18months on new barrels. The winter was cold and dry, with an average minimum temperature of 0.5°C in January and a 12-day freeze in February. Rising temperatures in March got the vegetation cycle off to a relatively quick start, with budbreak beginning on 19 March. Very fine weather in April was followed by a warm May, the temperature rising to a record 34.6° C on 16 May. Flowering began on 25 May, a week earlier than the average. Rainfall in June, though a source of concern when the vine is in flower, was welcomed as a relief from the threat of drought. Late June and early July were cool and wet but sunshine returned from 14 July, causing a spurt in the vegetation cycle. Mid-veraison occurred on 13 August. After a few showers at the end of the month, the first three weeks of September were warm and sunny, enabling the grapes to ripen in good conditions. By the end of the month the grapes had acquired a dark, thick skin that enabled them to withstand poorer weather.