2025 Harvest: The final stretch!

Those who are used to social networking will no doubt be surprised to learn that the harvest is continuing in Burgundy, even though they've been hearing about it since mid-August... In fact, it's already been almost three weeks since the first pruning operations were carried out on the Chardonnay grapes in the Côte de Beaune, in Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, and even today, harvesters continueto walk the rows just about everywhere... including the Chardonnay grapes in the same sectors of the Côte de Beaune.

During our visit to the Chablis region yesterday afternoon, we were able to see Didier Picq emptying a wine press, Benoît Droin receiving a skip and Didier Séguier (William Fèvre) overseeing the sorting of his grapes from grand cru Bougros. Contacted by phone this morning, Aurélie Cheveau, president of the local winegrowers' association Pouilly-Fuissé In the Mâconnais region, they were still harvesting the grapes… Chablis Mâcon, approximately 200 kilometers from north to south, and between these two vineyards located at the extremities of Burgundy, the observation is therefore the same: in almost every appellation , each village Today you can find winemakers who have finished the harvest, others who are in the middle of the campaign and some, rarer, who are just beginning.

Nobody was bored with the weather in 2025

In 2025, the harvest date was more than ever the result of very clear-cut human choices and in no way of that classic, but now outdated, geographical distribution which, just fifteen years ago, dictated that the Mâconnais region, in the far south, should lead the way and that chablis the farm, one to two weeks later. All of this has been shattered by climate change and on this point we can say that nobody was bored in 2025. Since our last article published on August 27, all regions have indeed suffered an impressive "climate yo-yo" marked by an alternation of summer, autumn days, punctuated by some heavy downpours which have increased rainfall totals between 100 and 150 millimeters depending on the area.

On August 27th, a dual strategy was already emerging among producers: those who had decided to harvest first, as early as August 17th, riding the wave of the early August heatwave that had raised natural temperatures to comfortable levels, and the others, determined to wait for some rain to bring juice to the grapes and, above all, to restart photosynthesis, hoping to achieve more complete phenolic ripeness (skins, seeds, aromas). They were not helped by the weather, but what should we think now? Should they have rushed the harvest or waited? It is obviously much too early to draw conclusions, as the factors influencing the final quality of a wine are far more numerous than the simple harvest date, however essential it may be.

In pinot noir Fermentation has barely begun, and by all accounts, it seems that the skins, hardened and thickened by a beautiful, hot, dry, and abundantly sunny summer, have resisted the pressure of botrytis rather well. There will therefore be a qualitative advantage that the recent rains, however heavy, will not undo. In any case, the weather forecast is not very encouraging for next week, and the general watchword seems to be to harvest the last remaining grapes as soon as possible.

Juicier Chardonnays

THE chardonnay seems to have been more weakened than the pinot noir The weather has taken its toll, and patches of rot are appearing here and there, varying in severity depending on the vines, the terroir, and the region. However, it is already clear that the nature of the grapes has changed considerably in the last 10 days, with a slight decrease in potential alcohol levels (many winemakers are reporting a drop of around 0.5 degrees) due to dilution, but the grapes are juicier and the overall balance remains good. All hope is not lost…

We won't venture into predicting the style of wine in 2025. Let's wait until we've tasted the Hospices de Beaune cuvées in two months' time to find out a little more. A little... However, many winemakers already believe that they will produce good, even very good wines, both reds and whites, in very different styles, depending on harvest dates. They are also well aware that the great vintage that was still on the cards just two weeks ago, if the last few days of "finishing" had been favourable, is no longer so... Until the referee blows the final whistle, anything is possible, which can be translated in winegrower's vocabulary as "until the grapes are in the winery, you can't be sure of anything! An adage that takes on its full meaning in 2025.

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director