Champagne producers spell out extent of losses caused by recent frosts
Champagne producers have laid bare the extent of the damage caused to their vines by the recent harsh frosts, with some reporting losses of up to 80% of their total crop.
Champagne Drappier has reported losing four fifths of their Chadonnay, Arbanne and Petit Meslier buds, while Champagne Philipponnat saw 50% of its Chardonnay buds destroyed. Champagne Louis Roederer has seen losses of up to a fifth across the entire 240 hectare estate, and Moet & Chandon claims to have seen up to a quarter of its fruiting Chardonnay buds being damaged.
Hugo Drappier of Champagne Drapier said that the frosts were amongst the worst experienced in Champagne, and comparable to 1991, 2003 and 2016. “Sales in 2020 have been challenging for Champagne, and though we were surprised by the good figures of 2020 for Drappier, frost will “autoregulate” the quantity needed on the market,” he told Drinks Business, adding that the estate fortunately had the highest quality reserve ever.
Cellar master at Champagne Louis Roederer Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon said it was really too early to determine the exact extent of the frost damage, but early indications were that the Champagne house had lost 15% of the year’s crop, which could rise up to 30% if the dormant buds have also been affected. He added that the best vineyards of Champagne, the grands crus of the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs were “lightly touched” by the frost.
The worst-affected area of Champagne was Aube, the most southerly part of the appellation, where the vine growing cycle is more advanced thanks to the milder weather. “The frost was massive in the Aube, so it was really serious there, with a 50% loss,” he said.
Charles Philipponnat of the eponymous Champagne house reported that in the early budding areas such as Clos des Goisses and the surrounding south facing parcels half of all the Chardonnay buds have been lost. While the damage to the Pinot Noir vines is so far less obvious, Philipponnat estimated that the damage would probably be in the region of 25%.
“In the later budding areas, the damaged should be limited, but with temperature as low as minus 6 or 7 Celsius, it could well be that a proportion of the dormant buds won’t wake up. A tentative guess would be 10 to 15%, but again, will soon know when vegetation resumes.
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