According to reports, egg-sized hail hit parts of Bordeaux and Cognac on Friday, causing devastating damage to local vineyards. In just 15 minutes, the hail hit the city of Bordeaux, moved up across the Haut Médoc and Entre Deux Mers, then hit Bourg and Blaye on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary, the Drinks Business reports.
About 7,100 hectares were affected, equating to about 6 percent of the Bordeaux region, about half of which suffered “extreme damage,” the report said.
Local winemaker, Gavin Quinney provided the Drinks Business with a map indicating the damaged areas, saying “it was important to put the damage into context.”
Luckily, the storm damage is not nearly as severe as the frosts that hit the regions last year. Things are looking pretty grim in areas like Bourg and Blaye, which were affected by the frosts as well as by Friday’s hailstorm, but the Bordeaux region overall is mostly unharmed.
Cognac had it pretty bad, though. According to U.K. newspaper, the Times, 10,000 hectares were affected, leaving the area—which was also affected by the frosts last year—in a state of “catastrophe.”
