Not only was it the earliest harvest ever recorded, quality has been reported as excellent, and healthy. Growers had barely made it back from summer holidays when harvest began in some villages on August 20, the exact date that the Comité Champagne (CIVC) announced picking can commence. It was a full 5 days earlier than their predicted harvest start back in late July, the result of light rains in July followed by an early August heatwave, ratcheting up ripening.