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Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

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Robin Garr

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Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by Robin Garr » Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:07 am

This is blowing up on Facebook - I got it from Carole Meredith - but it's The Guardian. Any news on this from wine sources?

French winegrowers fear for harvest after hail batters prized vineyards
Producers predict 'disaster' as up to 80% of grapes could be lost following fierce storms in France
Anne Penketh in Paris
The Guardian, Sunday 29 June 2014 08.45 EDT


Some of France's most prestigious vineyards are counting the costs of fierce hailstorms that have battered the Burgundy region for the third consecutive summer.

Hailstones as big as golf balls, buffeted by 60mph winds, swept across the Côte de Beaune region on Saturday afternoon, causing winegrowers to predict between 40% and 80% of the grape harvest would be lost.

Full story:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... -vineyards
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David M. Bueker

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Re: Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by David M. Bueker » Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:46 am

Lots of stuff on that other site. Several winemakers report a total mess in Volnay, parts of Santenay, etc.
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Re: Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by Paul Winalski » Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:40 am

Not good news for Burgundy fans. The last thing we need is another small harvest. Prices are going to be high. Also, hail can cause scarring on the grapes that do survive, resulting in harshly tannic wines. So the potential exists for a small crop of poor wines at exorbitant prices.

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Re: Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by Jeff Grossman » Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:29 pm

Robin Garr wrote:This is blowing up on Facebook - I got it from Carole Meredith - but it's The Guardian. Any news on this from wine sources?

Yes, I'm seeing reportage in other outlets now.
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Re: Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by Dale Williams » Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:26 am

Indeed not good new for Burgundy fans, this is 3 years in a row. Even worse news for small growers who will have little or no wine to sell again, and who don't have the leverage to raise prices. Decanter said 90% of Clos des Mouches was destroyed, but Drouhin has many other vineyards, and can price up the tiny crop and sell out for those presrving verticals etc. Its the small guys who are at real survival risk.
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Re: Destructive hail on the Cotes de Beaune?

by Robin Garr » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:05 am

Here's the Wine Speck's summary report in Marvin Shanken's daily Email:

Wine Spectator: Hail Shatters Burgundy’s Hope for a Promising Crop

A violent storm unleashed its wrath on Burgundy’s vineyards in the late afternoon of June 28, Wine Spectator reports, affecting an area from Chassagne-Montrachet to Beaune in the southern half of the Côte d’Or and Nuits-St.-Georges to Morey-St.-Denis in the north. The full damage has yet to be assessed, but Volnay, Pommard and the southern premiers crus of Beaune were the hardest hit. Estimates place the damage there at roughly 70% to 80% crop loss. The impact on other areas was approximately 20% to 30%.

“It is another blow dealt by fate on the Côte de Beaune, and especially on Beaune, Pommard and Volnay,” said Anne Parent, proprietor of Domaine Parent in Pommard. “Premiers crus of Pommard were very affected. We estimate between 50% to 80% damage. We are waiting for the experts during the week to get a more precise estimation.”

In Beaune, the Clos des Mouches was also damaged, with 50% to 70% loss of grapes according to Philippe Drouhin, estates manager for Maison Joseph Drouhin. This is the third year in a row that hail has damaged vineyards in the Côte de Beaune.

The Côte de Nuits was not spared this year, but reports say there was less impact. “The damage doesn’t look too bad for the Côte de Nuits,” said Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac. “There was a bit of initial panic. We all know how much worse it could have been.”

Here's a link to the full story, which appears to be outside the paywall:
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature ... 01-14%20(1)

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