signs of struggle in many vineyards. In hindsight, many observers believe the vines adapted well to the weather conditions because the warm to hot weather gradually gathered momentum through May, June, July and August. This allowed the vines to adapt, and push their roots deeper into the soils to find moisture. Rather than giving in to the drought conditions, the vines proved remarkably resilient. The field of grapevine epigenetics may give vignerons a better understanding of how vines acclimatise to the environment. This phenotype plasticity, as it is called, is cause for optimism. It means that vignerons can look forward to a future with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and other traditional regional varieties. And we can look forward to wines that connect with place and history. The extreme June heat culminated in a massive atmospheric upheaval on the 20th/ 21st June. A hailstorm of ice, the size of golf balls, cut a swathe through the vineyards of the Médoc and Saint-Estèphe, causing
Bordeaux 2022
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