Warm and wet weather throughout June and into July brought the threat of downy mildew, a fungus that lives within the vine tissue and can cause the widespread reduction in yields. By July 2023 is was estimated that 90% of Bordeaux’s vineyards had been affected in some way, shape or form.
To survive downy mildew, you had to be either very quick to adapt, or very lucky. Those quick to adapt were the Châteaux that had both the technology and available labour to cope with well-timed interventions. Fabien Teigen at Château Smith-Haut Lafite praised “the tireless work of our teams, present 7 days a week” for minimising the potential loss to fungal infection.
Some areas simply experienced less pronounced mildew-inducing conditions. Pierre Grafeuille of Château Montrose in Saint Éstephe noted “lower than average rain it this section of the Médoc”, a sentiment echoed by those on the left bank closest to the Gironde.
