(Decanter) - Fierce hailstorms have damaged vineyards in parts of Chablis in Burgundy, plus Beaujolais and Cognac, leading the country's farming federation to declare a 'state of catastrophe' in the worst-hit areas.

Hail in Chablis is expected to have severely damaged vineyards in the southern part of the famous Chardonnay region in Burgundy.

There have also been reports of serious hail damage in nearby Beaujolais and also Cognac, further west.

Full damage reports were not yet known by Tuesday 31 May, but France’s national farming federation, FNSEA, has declared a ‘state of catastrophe’. One producer told France’s Le Figaro newspaper, ‘it’s Apocalypse Now’.

FNSEA’s declaration has not yet been confirmed by France’s agriculture ministry, but French agriculture minister Stéphane Le Foll said he had ‘mobilised the state’s full resources’ to assess damage and find a way to help those affected.

The latest outburst from the skies marks a tough beginning to the 2016 growing season in some parts of Burgundy, and particularly Chablis.

It is the second hailstorm that some vineyards have experienced already this year and frost had already damaged some growers’ first buds in April.