When High Temperatures Help

In some places, this has been an extremely hot growing season. In fact, a few days ago, we covered how this might affect the 2021 vintage in the US Pacific Northwest. But, warmer than usual weather does not ruin all vintages in all areas. Let's consider why and where they sometimes help and how this might even play out this year.

Consider the 2016 vintage in Napa Valley. Many consider it to have been pretty near ideal. It was warm -- warmer than normal -- but not what might be considered so extremely warm as to have adverse effects for the heart of the growing season. When combined with the droughtlike conditions that year, grapes were exceptionally stressed leading to highly expressive and flavorful Bordeaux-style (what Napa is really famous for) wines whether they be single varietal wines or blends. And, to top it off, the very late summer and very early autumn weather was very hot during the day, but far cooler at night. This combination has produced some truly great wines.

Similarly, in some areas where weather is not characteristically as hot, but is warm enough to grow the classic Bordeaux reds, the additional warmth has been helpful. In fact, the early vintage reports suggest that both 2016 and 2018 are two of the best vintages ever from the Left Bank of Bordeaux (these are the Cabernet-based wines). In both cases, the spring was quite rainy allowing the grapes to get an excellent start to their growth. But, in each case, that was followed by a much warmer than usual and very dry summer. What this has done is produced wines that are much more tannic than usual, but also quite dense and this should make them quite ageworthy. So, while many of these wines will not be approachable young, they have the potential to be great for more than a generation.

Ultimately, the moral of the story is that warmer temperatures can be helpful or they can be hurtful. So, understand how and what you are buying and if you don't, rely on someone who can pretty accurately tell you.

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