Cult Insider

Bordeaux experienced the full force of the 2022 climate chaos from hailstorms to nearby wildfires triggered by a severe summer drought. Fortunately, the major fine wine appellations seem to have avoided any damage from smoke as the fires were far enough away and and came too early in the growing cycle to cause smoke taint.

Temperatures stayed a few degrees above average for the entire growing season, and July marked the driest month since 1959. Some estates reported the earliest starts to harvest.

The warm sunny conditions lasted through the harvest period, spurring optimism for the end product. Cyprien Champanhet, Chateau Haut-Bailly’s Commercial and Marketing Director, spoke to Cult Wines.

“After the first run-offs and the tasting of the first juices, we can already say that a great vintage is on the way! The juices have an intense colour, an exceptional concentration and density while keeping a nice freshness thanks to surprisingly high acidity levels. During a particularly hot and dry summer, the vines once again proved their great capacity for resistance. The contrast in early September between our green vineyard and some of the trees and lawns severely impacted by the drought was striking.”

Generally speaking, the warming climate has, so far, had both positive and negative effects in Bordeaux. Many producers have explained how ‘down’ vintages are less common – cool years such as 2013 and to a lesser extent 2021 are now very infrequent. Water stress can also boost quality of the grapes by making the vines’ roots dip deeper for water and nutrients.

The trade-off though is often lower yields due to smaller grapes and a challenge to maintain balance and the traditional Bordeaux style by avoiding jammy flavours and overly alcoholic wines. In Bordeaux, Merlot is often most at risk of becoming overripe during hot years but early signs in 2022 point to encouraging acidity levels. Right Bank estates are also highlighting that the year could be a great year for Cabernet Franc, which has been getting used in higher proportions in recent years.

A similar story of hot, dry weather predominated in Burgundy for most of the growing season but 2022 is in much better shape than the challenging 2021. Volumes should be up this year compared to 2021 as the region avoided any significant frost damage.

Unlike Bordeaux, Burgundy producers don’t have multiple grape varieties to work, relying on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and their various terroirs to cope with the rising temperatures and water stress. Harvesting started early but not record-setting as in other regions, and low night temperatures suggest a good balance between acidity and ripeness. Still, quality will likely vary from site to site and the skills of winemakers and producers will be put to the test in 2022.

Different country but same story – heatwaves and drought. The Italian government declared a state of emergency in several northern Italian states including Piedmont during the summer. The water stress and some sunburn loss could eat into yields. At one point this summer, estimates put Piedmont production at 20%-30% below average, but August rains suggest declines may not be this severe in the end.

In Tuscany, the summer drought gave way to intense storms in late August, causing damage from flooding and hail in some areas. The Tuscan coast was especially hard hit. But those that escaped significant damage could benefit from the late season rain.

“Although the season was hot and dry, the rains in mid-August rebalanced the vineyards, ripening grapes at their best,” explained Stefano Carpaneto, the estate director at Tenuta Tignanello.

Early signs point to Champagne emerging from 2022 as a winner. Both the quantity and quality of 2022 look promising thanks to warm summer temperatures balanced by large diurnal ranges. The dry year also remained largely free from hail or disease damage. Harvesting began in August, which is earlier than normal but not unprecedented.

The Executive Bureau of the Comité Champagne set the maximum commercial yield at 12,000 kg/hectare, the highest level since 2011, while allowing an additional 4,500kg to go toward the ‘Reserve Individuelle’, which is the wine set aside for future years. Many producers’ stocks are running low after difficult growing seasons in recent years, which is why the Bureau was keen to take advantage of this bountiful harvest.

An extremely warm May and summer droughts accelerated the growing season, bringing forward harvest dates by over a week compared to 2022. This signals a ripe, concentrated crop across much of the region. The dry conditions also mean disease pressure was minimal.

It’s not a secret how the warming climate benefits German fine wine production, and the sunny 2022 adds to this view. Following the excellent 2018 and 2019 vintages, 2022 could again see world class quality German Riesling while more of the top Pinot Noir sites also enjoyed long ripening periods, foreshadowing fuller-bodied, age-worthy reds.

England, another cool climate region, also expects the sunny 2022 growing season to deliver a great vintage for its sparkling wine.

Thankfully, 2022 saw no devastating wildfires near major California wine regions. However, a relatively normal year took a dramatic turn in early September when a mid-40s Celsius heatwave hit the inland Napa and Sonoma regions. Harvests were already early for most producers, but those that hadn’t yet picked scrambled to avoid losses from sunburn or shrivelled grapes. We expect to see some great wines emerge from the 2022 Napa cohort but there may also be some misses. Coastal areas remained cooler. The Sonoma Coast has reported a windy year which has kept yields down, but quality is expected to remain high.