Centre-Loire announces ‘extraordinary’ harvest
The Centre-Loire has described 2026 as an “extraordinary vintage” as it releases its annual report, detailing a harvest which began in Reuilly on 12 August, and finished around 11 September.
Conditions across the year were incredibly varied, with frost, hail, a notably early spring and an extremely hot summer, much like elsewhere in France – with over 40% of days between 1 May and 31 August reaching at least 30ºC.
Despite uncertainty around the weather, the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins du Centre (BIVC) explained that “the overall verdict is positive” with fruit arriving at wineries in “remarkably healthy condition”, notwithstanding widely varying yields.
Alcohol levels are high, but lower than was initially feared, with the white wines retaining freshness, while the reds show off deep colour, concentration and excellent fruit character, according to the BIVC.
The vines retained some resilience due to a wet winter (with particularly high rainfall in February), which replenished soil reserves and granted the vines sufficient moisture to withstand the summer droughts.
Budburst arrived early – one of the three earliest ever recorded in Centre-Loire – with sugar accumulation progressing rapidly, and often ahead of flavour development.
Summer brought multiple heatwaves, along with a highly uneven distribution of rainfall – between 1 June and 24 August, Morogues received just 32 mm of rain compared with 112 mm in Thauvenay.
Older vines, established two to three decades ago, generally coped better with the conditions. Deep-rooted vineyards and those planted on clay-rich, deep or flinty soils proved significantly more resilient than young vines growing on free-draining sites.
However, as temperatures increased and drought set in, vine metabolism slowed significantly, with ripening coming to a halt in some parcels. This situation would only last a few days, with most vineyards resuming maturation after some much-needed rainfall.
Such unprecedented conditions meant that growers were forced to be flexible, altering picking schedules, waiting when ripening stalled and mobilising harvesting teams at short notice – with many choosing to pick at dawn to bring cooler grapes into the winery.
François Dal, viticultural consultant at SICAVAC, the technical arm of Centre-Loire Wines, explained: “The successive heatwaves widened the gap between sugar ripeness and the maturity of aromas and skins.
“The sugar-acid balance was changing rapidly, meaning growers had to taste, analyse and sometimes revise decisions within a matter of days.”
Spring frosts, repeated hailstorms between May and July and the drought in summer took a toll on volumes, which varied greatly across the region. The hardest-hit appellations included Reuilly, Coteaux de la Charité and Coteaux de Tannay.
The Centre-Loire, which sits on the hillsides of the Loire and Cher valleys, is comprised of over 5,900ha of vineyards and includes the AOPs of Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Pouilly-sur-Loire, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois and Châteaumeillant.
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