Chile

The winter and early spring were drier than normal, with 30% less rainfall than in the equivalent period the year before. There were no frosts in the spring and the dry conditions kept fungal diseases at bay. The summer was bracketed by heatwaves in November and February, with normal temperatures prevailing the rest of the time.

Picking started in February but cooler weather in March eased the pressure and the last Carmenere was not gathered until the start of May. Francisco Baettig of Errázuriz describes the company’s vineyards in 2019 as having delivered, “grapes of outstanding sanitary conditions [sic] and great concentration.” At a national level the vintage was 7% down on the bumper 2018 crop, but still 8% up against the five year average.