The 2011 Bordeaux harvest has finally come to an end, leaving winegrowers to reflect on a year dictated by extreme weather.

Oenologists have described the 2011 vintage as a "rollercoaster", with the region's climate veering from one difficult situation to another throughout the growing season.

"It will be a vintage marked by extremes, at times too cold, at times too hot; at times too humid, at times too dry," Bordeaux oenologist Nicolas Vivas told Decanter.

A dry, hot spring was followed by a cooler summer, and by the time August came with its mix of sun and rain the threat of botrytis was very real.

This prompted many estates, fearful of losing their crop to disease, to pick early, before the grapes had reached phenolic maturity.

Even now experts are divided as to whether this was the right decision for some vineyards, with Mr Vivas suggesting that the best wines will have come from estates that took a "moderate risk" by waiting for the grapes to mature.

However, Chateau Brane Cantenac owner Henri Lurton told Decanter that "waiting for ideal maturity risked losing aromatic complexity".

Whenever estates chose to pick, the botrytis threat and occasional lack of ripeness meant that all the Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes had to be sorted very carefully, according to Jacques Boissenot, who works as a consultant for the likes of Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Margaux.

As vineyards wait to see exactly how good 2011 Bordeaux will be, many have already expressed their relief that the vintage is not another spectacular one.

With Bordeaux prices being pushed ever higher due to the extraordinary quality of the 2009 and 2010 vintages, many growers are looking for the more ordinary 2011 harvest to bring some stability back to the market.