"This harvest will be in the top 5 of the worst years in half a century!!!" says Arnaud Descôtes, technical director of the Epernay CIVC.
"The weather didn't help us, with torrents of rain pouring down on the galipes (vines), and despite the weather forecast predicting some brightening, apprehension was present every day.
As Cyril Brun, cellar master at the Charles Heidsieck Champagne House, acknowledges: "The tormented weather conditions (and their consequences in the vines) will leave significant scars on the minds of the people of Champagne, it's human nature. After a fine series of harvests (2018 to 2020), we were a little quick to dismiss the option of a difficult harvest.
"But when you're making Charles Heidsieck, you don't give up, you keep going and moving forward.While Cyril Brun's cheerful character and unfailing professionalism keep him believing, he remains lucid about the 2021 yield: "It's certain that the shortage of fresh grapes will probably encourage them to dip into their young reserves to complete their blends, and the acidity observed to date is rather promising. Vigilance and sorting will be the order of the day in the most fragile sectors, as results are very heterogeneous and picking circuits have been turned upside down".
"Daily life is going to be complicated!!!"
In fact, after a particularly trying viticultural campaign, Cyril Brun is looking forward to the end of this harvest, which for him (and surely many others), "will at best remain atypical and more likely a bitter memory, a feeling of powerlessness in the face of the vagaries of the weather".
The Charles Heidsieck Champagne House will need a fine harvest in 2022 and also in 2023 to regain serenity in all areas of the Champagne region.
According to Cyril Brun, Cellar Manager at Champagne House Charles Heidsieck...