(Winemag) - Despite springtime frost that affected parts of the Mâcon, Côte Chalonnaise and Chablis, winemakers throughout Burgundy are reporting a strong harvest that started and ended earlier than usual. All signs are pointing to a good vintage with better-than-average quality and quantity.

The harvest report released by the BIVB (Bourgogne Wine Board) on September 25, is optimistic for the 2017 vintage: “…[T]he mood is one of relief and joy because the 2017 vintage is everything the winegrowers had hoped for…After a series of vintages that have suffered the whims of the weather—the 2016 in particular—the Bourgogne winegrowing region has returned to cruising speed in terms of production…”

“Vines Were A Little Thirsty”

Although a heat wave in late June caused concern among winegrowers, that worry seems to have been unfounded. Rain on the last two nights of August refreshed vines that had gone without water most of the summer. “The grapes remain[ed] clean without botrytis and continue[d] their maturation. It is clear that many vines were a little thirsty in July and August,” Franck Grux, technical director at Olivier Leflaive, said.