
Most famous French wines saw poor harvest this year, but Bordeaux enthusiasts can celebrate a "rare" vintage blessed by an abundance of autumn sun, local producers say.
With production estimated at between 5.2 and 5.4 million hectolitres, 2014 has proved another low-volume year in the southwestern area, but still better than the historic lows of 2013 when hailstorms helped ruin much of the crop.
At 3.8 million hectolitres, the 2013 harvest was the lowest since 1991.
Those losses have so far only been felt with wines that come quickly to market - such as the roses and Cotes de Bordeaux - but will continue to be felt through 2015 as wines that take longer to mature become ready to sell.
"If there had been a 2014 harvest as bad as 2013, it would have been catastrophic for all the wine network, not just producers but also traders and all those in the network," said Farges.
He added the "perfect harvest conditions" meant 2014 would be remembered as a "happy harvest".
Temperatures were 2.2 degrees higher than average in September and 2.6 degrees higher in October - the highest in over 20 years.
"All the wines have benefited," he said, adding that such a vintage "was very rare."
Source: AFP
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