2018
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This harvest has been particularly tiring because it lasted 5 more days than usual (23 days in total). We harvested under the sun without having to worry about the weather every day, which allowed us to work piecemeal and to do some more work for the future in the terroirs.
It is a fantastic harvest in terms of the healthy quality, the quantity (no natural disasters) and a 2018 vintage totally in balance with reasonable degrees and acidity which is not too low.
We are smiling because it is a vintage easy to work and easy to sell.
Sylvaine Normand
Domaine Sylvaine et Alain Normand, Mâconnais, Burgundy
September 28,, 2018
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This may be the best harvest we have had since we arrived to La Folie!
Clémence Dubrulle
Domaine de la Folie, Côte Châlonnaise, Burgundy
September 27, 2018
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I would like to have given you some news earlier, but it is a good sign that I couldn’t because I have been so busy in the cellar. In fact, the cellar is full. It has been a long time since I have seen all my vats with closed doors. And furthermore the quality is magnificent: the juice is of an unbelievable purity with a perfect balance. A really, really great vintage.
Didier Picq
Gilbert Picq et ses Fils, Chablis
September 27, 2018
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Harvest is almost finished; we should be done tomorrow. We are happy with the quality of the grapes but also with the quantity, even after having a massive attack of mildew. Finally we have harvested quite good quantity; we hope to have a little more than last year. In July and August we had 2 big rains and that made a big difference.
The white is still a small production; we have to wait for the new vines we have planted. Rosé will be very good, and we have done more because we sell it and we hope to have new markets in England. Red will also be nice, the Syrah is ready, the fermentation is finished and the Grenache is top! Carignan also has a good ripeness about 14% alcohol– that’s the best way to have good Carignan.
For pictures of the harvest at Coupe Roses, click here.
Françoise Le Calvez
Château Coupe Roses, Minervois, Languedoc
September 27, 2018
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In Limoux we have superb weather for the harvest–sunny, dry, rather cool. We are finishing up the chardonnays this week; the pinots are in the cellar. We still need to do the rosés and the reds, and the weather looks good for the coming days!
Jean-Luc Terrier
Domaine de la Closerie des Lys, Limoux
September 26, 2018
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Harvest will end tomorrow. It’s top, especially with the reds.
Pierre Jean Villa
Pierre Jean Villa, Saint Joseph
September 26, 2018
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We have had another year with a beautiful harvest of a reasonable volume. The vintage will have the same appeal as the 2015 vintage with not only a beautiful balance but suitable acidity given the high temperatures this summer.
Marie-Laure Serrigny
Domaine Serrigny, Savigny-les-Beaune
September 26, 2018
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About harvest, I am very happy to tell you that the cellar is full of wine, beautiful grapes, nice volume, pretty fermentation.
Xavier de Boissieu
Château de Lavernette, Beaujolais
September 25, 2018
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Harvest was excellent in terms of quality as well as quantity. That is really good news after two complicated years.
Pierrick La Roche
Domaine des Hâtes, Chablis
September 25, 2018
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Incredible harvest as you may already know… I hope I could see another one like this in my life. We will see the results in a few months but I see a few important keys in this vintage: we’ve picked as much as possible in mornings and refrigerated in a truck, slow fermentation with cold temperature, separated 2nd tailles and will not use it at all, etc.
Jean-Marc Sélèque
Champagne J-M Sélèque, Pierry
September 24, 2018
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Harvest is almost done. Just a few more days. The harvest is beautiful and plentiful. What a pleasure after several complicated years. Now we must focus on the vinifications, which will not be the most simple for the reds.
Sebastien Cornille
Domaine de la Roche Bleue, Jasnières
September 24, 2018
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The harvest: superb! exceptional! I don’t know how to describe it any other way. Vinification is in full swing in my new cuverie!! We are going to be making some good wine!!
Bertrand Lilbert
Champagne Lilbert-Fils, Côte des Blancs
September 21, 2018
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The harvest is going well. The weather has been beautiful–it is full summer. Really agreeable to harvest under these conditions, even if it is almost too hot some afternoons. So we adapt. We begin early in the morning and if the temperatures climb too high we stop in the afternoon. Despite the lack of rain, we are rather satisfied with the quality; it is a vintage less ‘hot’ than we anticipated.
Annick Roblin
Matthias & Emile Roblin, Sancerre (Maimbray)
September 17, 2018
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The harvest is magnificent in terms of quantity and a very beautiful quality. I will tell you more when we have finished.
Thierry Merlin
Domaine Merlin-Cherrier, Sancerre (Bué)
September 17, 2018
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We are sure that you have heard positive noises emanating from Champagne about the vintage. We have just finished our harvest and we can confirm that we have had a miraculous year.
The grapes were abundant, superb, ripe and with no need for any sorting. From time to time, every 15-20 years, the stars are aligned. 1970, 1982, and 2004 were such fabled years; now we can add 2018 to that list.
Two examples. Corne Bautray, with 60 year old vines in a one hectare plot, produced 12,081 kilos, 50-60% above norm, at the same time reaching a potential alcohol of 12 deg 4. And Terres Rouges smashed our record for maturity at 13 degrees.
We will have to wait until we can taste the wines but we can hope for the production of all four single vineyard wines together with a beautiful Cuvée no 746.
Jean-Hervé & Laurent Chiquet
Champagne Jacquesson, Dizy
September 17, 2018
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This harvest was really incredible. There are no words to explain that for quality as well as for quantity. No Champenois has ever seen that.
I’ve seen a 10 years old news from CIVC which explains that the potential of the Champagne vineyard will increase by hotter temperatures and also by the increasing CO² in the air. Maybe 2018 is the 1st vintage of this trend ?
Philippe Secondé
Champagne Barnaut, Bouzy
September 14, 2018
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Harvest started last Monday for the whites and the first Syrah. Everything is going well. The weather is magnificent. The 2018 vintage will be rare because of mildew and a big hail storm on August 12, but it will be good quality.
Françoise Ollier
Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Faugères, Languedoc
September 11, 2018
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Yes, good news from the Harvest!! Exceptional quality and quantity!!
Bertrand Lilbert
Champagne Lilbert-Fils, Cramant
September 11, 2018
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Here, everything is ok. We’ve just started the Condrieu yesterday. The weather is perfect ( a little bit hot). I think reds ‘ll be very interesting. The problem is always the same with whites when you have big summer as we have this year. Grapes lose acidity very quickly. Fortunately, this vintage, degrees are not very high so it helps us to keep a good balance.
Pierre Jean Villa
Domaine Pierre Jean Villa, Saint-Joseph
September 11, 2018
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Here the harvest is going well. We began on Monday, September 5th, with days still very hot at +30° [86° F]. The quantity is there as well as the quality.
Marylin Picq
Gilbert Picq et ses Fils, Chablis
September 10, 2018
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We are in the midst of harvest with a predicted finish next weekend. Pretty quality and a decent quantity.
Michel Poudou
Domaine de Montahuc, Saint Jean de Minervois
September 10, 2018
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I will start Côtes du Rhône tomorrow morning. Today, I think it will be with good level, I can tell you more later. Quantity seems good (for me).
Jérôme Mathieu
Domaine de Saje, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
September 9, 2018
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Without wishing to put a hex on anything, the guys here are super excited about the potential for this year. Abundant crop in very, very good condition. Jean-Hervé is reminded of 1982 in this regard. Fingers crossed that the finished product reflects this great start. Sylvain is taking me to see Corne Bautray and Terres Rouges later this morning.
David Searle
Champagne Jacquesson, Dizy
September 4, 2018
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We began harvesting yesterday. Between the attack of mildew and the hail of August 12, it will be a very small harvest (a loss of about 70%), but we are hoping that what is left will be really, really good. Our average yield will be 10 hl/ha at the maximum. Economically, this will be very hard.
Françoise Ollier
Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Faugères, Languedoc
September 4, 2018
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We should start the harvest in about 10 days! We still have a wonderful weather and no rain for a long time, so the soils are dry and the young vines have suffered!
In Sancerre, the 2018 vintage should be a quite rich vintage (high sugar level) but lower yields than usual! Anyway, the quality will be good!
Emile Roblin
Domaine Matthias et Emile Roblin, Sancerre
September 3, 2018
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As far as the harvest goes, it should start after the 10th of September. It is complicated this year because there are grapes which are very ripe but they must have rain. The average rainfall is very low—5 mm lower than normal.
Thierry Merlin
Domaine Merlin-Cherrier, Sancerre
September 3, 2018
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We have finished harvesting the premiers crus and the villages. We have a great quality, the degree is not too high, the Ph is high but with very little malic acid which means they will not move very much. When you taste the juice, the fruit is very fresh and agreeable; I am optimistic. All that we have left to harvest are the whites of Meursault tomorrow morning and the Bourgognes.
Jean-Pierre Charlot
Domaine Joseph Voillot, Volnay
September 3, 2018
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We started the harvest on August 29th, and we are very happy with the quality and the quantity so far!!! no disease…This year, we will be able to get more Infusion …
Oriane Sélèque
Champagne J-M Sélèque, Pierry
September 2, 2018
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Harvest started slowly here, with the crémant grapes. Auxerrois last week, Pinot Blanc this week, and Chardonnay next week! So far so good: great quality, not a rotten berry, and good quantities. [The photo on this page is of the Pfister harvest of the Auxerrois grapes for the Crémant d’Alsace.]
Mélanie Pfister
Domaine Pfister, Alsace
September 1, 2018
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We’ll start next week the harvest of the whites, all the fruit looks wonderful, the weather is hot and dry… it could be another very good vintage!! Fingers crossed!!
Enrico Nada
Azienda Agricola Nada Giuseppe,, Barbaresco
August 30, 2018
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If all goes well we should perhaps be able to do better with the 2018 vintage. But nothing is certain. We will begin harvest next week, Wednesday, with Vaudécorse. We got very little rain here all summer and the branches are small. We will see if there is a lot of juice and especially good juice inside the grapes. I hope so!
Didier Picq
Gilbert Picq et ses Fils, Chablis
August 30, 2018
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The quality is very beautiful and the only uncertainty is the juice yield. I will keep you informed. The weather promises to be magnificent for the next two weeks!!!!!!!!!!
Jean-Pierre Charlot
Domaine Joseph Voillot, Volnay
August 29, 2018
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Harvest will begin on Monday…a tiny harvest (mildew, hail…). The 2018 vintage will be rare in Faugères.
Françoise Ollier
Domaine Ollier-Taillefer, Faugères, Languedoc
August 29, 2018
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Harvest will begin at the beginning of next week. We have had a very, very hot summer and little rain; the vines have suffered a little. Yesterday we had a little rain and they are calling for more tomorrow.
Marylin Picq
Gilbert Picq et ses Fils, Chablis
August 28, 2018
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Starting Harvest today!!!! Beautiful grapes have arrived at the press. A beautiful maturity, a wonderful balance at tasting. A great year!!!
Valérie Charpentier
Champagne Pierre Moncuit, Mesnil-sur-Oger
August 27, 2018
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Things are okay in the vines right now. It is not raining any more. There is a lot of mildew but the vines which were not affected are doing rather well. We are getting ready to harvest the week of September 23rd.
Stéphanie Caslot
Domaine de la Chevalerie, Bourgueil, Loire Valley
August 27, 2018
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We’ll start harvesting next Thursday…the weather promises to be superb ???
Jean-Pierre Charlot
Domaine Joseph Voillot, Volnay
August 27, 2018
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The temperatures are getting down and we are ready to pick the friulano grapes!
Michele Ciani
Aquila del Torre, Friuli Colli Orientali
August 24, 2018
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For the harvest it is difficult to estimate the volume. We have had hail two times this year, but less damaging than preceding years (about 20% loss). The drought is also causing a lot of harm to the vines at this moment, but if it rains next week that could save everything. At this point I think I will have a yield of 45/50 hl/ha. More to follow. Harvest should begin around the 3rd to the 5th of September.
Pierrick Laroche
Domaine des Hâtes, Chablis
August 24, 2018
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Here are the results of the sample taken this morning: excellent maturity levels of around 12 degrees natural. We decided to harvest beginning on Thursday, August 30.
Jean-Pierre Charlot
Domaine Joseph Voillot, Volnay
August 21, 2018