Frost did not put a dent in vine nutrient reserves in France

s in 2017, vines suffered from the heavy frosts of 2021. “But last year, September and October were wet. Photosynthesis did not stop as early and the plant was able to build up its carbon reserves”, explains Guillaume Desperrières, managing director of the wine research and development company SRDV.

Boasting good amounts of soluble sugars, starch and total sugars, vines therefore started the latest vintage with decent levels of minerals and trace elements. “There are some deficiencies in vineyard sites with high limestone content, but petiole analyses are generally reassuring, from Bordeaux to the Rhone Valley, via Languedoc”.

Vines do not lack nitrogen and should display good vigour, “except in the South-East if the drought persists”.

The deficiency to watch out for is mainly lack of manganese because winegrowers add less indirectly by treating their vines with mancozeb or other plant protection products that contain it.

Year after year, Desperrières also sees an increase in potassium levels, concurrently with the decrease in magnesium. “This has been true without exception for the last 7 vintages in Bordeaux. The balance of the wines is changing, their pH is higher and they are losing acidity”, he explains, stressing that the lack of magnesium slows down phenolic ripeness while climate change makes potential alcohol rates rise.