Wines 2013

The 2013 wine vintage was very interesting and had a significant impact on the winemakers. They had to face delays in ripening and a drop in volumes linked to the complicated weather conditions of spring 2013. You can treat yourself to a bottle of 2013 but also other vintages, 1953, 1963, 1983, 1973, 2003 and 1993.

The 2013 vintage is characterized by an intense cold from the beginning of the year. It is followed by a cool and gloomy spring. The sunshine and the temperatures are totally deficient. In fact, bud break is more than ten days later than normal. The continuous humidity and coolness, leads to a spreading of the flowering. In these difficult conditions, millerandage and coulure make their appearance. The vine cycle is displaced by 3 weeks compared to the average of the previous 10 years. Very powerful hail storms caused immense damage in the Grand Auxerrois, Côte de Beaune, Mâconnais and Chablis.

The wines of 2013 in Bordeaux

In the Bordeaux vineyard, 2013 was a difficult year. The estates had to deal with harsh and capricious weather. However, the Entre-Deux mers was mainly affected by the 3 large hail storms that powerfully shook the vineyard on the night of August 2, 2013. More than 40% of the vineyards of Bordeaux were affected by these storms, more precisely between 5,000 and 7,000 ha. This accident constitutes a big loss of about 800,000 hectoliters of wine that comes on top of volumes already down since the 2012 vintage. The weather conditions caused the increased presence of millerandage and coulure, followed by a considerable delay in flowering.

Of course, there is a decrease in the yield rate, but the quality of the juice is certain. For the whole vineyard, the summer was dry and hot. Given the irregularity of the bunches, the winegrowers had to be vigilant about the maturity of the grapes. The conditions were difficult, but the sophisticated know-how of the winemakers made it possible to “save” this vintage.

In the Graves vineyards, the white wines of Pessac-Léognan stand out entirely. A beautiful maturity, quite aromatic juices and a beautiful acidity, characterize this vineyard. In Sauternes, the 2003 harvest was small compared to those made since 1980, but it was very satisfactory. The grapes benefited from a rational, albeit late, botrytization. We expect great success with the wines of Sauternes, Cadillac and Loupiac.

Wines 2013 of the Burgundy vineyard

After a difficult and rather tiring 2012 vintage for Burgundy winemakers, 2013 failed to stand out. This year did not bring the long awaited comfort. All wine-producing regions were slaughtered, except for Chablis which was saved by hail and frost.

As for the general conduct of the weather over Burgundy in 2013, it was rather wet and cool. The spring was unfavorable to the flowering which started 3 weeks late in some places. However, the summer was satisfactory, except for the stormy episode in July. It would have allowed the grapes to reach their maturity. With rains and a warm atmosphere, the month of September disrupted the final stretch towards growing maturity. This meteorology caused the botrytization of the vines and the wine growers were obliged to redouble their attention and vigilance.

In Chablis, the vines had enormous difficulties in adapting to this very harsh and capricious weather. The summer was half-hearted, which nevertheless favored the acquisition of good ripeness in the Chardonnay. It should be noted that the 2013 vintage was late, as the first pruning strokes were noticed in October in Chablis. The harvest was extremely small (about -40,000 hl). The average yields recorded are notably in the range of 34 hl/ha (Chablis, Grand Cru) to 38 hl/ha (Chablis, Petit Cru).

For the Côte de Beaune region, the hail was massive. The hailstorms of July 23 destroyed almost all the vineyards (up to 90%). That is to say a total of 1,350 hectares was impacted. The most affected appellations are Pommard, Volnay and Meursault. Losses have been estimated between 70 and 90% for the commune of Beaune. For Aloxe, Meursault and Pommard, the losses are between 30 and 70%. It is a hard blow for several winegrowers who saw their harvests reduced by up to 70%. These losses were added to a previous vintage that was also already low in quantity.

In conclusion, for wines of 2013 in Burgundy, you can remember that 1,350 ha of vineyards (40% of the total area) were affected by the hailstorm, there was a 20% drop in the harvest and losses up to 90%.