Vintage 2014: Bordeaux and Champagne

Bordeaux

The good news: After three consecutive vintages of decreasing quality and quantity, Bordeaux vintners are breathing a huge sigh of relief following the 2014 harvest. A late spate of warm, sunny weather resulted in a strong performance from Cabernet Sauvignon, with yields across the region in a more normal range of around 2.5 to 3 tons per acre.

The bad news: Gray, humid weather in July and August was the vintage's achilles heel, resulting in some uneven ripening for those practicing less than rigorous viticulture. It won't be a classic-quality vintage, but it's potentially the best since 2010.

Picking started: Harvest ran late as grapes needed to catch up following August's less-than-perfect weather. Most producers started picking Merlot in late September, while Cabernet picking stretched into the first two weeks of October.

Promising regions: Nature favored Cabernet Sauvignon and warmer, gravelly soils, so the Left Bank looks to have the early lead in this vintage over the Merlot-dominated Right Bank.

Challenging regions: Pomerol saw a bit more rain in September and October, and generally Merlot seems to be behind Cabernet Sauvignon in terms of quality.

Analysis: The growing season got off to a warm and dry start, with most vineyards two weeks ahead of schedule. Flowering occurred in early June and the vintage seemed set for an early September harvest. But then July and August delivered clouds and humidity. By the end of August, producers were worried about laggard ripening and potential disease pressures.

They returned from August vacations and scrambled to clean their vineyards of any grapes or bunches that showed early signs of rot, while also trimming berries that were still green and reducing canopies for better air flow.

"I spent twice as much time in my vineyard as usual," said Edouard Labruyère, owner of Château Rouget in Pomerol. "I made the choice to sacrifice quantity in order to keep the vineyard as healthy as possible."

Those who gambled by cutting yields were rewarded with nearly perfect conditions in September. "The month of September was amazing," said Frédéric Faye, director at Château Figeac in St.-Emilion. "There was no [disease] pressure and the ripening accelerated. There was some wind too, which helped concentrate the berries, though yields were a little lower than normal."

On the Left Bank, Cabernet Sauvignon picking stretched into October, with some rains providing a lifeline to vineyards at the end of their growing cycle. "We finished on Oct. 18 after two days of rain on the 7th and 9th, which was divine help because the vines were desperate after such a dry stretch in September," said Basile Tesseron of Château Lafon-Rochet in St.-Estèphe.

"It was a much more relaxed harvest than in '13," said Frédéric Engerer, director at Pauillac first-growth Château Latour. "Grapes slowly concentrated and kept a good acidity level. There was a little more pressure on the Right Bank [where Latour's owner, the Artemis group, also manages vineyards] with 2.4 inches of rain in September versus just 0.66 inches in Pauillac. But overall the wines we're tasting now are rich, dense and very long."

Both dry whites and the sweet wines of Barsac and Sauternes also look excellent, thanks to some intermittent rains in September and the warm weather that brought excellent concentration and botrytis development. "The excessively favorable conditions we saw this year are comparable to 2003," said Aline Baly of Château Coutet in Barsac. "We basically had August in October."

—James Molesworth

Champagne

The good news: Both in quantity and quality, the 2014 vintage surpasses the recent 2012 and 2013 vintages.

The bad news: Very little. Producers are happy, though only time will tell if 2014 will be a vintage year.

Picking started: Sept. 8

Promising grapes: Chardonnay performed particularly well, reaching excellent physiological maturity and showing great aromatic expression.

Analysis:As late as August, a successful vintage was by no means a given in 2014 for Champagne. A mild winter put the vines ahead of schedule, with the possibility of frost a serious threat in March and April. But slightly higher-than-average temperatures continued through to flowering, setting the stage for a more abundant harvest.

Unlike 2012 and 2013, no major hailstorms struck in 2014, a boon for the growers. Until August, the vines were about a week to two weeks ahead of schedule, and an early harvest seemed a possibility. Then came cool days, along with light periods of rain, which slowed the ripening to a more typical timetable.

As the cool spell continued, growers feared for ripeness levels, and August's ongoing rain showers meant that grape bunches had to be watched and treated for botrytis. Fortunately, the weather turned again in September, and sunny days paired with cool nights pushed the grapes to physiological maturity and a balance between acidity, sugar and varietal expression.

The Champenois are quietly pleased and optimistic about the vintage. Olivier Krug, of Krug Champagne, summed up the vintage by saying, "2014 is better than was expected in August. [There are] plenty of grapes and they're looking good—with interesting chemical balance and expression."

—A.N.