The 2005 Bordeaux season’s monthly rainfall and temperatures

The 2005 Bordeaux season’s monthly rainfall and temperatures

Yet there were very few instances of the vines actually shutting down, and at the end, very few vats showed any of the jammy character normally associated with shut-down. It wasn’t as if the vine was not used to lack of water. Such a dry year came as no surprise to it. After all, it had been in drought mode since spring 2003 and was used to dry soil as it went into the 2005 season, and as the year wore on, drier and ever drier, it got even more used to it, pushing its vigorous roots further into the subsoil to find nourishment. In addition, under such conditions, the tiniest rain shower at the right time could invigorate it just enough for each important sequence in its development and, as if to order, these arrived at precisely the right time: the April showers precipitated the budding, the little showers of 21-22 May the flowering, those of 27-28 Jul the véraison, those of 8-12 Sep the final ripening of the Merlots, and of 25th the Cabs, and the mid- and end- August showers in Sauternes the first stages of botrytis.

The vine’s cycle started late at budding, then caught up at the flowering and, just as we were expecting a short hang-time as in 2000, a long, dry, regularly warm summer with no excessive heat spun out the bunches into small clusters of reduced, hard-skinned grapes that could ripen and concentrate gently and at their leisure with the result that the hang-time ended up normal or even a bit long after all.

The big fear was that sooner or later the rainfall would catch up, and that, as had happened in 1976 after a similarly extremely dry (but hotter) year, the harvest would start under a downpour, quickly bloating, splitting and even rotting the grapes. In the end, the unhoped-for happened and the long dry summer ran into a long dry autumn and the longest and most relaxed harvest period of all time.

If 2005 has been a very dry year, it has not been exceptionally hot – just 0°6C over the average (see table above). Spring and early summer were regularly 1°5 – 2°C over the average, August and September just slightly over. The only real bursts of heat came right at the beginning and right at the end of the growing season in June and in October, the former getting the grapes off to a fast start, the latter putting the finishing touches to the red harvest and ensuring a fabulous final botrytisation in Sauternes.

The two opposite features of the 2005 season, on the one hand such perfectly and regularly warm unstressful weather, and on the other such extreme drought conditions, have created wines that similarly combine two features: They are extremely concentrated yet strongly tannic, very rich yet totally vigorous, heavy-set yet fresh-flavoured; whilst the top dry whites have softness combined with liveliness; and the Sauternes are tremendously rich and powerful yet superbly fresh.

Winter 2004-2005

Let’s start where we left off last year, when a long dry autumn had culminated after the harvest in a very wet second half of October. This, apart from April, would be the last real rain we would have until the end of November, 13 months later. The rest of the winter months remained obstinately dry, as the almost permanent high pressure system over the Eastern Atlantic warded off any rain-laden depressions. Last year, this system had been centred further out to sea, pulling Mediterranean air from the South-East into Bordeaux, resulting in a warm winter. This year, it was centred further East, often over much of Southern Europe, bringing colder North-Easterly air into the region. Although the frosts came two months later this year, just before Christmas, they were deeper and more prolonged. There were only 4 days of frost in December (the average is 7), but 8 in January (8), 9 in February (7), and 9 in March (4).

A few interludes of warmer Atlantic weather, especially 11th-13th February, brought the usual fears that the sap was beginning to rise too early, but then a long chilly period from 16th February to 11th March, especially the very hard -8°C frosts 28th February – 2nd March, ensured that the vines remained totally dormant.

Most of the pruning had been completed by now under perfect conditions, and everyone was pleased with the quality of last year’s wood, even though it had sap in it until very late, as witnessed by the presence of leaves in December. With such a minimal frost risk, very late pruning (which is a form of anti-frost insurance) was less prevalent than last year, but those who did wait had to do it in a screaming hurry when the temperatures suddenly shot up mid-March. 

Spring, budding and early growth

As the long cold period came to an end mid March, and just as France was running out of electricity, spring was suddenly upon us. A showery 14th March was followed by a week of extraordinarily hot sunny days, culminating in 26°8C on Sunday 20th, almost beating the March heat record of 1981. The whole of Bordeaux moved out to the beach for the weekend, to get some rest before everyone arrived for the spring tastings.

But meanwhile in the vineyard, in spite of the heat, there were no swellings or rising sap. The vine refused to budge, still locked into its winter mode by the big freeze and by the total absence of moisture, and it wasn’t until the end of March brought some welcome showers that the budding began, now one, or in some cases, two weeks late. This lateness in the start to the vine’s cycle was to become one of the main features that would make 2005 Bordeaux different in style from the very early-starting vintages such as ’89 or ’90.

April was a warmish month. It was also quite wet, in fact the only month of the whole year to go over the average rainfall figure. At first the budding went fast, generally getting to second leaf by 8th. But there followed a series of cool nights which slowed everything down again, so that by 21st, even the Merlots still only had 4 cm or so of growth on them. It was all very frustrating: We were already late and were now getting later still.

Then, from 22nd April, we got four days of hard rain, followed by a week of very hot sun, up to 28°C. This time, the vine didn’t hesitate and, especially on the Right Bank, in Sauternes and in he Entre-Deux-Mers, where it had rained more than on the Left Bank, the vegetation galloped ahead during the first week of May.

The embryo bunches quickly appeared. It was generally a large “sortie” (the vine was not yet through with catching up after the two short crops 2002 and 2003) and many growers snipped off excess bunches at this time. However, there were far fewer counter-buds than last year, making the work of de-budding much simpler. The bunches looked medium-sized and quite short, as opposed to the very long ones of 2004, but the embryo grapes were already smaller than usual, creating a similar loose effect – and, with the continuing summer drought that was to come, they would stay that way all the way through.

May continued warm and totally dry and by 23rd May, when we saw the very first signs of the flowering, some of the lateness had been caught up.

Early summer and flowering

The remainder of the lateness was caught up in the sudden extraordinary heatwave of the final days of May. On 27th, the thermometer got to 33°4C, just short of the May record of 1922. The combination of April’s rainfall and this sudden heat got the flowering started everywhere and it was then over in record time during the first constantly warm days of June.

At first it looked like a perfect flowering. Young vines and old vines, Merlots and Cabernets, good clones and less good clones: all flowered in just a few days. Then, over the ensuing two weeks, it became clear that there had been some coulure and millerandage [poor and uneven fruit set] after all on all varieties but as usual especially the Merlot. Maybe the heatwave had been too sudden just before, or the nights too cold during the first hot days of June, or the drought coupled with the evaporation effect of all this heat did not provide quite enough energy for the vine to support such a sudden flowering. Anyway several grapes were lost in most bunches, further loosening them and ensuring that the ‘05 vintage would no longer be a large one. There were still plenty of bunches, just fewer grapes on each, and the need for crop-thinning became less acute.

And all month long, the sun kept on beating down, registering an average temperature of 22°C, which made it the hottest June after 2003 (23°1C) and overtaking 1976 (21°3C). Yet, as the pasturelands turned to savannah and the trees’ leaves shrivelled and Bordeaux’s new tramway system failed in the dry hot days of the remainder of June [inc Vinexpo!], the vines were oases of bright green and vigorous foliage in the middle of all the yellow and brown, clearly enjoying the extreme conditions.

The explanation seemed to be that the subsoil had already been dry after such a rainless winter so the vine’s roots had only gradually been able to provide nourishment when everything heated up, whereas in 1976, the vine’s roots had been wallowing in excess ground water when similar heat and drought conditions suddenly arrived.

One big advantage of such dryness was that sprayings could be kept to a minimum. Apart from a light mildew attack early in the season and a very dangerous grape-worm attack in May from the first generation of the cochylis and eudemis moth (which many now combat by mating disruption rather than by sprayings - the French prefer to call this “sexual confusion”), there were no other real dangers. Oidium was never a problem and the subsequent grape-worm generations were very harmless. So, growers could get away this year with less than half the normal sprayings. Of course this was excellent for the ecology (and economy) of the vineyard and was especially good for Sauternes where all the natural microscopic fungi that interact with the botrytis development could do so totally unhindered, and this must have accounted to some extent for the total purity of botrytis at harvest time.

June ended up with a count of 21 days over 25°C (the average is 10.1, and only the record hot year of all times 1921, at 25 days, beat it) and of 10 days over 30°C (the average is 2.9 and only 1976, with 15, beat it); sun hours totalled 270 (a full 20% more than the average) and maximum daily temperatures were a whole 4°6C over the average, and rainfall was less even than the parched June of 1947. How much longer could the vine stand such punishment?

High summer: July and August

Happily, its resistance was not put to such a test. July continued hot and totally dry but less extreme. Unlike for our poor East Coast American friends suffering in that killer July cauldron, the number of really hot days was only marginally higher than the average. However, sun hours continued at 20% over the average – 2005 was to become the year of light rather than of heat - and rainfall continued at zero apart from two patches of isolated light storms.

In hot dry years, thunderstorms are a permanent danger, and 2005 was no exception. Already on 13th May, a violent storm had turned to hail over Monbazillac destroying 500 hectares of crop and two nights later 400 hectares in Buzet. Again, on 25th June, a violent storm had happily only dumped deluges of water on the Médoc and on 27th, a vicious hailstorm followed a similar track as in June 2003, starting over Arcachon but it had veered off just in time over mostly forest land. It had been a close call for many Graves, Entre-Deux-Mers, Sauternes and Right Bank vineyards and only patchy damage had been done. Again, at 2 am on 4th July, a big storm had some hail in it over St Emilion (the same system that disrupted life for our friends in Northern Europe that day), and St Emilion got hit again (about 10% hail damage on the côte and immediate plateau) on 28th by a storm that had started over the Northern Médoc as just heavy rain.

All these storms were cumulatively much less violent than the 2003 ones, and, more important than trying to assess the damage they caused is to look at the geographical differences in the rainfall they brought, for this year, they were just about the only source of water for the vines. The July storms brought 25 mm to the upper Médoc but almost nothing to the Right Bank, Graves and Southern Médoc, accounting for earlier grape concentration in these areas, with less juice, thicker skins and higher acidities. Later, this would also partially explain the lower yields on the Right Bank than on the Left.

In August, the storms of 17th brought about 25 mm to the Right Bank, Graves and Entre Deux Mers but completely avoided the Médoc, which, especially in Margaux and the Southern Médoc, now really needed water. The Médocains could not believe their luck, therefore, when, on 25th August, they had their own little three hours of light rain. “All we dared ask for was a few hours of light rain” commented one Pauillac grower, “and we got them”.

Meanwhile, the “véraison” had taken place. Jolted into activity by the 27-28th July storms, the vine quickly started the process of changing its grapes’ colour. Just as at the flowering, this rain came just at the right time, and the véraison happened uniformly fast, maybe slightly more efficiently on the Right Bank than the Left, where it got a little spun out: Most of the former were at half-véraison by 3rd-4th August, whilst for the Médoc, it was more like 10th. By 15th August, all grapes had changed colour and immediately took on a beautiful deep blue colour. They were now concentrated little berries: the average weight of 100 Merlot grapes was now about 130 grams, as opposed to 165 or 170 in 2004, and the sugars were rising fast.

The extreme drought and the continuous sunshine never really shut down the vines during yet another month almost without rain. August registered only 14 mm of rainfall (the average is 59). But, in spite of the yellow grass and the parched river-beds (the rivers were lower even than in ’76 and ’47), very few vines showed stress, with the exception of some younger vines planted on lighter sandy soils, and these were easily identifiable by their curling, and sometimes yellowing leaves in the evening. This was a far cry from August 2003, when 20 days of vicious heat had dried up whole areas of vineyard, shedding the leaves altogether and roasting the grapes themselves. And later, there would be very few fermenting vats that would have dull or cooked aromas. As in 1982, a dry but not too hot August saved the vintage from such things, and the coolish nights helped preserve freshness and acidity in that critical post-véraison phase when the grape gradually becomes a ripe fruit. The month ended up at an average maximum temperature of just 27°3C, only 0°6C over normal, and at an average minimum temperature of 15°1C, only 0°1C over normal, whilst the number of days over 30°C was just 7, compared to an average of 6 and to 20 in 2003. Up to this point, many growers had been finding similarities to ’03. Now, such comparisons stopped, and henceforth, they talked more of a cross between ’03 and ’04: a similarly concentrated vintage to ‘03 but with more freshness and acidity.

There was also now less talk of making a ’76 if it started to rain. Since the late July showers and the two August storms, the skins seemed elastic enough to withstand some rain. So, maybe there was now a chance of making more of a ’95 than a ’76, if the dreaded September equinox were to live up to its reputation by creating a downpour.

September, October and the harvest

By now, the white grapes of Pessac-Léognan were ready and Haut-Brion could kick off the harvest with a small pick of perfectly ripe, golden-coloured Sauvignons on 24th August, with others following over the next few days and the main body of the dry whites under ideal conditions from 5th September, having benefited from the overnight showers of 31st August – 1st September. The weather remained perfectly fine, but the high pressure system was weakening, and from 8th to 13th September allowed a few depressions to wriggle in and produce some showers. These were generally very light, and picking could continue throughout, but they did account for 42 mm of rainfall, which was (once again) perfectly timed to be over by the time the Merlot harvest would really get under way. Apart from a few mm on the Friday afternoon 16th September and a short thunderstorm on Sunday 25th (when nobody was harvesting anyway) there was to be no more rain at all until the very last two days of the Cabernet pick. In Bordeaux, such regularly fine conditions throughout the harvest are exceptional, and they provided the perfect finishing touch to an already extremely promising vintage.

The sun shone all day every day, and the harvest assumed the most leisurely pace anyone has ever known. The window of ripeness seemed to be open for ever; The first Merlots were picked on 7th September at Pétrus, the last ones on 7th October at Pavie. For a grape that has a reputation for being unripe at 10 am, ripe at midday and overripe at 2 pm, this was an extraordinary phenomenon. The usual explanation that the early pickers were too impatient to wait for total ripeness was not necessarily the case this year. It was more that the 2005 season had been very gentle and gradual, and the final ripening process continued at the same easy rhythm, especially when it got slowed down by the exceptionally cool nights of 17th – 22nd September. Also, the long drought had created different ripening cycles on different soils, the finer gravel soils taking longer than the heavier clay or chalk ones. And, above all, with the weather permanently set fair, no-one needed to hurry, harvesting programmes could be modified at will and the pickers could be sent home for the weekends if they wanted.

Under such conditions, everyone could wait for the ideal moment before harvesting each parcel. Prior to the 8th – 12th September showers and the cold snap of 17th – 22nd, the sugar levels had been high but the acidities had been generally quite low. After them, the acidities actually rose again, and this made many hesitate about picking right away And there was also at this time a lot of discussion about the ripeness of the phenolic elements in the skins and pips: In such a dry year, a grape could appear to be ripe but was not totally, as had been the case in that very dry year ’89 when the earlier-harvested grapes had often contributed a touch of bitterness to the wines. 2005 was turning into such a dream vintage that nobody wanted the slightest thing to go wrong. In the end, with such a flexible picking programme, everyone had the luxury of analysing the grape’s ripeness to the nth degree, or of choosing which clan of consultant oenologists they would listen to – the advocates of early picking or of late picking – and never had the opposition between the two sides been so pronounced

Most of the Merlot harvest was in full swing by the week of 26th September, with the Cabernet Francs starting also at the same time. There was a collective sigh of relief as the month ended with most of the Merlots in, and the Cabernets starting. Once again, it ended up a very dry month: 56 mm of rainfall (usual: 90) with 2/3 of it in two days (9th and 25th). Once again, the rainfall was perfectly orchestrated with more on 8th – 9th on the Right Bank and Sauternes, just when they needed it (for the first to invigorate the Merlots immediately pre-harvest, for the second to initiate an onrush of botrytis) than on the Left Bank, and vice versa on 25th (just when the Cabs needed it to put the finishing touches to their ripening). Like August, September was warm without being too hot: 18°6C average daily temp (usual: 18°1C), with just 11 days over 25°C (usual: 11), and 2 over 30°C (usual: 2).

The first few days of October were cold and generally dry as the late-harvest Merlot properties finished their picking and most of the Left Bank Cabernet ones continued or finished theirs. Again the nights were cold and the afternoons hot under the influence of Northerly/Easterly air streams coming off the high pressure system that was now situated over Central Europe. The Cabernet harvest was generally terminated under the fine, clear skies that this system produced. From 12th to 18th October, it weakened and allowed some rainy fronts to develop, which meant that the final two days of the later-harvested Cabs were not ideal. However, the rain fell during the night and conditions were just about OK during the day. There were some Médocains – and not the least - who had finished their Cabs by the end of September and were wondering why these people had waited so long. Sauternes had already completed its 2nd or 3rd pick by the time this rain arrived, and, with the vineyard all clear of botrytis, could wait for further developments.

The red harvest now safely in, and the bulk of the Sauternes harvest having been picked on the 2nd trie early October, the second half of October then proceeded to warm up, under the influence of the Southerlies being sucked up from Africa and Spain around the high pressure that had shifted South over Italy, into the hottest last 10 days of October since the record 1921. This dry air caused morning fogs to form after the quite cool nights, and, in the afternoons, produced hot sunshine to 25°C, totally ideal Sauternes conditions for finishing the 3rd, 4th and sometimes 5th trie. Most finished by 28th October, but some continued well into November, especially during the very fine days and very cool nights that followed the heavy night-time rain of 3rd November.

So ended a text-book harvest period for all of Bordeaux. The sun shone almost permanently and the showers came exactly when and where required to add the final touch, and all this after a dry hot season, during which what little rain there was fell just before all the vital sequences of the vine’s cycle. What more could we have asked for? Although some had cursed the drought, it had been the most perfect year we could expect. And if any growers have made a sub-par wine, they only have themselves to blame. And if any have made a vegetal wine, they should be lined up and shot at dawn. Thank you to William´Bill´Blatch at Vintex for this splendid report, 100pts=WPH

Let me introduce you to Senor Roberto Parqua of Animania '.....we are putting the finals touches to a magical blend of Corolla and what could be the juice from 150 year old Malbec vines....100pts!

William  Hancock preparing the land for the next cosecha at 2.990 metrs above sea level

Ranked in the Top 20 of all Bordeaux wines, as the first of the 3rd growths in the Medoc Classification of 1855.

Robert Parker:

Here we go again! This extraordinary wine is the greatest Kirwan made since some of the estate's historic offerings in the mid-1800s!!. An inky/black/purple color accompanies a gorgeous perfume of incense, creme de cassis, licorice, and subtle wood. It boasts thrilling levels of richness, full body, layers of concentration, high glycerin as well as tannin, and a fabulous 60-second finish. This compelling effort possesses 50 or more years of aging potential. Kudos to Sophie Schyler, the charming proprietress who gave such a graceful performance while under attack in the disingenuous movie Mondovino. The 2005 Kirwan will be at its finest between 2014-2050.

Decanter magazine:

Deep richly extracted good solid wine with fragrance and finely grained tannins to back up the rounded, rich fruit. Drink 2009-2020.

So the community thinker, Parker reckons it is one for the grand/great grandchildren and dear old conservative (well new Labour actually) Decanter, recommend it for my 65th birthday lunch...well I have ordered Double magnums, so be nice to me & see you then.

Nueva article

News from Buenos Aires that 'Nueva', an Argentinian Magazine, have done a feature story on World Wine Consultant William Hancock.

Read the full Article here (Spanish)

Read the translated Article here (English)

Bolivia and its 'Highest Wineries in the World'

Branding themselves the "highest wineries in the world," Bolivia's modern wine industry, essentially just more than a decade old, is continuing to make improvements to an already very acceptable product.

The exports of Bolivia's fine wines are just now beginning to take off. "Bolivian wine producers have a brilliant future. With the quality they are producing, there is no question that they will be a big surprise in the international market," boasts Bolivia's Foreign Trade Minister Carlos Saavedra.

Home base for Bolivian wines is Tarija's Central Valley, located near southern Bolivia's borders with Argentina and Chile. At 1,700 meters above sea level and higher, many call the region ideal for winemaking.

La Concepcion, one of Bolivia's oldest fine wine makers, began putting its product on the market at the ripe old year of 1991. It has purchased many of its grapes from as high as 2,800 meters. Pilar Prudencio, business manager of La Concepcion, a family owned enterprise (but looking for investors, she says), says the high altitude of the Tarija region is what sets Bolivia's wines apart. "Foreign experts have come here and told us our prima materia is exceptional," said Prudencio. "Our harvest is better because of the climate. Our grapes are in contact with more sun because of the altitude thus the grapes have more flavor and the aroma is more concentrated. We believe this is definitely an advantage," she said.

Local winemakers also point out other diverse attributes of Tarija's Central Valley and its high altitude. For starters, growers say, seasons are very distinct here, which allows the vine to rest in winter and sprout naturally in summer.

Tarija also receives lots of sun but with afternoon winds that carry away the heat. It almost never freezes during the growing season and the rains are usually well timed for the crops. Grapevines are said to grow well in the alluvial soils. Finally, local wine-makers say the high elevation also gives the grapes more cancer-fighting anti-oxidants and helps juices age faster into a sweeter, less-acidic wine.

"If you taste a two-year-old wine [of ours], it's equal to a six-year-old European wine," said Guido Altamirano of the Tarija Vinicultural Center (Cenavit), an internationally assisted center which does research and provides technical support for valley grape growers.

The roots of Bolivian wine go back to 1575, when the Catholic Church set up operations in the area and henceforth began producing wine for its flock. Indeed, in the 295-year-old Franciscan monastery of Tarija, the monks, wearing their traditional long dark robes, still stamp grapes with their bare feet and squeeze them in a hand-turned press. While the church, locals and others have produced homemade wine for centuries, modern commercial winemakers did not begin operating here till the late 1960s, when Julio Kohlberg, owner of La Cabana S.A., the maker of Kohlberg Wines, began producing common table wines for sale in the domestic market. Fine wines though--with grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and others--did not hit the area in any substantial way till the late 1980s, when La Concepcion began to raise the quality bar higher. Instead, the main grape grown here is Muscat of Alexandra; known locally as Moscatel de Alejandria. Muscat grapes are used primarily to make a unique Bolivian product called "Singani," a local brandy. Singani, and beer, have long been the alcoholic beverage of choice for most Bolivians.

The old and steady market for Muscat grapes has also meant the region is still dominated by the planting of Muscat. Thus, fine wine makers have faced an uphill battle to convince local grape growers to switch to other grapes. This is very important because currently more than 80 percent of the grapes used by the wineries are purchased from private grape growers, and until there are more winegrapes available, the growth of Bolivia's wines is hampered.

"The bodegas are working mainly with red wines and they are trying to get the small growers to help provide the grapes. As it is now, they are buying grapes and wine from Argentina in order to make up for this. They need more grapes of the wine variety," said Goeran Appelgren, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) representative in Bolivia. "Our greatest limit right now for the production of wine is the capacity to produce the raw materials," agrees Nelson Sempertegui, business manager of SAGIC S.A., a holding company which has been principally producing Singani since 1925, but in 1995 began producing their San Pedro wines.

There are a number of other factors running against the Bolivian wine industry, also adds Appelgren. "The wine industry here needs to make some changes across the board to improve the quality of the product, beginning with certification of the product itself. It's the cork, it's the label, it's the glass, it's everything. But they are very aware of this," said Appelgren. In Bolivia, there are just four main wine producers--La Concepcion, Vino Campos del Solana, Kohlberg, and San Pedro--annually producing in aggregate more than 5 million liters of wine. Exports of Bolivian wines, just now expanding after many years of focusing only on the Bolivian market, are currently dominated by La Concepcion, which exported around $70,000 in wines to Switzerland, Germany, England, Peru and Japan last year. Next year, La Concepcion will begin exporting to the United States and Hong Kong, while expanding its exports to Europe, says Pilar Prudencio. "There are a lot of Bolivians in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, an enormous population of around three hundred thousand. So we want to export a lot to this market," said Prudencio.Prudencio estimates that by the year 2005 La Concepcion should double its wine production. In 1991, La Concepcion produced 40,000 bottles, today they produce 260,000 bottles annually, and in 2005 they plan to produce as much as 500,000 bottles per year. She says exports could go up as much as 500 percent in the next years. "Right now 5-10 percent of our production is for export, but in 2005 we think it could be as much as 50 percent of our production. We have to work hard on buying more land, investing in more technology, and show the world market the uniqueness of wines of high altitude."

Luis Granier, part-owner of Bodegas Milcast, the maker of Campos de Solana wines, says his company should be the top wine exporter from Bolivia soon if all goes according to plan. Currently, a small amount of Campos de Solana wines are sold in Germany and Japan, says Granier. But plans are in the offing for selling to the US (with the help of New York-based Brown Forman distributors), Japan and other European countries, he says.

"Campos de Solana is young, about 2.5 years old in the Bolivian market but with growth very strong, increasing permanently, and we are also investing a lot, various millions of dollars in new technologies," said Granier. Campos del Solana is building a new plant in Tarija, which will have a capacity to produce 3 million liters by 2001. Chilean winemaker Vinas del Errázuriz is a future collaborator in the enterprise, says Granier. The problem, however, continues to be not enough grapes.

"We need more grapes. But year-by-year we will continue to increase our plantings. The results so far are very good. The quality and smell of the world's highest grapes is very characteristic of the region," said Granier.

Kohlberg Wines are currently sold in small numbers to Spain, Germany, and Colombia, with plans to sell next year in Denmark and The Netherlands, said owner Julio Kholberg. Kohlberg estimates that they will export 100,000 bottles next year, perhaps reaching 1.2 million exported bottles within ten years.

"To do this, we will take advantage of the slogan of the 'highest wines' to give our wines an exotic or different touch," said Kholberg.

San Pedro, which primarily produces Singani, modestly produces just two wines: Cabernet Sauvignon and Port. Nelson Sempertegui, however, says they are steadily increasing production by about 8 percent a year and that with more investment in technology and facilities there is limitless potential for San Pedro and the industry as a whole.

"We believe we have the best port in Bolivia, and at the international level we think it has some of the best growth," said Sempertegui. "So we think we are going to export this a lot. We already export Singani to Europe (Germany, Spain, Portugal), Asia, and in the US we will begin exporting to Houston, Maryland, Washington, and Virginia in January. All of these exports will include all of our wines."

"What makes Bolivia wines different is that our wines are produced at the high altitudes, and that we have a moderate price. We have a lot of land that is cheap. The technology is expensive but we can improve on this and when we do we think the industry will advance fast," said Sempertegui.

"The final judge will be the people who drink the wine," said UNIDO's Goeren Appelgren. "Its not really going to matter much to them whether its from Bolivia. The quality in comparison to price is sufficient to give it a market," said Appelgren.

News from Bolivia

Aranjuez was founded in March 1976, like a familiar society dedicated to the agro-vine activity, mainly to the varietales wine elaboration of quality and reserve.  It is located in the central valley of Tarija that has very propitious climatic characteristics for the production of quality grapes. 

In fact the Central Valley of the Department of Tarija, located to more than 1950 meters on the level of the sea is at the moment the main of grapes for fresh vinificación and producer consumption. 

Our warehouse throughout these twenty years has been equipped with modern machineries and equipment with tecnologia of completes generation, associate with traditional techniques of elaboration allows to have us wines of great quality, because we as much counted on an ample range of varietales wines and reserves in targets as in red, of which totally stand out our Cabertnet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Franc Colombard and Pedro Ximenez in addition to our white wines and red of cut.  Same Asi is important to indicate that we have concluded satisfactorily our experimental tests for the elaboration of frothy (method champolnolso) reason why we will initiate the industrial process of this noble wine 1998. 

Aranjuez wines have successfully participated in different aids and fairs where we have obtained special reconnaissances to the quality of our products that makes us feel proud of the quality of our wines, in merit to it at the moment we are exporting our wines to England, one of the most demanding markets of the world......the first historical shipment of our Terrunyo 2004 (a wonderful blend in three parts of Carignan, Grenache & Barbera) will arrive on the British shores with the hekp and encouragement of World Wine Consultants. You must be apart of this history and try a case, you will love it.

 ...on my way to a tasting in Chile (3680 metrs above sea level...in the Andes)...

2002 HUMANAO Cabernet Sauvignon

Having just tasted the best three red wines produced in the whole of Argentina (writes WPH), I am very happy to report that I have secured the last 50 cases of 2002 HUMANAO Cabernet Sauvignon....a totally correct wine that will bring a sigh of releief to the vinophiles wondering why there is not a fruit driven wine to be found here in the pampasland....well there is, this is one and there are three others which I will share with you in the future.

Finca Humanao Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

14.1% Alc.says the label (actually it contains 13.9% thank goodness) Produced from some of the highest vines in the north of Argentina, at 2230 metres above sea level. The first vines were planted in the area in around 1785. The vineyard, (some of the vines are one hundred years, and more, old) which lie in a beautiful green valley surrounded by a dry aried cactus landscape, is to be found on the road between Taquil and Colome (near the village of Molinos) in the procedencia of Valles Calchaquies, Province of Salta. Getting there is almost impossible, so when I visit I link up with Ramirez at Humanao, Davalos at Taquil and a bite to eat at Colome....otherwise you are in a desert with no one and no where to go...it is really the end of the track, especially when the road turns into a river, and the only thing that is getting you out of the river is that the mountain starts to take you up into the altitude up and away from the rio.

Summer Special

2003 Sauvignon Blanc
£190 per case of 12 bottles.

2002 Chardonnay
£175 Per Case of 12 bottles.

Wine Tasting

It has been great fun tasting wines at 3,650 metres above sea level, as even the poorer wines of Chile taste good (Undurraga Chardonnay for example realy drank very well indeed). The big hit and not totaly suprising was the Almaviva 2001.

It had lots of cedar, smoke, cigar box aromas and flavours of currants, plums, toast and minerals, this Chilean wine cannot help but call to mind the wines of Bordeaux in general and of Chateau Mouton Rothschild in particular. That should surprise no one, for this wine is the long awaited offspring that has resulted from the marriage between Concha y Toro and Baron Philippe de Rothschild. With plenty of smooth tannins well balanced by fruit and acids, the wine is approachable now but will continue to develop nicely in the bottle for 5 - 6 years.

The prices around the world vary greatly. I am happy to report that we have vintages going back to the 1990's, and for anyone wanting to taste the number ONE wine in CHile at the moment, you will not be dissapointed by the wine or the price. For the Parker-connoisseurs, he reported 92+, adios!

Adami, Veneto

AAaaahhhh, Prosecco... summer in a glass.

You can almost hear the gentle buzz of bees when you experience the honeysuckle and pear of the fragrant nose.

Adami are small producers in Valdobbiadene, recognised for producing high quality wine on a very small scale. The Bosca di Gica has the most extraordinary persistent mousse; it comes climbing out of the glass, and just goes on fizzing away with the finest bubbles. It is bottled as proper Brut, with low residual sugar. The 2004 (the only vintage Prosecco available) is in stock at 14pounds a bottle ex VAT... mmmmmmmmm!

Grape Varieties

photograph by Joshua Paquin

Malbec

Is one of the permitted grapes in Bordeaux, contributing colour.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The classic grape for Clarets and quality red wines generally. Provides the backbone for Claret. Usually plated alongside Cabernet Franc, giving quantity, Merlot, for the colour and Petit Verdot to mature the wine a little quicker. Two further less important vines are Malbec and Carmen ere. Proportions in Haut Brion for example would be 80% Cab.Sauv 45% Cab. Franc and 20% Merlot.

Syrah

Originally called Sirrah, after Grenache is the most important grape Hermitage and Chateauneuf de Pape.

Carmeniere

One of the permitted Claret grapes, but not widely planted although the wines produced from it are excellent. Pollination is unreliable and it is one of the \Cabernet family.

Pinot Noir

The outstanding grape of Burgundy, where it produces the famous Cote de Nuits wines. Pinot Noir is also used extensively with Pinot Muenier in Champagne. In Germany it is know as Spatburgunder and is used to produce light style of wines.

Merlot

One of the six permitted grapes for claret.It ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields greater quantity but more mellow wine which mature earlier. Merlot has a good resistance to Odium.

Carignan

Contribute to the robust wines of the Rhone Valley.

Chardonnay

Produces the best white Burgundies and Chablis, the full flavoured wines with crisp acidity are made from Chardonnay. No doubt one of Europe?s best. Champagne also contains an amount and Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% chardonnay

Sauvignon Blanc

A very popular variety in France where it helps to produce white Bordeaux and Loire wines (blanc fume). Rich in sugar and extracts with moderate acidity.

Torrontes

?..grown in Argentina!...millions of litres of this indifferent white are bottles and sold each year.

Semillon

The principal grape of Sauternes?ch.d?yquem uses 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon blanc.

Gewurztraminer

Based on Traminer ?klon??the wines are well scented, low in acidity with good balance of alcohol.

The worlds highest vineyard

It was fun pulling together information from the four corners of the globe on which had a claim to be the highest vineyard in the world. Growers in Aosta, north-west Italy, and the Spanish Canary Islands probably have the highest vines in Europe at around 1300 and 1600 metres respectively, but these are mere foothills compared with the height above sea level of isolated vineyards spotted in Nepal and Bhutan at up to 2750m.

Last February, however, I had the chance to visit the world's greatest concentration of high-altitude vineyards, in Argentina. The country's dominant wine province Mendoza is on the same latitude as the Sahara, so you would expect the sort of heavy, clumsy wines that Argentina has been producing for its thirsty domestic market for decades.

Since the early 1990s however vineyards are being planted at ever higher altitudes in an attempt to extend the growing season and increase levels of both natural acidity and flavour. Much is made of the beneficial effect of the cool nights this far up the Andean foothills, and of the higher radiation that can make photosynthesis more efficient and plants healthier.

Certainly all the vines I saw in the new, higher subregions of Mendoza such as Tupungato and Vistaflores (all of them vertically trained rather than the old-style overhead trellises designed to maximise yield) looked impressively healthy. A substantial proportion of grower-producers had already cut off excess bunches to concentrate the remaining crop and pursue the fashionable goal of super-ripe tannins. This is no longer a vinous backwater.

With unlimited good-quality irrigation thanks to melted snows off the Andes and no shortage of suitably poor soils, the only major viticultural problem Argentine grape growers seem to have is hail, a perennial summer hazard that is particularly acute in some areas. Many growers have decided it is worth investing up to US $10,000 a hectare in specially strong protective netting.

The major problem Argentine wine producers now have of course - like all Argentines - is economic. When I visited in February just as the first ferments were getting going, the problem was simply a shortage of cash, not just to pay for imported luxuries such as French oak barrels and corks, but simply to pay pickers and cellar workers. And the government had, in the space of remarkably few days, managed to substitute an export tax for export credits (on the same day as announcing that it could not afford to pay that vast proportion of the population who are civil servants their salaries that month).

One thing Argentina is not short of however is variety. There is a huge variety of grapes, with red Bonarda and Malbec the most planted vines but no shortage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Merlot, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and all sorts of interesting oddballs, thanks to the rich multicultural mix of immigrants that made up the Argentine population. And now there is a variety of different environments in which wine is produced.

Altitude has become the big status symbol among Mendoza's wine producers, each daring to plant slightly higher than his neighbour. (Frost damage must be only a vintage away.) Vineyards are commonly higher than 1000 m (in much of Europe 500m is thought of as an upper limit to reliable ripening) and vines are now being planted as high as 1500 m. Precise altitudes even form part of the names of the (extremely good) wines made by the LVMH/Chandon still wine subsidiary in Mendoza and sold as, for example, Terrazas de los Andes Gran Malbec 1997 Las Compuertos Vineyard 1076m. And virtually any Mendoza wine with pretensions to quality will boast the altitude of the vineyards that produced it on the back label. Other international investors in the new, high wine country of Mendoza include Allied Domecq; Concha y Toro of Chile; Kendall Jackson of California; Jacques and François Lurton, Pernod Ricard and Michel Rolland of France; Sogrape of Portugal; a Spanish olive magnate; a Dutch motor distributor; and, reputedly, a bunch of Walt Disney executives. They can't all be wrong.

But they are all low, positively insignificant, compared with the highest vineyards of Salta province to the north, in the extraordinary north-west corner of Argentina closest to Bolivia. Salta's main wine town Cafayate, a popular Argentine summer holiday resort, is itself at 2135m and many of the vineyards that surround it (typically being converted from the once-popular white grape Torrontés to Cabernet and Merlot) are considerably higher. But none compare with my visit to two neighbouring wine estates two hours' drive further north and west into the mountains.

This foray was remarkable not just because high altitudes bring with them physical changes (shortness of breath, the need to cook everything twice as long as at sea level) but because of the landscape and the people who live there.

In just an hour or two's drive, mainly on tortuous unpaved mountain roads, you can go from lush green subtropical sugarcane and tobacco country, up through jungle to green lakes and pastures looking for all the world like Scotland, to puna, the local word for high desert scrub punctuated by cardones, a prehistoric plant like a one-fingered cactus, to altiplano, the vast, deserted plateaux inhabited only by llama and desert rats that feel like the top of the world, but can't be because they're bounded by the Andes, their towering, colourful folds looking just like melting icecream.

The great majority of this land is uncultivated - indeed even in relatively overcrowded Mendoza to the south 95 per cent of the land is still desert - but here and there are oases, green fincas representing one owner and his many dependents. Each of the two wine-producing estates, in a long valley reaching far into the Andes from the eerily quiet (no cars, few trucks) town of Molinos, provide homes and a living for hundreds of locals. (And with girls encouraged to procreate as soon and as frequently as they can by the local priests, those hundreds are becoming thousands.) One of these vineyards, Colomé, is at almost 2300m. The next, Tacuil, overlooked by a ruined Inca fort if you please, is at 2597m and, according to the sign recently erected by its owner, the highest vineyard in the world. I met him, and he definitely hasn't read The Oxford Companion. His wines say it all, but I think we will be hearing more of Colomé from its new owner, Donald Hess of the Hess Collection in Napa Valley.

Vintage report 2004

Widely regarded as a vintage in the classic style of such fine vintages as 1996 and 1988, the successful 2004s from both the left and right banks are fresh and pure, and well structured for mid- to long-term ageing.

The 2004 growing season was characterised by alternately wet and dry periods, with a fortunate co-incidence of the dry spells firstly with the flowering, and then with the harvest. Central to the quality of the vintage, as well as to the return to normal levels of production, was the extremely good, even and short flowering which ran during the glorious weather of late May and early June. This laid the foundation for the subsequent generous crop and for the even ripening at the end of the season.

Rainfall in August was unusually high – more than 180% of the 30 year average – leading to widespread gloom over the prospects for the vintage. However, at the beginning of September the fine weather returned: there were only 6 days of rain, bringing less than 30% of the average rainfall for the month, and 20 days saw temperatures above 25°C. In these conditions the crop ripened beautifully, and picking of the Merlots began for most estates during the last week of September. The Cabernets followed early in October, and picking was mostly completed by the middle of the month.

The results have been described by many as a “retour au classicisme”, and if proprietors follow the advice of most and bring out their prices close to 2002 levels, these fine and classic wines will be a great addition to any cellar, at extremely attractive prices.