An early and promising harvest in the Centre-Loire

The 2025 harvest has begun in the Centre-Loire vineyards! At the end of August, the Pinot Gris grapes from the Reuilly appellation opened the harvest, making this vintage one of the earliest in the region, like 2020.

The 2025 vintage will be remembered as a dry and warm year, with favorable conditions that allowed for controlled and trouble-free crop management. The vines made it through the season smoothly. Few fungal diseases (downy mildew, powdery mildew, etc.) developed, and wood diseases were generally limited. The grapes ripened regularly and were in excellent health at harvest time.

Average rainfall was low during the ripening period. The light and moderate rains at the end of August brought freshness and balance, without excessively swelling the bunches. The rainfall of the last few days has slightly accelerated ripening. Sunnier weather is expected in the coming days, which bodes well for the rest of the harvest. However, it’s worth remembering the Sancerre winegrowers, some of whose plots were hit by the hailstorm on July 23, affecting approximately 20% of the appellation. While the overall quality of the vineyard has been preserved, this episode serves as a reminder of the vines’ vulnerability to climatic hazards and the necessary resilience of the winegrowers involved.

Determining the optimal harvest time is a delicate exercise. “It’s always a matter of compromise,” emphasizes Fabrice Doucet, director of SICAVAC. With the balance between sugars and acidity having been achieved, the harvest has begun in the earliest plots, while the teams continue to closely monitor ripeness in the other plots. Regular tasting of the berries, supplemented by analyses, ensures that the aromatic potential is fully revealed, without compromising acidity or risking excessive alcohol content. The nature of the terroirs—clay-limestone, flint, stony, or sandy—also plays a role, with winegrowers adapting the harvest date according to each soil type.

For the whites, despite a generally slow grape emergence, the berries have developed well, which suggests satisfactory yields with remarkable quality potential. The first tastings in the vineyards indicate beautiful balance and structure. The reds, for their part, are taking full advantage of the spring and summer sunshine. The first juices extracted in the cellar are already revealing beautiful colors, silky tannins, and an interesting aromatic profile. Everything points to a promising and balanced 2025 vintage in the Centre-Loire region. “We’re going to be somewhere between a very good vintage and a magnificent one,” says François Dal, viticulture manager at SICAVAC, confident in the emerging quality.

Photo: vins-centre-loire.com