The first six months of 2014 showed the face of a typical Mediterranean climate: a mild and well-watered winter which allowed to rebuild the water reserves. It was then followed by a rather warm and dry spring.
The summer was not as hot as in previous years and was punctuated by stormy period, sometimes with hail in some areas. The saving Mistral blew wisely after rainy periods, drying the vineyards and thus away the risk of disease.
Finally this summer without heatwave or drought was favorable to the vineyard; it allowed a slow and gradual ripening of the grapes.
The end of August and September were sunny with nice temperatures like an Indian summer, allowing grapes to achieve their ripeness.
Nevertheless, there were quite strong disparities between coastal and away of the sea areas where the sanitary conditions were poor due to higher dampness during the harvest.
They started around August 20 in early areas to be completed in late September for the later areas.
Finally, after 5 years of small harvest, Provence gets back to the quantity that allows supplying and developing its markets.
