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Some worrying times in the deepest southwest, as hail and rain have made the harvesting of grapes for Jurancon and Madiran difficult.
It is mainly the sweeter white wines which are worst affected, as most of the Jurancon Sec is now in the cellars fermenting away, as are most of the reds such as Madiran. Rain near harvest time can dilute the grape juice, lowering sugar (and hence alcohol) and flavour levels. And if the rain is particularly heavy, as it has been in some parts, then the grapes can get damaged with the resultant risk of unwelcome rot and disease. The sweeter whites such as Jurancon AC and Pacherenc du Vic Bilh AC will be OK as long as there are some good weather days to finish the ripening and concentration of the sugars - and an “Indian Summer” is quite common in these areas.

It seems strange therefore to receive news on the same day of the imminent arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau, due on the 3rd Thursday of November every year - this year on 16th. Here the harvest has also been a trifle difficult. According to Nick Dobson’s website - “2006 has been a very mixed year climatically; the winter was cold, and spring was very late to arrive - flowering was between 1 and 2 weeks later than average, although this will have reduced frost damage. The cold late spring was followed by a heatwave in June and July, enabling catching up after the hesitant start, although conditions deteriorated for part of August, the second half of which was cool and wet. September however has turned out very well, with warm dry sunny days. The majority of growers I have spoken with started picking between 8 and 12 September, which is quite typical. Growers are reporting ripe healthy grapes, with thick skins and good acidity & sugar levels.”
If you are interested in securing some Nouveau this year then you need to order soon - and Nick knows his Beaujolais - see /www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk

The sign at the top of this article was seen in the Languedoc a few years ago on the N113 which runs from Narbonne west to Carcassonne and Toulouse. This can be quite a dangerous road at any time, but when numerous ancient lumbering tractors use it to deliver their grape harvest to the local co-operative at 5 mph it becomes even worse!