2019 Bordeaux Vintage

A mild winter, warmer than average, brought an early bud burst and was less wet than the ones before it; about 100mm less rain than the norm fell from October 2018 to March 2019. A cold spell from mid-April through May brought frost on 13 April and 6 May, with only localised damage and nothing on the scale of 2017. Flowering began at the end of May and peaked on 4 June; rain during the later flowering left uneven fruit set, with coulure and millerandage, though some sites were untouched. Hail fell on 19 June in Blaye, the Medoc and Fronsac, and on 6 July in Entre-deux-Mers and St-Foy. A long, dry summer followed: the growing season ran 1.5C warmer than the 30-year average with 21% less rain. Heatwaves hit in late June, and on 23 July the temperature reached 41C, a July record (41.1C was logged at Merignac), and many vines shut down. Heavy rain at the end of July refreshed the vineyards. Veraison began on 6 August, three days later than average, and ran to the end of August under drought, with no mildew pressure. Dry whites were picked from the end of August into September in fine conditions; Merlot started in mid-September in the earliest parcels, with Pomerol underway the second week. The weather turned on 22 September with a few days of rain, which rounded out the grapes' balance and freshness. Most reds came in from the second half of September through the first half of October, with many Medoc estates finishing the second week of October under clear skies; on paper, Quinney called it a moderately late or normal red harvest. Botrytis came late, and sweet whites were picked from the second week of October. Consultant Pascal Henot estimated about five million hectolitres, close to 2018 and in line with the 10-year average, while Quinney expected volumes a little short of that average, with top estates mostly at 35 to 55 hl/ha.

• Growing season 1.5C above the 30-year average with 21% less rain, against Gavin Quinney's 25% less rain through harvest
• Frost on 13 April and 6 May and hail on 19 June and 6 July, with relatively small losses
• 41C on 23 July, a July record, followed by heavy rain at the end of the month
• Dry whites from late August, Merlot from mid-September, most reds picked from the second half of September to mid-October

Gavin Quinney called 2019 a very good to excellent vintage despite heatwaves, drought and a rainy finish. Tasting across Pomerol, Pessac, Saint-Emilion and the Medoc at harvest, Jane Anson of Decanter found high sugar with high acidities, lots of tannin and good deep colour, with slightly lower pH than in 2018. Alcohol runs around 14 to 14.5% or more for Merlot and 13 to 14% for Cabernet. The CIVB describes the reds as supple and balanced, with moderate alcohol, a deep red colour and the structure for solid ageing, and calls 2019 an exceptional year for dry whites, with freshness and balance. Ronan Laborde of the UGCB described the reds as deep, gourmand and seductive with very good ageing potential, and the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac as flavourful and balanced but limited in quantity because noble rot arrived late.

• Gavin Quinney: a very good to excellent vintage, despite heatwaves, drought and a rainy finish
• CIVB: reds supple and balanced with moderate alcohol
• CIVB: an exceptional year for dry whites, fresh and balanced with high acidity
• UGCB: Sauternes and Barsac flavourful and balanced, but in limited quantities after late noble rot

Gavin Quinney counted six very good years in a row for Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estephe, largely untouched by the 2017 frost, and likewise for the top estates on the Pomerol plateau. In his count, Saint-Emilion, hit hard by frost in 2017, has had four winners out of the last five with 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, and Margaux and Pessac-Leognan sit in the same bracket. Hundreds of petits chateaux, from the Graves to the Medoc and from Fronsac to the Cotes, should be able to line up impressive verticals of those vintages at much lower prices. In Pessac-Leognan, Chateau Olivier picked its whites from 29 August to 13 September, and nearby Chateau Brown from 5 to 13 September.

• Six very good years in a row for Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estephe, and for the top of the Pomerol plateau (Gavin Quinney)
• Saint-Emilion, Margaux and Pessac-Leognan: four winners in five years with 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019
• Petits chateaux across the region positioned to offer strong verticals at much lower prices
• Top estates mostly at 35 to 55 hl/ha, with more consistency from one chateau to another than in 2018

The wines arrived in a tough market. US tariffs of 25% hit many European wines under 14% alcohol, and amid the Hong Kong protests, Hong Kong's wine imports fell 26% in value in the first six months of 2019. Florence Cathiard of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte said: "The Bordeaux 2019 harvest has been excellent so far, but the rest of the conditions are terrible." At Chateau Brown, Jean-Christophe Mau said the 14% line would not overly influence decisions at the winery: "The reality is that Bordeaux Left Bank wines are still routinely below that level, and we will still be looking for the natural balance of the vintage."

• US tariffs of 25% hit many European wines under 14% alcohol
• Hong Kong wine imports fell 26% in value in the first six months of 2019