Dry summer leads to poor harvest in Charente

The weather has again dominated the news in the Charente, The long dry summer spell has meant the grapes have failed to fill adequately for a really good harvest. This is a particularly rare occurrence as it coincided with lots of rain after the flowers had set and the grapes started to form, which led to difficulties with disease from mildew and rot. This meant that the vines had to be sprayed regularly to prevent disease spreading, but then came the sun!

The summer just got hotter and drier and the long period of hot sunshine that followed was initially what we all needed,. But you can have too much sun and the current predictions on the grape yield is likely to be between 15 – 25% down on last year. This news is not what we want to hear especially, with the demand for young eau de vie being so high. We will keep our fingers crossed!

The Charente region produces some exceptionally fine Pineau’s, which are a real treat if you’ve never tried it before. Some of our very old rare vintage Cognacs also originate in this region. So whether your budget is under £20 or over £10,000, we hope you’ll enjoy drinking the fruits of previous years’ more abundant grape harvest.