The harvest promises to be "good" in quality, assures the inter-profession.

The very first cuts of secateurs have just been given in Bordeaux for the crémants, which will be followed in ten days by the whites then the reds.

"We are at the very beginning, on a few plots" of crémant - 1% of Bordeaux production - in Entre-Deux-Mers, said Bernard Farges, president of the Interprofessional Council of Bordeaux Wine (CIVB).

The harvest of the "first whites will take place from September 6, the first reds between the 15 and the 20 then it will really start between the 20 and 25", he specified.

This is a “return to normality” after a historically early 2020 harvest due to the heat.

After the vagaries of the weather, "the grapes that remain are magnificent"

The Bordeaux region was marked, like the other French wine-growing regions, by episodes of “massive frost” in the spring and then attacks of mildew, “even more aggressive on the frozen plots.

It's double the penalty, ”he said.

Nevertheless, the situations are very contrasted and on the plots attacked, "the grapes which remain are magnificent", specified Bernard Farges who foresees a "small" harvest in quantity, without however knowing the extent, but "very well" in quality.

The “climatic situation is reassuring, we have good weather in front of us, the grapes that are there are pretty.

"

Strong rebound in sales

For whites and rosés in particular, "the relative summer freshness is very good news, it is a way of preserving a very strong aromatic potential", he specified.

The manager also notes a "strong rebound" in sales figures with a recovery in particular in restaurant orders, as well as in exports.

This is the case for the United States where "the purchase orders started again immediately" after the lifting of taxes which had weighed heavily on Bordeaux, in crisis since 2017.

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