Bordeaux Reduces its Surplus

A combination of a small crop, vine-removal and crisis distillation seems to be returning Bordeaux stocks to a more balanced level.

Reading time: 45s

Bordeaux vats - illustration by Midjourney AI
Bordeaux vats - illustration by Midjourney AI

Bordeaux has, for many years, been producing too much wine. This has led to recent government-funded initiatives to uproot 9,500 ha of vines – about 10% of the total area and an emergency distillation programme costing €160m.

These moves seem to be paying off, as the local newspaper le Sud Ouest suggests in a news report headlined ‘Bordeaux Viticultural Crisis – Are We Past the Worst?’ According to the regional CIVB trade organisation, it is expected that, thanks to an expected short crop, because of poor weather – only 800,000 hl of AOC Bordeaux will be produced this year. This is both substantially less than 2023’s 960,000 hl, and far less than the 1.16m hl that were sold in 2023-2024.

It is hoped that, if sales this year and in 2025 maintain the recent average of 1.1-1.2m hl, by the end of next year stocks will have been rebalanced.

The price at which much of this wine will have been sold may remain a bone of contention, however.

Insights

In large parts of Bordeaux vineyards can be bought for 45% less than five years ago. Elsewhere in France some specific appellations fared far better than others.

Reading time: 3m 45s

 

 

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