Despite poor weather conditions which in some parts of France have left vineyards under several metres of water, producers in Bordeaux are optimistic that this year's wine harvest will be of good quality.
The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), the body which regulates and promotes Bordeaux wines, said that the vineyards had for the most part shrugged off the poor weather conditions in July and August, and that most producers were expecting to produce wines with good "quality potential" this year.
Harvesting is still continuing in the Bordeaux vineyards, and although a storm late in September did damage some vines - around 2 per cent of the Gironde total - three weeks of almost solid sunshine throughout the rest of September has left wine producers confident of a 2002 harvest which will be of better-than-average quality.
"After an August which was horrible for both tourists and wine growers alike, the weather in September and our own analysis of grape quality has left us feeling very optimistic," the CIVB said in a statement.
Of the white grape varieties, the CIVB said that Sauvignon, the variety harvested first, had ripened gently and the wines produced were likely to be of a relatively high alcohol content, with a good acid balance and complex aromas.
Merlot, the first red variety to be harvested, would probably produce wines which were rich, high in sugar and polyphenols and of good quality, the CIVB said. It added that it was as yet too soon to comment on the quality of other red varieties picked later in the season, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit-Verdot and Carmenère.