burgundy 2023 | Charming, Generous & instantly appealing
The 2023 Burgundies, both red and white, have fabulous charm and a succulent approachability with enough concentration to make old bones. Asked to describe the vintage, growers simply replied: “healthy fruit and healthy crop!”. To have the two in tandem is something of a modern rarity; whilst the Côte d’Or has been blessed with some fine and in some cases exceptional vintages in recent years, volume wise it has been somewhat more problematic.
When considering the most recent 2024 harvest, sadly our prayers that Burgundy’s growers would never have to suffer such a miniscule harvest as they did in 2021 have not been answered. Their cellars again are next to empty with the 2024 crop, with some producers in the Côte de Nuits failing to produce any fruit at all in certain vineyards. Thankfully however, 2023's generous crop is the diametric opposite. We anticipate similar allocations to the 2022 vintage and, despite the paucity of 2024, prices are set to remain unchanged.
2023 burgundy In A NUTSHELL
Whites | Approachably exotic, with a flowing ease and appeal, leaning towards earlier drinking. The wines have an exciting abundance of yellow stone fruit flavours. The late summer conditions concentrated flavours and contributed to a pleasing depth on the finish, and the generosity of the berry sizes has helped preserve a fine impression of freshness. They are rich, with textural depth and full of lively energy.
Reds | Plush and charming with an easy generosity. The higher yields saved the fruit from any detrimental impact from the heat spike at harvest time, so alcohol levels in general are around 13.5%. The tannins are extremely malleable, providing powdery, textured depth. Terroir identity is accentuated (so often the case in the larger producing years) with classic Pinot Noir flavours coming to the fore. Stylistically, the wines are misleadingly open, and whilst they are almost instantly appealing there is a subtlety and depth that will assure surprising longevity.
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THE GROWING SEASON
- Winter 2023 was mild and dry.
- A wet spring provided useful water reserves. Whilst there was frost risk at the end of March and early April, it had little impact, except in some of the more advanced vineyards.
- Excellent and rapid flowering conditions in early June.
- The ideal early summer conditions encouraged healthy bunch set on the vines.
- Many growers did a July green harvest (removing a proportion of the fruit) to focus the vegetative development and concentrate the fruit.
- A fast, early harvest at the end of August and early September in almost heatwave conditions.
- Healthy and generous yields, at the same level as the 1999 vintage.
2023 PRICING
Two healthy crops in a row means that nearly all our growers have maintained their prices at the same level as the 2022 vintage. Volumes and allocations are also similar and in general these will flow through. To compensate for their tiny crop in 2024, some estates, particularly in the Côte de Nuits and Chablis, may hold a small proportion of their 2023s back for later release, with a post-bottling mark-up potentially reflected in the price.
The Vignerons' Views
“The higher yields are one of the keys to the quality in the whites, the berries were able to cope with the harvest heat and as a result crucially maintained their acidity and freshness”. Lydie Alzingre , Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot.
“The July green harvest was vital for quality, protecting the vines from any risk of disease and allowing for maximum ripeness of the plentiful crop”. Robin Rapet, Domaine Rapet.
"We picked the whites early in the morning from 6.00 am in the cool and the pinots from midday, but we couldn’t stop as we had to get the fruit in quickly as everything ripened together." Geraldine Godot, Domaine de L’Arlot.
“The heat of September made the vintage and is the secret to the vintage’s quality” Frederic Barnier, Louis Jadot
NEW DOMAINES
Following the 2024 spring Grands Jours de Bourgogne tasting, we are delighted to introduce five exciting new additions to our En Primeur portfolio. They all represent amazing quality and are great ambassadors for their appellations.
Domaine Pavelot, Savigny Lès Beaune
Domaine Lamy-Pillot, Chassagne Montrachet
Domaine Jacques Dury, Rully
Domaine Chofflet, Givry
Ch de Fuissé, Pouilly-Fuissé
The Appellations to Watch
The healthy yields in 2023 offers a great opportunity to explore the village appellations of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. We select all our domaines for their authenticity and respect of the land and terroir, producing wines true to origins and commune. If you want to experiment and see the individual personalities of each of the appellations, this is the year to do so.
Marsannay | Lying just to the north of Gevrey Chambertin, for many years this village sat in the shadows of its more famous neighbour. Today, with high-performing estates such as Cyril Audoin and Ch de Marsannay, it is a great source of sophisticated red wines, offering equal quality at great value.
Santenay and Maranges | The Côtes de Beaune’s two most southerly communes. In Santenay, Justin Girardin highlights the appellation’s credentials as a neighbour to Chassagne Montrachet, producing excellent white and red wines. In Maranges, Elodie Roy is producing beautifully perfumed Pinot Noir, having taken over her family domaine after a decade working with Anne Gros in Vosne Romanée.
The Côte Chalonnaise | A very special source for both fine Pinot and Chardonnay. This is the place to go for some of the best value wines in the region. Seek out our estates here, Domaine Chofflet in Givry, Domaines Tupinier Bautista and Vincent Charton in Mercurey, and Domaine Jacques Dury in Rully.
The 2023 En Primeur Campaign
As always, we will be offering previews of this exciting vintage with early offers in the weeks before Christmas, focusing on our superb Chablis producers and top negociant house Roche de Bellene and Beaune superstar Louis Jadot, while the main campaign will launch in January as usual.