The Comité Champagne reports a first positive assessment of the earliest harvest ever observed, with modest yields and very healthy, ripe grapes.
Champagne has brought in its earliest harvest since records began. In a first assessment issued from Épernay on 9 September 2026, the Comité Champagne said yields look modest because drought left the bunches smaller. The health of the fruit, however, is described as excellent.
Frost, heat and a tight schedule
The season featured spring frosts of historic intensity, a very early flowering and five heatwaves over the summer. The first grapes were cut on 6 August, while the official start of picking was set for 12 August. From 17 August the harvest was under way across the region, about 14 days earlier than in 2025. During the hottest days growers adjusted working hours and stepped up health precautions for the roughly 100,000 people who take part in the harvest. Temperatures eased from 17 August.
According to the Comité, the musts combine high ripeness with freshness, concentration, plenty of fruit and finesse. Hand picking of whole bunches, gentle pressing and careful separation of the press fractions are said to have preserved acidity. For blending, cellar masters can draw on three very different vintages: the wet, cool 2024, the warm 2025 and the very hot 2026.
“The material is very beautiful, healthy and ripe,” said David Chatillon, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne. It is still too early to judge the wines definitively, but the Comité says some of the balances recall historic vintages such as 1921, 1947 and 1959.
Source: Comité Champagne
