The rain, accompanied by unusually low temperatures, continued throughout June and July, encouraging rampant mildew that, unusually, had begun as early as the flowering season. Almost as soon as one fungicide was administered, it was washed off the vines, which then required another round of spraying. According to Mark Haisma, who professed himself “delighted, at least, that we managed to get to harvest and did actually harvest something”, average annual rainfall records were smashed only halfway through the year.