Top Champagne house Bollinger lost around 11% of the crop, said chef de caves Giles Descotes, adding, “But we are more than confident for the quality of the pinot noir, which has strong acidity and beautiful aromas of fruit.”

Vitalie Taittinger, whose family owns Taittinger, extolls the “aromatic richness” of this year’s grapes.

Loire Valley
The weather tale here is much the same as elsewhere in France. Quantities range widely, from catastrophic to just all right, according to star winemaker Jacky Blot of Domaine de la Taille Aux Loup. The young vines in Vouvray, he says, are in bad shape.

Appellations Anjou, Savennieres, and Bourgueil look much luckier. The good news is that the grapes that survived have excellent acidity and gorgeous aromas.

Rhône Valley
Last year, harvest was a week to 10 days early; the 2019 start date is back to normal, with reds being picked last week. A mild winter helped kickstart the vines, cool April and May slowed down growth, and then came heat and some sunburned grapes.

Benjamin Gras at Domaine Santa Duc in Châteauneuf-du-Pape says old vines weathered the drought best because of their deep roots, and he was surprised by the acidity in the grapes, despite the drought. Grapes have complexity, but lack of rain means there’s not much juice, with yields down 20%.

The Perrin Family, which owns Château de Beaucastel and several other organically farmed wineries in the southern Rhône, emailed: “We’re very confident for a great vintage if the harvest finishes as it has started.” That, of course, is always a big if.

South of France
In the Languedoc, Gérard Bertrand, one of the region’s pioneers, with 15 estates, says 2019 is a great vintage. He’s convinced that using biodynamic practices helped the vines adapt to drought, which didn’t affect the volume of grapes.

Don’t worry about next year’s Provence rosés; there will be enough for us all. Bertrand Leon, technical director for Château d’Esclans, makers of the ubiquitous Whispering Angel, emailed, “We anticipate the 2019 vintage to be great, aromatic and fresh with good acidity.” Hot summer days, cool nights, and rain at the right time kept quality high.

This will be the first harvest for a new terroir designation, Côtes de Provence Notre-Dame des Anges, just recognized in August.