The 2023 wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti have just been released onto the market.

The domaine’s co-directors Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine were present in London last week to reveal them to the trade and press, alongside UK agent Corney & Barrow’s managing director Adam Brett-Smith.

Tasting notes and scores for DRC’s 2023 from Burgundy correspondent Charles Curtis MW available next month

Like its predecessor, it is no secret that 2023 is considered a ‘solar’ vintage in Burgundy. For the second year in a row, the domaine saw a particularly large crop of grapes with high levels of ripeness hurtle into the winery.

Yet this is perhaps where the similarities between 2023 and 2022 end.

‘As always with Burgundy,’ reinforces Fenal, ‘it is essential to look closely at the details and to avoid hasty conclusions.’

Because the wines themselves are extraordinarily different.

Discarding the most expensive fruit in the world – Why green harvesting was essential this vintage

Spring frosts were narrowly avoided at the domaine, and disease pressure built up following a cool and wet period. Yet flowering was successful, after the rain let up.

Humidity and moderate temperatures in July and August meant ‘the berries continued to increase in size without making significant progress in ripening,’ says Fenal, and botrytis developed in some areas.

Spurred on by the humidity, a high crop load and large berries, the viticultural team, led by new vineyard manager Sylvain Pellegrinelli who started in March 2023, decided to green harvest, removing large, compact, unripe bunches and those affected by disease.

Vines were still showing incomplete veraison before two heat waves struck, causing sugar levels to rise rapidly.

‘The heat was intense and in the afternoon became almost unbearable,’ says Fenal, ‘The grapes were heavy and became hot, just like us.’

There was another rigorous selection of bunches at harvest, as those exposed to the sun or beginning to rot were discarded.

‘Only the clusters best able to retain freshness and acidity were kept,’ says Fenal.

What does this mean for the wines?

High levels of natural maturity in the grapes – ‘much higher than we ever had,’ says de Villaine – means that, for the first time, all of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines come in over 14% ABV.

Yet the wines are far from overripe. Instead, they are extraordinarily balanced and fine tuned. There’s a concentration of fruit, but also a concentration of minerals, bringing things into balance.

De Villaine stresses that there were no drastic differences or changes to winemaking, just adapting their logistics to cope with a large volume of must coming into the winery at the same time.

‘There’s no big revolution,’ says De Villaine, ‘we tried, a little bit, some other ways of vinification – stainless steel for some quantities, to see how it worked.’

But otherwise, it’s just about paying attention.

What is striking about the 2023s is their structure: mighty, statuesque, with quite imposing architecture. This implies that, with their gorgeous fruit and mineral tension, these wines will go the distance.

Prices and stock

‘2023 and 2022 were the two most important vintages [in terms of quantity] we have ever received in the winery at the domaine,’ says de Villaine.

This is reflected in the total production of bottles for each wine. In fact, there’s even more Romanée-St-Vivant, Richebourg, La Tâche and Montrachet than the bumper 2022, but there’s a little less Corton, Echézeaux, Grand Echézeaux, Romanée-Conti and Corton-Charlemagne.

Prices are approximately 6% more than the 2022s were on release.

If you can get an allocation, one bottle of Echézeaux will set you back £570 (in bond); La Tâche £1560 (in bond); and Romanée-Conti £4,485 (in bond).

The wines are sold on allocation in the UK by Corney & Barrow.

Look out for Charles Curtis MW’s tasting notes and scores of the DRC 2023 wines next month.

Related articles

• DRC 2022 in bottle: 12 wines tasted and rated
• DRC 2021 in bottle: Seven wines and two library vintages tasted
• Composition: A Willamette Valley project from DRC’s Bertrand de Villaine and Katrina Rank

The five producers below crafted compelling wines from a year beset with problems, and show great promise for the future of Burgundy.

Domaine Marcel Couturier, Mâcon

I tasted the exciting wines of Domaine Marcel Couturier at the winery for the first time in autumn 2025. The domaine has been around for some time, but Marcel is now transitioning the bulk of the winemaking to his son, Auxence.

They work 14ha, which are certified organic and biodynamic. Many of the vineyards are in Pouilly-Loché, which recently received its first premiers crus. Others are in Pouilly-Fuissé, St-Véran, and various Mâcon appellations.

At present, the wines are matured for 18 months, but they are moving towards a full 24 months maturation (12 in barrel, 12 in tank). The wines are silky, with abundant fresh acidity in 2024, making this an exciting domaine to watch.

Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson, St-Romain

Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson is now run by Henri’s grandsons Franck and Frédérick. The domaine is based in St-Romain and covers almost 20ha. The farming is certified organic, and the wines are made with great care.

The St-Romain wines are compelling, including whites and reds from a series of named vineyards in the village. They also produce cuvées from Pommard, Volnay and Auxey-Duresses, and some spectacularly good Corton and Corton-Charlemagne.

The brothers are also restless innovators – they have experimented with wines made without sulphur as well as orange wines, making interesting wines at the top of their game.

Domaine Georges Chicotot, Nuits-St-Georges

Domaine Georges Chicotot is another domaine being steered by the new generation, in particular Clément Chicotot. He’s a passionate advocate of organic viticulture and gentle extraction in the winery, and has a deep knowledge of the terroirs in Nuits-St-Georges.

In the vineyards, he is moving the canopy higher and gradually converting to weaving the vine tips (tressage). He sorts rigorously before fermenting, usually as 100% whole bunch, and extracts very gently.

There is a range of five village-level wines from Nuits and five premiers crus from the same village, in addition to other wines, all worth exploring. The wines are structured but balanced, with good purity of fruit.

Domaine Alvina Pernot, Puligny-Montrachet

Alvina Pernot is the granddaughter of Puligny icon Paul Pernot. She founded her eponymous winery with her husband, Philippe Abadie, in 2018 and is making absolutely brilliant wines.

They started with a tiny production of domaine-owned Puligny-Montrachet Rue aux Vaches, Puligny-Montrachet Noyers Bret and Bourgogne Rue de Bois, supplemented with grapes purchased from Alvina’s family and exchanges with other young vignerons.

As of 2025, they have taken over more of the Pernot family vines, and (hopefully) production will continue to expand. The style is fresh, crisp and slightly reductive. There is enough substance to reward extended ageing, but the wines are delicious and it is a challenge not to drink them.

Domaine de la Commaraine, Pommard

Although I have been following the wines for several years, I tasted for the first time at the Château de la Commaraine with technical director Paul Krug at the estate itself in autumn 2025.

The wine estate dates to the 12th century, and is owned today by Denise Dupré and Mark Nunelly. They are developing the château as a luxury hotel, but the vineyard is serious work as well. The opening consultant was Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, who hired Paul Krug (yes, of that Krug family) to be estate manager.

Krug formerly worked with vineyard whiz Pedro Para, who analysed soils in order to fine-tune vineyard work. The owners have been expanding the property slowly, and have acquired interesting parcels in St-Aubin, Monthélie and elsewhere.

Top picks from five stars of Burgundy 2024:

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• Burgundy 2024: What to expect from a topsy-turvy vintage
• Chablis 2024 vintage report: The must-buy wines from classic but tiny crop

Finding value in Burgundy’s 2024 vintage will demand a certain perspicacity on the part of wine lovers.

The vintage is notable for its small size, and low prices seldom coincide with limited availability. However, there are several approaches to finding delightful wines that will not break the bank.

Scroll down for great value picks from Burgundy 2024

Ideas for finding value in Burgundy 2024

The logical place to begin would be with regional appellations, although many of these wines come from vineyards with heavy, deep soils in the plain, where often mildew was at its worst.

Having blind tasted several hundred wines from regional appellations, I found that those from the Hautes-Côtes (Nuits and Beaune) often came out on top.

The top performers were the Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Les Dames Huguette from Domaine Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, and the Bourgogne Haute- Côtes de Beaune blanc from Domaine Jean Guiton, both interesting possibilities.

It will also be rewarding to search in the southern reaches of Burgundy. As I tasted, the further south I travelled, the better the wines became.

The Côte Chalonnaise is a collection of five villages to the south of the Côte d’Or: Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny. Each of them produced some interesting wines this year.

Top names include Maison Chanzy in Bouzeron, Domaine Belleville in Rully, Château de Chamirey in Mercurey, Domaine du Cellier aux Moines in Givry, and Domaine Stéphane Aladame in Montagny (along with the Montagny wines also made by Domaine du Cellier aux Moines.

Another key tip is to search the diverse range of Chardonnay produced in the Mâconnais. The best of this sector is superb in 2024, with racy acidity, fresh fruit and plenty of structure.

Pouilly-Fuissé had a banner year, but top wines were produced throughout the area.

Domaines with value picks:

• Brett Brothers (and the Domaine de la Soufrandière wines that they also make)
• Domaine Deux Roches
• Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
• Domaine Jacques Saumaize
• Domaine Merlin
• Domaine Rijckaert (known as Domaine Florent Rouve in the UK)
• Domaine Roc de Boutires
• Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
• Maison Verget (and the Domaine Guffens-Heynen wines made at the same address)

Top value picks from the 2024 vintage:

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• Burgundy on a budget: 10 tips to buying smarter
• Grand Auxerrois: The go-to region for value Burgundy?

Growers in Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet benefited from the slightly drier conditions and better flowering in the Côte de Beaune in 2024.

The result is an exceptional balance of finesse, structure and fruit that makes the wines irresistible.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet 2024 wines

‘The wines in 2024 are more electric than the 2023s,’ says Pierre-Yves Colin, of his eponymous domaine, ‘they are clear and precise and remind me of 2017 and 2014. The great 2024s will age very well.’

‘The wine feels more confident before bottling, and we need much less sulphur than we did before,’ he says.

At Domaine Michel Niellon, winemaker Lucie Coutoux says: ‘The wines have finesse and freshness; they are subtle, discreet and harmonious. They averaged 11%-11.5% potential alcohol at harvest and chaptalised up to 12%-12.45% with a classic pH of 3.1-3.2; but the two grands crus both ripened to more than 12%’.

In Puligny, conditions were similar. At Domaine Jean Chartron, although they lost 15%-20% of their crop, they felt lucky because they caught the mildew problem early and treated it as the second leaf emerged on the new shoots.

Alvina Pernot, of her eponymous domaine, was very pleased with the outcome: ‘This vintage suits our style perfectly. People can go anywhere in the world for Chardonnay at 14%-14.5%, but they come to Burgundy because of this balance.’

Discerning enthusiasts can happily buy many high-scoring wines from these villages in 2024, defined by remarkable balance and fine structures.

Top picks from Chassagne & Puligny:

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• Exploring Montrachet’s grands crus
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Meursault (along with Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet) had, in many respects, less difficulty with the weather in 2024 than many of its neighbours.

The success is due to the dominance of Chardonnay, which had a more successful flowering and was less affected by mildew than the Pinot Noir.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Meursault 2024 wines

The vintage still required ceaseless work in the vineyard, but the wines from top producers have a combination of seductive fruit aromas on the nose and the structure to age.

Pierre Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon says: ‘2024 was really hard in the vineyard but really easy in the cellar’.

‘For white wines, we “only” lost 25% of the crop and managed to make all of the cuvées,’ he says.

Brian Sieve, winemaker at Domaine de Montille, says that much of the vineyard work was done earlier to preserve freshness in the wine and combat the effects of global warming. ‘The whole cycle is earlier – we plough earlier to open up soils, we pick earlier than we used to, but we still prune late,’ he says.

Benjamin Leroux is a negociant with growing holdings in Meursault, which expanded this year. He had enough grapes in 2024 to produce seven different bottlings of Meursault.

This includes: a blended Meursault village; village-level single-vineyard wines from Vireuils and Narvaux; and premiers crus from Genevrières and Charmes. There are also two separate cuvées of the Meursault Blagny premier cru La Pièce Sous le Bois, separating the old vine fruit for individual bottling in magnum.

Wines from these producers and others tasted blind indicate that 2024 will be a delicious year for Meursault and that the best wines will warrant laying down for a decade or more.

Top picks from Meursault in 2024:

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• Top Meursault 2023 wines en primeur
• Three white Burgundies under £25

Although the 2024 vintage posed challenges for producers of Pinot Noir everywhere, vines were less affected by rain and mildew in the Côte de Beaune and the results were better here than in the Côte de Nuits.

The best reds from the northern Côte de Beaune have much of the hallmarks of lush, supple fruit for which good Burgundian Pinot is so renowned.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Pommard & Volnay 2024 wines

Wines from Pommard range from tannic and firm to more supple and approachable, while in Volnay the best producers have given us silky, expressive wines.

Paul Zinetti, winemaker at Domaine du Comte Armand, notes that the yields of this famous Pommard producer were the lowest ever, at 15hl/ha. ‘Although there was more rain in 2013, the yields were higher than in 2024,’ he says.

Paul Négrerie, cellarmaster at the nearby Château de Pommard, had a similar experience in 2024: ‘Yields overall were 14hl/ha. Normally we make 200 barrels, this year there were just 80. We didn’t have rot in September but there were dry berries from the mildew. It was important to extract carefully, since you want to extract as much as possible without too much bitterness or green tannin. Compared to other years, there is less ripeness and more elegance.’

According to Frédéric Lafarge in Volnay: ‘This is a vintage of purity, where you can see the differences between all of the terroirs.’ He says that the cold weather in April made the vines fragile, and when the flowering came there were no grapes, just empty tendrils.

Lafarge says that 2024 and 2021 are similar vintages in the glass, but their evolution was very different: 2024 showed more finesse and complexity due to the longer vegetative cycle, while the sudden frost of 2021 was more brutal. He feels that, given vintage conditions, the wines will need a bit longer in barrel (16 months instead of 14).

In general, 2024 is a lighter vintage suited to earlier drinking, but top producers have been able to deliver wines that will be a pleasure to drink when young and suited to at least mid-term ageing of five to 10 years.

Top Pommard & Volnay picks:

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• Volnay’s new generation takes the reins

Some have described the southern portion of the Côte de Nuits, from the Clos de Vougeot to the southernmost part of Nuits-St-Georges, as the epicentre of the weather problems in 2024.

Many wines struggled to deliver the combination of structure and sumptuous fruit that some years promise. Both yields and quality varied by estate.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges 2024 wines

Unless stringent measures were taken throughout the year, from treating the vines to sorting the fruit meticulously and extracting colour and tannin with great care, the wines can be light, lacking in fruit expression and somewhat astringent.

Tristan Méo of Méo-Camuzet describes the season: ‘2024 was a constant fight in the vineyard and a constant lookout in the winery. Total acidity is relatively low, and pH is somewhat elevated. Oenologists fear analyses like these, but in the end, they are much better than we expected. We feel that the wines of 2024 have enough concentration to age in barrel normally.

He adds: ‘We are “only” down 40%. Baseline quality was better than 2021. We needed to leave the grapes in the tank for a very long time (21 days) but in the end, we feel it paid off.’

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti farms biodynamically, but despite the challenges of this system in 2024, it managed its losses efficiently. Co-director Bertrand de Villaine says: ‘We noticed disparities between plots, but also between vines in the same row.’

The domaine began to pick on 18 September. They picked 2.2ha of Corton in one morning (with a yield of 4hl/ha) and finished six days later with Romanée-Conti, although Aubert de Villaine was not keen on having people picking on a Sunday.

Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet were also picked that same day. Rain had just begun to fall as they completed these important vineyards.

Despite the challenges, they continued to use 100% whole bunches in their tanks. ‘We clean up the bunches so they look good, but we still use 100% whole bunches for the fermentation since we don’t know how to vinify completely destemmed grapes,’ says De Villaine.

Herculean efforts

Some producers had even more difficulty. Yves Confuron picked the grapes from his family domaine, Domaine Confuron-Coteditot, between 28 September and 8 October. He saw yields of 2-4hl/ha on average.

In his opinion, ‘those who say they harvested 20-40 hl/ha, there is a problem: either it isn’t ripe, they bought in grapes, or they’re lying.’

He produced a regional Bourgogne blended from grapes from Clos Vougeot, Charmes-Chambertin and Mazis-Chambertin because even if the grapes are all grand cru, if you blend grapes from different villages, the highest appellation you can obtain is a regional Bourgogne.

In these appellations, the very best producers and great terroirs were able to produce lovely wines through Herculean efforts, but the wines from this sector should be approached with caution.

Top-scoring Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges 2024 wines:

Related articles

• Top Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges 2023 wines en primeur
• Regional profile: Nuits-St-Georges & 22 wines tasted
• Richebourg vs Romanée-St-Vivant: Comparing two of Burgundy’s famous grands crus

Chambolle-Musigny was a village on the cusp of disaster in 2024.

The southern portion, in Musigny, was particularly hard hit, while the northern part of the village, nearer to Morey-St-Denis, had less trouble.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny 2024 wines

The quality and style of the wines is variable, and producers with vines at the southern end of the village often despaired of the conditions of the grapes they harvested

Jean Lupatelli, director of Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, describes the variations within the same village: ‘We did one third of a normal crop after sorting. We didn’t do much whole bunch, except for a bit in Bonnes-Mares. Our yields were 7-8hl/ha in Musigny and 12-13hl/ha in Bonnes-Mares.

‘The “eye of the storm” was in Flagey-Echézeaux, just north of Vosne, where we had two storms with 50mm of rain each time, while in Bonnes-Mares we only had 2mm. The upper portion of Clos Vougeot was terrible, and the southern part of Musigny was hit very hard.’

At Domaine Georges Roumier, I tasted with Alexis Aubin, Christophe Roumier’s nephew, who agrees about the difficulties in Musigny – in fact, the domaine didn’t produce any at all this year.

‘We made 100 barrels in 2024,’ says Aubin, ‘In 2022, it was a “normal” year and we made 200; in 2023 we made 250.’

He says they used a bit more whole bunch than usual for logistical reasons, since they need a certain volume to fill the tank.

A tale of two halves

Wines from this part of the village can be light, astringent and lacking in fruit expression, although some producers, such as Domaine de Comte Georges de Vogüé, overcame innumerable obstacles to produce delightful wines.

Wines from the opposite end of the village in and around Bonnes-Mares were often more robust, with deeper colour, more substance and the expressive floral-scented fruit characteristic of the best of Chambolle.

Antoine Amiot-Servelle of Domaine Amiot-Servelle says: ‘2024 is not the easiest vintage, but I am an old-time optimist. What I will remember is that we stayed organic up until the end.’

‘We are lucky to be in Chambolle and to have [organic producers] all around us. The biggest problem was [to be compelled to do] so much work for so little yield.’

Top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny 2024 wines:

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• Chambolle’s Bonnes Mares & Musigny: Two grands crus compared
• One to watch: Burgundy’s Solène Panigai

Morey-St-Denis delivered wines of surprising quality despite challenging conditions.

It was fascinating to see many talented winemakers tackling similar problems yet arriving at different conclusions and solutions after much soul-searching.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2024 wines

The best wines have a fairly deep colour, forward, lush fruit aromas, and balance and tension on the palate.

Although the wines are lighter, leaner and more tannic than they are in sunnier times, top growers here produced good results through rigorous sorting and careful extraction.

At Clos de Tart, Alessandro Noli described the yields (13.5hl/ha) as ‘catastrophic,’ and decided to use no whole bunches in the fermentation.

At Domaine des Lambrays they made no changes, and winemaker Jacques Devauges describes his process: ‘We sorted like madmen, with three sorting tables, but we didn’t change the proportions of whole bunches: 40% for the premiers crus and 80% for the Clos des Lambrays.

‘We stayed in organic cultivation; it’s a guessing game. If you wait past the end of June, you won’t see much improvement from forsaking organic. In the end, we produced 45% less than a normal vintage.’

Old school charm

The most interesting commentary came from Jeremy Seysses at Domaine Dujac, who felt that the 18hl/ha they achieved was respectable, given that they also maintained their certified organic status. But some changes had to be made.

‘I ran out of small tanks, so there were some that got no punch downs,’ says Seysses, ‘only pump overs or rack-and-return; but we did produce every cuvée.’

‘My father had serious health troubles before harvest,’ he continues, ‘and since Dad wasn’t around, I was the lead decision maker. Normally my father would say “Are you sure you want to destem this?” but since he wasn’t around this year, I hardly destemmed anything. Also, it helps to fill the tanks with something.’

At Domaine Ponsot, winemaker Alexandre Abel says that he lost half of his crop to mildew in one week, since the domaine was unable to spray due to rain. As is the domaine’s custom, the harvest was completely destemmed.

Abel says: ‘The weather at the end of August was finally better; the grapes had a chance to ripen, and botrytis was fortunately limited. In the end, we produced only 15 barrels of Clos de la Roche, while in 2023 there were 53.’

This remains a vintage mostly for early drinking, but wine lovers may be delighted with the ‘old school’ charms of some of their favourite wines here.

Top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2024 wines:

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As with several other villages, there was marked variation in the wines from Gevrey-Chambertin.

The best wines have a pure, perfumed expression of high-toned red fruit character underlined by firm tannins and a bright mineral edge on the palate.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Gevrey-Chambertin 2024 wines

The most heart-wrenching summary of the vintage in Gevrey came from Cyrielle Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau. ‘When I saw what was going on in the vineyards, I felt sick to my stomach,’ she says, ‘we produced half of what we did in 2021, and the total amount was less than 10hl/ha.’

In the end, the yield was so low that the domaine had to blend together its premiers crus Lavaux St-Jacques and Cazetiers to make a Gevrey premier cru.

For the same reason, it will blend together the Mazis-Chambertin and Ruchottes-Chambertin grands crus, which will have to be declassified to premier cru since it blends two different appellations. The domaine will also blend its grapes from the grands crus of Chambertin and Clos de Bèze, which may be sold simply as Chambertin.

At Domaine Fourrier, cellar master François Orisé says that the domaine lost 70% of its crop to mildew. In order to control the effects, it resorted to using an optical sorter, which Orisé says gives an effect more of concentration than one of dilution.

Take your medicine

The variable quality across the village was also confirmed by winemaker Pierre Duroché of Domaine Duroché: ‘In the northern section above the Combe de Lavaux [known as the Côte St-Jacques], we required 14 treatments since the site is very windy and the mildew was not as bad, but our vineyards at the base of the slope required 21 treatments to keep them healthy.’

In the end, the yield was so low that he also had to blend premier cru (Cazetiers and Estournelles) and village appellations (Aux Etelois and Jeunes Rois), which he will call Cuvée 26, after the number of the tank where it was blended.

Although the wines from Gevrey this year are generally fresh, crisp and light- to medium-bodied, the vintage offers ‘classic’ Gevrey quality and style.

Too often this adjective is a euphemism for ‘light, tart and astringent,’ but that is far from universally true, and wine lovers will still find charming wines to drink now and for mid-term ageing.

Top-scoring Gevrey-Chambertin 2024 wines

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Following a growing season rife with challenges, 2024 is a catastrophically small vintage, yet there are bright spots that shine through, particularly among the white wines.

Despite concerns raised in some quarters over quality in general as a result of the year’s severe weather conditions, Burgundy lovers may be surprised how many enjoyable wines they will find.

According to Frédéric Drouhin, CEO of Maison Joseph Drouhin, ‘2024 is a vintage of delicacy, sobriety and precision. It is a pleasant vintage in red, and a precise and salty vintage for the whites.’

His wife, Claude de Nicolay, directs her own domaine, Chandon de Briailles, with her brother François. Her view was slightly different: ‘2024 will be a “virtual” vintage – you will almost not see it at all.

‘We lost 90% of the crop and had an average yield of 8hl/ha. There was nothing at all to pick at the base of the slope. But in the end, it is a classic vintage “à l’ancienne”, a character not extinguished by the excesses of the weather.’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s Burgundy 2024 selection

Burgundy 2024 vintage rating and overview:

Whites: 4/5

2024 is a good to very good vintage that has produced whites of elegance and finesse with the structure and the substance for mid- to long-term ageing, comparable to the 2014 vintage.

Reds: 3/5

2024 is a challenging vintage for red wine. The best examples will be found in the Côte de Beaune, although outstanding producers further north have exceeded expectations.

First impressions

After tasting more than 1,400 wines from this vintage, I can say that it is a good vintage for white wines, which have firm acidity, wonderful balance and moderate alcohol.

It was generally a modest vintage for red wine, which could be light, thin and lacking concentration and fruit.

It is above all a highly variable vintage from village to village, however, and surprises abound.

Chablis was hit hardest by the climate in 2024, and the Côte de Beaune fared better than the Côte de Nuits. It seems that the further south one ventures, the better the wines become, and 2024 is a vintage where the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais really came into their own.

Drouhin describes the challenges: ‘We did not produce any wine at all in the grands crus of Clos de Vougeot, Clos de Bèze, or Les Clos in Chablis, and it was difficult for the staff since the pressure was simply too intense.’

Numerous winemakers spoke of the psychological challenge of the 2024 vintage, explaining that they felt they should have been able to do more, somehow, to counter the weather’s excesses – that they might have changed the outcome had they done so.

But on the ground at the time it was happening, that wasn’t realistic, given the very difficult conditions they faced. The best, however, did what they could to deliver delicious wines.

According to the BIVB, total volume produced in 2024 was 1.21 million hectolitres, just over 161 million bottles. This figure was a drop of more than a third from the generous 2023 harvest, although it was more than 20% above 2021, which was decimated by frost.

Read the full report on the Chablis 2024 vintage

Weather Conditions

2024 began with mild temperatures and notably some of the warmest February temperatures ever recorded. March was also warmer than usual, setting the vines ahead of schedule. April, however, saw temperatures plummet, with two episodes of frost at the end of the month damaging some vineyards.

The real challenge began in May, however, as temperatures remained low and rain fell incessantly across the region. Jérôme Flous is the technical director of Domaine Faiveley.

He explains the difficulties: ‘I started at Faiveley in 2007, and 2024 was my most challenging vintage – there were 38 days of rain in May and June. The problem was the flowering; in a rainy year, it is disrupted, the stem is in contact with the air, and mildew can easily destroy the bunch.’

The rain lessened somewhat in July and August, but there were occasional storms, including hailstorms, throughout this period. Another difficulty was the lack of sun: 2024 saw the fewest hours of sunshine since the beginning of the century.

Grapes ripened with difficulty, and most growers used a relatively dry period from 13-22 September to harvest their tiny crop.

Charles’ wines of the vintage:

White: Domaine Jean Chartron, Clos des Chevaliers, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru – 98 points

Red: Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, Vieilles Vignes, Musigny Grand Cru – 97 points

Previous vintage ratings:

2023: Whites 4/5 Reds 4.5/5

2022: Whites 4/5 Reds 4.5/5

2021: Whites 4/5 Reds 3.5/5

2020: Whites 4.5/5 Reds 4/5

2019: Whites 4/5 Reds 5/5

Around the appellations

Côte de Nuits

In a reversal of recent trends, conditions in the Côte de Nuits were more difficult than those in the Côte de Beaune. This reversal is mainly due to localised differences in rainfall, which was much higher there, and to the dominance of Pinot Noir, which was more affected by poor flowering and mildew.

Even within the Côte de Nuits, conditions varied, and the southern portion, from the Clos de Vougeot to Nuits-St-Georges, suffered more than the section from Morey to Marsannay.

Top Côte de Nuits producers in 2024:

• Domaine Armand Rousseau
• Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
• Domaine des Lambrays
• Domaine Dugat-Py
• Domaine Dujac
• Domaine Duroché
• Domaine Rossignol-Trapet
• Domaine Georges Roumier
• Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier

Côte de Beaune

Conditions in the Côte de Beaune were generally better than in the Côte de Nuits, though there was variation here as well. The hill of Corton to the north was extremely hard hit by the weather.

To the south of Beaune, however, conditions improved. The ‘golden triangle’ of Meursault, Puligny and Chassagne had quality and yields much closer to the norm, mainly because Chardonnay (on which these appellations are focused) had a more successful flowering and was less affected by mildew than Pinot Noir.

In the south, Santenay and Maranges produced some lovely wines.

Top Côte de Beaune producers in 2024:

• Domaine de Montille
• Domaine des Comtes Lafon
• Domaine des Croix
• Domaine Henri et Gilles Buisson
• Domaine Jean Chartron
• Domaine Michel Lafarge
• Domaine Michel Niellon
• Domaine Pierre Vincent
• Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
• Domaine Rapet

Côte Chalonnaise

Further south, in the Côte Chalonnaise, conditions continued to improve. There were marvellous examples of Chardonnay from Montagny, Mercurey and Rully, as well as some particularly good Aligoté.

Although conditions limited yields for Pinot Noir, conscientious growers were able to produce lovely wines here that should provide solid value and current drinking pleasure, and some that have the substance for ageing.

Top Côte Chalonnaise producers in 2024:

• Château de Chamirey
• Domaine Baron Thénard
• Domaine Belleville
• Domaine Chanzy
• Domaine du Cellier aux Moines

Mâconnais

The Mâconnais is among the brightest spots in Burgundy for the 2024 vintage. Conditions produced some superb examples of Pouilly-Fuissé (particularly among the new-ish premiers crus).

Throughout the Mâconnais, the top growers produced white Burgundy that wine lovers should not miss in this vintage.

Top Mâconnais producers in 2024:

• Bret Brothers & Domaine de la Soufrandière
• Domaine Merlin
• Domaine Deux Roches
• Domaine du Roc des Boutires
• Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
• Domaine Jacques Saumaize
• Domaine Rijckaert
• Domaine Saumaize-Michelin
• Maison Verget & Domaine Guffens-Heynen

Concluding thoughts

The 2024 vintage will remain a vintage apart, if only because of the exceptional climatic conditions. Judging the wines, however, is another matter. As Frédéric Mugnier of Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier put it: ‘Don’t take the word of a winemaker when it comes to [assessing] a vintage, since their opinion reflects their lived experience, and there was no amusement involved in making the 2024 vintage.’

In red wine, the closest parallels would be 2001 or 2013. For whites, the nearest comparison would be 2014, suggesting that it is a vintage to buy reds for current drinking and whites to lay down.

If money is no object, invest in the Montrachet from Domaine des Comtes Lafon or the Chevalier-Montrachet from Domaine Jean Chartron or Domaine Michel Niellon. Among the reds, an obvious splurge would be the Musigny from Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé or the Bonnes Mares from Domaine Georges Roumier.

Most wine lovers would also be delighted with mid-range bottles such as the Clos du Château des Ducs from Domaine Michel Lafarge, or the Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Aux Combottes from Domaine Arlaud. Given the limited availability of top wines, it would be advisable to buy en primeur to secure an allocation.

There are also lovely wines further south that will be much less expensive. For whites, don’t miss the Mâcon-Pierreclos from Maison Verget, or the Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru Sur la Roche from Domaine Rijckaert.

Côte Chalonnaise reds such as the Givry Premier Cru Clos du Cellier aux Moines from Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, or the Mercurey Premier Cru Clos l’Eveque from Domaine Belleville will be perfect for current drinking.

COMING SOON

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

A taste of the top Burgundy 2024 wines

Wines were tasted non-blind. Wines are listed in order of white then red, then by scores, and then alphabetically by producer. The 2024s are bottled from January 2026, hence prices, stockists and alcohols are not yet finalised. Contact specialist merchant for allocations or to enquire about en primeur tastings. The following wines were Charles Curtis MW’s selection for particularly notable quality and value among the 650 wines he reviewed from the 2024 Burgundy vintage.

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• Why Echézeaux is the grand cru to have in your cellar
• Wines of the Year 2025: Bordeaux & Burgundy

If the year’s opulence almost seemed excessive at times, nature intervened in the end to produce wines of extraordinary balance. The initial promise of the wines tasted in barrel was more than confirmed in this follow-up tasting.

The domaine has just released its delicious 2022 wines to the market with a flurry of tastings for the trade and journalists, and the results are impressive.

Tasted from barrel in the autumn of 2023, the wines were almost overwhelming in their exuberance. With another year in barrel, this impression has been refined and focused.

While they still display copious fruit, there is a new precision and more emphasis on elegance and finesse instead of the raw power they showed when brand new.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for DRC 2022 in bottle

The season in brief

Picking began on 30 August in Corton; the parcels that were so damaged in 2021 by frost produced beautiful grapes. The harvest finished on 13 September with Echézeaux.

With its newly expanded production (with the Corton-Charlemagne), the domaine now employs 80-90 people to pick each year.

Despite the size of the picking team, the entire harvest required 15 days, when previously it had been completed in 10.

The duration of the picking is due to the generosity of the year, but also to the rigorous sorting that the Domaine demands.

Bertrand de Villaine ascribes the purity of the wines to this sorting. Although the harvest was generally very healthy in 2022, a number of bunches had begun to shrivel in the heat.

Once these concentrated grapes would have been welcomed, but today, they are removed. De Villaine describes 2022 as ‘a vintage where all the extremes fit together,’ primarily as a result of the beneficent rains in June and mid-August.

Tasting the wines

Since my initial tasting of these wines from barrel, each has evolved slightly differently.

Corton

The grapes in Corton were extremely healthy, in sharp contrast to the difficulties in 2021, and nearly all were vinified as whole clusters.

The domaine farms vines in three climats: Clos du Roi, Bressandes and Renardes.

When tasting from barrel, it was the lush fruit that struck me most. Since bottling, the wine has developed a slightly rustic edge and a bit more grip.

Vosne-Romanée, Duvault-Blochet

Another cuvée that is evolving is the Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Duvault-Blochet, which historically contained the grapes from the domaine’s 0.4ha of premier cru Petits Monts.

Since 2018, however, the Petits Monts has been bottled separately for sale to restaurants in France. The domaine owns several other parcels of premier cru but does not use the fruit.

The grapes from Les Suchots are sold off; the tiny slice of Aux Reignots is rented out; a bit of Au Dessus de Malconsorts is not in production because it has been replanted.

The only premier cru vines in the Duvault-Blochet blend are from a small amount of Les Gaudichots.

Echézeaux & Grands Echézeaux

There is a marked difference between the Echézeaux and the Grands Echézeaux, in bottle as in barrel. The former is currently showing more forward, primary fruit and exuberance, while the latter is darker, denser and more concentrated.

Interestingly, the Grands Echézeaux was picked early (2-4 September), while the Echézeaux was picked late (11-13 September), yet the Grands Echézeaux has more ripeness.

Bertrand de Villaine explains that the difference in the wine was due to the terroir itself (and to the fact that parts of the Echézeaux vineyard have been replanted, and the younger vines have now re-entered the blend), more than it is due to the harvest date.

Richebourg

It is now the turn of Richebourg to be replanted: 0.9ha have been pulled up and are now lying fallow.

The portion removed includes all of the domaine’s vines in the lieu-dit Les Vérroilles. De Villaine feels their absence has improved the wine.

Romanée-St-Vivant

Two small parts of Romanée-St-Vivant have also been uprooted due to problems with the rootstock.

The difference this culling makes was already evident in the barrel tasting, but is even more pronounced in bottle.

Romanée-Conti & La Tâche

The pinnacle of the range is Romanée-Conti and La Tâche. Both made me swoon, from barrel and in bottle.

I gave the edge to the Romanée-Conti when tasted from barrel, and I still feel this is the more complete wine and perhaps longer-lived.

On the day of the tasting, however, it was not as expressive and seemed to have gone into a dumb phase.

Such distinctions are like splitting hairs, however – both wines are dizzyingly good, and both have the potential to continue to improve for decades to come.

Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet

The two white wines provided a compelling coda to the symphony of the reds. In most vintages (including 2022), they are not tasted from barrel, so this first look was very instructive.

The Corton-Charlemagne came first and seemed to be everything one could want from white Burgundy – until tasting Montrachet.

The latter was so concentrated, so dense and so powerful that it was difficult to taste. It was, however, picked fairly early in the proceedings (2 September).

Despite the heat of the year, Montrachet provided a sublime wine that will long live in my memory.

DRC 2022 in bottle: Tasted and rated alongside two older vintages

Wines listed by colour and then by score.

Related articles

• DRC 2021 in bottle: Seven wines and two library vintages tasted
• DRC 2020 in bottle: 10 wines tasted and rated
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2022 in bottle: A first look at this abundant vintage

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has released its 2022 wines in bottle and the UK wine trade and press were the first to taste them in London last week.

The domaine’s co-directors Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine were present, alongside UK agent Corney & Barrow’s managing director Adam Brett-Smith.

Following cripplingly low yields in the frost-stricken 2021, the 2022 vintage delivered an abundance of healthy grapes.

‘It’s almost as if the 2022 vintage was listening to us,’ says Brett-Smith, ‘because it has compensated for the tiny volumes that we tasted together last year, with a vintage of wonderful abundance’.

Detailed in bottle tasting notes and scores for DRC’s 2022 wines by Burgundy correspondent Charles Curtis MW will be published in March

‘Everything just seemed too much’

Despite plentiful rain in December, the 2022 growing season quickly became hot and dry. There was no significant frost at the domaine, ‘what a relief to be able to leave candles and wind turbines in their storage,’ says Fenal.

Spring sprung with great vigour, ‘bursting with enthusiasm and at a crazy tempo, joyful but exhausting to follow daily in the vineyard,’ says Fenal, and the team were kept busy as the vegetation exploded.

Flowering came early, on 20 May, and the absence of coulure or millerandage in the bunches, and the lack of mildew and oidium due to the dry conditions, promised a large crop – a stark contrast to the previous year.

Summer was scorching, yet heavy rains between 22 and 26 June set the vines up well for the drought that followed in July and August.

As the pressure mounted and the vines began to suffer from blockages in maturity, ‘the fate of the vintage was sealed,’ says Fenal, with rain at the perfect moment between 15 and 18 August, swelling the grapes and leading them to full ripeness.

It was a vintage where ‘everything just seemed too much’, says Fenal, ‘too much sun, too much heat, too much light, too many grapes, too much sugar, too many vats, too many barrels,’ yet in the end, everything was just right.

The domaine waited for as long as possible before harvesting on 30 August, starting with the Corton reds and finishing with Echézeaux and Corton-Charlemagne on 13 September.

Clear character

With so many grapes coming in, ‘the winery turned into a puzzle,’ says Fenal, with layers of barrels stacked on top of each other. Yet the mood was jubilant, she says, as the wines tasted like fruit juice, luscious, concentrated and ripe, with deep colours.

De Villaine says that each cru showed itself early in the cellar, each revealing its own delineated character.

The impression of the 2022s is of depth and concentration, purity of sweet, ripe, succulent fruit, caressing tannins and tantalising drinkability, with the ability to age very well.

De Villaine says, ‘even with this maturity, the wines are really fresh, expressive, and keep a kind of transparency,’ and Fenal says they have a calm and serene quality.

Prices and stock

The wealth of grapes in 2022 can be better understood when comparing with the pitiful 2021 yield. Where 21.6 hl/ha were obtained from Grands-Echézeaux in 2021, 2022 brought in 43 hl/ha.

Corton went from 5 hl/ha in 2021 to 40.4 hl/ha in 2022, and Corton-Charlemagne from 4.8 hl/ha to 52.4 hl/ ha.

While prices increased 10% across the range between the 2020 and 2021 vintages, the 2022 prices remain in line with the 2021s – bad news for buyers hoping that a jump in volume would lead to a fall in prices.

The cheapest of the grands crus is Corton at £1,305 for three bottles, followed by Echézeaux at £1,605 for three, the particularly gorgeous Romanée-St-Vivant is at £3,900 for three and the Romanée-Conti comes in at £4,250 for one bottle.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2022: In barrel scores

These scores are Charles Curtis MW’s in barrel scores from his Burgundy Report published last year, his in bottle scores will be published next month

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• DRC 2021 in bottle: Seven wines and two library vintages tasted
• Burgundy 2022 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines
• Demand for Burgundy 2022 wines better than expected – Liv-ex

Charles Curtis MW’s top 10 producers that offer great value in 2023

Whites:

• Domaine Alvina Pernot, Côte de Beaune
• Domaine Belleville, Côte Chalonnaise
• Domaine Pierre Boisson, Côte de Beaune
• Domaine Saumaize-Michelin, Mâconnais
• Maison Verget, Mâconnais

Reds:

• Domaine Bruno Clair, Côte de Nuits
• Domaine Claude Changarnier, Côte de Beaune
• Domaine Jessiaume, Côte de Beaune
• Domaine Meix Foulot, Côte Chalonnaise
• Maison Michel Naddef, Côte de Nuits

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top 15 value Burgundy wines in 2023

Wine lovers will hope that the high yields mean price increases will remain rare and fairly modest. The general feeling in the industry is that prices have been rising too far, too fast and most growers seem prepared to hold the line.

Moderate prices and attractive, early-drinking wines mean there will be many wines that are eminently worth buying.

These include both top-end must-haves, such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Armand Rousseau, but also the premiers crus from reliable but less exalted names such as Domaine Bruno Clair and Domaine Jean Chartron, which should be purchased en primeur to ensure availability.

Wines for everyday drinking should be in good supply.

Overall, consumers will easily buy delicious wines for short to mid-term drinking in the 2023 vintage.

Buyers looking for value from the 2023s should seek out reds from Fixin, Marsannay and Santenay, and whites from the Mâconnais, Auxey-Duresses and Monthélie, as well as wines of both colours from the villages of the Côte Chalonnaise (Bouzeron, Rully, Givry, Montagny etc).

Choose value wines with care, however, as some producers working at lower price points may have harvested an over-abundance of grapes with all the pitfalls that entails.

This problem tends to be particularly acute for white wine producers when it’s exacerbated by low acidity.

See the full 2023 Burgundy en primeur report

Charles Curtis Mw’s pick of 10 up-and-coming producers in 2023

Cyprien Arlaud

Domaine Arnaud Baillot

Domaine Boigey Frères

Domaine Changarnier

Domaine du Clos Sauvage

Domaine Maxime Dubuet-Boillot

Domaine Maxime Crotet

Domaine Philippe Naddef & Maison Michel Naddef

Domaine Pierre Boisson

Domaine Pierre Vincent

Domaine Yvon Clerget

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet

The 15 top value wines of Burgundy 2023:

Related articles

Burgundy 2022 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Chablis 2023: Vintage report & best of the new wines

Collector’s Guide: White Burgundy

Top producers in 2023:

• Bouchard Père & Fils
• Domaine Camille & Guillaume Boillot
• Domaine Michel Bouzereau
• Maison Benjamin Leroux

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Charles’ top-scoring Meursault 2023 wines

Given this appellation’s focus on white wine, growers here generally began to pick early.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon began on 26 August; Domaine de Montille on the 28. Pierre Lafon explains: ‘Even if July and [early] August were cool, the struggle today is to maintain acidity.’

Michel Bouzereau describes a year that began ahead of schedule in May and June but fell behind with a period of cold and rain from mid-July.

He notes that the village experienced a localised hailstorm on 11 July that occurred – oddly – overnight but fortunately did little lasting damage to the vineyard.

He began picking on 3 September and ended with a moderate 12.9%-13% potential alcohol and balanced acidity.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Meursault 2023 wines:

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Chablis 2023: Vintage report & best of the new wines
• Collector’s Guide: White Burgundy

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine Alvina Pernot
• Domaine des Comtes Lafon
• Domaine Jean Chartron
• Domaine Leflaive
• Domaine Michel Bouzereau

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Chassagne- and Puligny-Montrachet 2023 wines

The challenges posed by 2023 were different for Chardonnay producers. Due to its thicker skin, it is less affected by higher yields than Pinot Noir. Acidity is the paramount consideration for Chardonnay, since colour and tannin are not a factor. Accordingly, the harvest date becomes even more crucial here than elsewhere.

Growers based in Puligny were generally pleased with their results; like their colleagues in Meursault, they tended to pick early.

Perhaps the earliest start to the harvest was that of Pierre Vincent Girardin, who told me that he began on 23 August, noting that Domaine Leroy and Domaine Leflaive also picked early in 2023.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon also picked fairly early, starting on 26 August. The domaine’s Pierre Lafon says: ‘The fruit didn’t look ripe, but the degree went up fast.’

Several estates, including Pierre Vincent Girardin and Alvina Pernot in Puligny, had picked all their Chardonnay in August to retain acidity and left the reds until after the heat wave.

An August harvest for Chardonnay was also the procedure at Bouchard Père et Fils, which has now halted its négociant contracts to focus on the domaine-owned wines, since it owns some of the finest Chardonnay vineyards in the Côte de Beaune.

‘We picked the Chardonnay first since there was not as much dilution and there was more potential alcohol,’ says technical director Frédéric Weber.

‘Rigorous sorting was needed, but it was also important to pick quickly. We had a team of 200, but we had to be everywhere at the same time. We had to sort some plots for rot and others for sunburn; we reduced yield by 10%-15% due to sorting.’

Great whites

Jérôme Flous from Domaine Faiveley says: ‘Overall, we feel that the whites will be more serious than the red – we think the reds are loveable, but the whites are grand.’

Frédéric Barnier at Louis Jadot was cautiously optimistic: ‘Some will say that Chardonnay ended up with too much sugar and not enough acidity, although in truth analysis show them to be fairly similar to 2022. The profile is one of opulence and richness. The level of the pH is roughly comparable to 2022, but the potential alcohol is 13.7-13.8.’

To ensure freshness, Barnier blocked the malolactic conversion on some wines. Results overall showed that despite the challenges of the year, careful winemakers were able to produce lovely wines.

Alvina Pernot and her team finished picking their domaine parcels by 1 September. Chassagne producer Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey was not far behind.

Pierre-Yves’ youngest son Clément explains that they began in the Côte de Beaune on 30 August and finished, after the rain on 12 September, with the plots in the Hautes-Côtes and the cooler locations in St-Aubin. He notes that the early-picked wines were initially thin but have put on flesh as they have aged.

Concentration was improved by the slightly troubled flowering (coulure) in the Chardonnay in the southern Côte de Beaune and losses of about 15% in the hailstorm two weeks before the harvest that reduced yields and concentrated the fruit.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Best value

Top-scoring Chassagne- and Puligny-Montrachet 2023 wines:

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Collector’s Guide: White Burgundy
• White Burgundy 2022: Three domaines worth waiting for

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine de Courcel
• Domaine de la Commaraine
• Domaine Marquis d’Angerville
• Domaine Michel Lafarge
• Domaine Pierrick Bouley

Scroll down for Curtis’ 20 top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2023 wines

The situation in the red wine-producing regions of the Côte de Beaune was different from that of the Côte de Nuits.

In Pommard, Château de Pommard noted higher yields than the norm, averaging 49hl/ha. The year delivered large bunches and big grapes, filling the tanks and preventing the domaine from doing as much whole-cluster fermentation as they would have liked.

Guillaume d’Angerville, of Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Volnay, notes the up-and-down nature of 2023, but he says that despite the heatwave and pH levels as high as 3.7 after malolactic conversion, one can still see the character of each climat.

The individual nature of each site is often less distinct in a hot vintage, but it was gratifying here and elsewhere to see the differences so clearly in 2023.

D’Angerville’s winemaker François Duvivier says: ‘One might think it would be an early-maturing vintage, but you never know; the wines from 2009 still appear very youthful today.’

Despite the generosity of the year, rising star Pierrick Bouley in Volnay says yields were moderate, ‘38hl/ha compared to 30hl/ha normally. Since we stopped trimming the shoots, the bunches are much smaller, 50-80 grams each, while it used to be 120-150 grams,’ he says.

He waited for the fruit to ripen and picked between 11-23 September, producing delicious results.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2023 wines:

Related articles

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• Volnay’s new generation takes the reins
• Domaine Parent: A benchmark Pommard domaine

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
• Domaine Méo-Camuzet
• Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges 2023 wines

The success of the 2023 vintage in Vosne-Romanée was led by the predictable front-runners – grands crus Romanée-Conti, La Tâche and La Romanée.

Beyond the obvious, however, it seemed that growers throughout the village were successful in overcoming the challenges that Pinot Noir faced: high yields, low pH and sunburn at the end of the season.

In contrast to other recent vintages such as 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022, results were far from homogeneous. With the cool weather and rain mid-season, high crop load and drawn-out veraison, it was not an easy vintage, but in the end, it was possible to deliver lovely results.

Precision was important: at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, harvest started and ended with grand cru Grands Echezeaux. There was some sorting necessary for sunburn, shrivelled grapes and a bit of mildew.

‘In the end, 2023 reminds me of 2003 in that the vintage was initially disregarded, but now the wines are incredible,’ says Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Bertrand de Villaine.

‘What I love is the gourmand [easy-drinking/moreish] nature of the vintage,’ he says.

At Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Louis-Michel Liger-Belair was forthright about the struggles, reporting picking his Clos du Château later than he might have, and having to leave 30%-40% of the grapes from his new vineyard La Croix Rameau on the sorting table because of mildew.

Trepidation and relief

Despite the challenges, he garnered top scores for wines throughout the village, from grands crus Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux to premiers crus Malconsorts and Petits-Monts.

Jean-Nicolas Méo at Méo-Camuzet had the same sense of trepidation and relief. He was afraid that his Corton Grand Cru Clos Rognet would end up ‘a bit monstrous’ because of an alcohol level above 14%. However, he sorted meticulously for sunburn and cleaned the wine up to end with a lovely, if powerful, result.

‘You never know how a vintage is going to behave [during maturation],’ says Méo, ‘there could be an increase of volatile acidity or problems with brettanomyces during maturation without having done anything wrong.

2018 was difficult with regard to both of these problems. But in 2023, everything that could turn out well did turn out well.’

In Nuits-St-Georges, as elsewhere, yields were high in 2023. Domaine Henri Gouges worked to control yield with pruning and de-budding rather than dropping fruit; consequently, their yield was between 42-44hl/ha against an objective normally of 30-35hl/ha.

Grégory Gouges observed a bit of damage from a very localised hailstorm that damaged fruit in their Fontaine Jacquinot vineyard.

They began to pick their Chênes Carteaux vineyard on 11 September because of acid rot and started on the balance of the plots from 16 September – one of the latest dates in the Côte de Nuits.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges 2023 wines:

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Burgundy 2022: larger crop may benefit buyers
• Chablis 2023: Vintage report & best of the new wines

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine Arlaud
• Domaine Amiot-Servelle
• Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
• Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier
• Domaine Robert Groffier

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny & Clos de Vougeot 2023 wines

The 2023 vintage in Chambolle-Musigny seemed consistent throughout the village, although opinions and strategies differed among quality-minded producers. There were top-scoring wines from grands crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares (see the Morey post for the latter) and highly regarded premier cru Les Amoureuses.

Jérôme Flous at Domaine Faiveley took me through an extensive line-up of the domaine’s wines from the appellation, from grand cru Musigny to premier cru Les Amoureuses, as well as premiers crus Aux Beaux Bruns, Les Fuées and La Combe d’Orveau, each successful in its style.

The same was true at Domaine Joseph Drouhin, proprietors of fine parcels of grands crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, and premiers crus Les Amoureuses and Les Baudes, as well as a blended premier cru bottling that includes fruit from Les Borniques, Les Haut Doix, Les Plantes, Les Combottes, Les Sentiers and Les Groseilles.

Quantities in Chambolle were as generous as elsewhere – there was enough fruit for Nicolas Groffier of Domaine Robert Groffier to offer multiple cuvées of both grand cru Bonnes-Mares and premier cru Les Amoureuses.

Antoine Amiot-Servelle of Domaine Amiot-Servelle says that they ended up with six to eight buds per vine after debudding.

‘With this crop load, it isn′t necessary to green harvest,’ he explains.

Late picking

They started harvesting fairly late (14 September), whereas the new manager at Comte Georges de Vogüé, Jean Lupatelli, says: ‘To get the crop load right, it was necessary to drop up to half of the bunches in certain places.’

He and his team began to pick on 6 September and were among the earliest in Chambolle, although Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier was not far behind, starting on 7 September.

Frédéric Mugnier says: ‘2023 has the style of a cool year, although we know that the end of the season is what determines the quality.’

Surprisingly optimistic, he adds: ‘I believe one must be a pessimist in the short term but an optimist in the long term, ready for every irritation. 2023 resembled 2022 until July, but we know that the last weeks of the season make the harvest. In the end, we’ll make good wine.

His wines were among the most compelling of the village.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny & Clos de Vougeot 2023 wines:

The two Clos de Vougeot from Méo-Camuzet represent two separate cuvées that used to be labelled as ‘Prés du Celliers’ and ‘Grand Maupertuis’ but will be renamed from this vintage.

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Chambolle’s Bonnes Mares & Musigny: Two grands crus compared
• Wines of the Year 2024: Bordeaux & Burgundy

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine des Lambrays
• Domaine Hubert Lignier
• Domaine Ponsot
• Clos de Tart
• Cécile Tremblay

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s 20 top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2023 wines

Morey-Saint-Denis faced similar opportunities and risks as the rest of the Côte de Nuits – the opportunity was for a large crop of ripe grapes; the risk was a crop that was too large and too ripe. Many in Morey-St-Denis performed a green harvest to control yield.

As elsewhere, growers who worked well were successful. Jacques Devauges at Domaine des Lambrays says: ‘We carried out a very careful de-budding, and normally I am not a fan of green harvesting, but in 2023 it was [also] needed.’

Laurent Lignier of Domaine Hubert Lignier in Morey-St-Denis says that the grapes in 2023 had lower acidity than in 2022, so lowering yields helped to emphasise the wines’ minerality and freshness.

Alec Seysses of Domaine Dujac agrees, given the conditions of the year, but notes that reducing yields by green harvesting is not always the right answer: ‘The “less is better” approach is often an answer to a problem that doesn’t exist any more with global warming,’ he says.

Fruit drop

Cyprien Arlaud at Domaine Arlaud says that even having carried out de-budding (early in the season), it was still necessary to drop fruit both before and after veraison, when the colour of the grapes changes.

When this is done after veraison, the process is sometimes called a blue harvest, as it involves removing fruit that has already started to ripen.

Alessandro Noli at Clos de Tart describes a similar necessity: ‘We started [harvesting] very early and had a lot of fun, and we ended up with 34hl. 35 is the limit. We asked for an exception but didn’t need it.

‘We did more de-budding than green harvesting, although to hit our targets, we had to do both. There was also some sorting for acid rot before the harvest. The balance was very pleasant because when there is too much concentration, the wines can be a bit austere, although if yields go too high, quality can drop.’

He continued: ‘One of the implications in 2023 was that to bring in grapes at an elevated pH one runs the risk of microbial problems, such as a bloom of Brettanomyces.’

Alexandre Abel at Domaine Ponsot says that the higher yields meant more freshness, to the extent that it took longer to ripen the large crop.

He said: ‘The 2023 vintage is perhaps a bit less accessible and less fruity, but there is more freshness than there was in 2022. 2022 was good everywhere, while 2023 was less homogeneous, but there will be wines with a lovely freshness.’

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2023 wines:

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Clos de la Roche: A Burgundian grand cru for those in the know
• Wines of the Year 2024: Bordeaux & Burgundy

Top producers in 2023:

• Domaine Armand Rousseau
• Domaine Dugat-Py
• Domaine Duroché
• Domaine Rossignol-Trapet
• Domaine Trapet Père et Fils

Scroll down for the top-scoring 2023 wines from Gevrey-Chambertin

The 2023 harvest was generous in Gevrey-Chambertin and growers were pleased, despite the year’s challenges, and were also justifiably delighted with the quality of the wines.

The first potential pitfall was overproduction. All of the growers with top-scoring wines in our report emphasised the necessity of limiting yield in order to maintain concentration, particularly through green harvesting and sorting, since Pinot Noir is susceptible to dilution if crop levels are too high.

‘We did two green harvests, the first one everywhere, and a second pass where needed,’ says Loïc Dugat-Py of Domaine Dugat-Py.

He began picking on 30 August in Pommard and Beaune, switched to Chardonnay for three days and then picked the reds near the winery in Gevrey. His average alcohol levels were 12.6%-13.8%.

‘We removed half [of the potential crop] and in the end we didn’t pick what was shrivelled [from the heatwave], we left it on the vine,’ says Cyrielle Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau. Still, it was a big harvest. An average harvest is 230 barrels across all appellations and in 2023 there were 290, she explains.

Louis Trapet at Domaine Trapet Père et Fils agrees about yield: ‘2023 is the maximum; 2024 is the minimum.’

Acid management

They started to pick on 6 September and ended on the 18 with the Côte de Beaune, harvesting the grands crus just before the rain on 12 September.

‘The colours are very nice [but] the pH is quite high, although one has a good feeling of acidity,’ says Trapet.

He works to combat falling acidity levels and rising alcohol by training the vines on stakes and not hedging the vines. He ascribes to this technique results that average 0.1 lower pH and 0.5% less alcohol.

Careful sorting was also important in 2023, particularly due to the risk of sunburn and raisined grapes from the late heatwaves.

The other products of the intense heat in September were high pH and high alcohol. The combination of low acidity levels and high alcohol posed several risks, not least an un-Burgundian flavour profile, but the best growers were able to manage crop load and picking date to deliver wines of balance and restraint.

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines above 94 points

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

Top-scoring Gevrey-Chambertin 2023 wines:

Related articles

• Burgundy 2023 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines
• Wines of the Year 2024: Bordeaux & Burgundy
• Burgundy wine stocks rise after ‘generous’ 2023 vintage

‎

Burgundy 2023 en primeur vintage rating and overview:

Whites: 4/5

Charming wines, but hot temperatures can sometimes mean low acidity and high alcohol

Reds: 4/5

Lovely fruit, rich texture, but less potential for ageing than 2022

In the opinion of Frédéric Lafarge of Domaine Michel Lafarge, ‘2022 was a great vintage to lay down; 2023 was a vintage of great charm.’

If all’s well that ends well, the 2023 vintage in Burgundy can be considered a great success. The vintage wasn’t without its challenges, however, and thus quality is more uneven than in 2022.

The biggest trap to avoid was producing too much. ‘The key was not to fall into excess,’ says négociant Benjamin Leroux. ‘It was essential to work well in the vines in order to control the yield. The quality is lovely – the whites are great if you picked in time; for the reds, it’s a question of yield and of sorting.’

He continues: ‘There is a lot of wine, even potentially more than in 2018. It was absolutely obligatory to green harvest [remove a proportion of bunches before they begin to ripen]. In certain places, we had to drop half of the crop.’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s Burgundy 2023 selection

Style and quality

Overall quality was good, even very good; on rare occasions, it was truly superb. The style of the wines generally is very ripe. They should be approachable early, but often lack the structure for long ageing. Among the reasons is that the weather wasn’t homogeneous throughout Burgundy.

‘We had almost twice as much rain in the Côte de Nuits [compared to the Côte de Beaune]: in August there was 100mm in Vosne and only 60mm in Pommard,’ says Yves Confuron, who farms his family estate Confuron-Cotetidot in Vosne-Romanée and manages Domaine de Courcel in Pommard.

Local issues also created regional differences, including isolated hailstorms in Nuits-St-Georges, Meursault, Mercurey and the Mâconnais.

There are both similarities and differences between 2023 and other recent vintages. 2023 is in the line of sunny, hot vintages such as 2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018 due to the heatwave at the end of the season. Overall, 2023 was the warmest year on record.

Paradoxically, however, in Burgundy it was less sunny than usual, and cooler than the norm during July and the first half of August. Nicolas Rossignol at Domaine Rossignol-Trapet in Gevrey says: ‘2023 was not a hot year; it was a cold year that finished hot’.

There was also more rain in 2023 than there is in a typical hot year, giving the wines a lush, drinkable style. In short, 2023 seems to offer the approachability of 2017 with some of the concentration of 2022.

The race to ripeness

January was warmer than the average, with weather that was dry but not sunny. February and March were also slightly warmer than the norm, although heat at this point does not help ripen the grapes.

March and April saw clouds and rain, yet budbreak began at the beginning of April, just a few days behind schedule. Rain continued after budbreak, making it difficult for growers to work in the vineyard.

The rain slowed in late April and temperatures began to pick up in May. Flowering began from 27 May and proceeded rapidly and thoroughly, setting a large crop of grapes on the vines.

June was mostly sunny and warm, but temperatures began dropping in July, which remained overcast and cool. July and the first half of August were punctuated by periods of rain, with sporadic hail, notably in Meursault and in the Mâconnais.

During this period, the grapes ripened with difficulty. ‘In July, the grapes were green and hard, and we were wondering if we were ever going to see veraison,’ says Bertrand de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.

Then the sun arrived. Robin Rapet at Domaine Vincent Rapet describes scorching heat at the end of the season – 35°C in Pernand on 24 August, and similar temperatures continued throughout the harvest, dropping to a still sultry 20°C during the night.

This heat caused sugar levels to jump and acidity to drop precipitously. Grapes went abruptly from not quite ripe to the verge of overripe, with high alcohol and not enough acidity. The speed of ripening in this window meant that the harvest date was very important.

Picking and sorting

Picking began as early as the end of August for some producers, although many waited until the first or even the second week of September and the late pickers were still bringing in grapes in the last week of September.

In the end, nature delivered exactly what was required. If there had not been a heatwave, the large crop would not have ripened properly. Conversely, if there had been the same level of heat with a smaller crop, it would have been overly concentrated and overripe.

However, even with the relative balance of 2023, there were many reports of wines with over 14.5% alcohol. Estates aiming for top quality needed to sort for sunburn, shrivelled grapes and mildew.

Frédéric Weber of Bouchard Père et Fils says they lost 10%-12% of the crop on the sorting table after having done extensive green harvesting in July.

Charles Curtis’ wines of the vintage

Red: Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 99pts

White: Bouchard Père et Fils Montrachet Grand Cru 98pts

Decanter vintage ratings: Côte d’Or

2023: Whites 4/5 Reds 4.5/5

2022: Whites 4/5 Reds 4.5/5

2021: Whites 4/5 Reds 3.5/5

2020: Whites 4.5/5 Reds 4/5

2019: Whites 4/5 Reds 5/5

Concluding thoughts

In the final analysis, 2023 is a very good vintage. Once maturation is complete, top wines will merit a splurge. Even the most enthusiastic, however, must concede that 2023 misses top marks because of difficulties linked to high crop load and low acidity.

The vintage must be considered at least a slight step down from 2022, if only because the results are less homogeneous. Commercially, the vintage will be welcomed by growers because the bountiful yields will fill their cellars; and by consumers who might have access to the wines they desire, perhaps even at prices that will not soar anew.

Given the difficulties we will all face with the 2024 vintage, this should be welcome news indeed.

Around the appellations

Côte de Nuits

There was potential for excellent quality in the Côte de Nuits, though there were several pitfalls that growers had to avoid.

Village- and premier cru-level appellations in the Côte de Nuits produced 37.3% more than the five-year average, according to the BIVB regional wine board, while the grands crus were up 33.1%.

The quality of Pinot Noir at harvest declines rapidly with over-production, and limiting the crop was vital.

The Côte de Nuits had more rain than the rest of Burgundy. This increased the potential for rot. The vineyards also suffered sunburn and raisining during the harvest heatwave that necessitated careful sorting, with top estates generally reporting losses of 10%-15% on the sorting table.

Best producers:

• Domaine Armand Rousseau
• Domaine Dugat-Py
• Domaine Trapet
• Domaine Ponsot
• Domaine des Lambrays
• Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier
• Domaine Georges de Vogüé
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
• Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg

Côte de Beaune

The Côte de Beaune faced some of the same perils as the Côte de Nuits, but rainfall was lower. Chardonnay, thicker-skinned than Pinot, is less susceptible to rot and can sustain higher yields.

However, rapidly declining acidity during the harvest heatwave was a constant concern, and choosing the right day to begin harvesting was paramount.

Growers on the hill of Corton tended to pick earlier than their colleagues in the Côte de Nuits, reflecting the difference in rainfall here.

Claude de Nicolay of Corton’s Domaine Chandon de Briailles notes that the last of the Pinot to be brought in suffered a bit of shrivelling from the sun, and that the acidity ‘was not enormous’. Because of the relatively low acidity, the level of volatile acidity began to rise, so the wines were sulfured earlier.

Nearly all of the négociant houses in Beaune began to pick their 2023 crop during the first week of September.

Frédéric Weber of Bouchard Père et Fils in Beaune says: ‘It proved very difficult to get the right rhythm for picking. It was necessary to sort rigorously, but it was also important to pick quickly. We had a team of 200, but we had to be everywhere at the same time’

Best producers:

• Domaine des Comtes Lafon
• Domaine Michel Lafarge
• Domaine de Courcel
• Domaine Niellon
• Domaine Lamy-Caillat
• Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey
• Domaine Paul Pillot
• Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet
• Domaine Michel Mallard
• Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils

Côte Chalonnaise

The Côte Chalonnaise was generally drier than the Côte d’Or. After a dry winter and an ideal flowering, however, the rain set in for the Côte Chalonnaise in July.

The storms in July produced 110mm of rain throughout the month and, as elsewhere in Burgundy, there was pressure from mildew.

The ripening was drawn out. Picking began on 7 September and continued with the Pinot in Givry and Montagny, wrapping up at the end of the month in Mercurey.

The effects of the rain were more pronounced in the south than in the north and differences in rainfall meant varying levels of ripeness, yet there was an average of 13.5-14% potential alcohol without chaptalisation.

Best producers:

• Clos de Cellier aux Moines
• Domaine du Meix Foulot
• Domaine Belleville
• Maison Chanzy
• Domaine Génot-Boulanger

Mâconnais

Yields in the Mâconnais were more moderate than elsewhere. BIVB statistics show that the white wine villages of the Mâconnais produced 19.1% more than the five-year average; for the Côte de Beaune the figure was 26.3%.

The swings in weather conditions, however, were often more extreme here. After a mild, dry early season, the Mâconnais had much more rain in June than elsewhere. July continued to storm, and three days of hailstorms (9, 11, and 15 July) ended with some tornados.

Damage was highly localised, but the French website Vitisphere noted 20-40% crop losses in the northern Mâconnais.

In the Mâcon-Villages region in the north, the harvest heatwave was also more pronounced than elsewhere, with temperatures that locally exceeded 40°C, causing the vines to shut down and blocking maturation.

Best producers:

• Maison Verget & Domaine Guffens-Heynen
• Domaine de la Soufrandière & Bret Bros
• Domaine du Roc des Boutires
• Clos des Vignes du Maynes
• Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau

COMING SOON

Score table listing Charles Curtis MW’s top Burgundy 2023 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet | Best value

A taste of the top Burgundy 2023 wines

Wines were tasted non-blind. Wines are listed in order of white then red, then by scores, and then alphabetically by producer. The 2023s are bottled from January 2025, hence prices, stockists and alcohols are not yet finalised. Contact specialist merchant for allocations or to enquire about en primeur tastings. The following 40 wines were Charles Curtis MW’s selection for particularly notable quality and value among the 650 wines he scored from the 2023 Burgundy vintage.

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Abundant, generous, but often complicated, 2023 delivered a solid, if rarely stellar, harvest.

While 2022 was almost magically easy, weather conditions in 2023 posed challenges at every turn. François Labet, co-chairman of Burgundy’s regional body, the BIVB (bureau interprofessionnel des vins de Bourgogne), laments the work the vintage required: ‘In the very difficult climatic conditions [of 2023], there were no Saturdays or Sundays.’

Although Burgundy produced 1.9 million hectolitres of wine (250 million bottles), ‘this was really a rollercoaster year, with waves of hot and cold, rain and dry,’ says Jérôme Flous, technical director of Domaine Faiveley.

Weather conditions

The year began with a warm, dry winter, but with fairly little sun. Rain arrived in March, and buds began to burst in early April, just slightly delayed. April and May were sunny but relatively cool. Flowering started at the end of May and finished in June under exceptional conditions, settling a very large crop of grapes on the vines.

June remained warm, but the season’s intermittent storms, some violent, began early and continued throughout the season. At times the storms produced hail with localised damage, including Meursault and the Mâconnais. July and August were both cooler than usual, drawing out the process of veraison.

There was a flash of heat in mid-August, but then temperatures dropped and rain set in, swelling the grapes with water without ripening them, and threatening rot and mildew. The sun and heat returned in September – crushingly hot at times – and most estates began to pick as soon as the vines dried out.

Initial results

Although impossible to judge definitively yet, tasting nearly 800 wines from 2023 suggests the following:

In Chablis, as elsewhere, there was a great volume of grapes. Isabelle Raveneau, of Domaine François Raveneau, notes: ‘The summer was rainy, which gave juicy grapes, and there was a sunny, hot end to the season that ripened the fruit.’

Vincent Dauvissat, however, points out that the heat degraded the acidity at the end of the season. Although top growers such as Raveneau and Dauvissat produced lovely wines, many will see this year as one to enjoy in its youth rather than one for long ageing.

The Côte de Nuits also produced an abundance of grapes. One by-product of the high yield was reasonably moderate alcohol levels. At the same time, however, pH is generally higher and acidity lower. The grapes (when properly sorted) had lush, plump fruit and an approachable style, but often lacked the concentration and structure that confer long life in the cellar.

Pierre Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon notes: ‘2023 is what we consider a cold year, yet the yields were generous. The struggle was to keep acidity, so we began to pick on 26 August.’

Others preferred to wait. Benoît Bachelet of Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet points out: ‘It’s important not to mistake acidity for freshness.’

For him, freshness comes from a long maturation. Wines from top growers here will be delicious, yet few will have the electrifying acidity of 2021 or the grip of 2019.

In the Côte Chalonnaise, the harvest seemed even more compressed than elsewhere, since there was less rain in August and more heat in September than elsewhere. It was the first vintage at Château d’Etroyes for Domaine Chanson, which recently purchased 45ha in Mercurey.

In 2023, they needed 200 pickers to harvest 90ha in just 10 days.

Ripeness in the Mâconnais was less homogeneous. Julien Desplans of Verget explains that they had to pick some parcels three times to achieve the desired results, although to him: ‘The whole interest of the Mâconnais is to wait for the right maturity’.

In Beaujolais 2023 was cooler than 2022 and the wines kept a bit more acidity, but although the heat was tremendous during harvest, the phenolic maturity was not as high.

Throughout Burgundy and Beaujolais, yields were generous in 2023, and the best wines are abundantly fruity. Growers should be able to fill their cellars with approachable, supple wines, and hopefully hold the line on price increases.

If many wines lack some of the tension and power needed for long ageing, it is nearly certain that they will charm in their youth, and the potential for top growers to deliver top results is unquestionably in evidence.

Charles Curtis MW’s full report on the Burgundy 2023 vintage, plus the best wines to seek out, will be published in January 2025.

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• Domaine François Raveneau: Taking the pulse of Chablis’ greatest wine

The 2022 growing season from April to September saw near-record heat and sunshine for the Burgundy region, but well-timed rains helped to deliver grapes that exhibited few characteristics of a hot summer. The fruit was healthy and ripe, with often lower alcohol levels than in 2020 – also a year of significant heat along with drought across Burgundy – and just slightly lower acidity. In the context of what Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac calls ‘the new normal’, such a result in 2022 must be called an encouraging success.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s Burgundy 2022 selection

Style & quality

The red wines from 2022 are deeply coloured, with a lush fruit expression, full body, well- developed but velvety tannins and abundant extract. The whites have a lush fruit character spanning ripe apple, peach and apricot and relatively soft acidity, suggesting these wines are primarily for early drinking. To achieve proper balance, some winemakers had to acidify.

In both reds and whites, it is the acid balance that holds 2022 Burgundy back from the very highest level, but the wines will be accessible and early- drinking, and the reds should age well.

Overall quality is very high for red wines and good to very good for white wines. The red wines are consistent from the Côte de Nuits [in the north] down through the Côte Chalonnaise, and there will be many wines worth laying down.

The effect of the heat on the white wines becomes more pronounced as one moves south, though there are exceptions to this and whites also worthy of ageing. In terms of quantity, the yield was up more than 70% from the frost-stricken 2021 harvest – hopefully this will help growers avoid price increases.

Burgundy 2022: Curtis’ wines of the vintage

White: Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Montrachet 99pts

Red: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti 100pts

Decanter vintage rating: Côte d’Or

2022: Whites 4/5; Reds 4.5/5

2021: Whites 4/5; Reds 3.5/5

2020: Whites 4.5/5; Reds 4/5

2019: Whites 4/5; Reds 5/5

2018: Whites 3.5/5; Reds 4/5

Water story

After a cold snap in January 2022, February was much warmer than average and March continued warm, exposing the vineyards to frost in April. Fortunately, the vines had not yet started their growth in earnest, and when the frost arrived between 3-11 April, damage was limited.

Warmer weather followed the frost, and the vines developed quickly. Flowering occurred from 19-26 May, two weeks ahead of the norm.

There was very little loss to coulure or millerandage [fruit-set problems], presaging a very large crop. Just after the bunches formed, the region received a deluge of rain over five days from 21-25 June that varied from 20mm-90mm according to the region, with localised flooding exacerbating things in places.

Thunderstorms brought some hail damage, but it was not widespread. ‘But for that rain, there would have been no harvest,’ says Frédéric Barnier of Louis Jadot.

July and August were hot and dry, and if the rain had not topped off water reserves at the end of June, the vines would have suffered the scorching drought conditions. The worst effects were relieved by light showers in July and August, and the health of the vines remained excellent due to the hot and dry conditions.

The sporadic heat stress drew out the ripening. Some growers concerned with freshness picked as early as 20 August, while others – more concerned with ripe skins, seeds and stems – waited until the beginning of September or beyond. The harvest was complete nearly everywhere by the third week in September. Had there been less fruit on the vines, then overripe fruit, higher alcohol and lower acidity would have been more widespread in 2022 – but the abundant grapes and generous rainfall in June set the region up for a vintage with both quality and quantity.

Burgundy’s vines are slowly adapting to the reality of global warming. Perhaps as importantly, grape-growers and winemakers are also adapting their techniques, and 2022 generally appears much more successful than the first global warming vintages of 2003 and 2005. Although the wines don’t have the grip and freshness we saw in 2019 and 2020, the vintage delivered an abundant crop of hugely drinkable wines, including reds that will age gracefully in the cellar.

Around the appellations

Côte de Nuits

Despite relatively homogenous results, the growing season of 2022 varied from village to village in the Côte de Nuits. The vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin suffered in the storms of late June. According to Cyrielle Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau, it was complicated, with 15 barrels less than average in the producer’s Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques [due to flooding] and two hail storms.

Nicolas Rossignol of Rossignol-Trapet remarked that the hail hit the northern part of Gevrey, on the north side of the Combe de Lavaux known as the ‘Côte St-Jacques’, where they experienced 170mm of rain in a single week. Hail damage, however, was very localised, and growers to the north and south of Gevrey did not report the same conditions.

The centre of the Côte de Nuits was spared the hail and, according to Dujac’s Jeremy Seysses: ‘This is the “new normal” [heat and sunshine], yet there was not the relentless heat we had in 2003. The nights were cooler than they were in 2003. Although the dates in 2022 were similar to those in 2018, and I was expecting [the wines] to be similar, they’re not.’

Alexandre Abel at Domaine Ponsot comments: ‘2020 was atypical because of the concentration of the tannins and the acidity during the blockage; 2022 is more classic and reminds me of 2015.’

Further south in Vosne-Romanée, Bertrand de Villaine of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti points out: ‘It’s impossible to think of 2022 without thinking of 2021; these are a pair, rather like 2016 and 2017. We have to avoid falling into the trap of having too much sugar, which poses questions for the future since everything seems to be ready simultaneously.’ Luckily, according to de Villaine, ‘in 2022 we were stressed, but the grapes were not in a hurry’.

Côte de Beaune

There was less of an inundation at the end of June in the Côte de Beaune, and a greater frequency of small steady showers in July and August. Growers such as Frédéric Lafarge in Volnay described 2022 as a ‘perfect’ vintage. The rains at the end of June brought much less water than in the Côte de Nuits – 80mm rather than 150mm. However, several smaller showers brought 20mm each throughout the season, which allowed the vines to withstand the heatwave well. Lafarge reports similar pH levels [acidity] to 2020 but slightly lower alcohol, which fell to between 13%-13.5%.

In the white wine villages of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, results were consistent. According to François Carillon in Puligny: ‘2022 was not easy, but almost, with small amounts of rain falling regularly in July and August to encourage ripening.’ He continues: ‘My grandfather never picked in August; my father, twice. I don’t even count the times any more. However, we ended up with pH levels between 3.15-3.20, while in 2015, we were at 3.50. Things weren’t so bad in 2022 after all.’

In Chassagne, Pierre-Yves Colin gave the whites of 2022 the edge: ‘The crop was lower in 2020, and the freshness is about the same, but there is more concentration in 2022… even if you try to make wine for the future, they are showing quite well right now.’

Côte Chalonnaise

The climate dynamic in the Côte Chalonnaise differs from that of the Côte d’Or in that there are no cooling winds from the Hautes-Côtes streaming into the valleys that break up the slope, since the limestone outcroppings here are more irregular. The region is generally hotter and drier than the Côte d’Or further north, and this proved to be the case in 2022. Overall, the whites (Aligoté from Bouzeron and Chardonnay from Montagny) are lush and rich, with soft acidity, making them an early-drinking vintage; reds from Mercurey were concentrated and tannic, while those of Givry were often silkier and more approachable.

Mâconnais

The 2022 vintage in the Mâconnais was, if anything, even hotter and drier than the Côte d’Or. Winemaker Florent Rouve of Vins Rijckaert notes that excessively hot and dry conditions caused vines to shut down in August, which helped keep alcohol levels in check. Data from the BIVB regional wine board corroborates this, showing slightly lower sugar levels than in the Côte d’Or and marginally higher levels of malic and total acidity. Julien Desplans of Maison Verget and Domaine Guffens-Heynen ventures that ‘2022 risks being a very charming year’.

COMING SOON

The score table listing Charles’ top Burgundy 2022 wines all scoring 94 points or above

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges | Chassagne & Puligny Montrachet | Northern Côte de Beaune | Best value

A taste of the top Burgundy 2022 wines

Wines were tasted non-blind. Wines are listed in order of white then red, then by scores, and then alphabetically by producer. The 2022s are bottled from January 2024, hence prices, stockists and alcohols are not yet finalised. Contact specialist merchant for allocations or to enquire about en primeur tastings. The following 40 wines were Charles Curtis MW’s selection for particularly notable quality and value among the 650 wines he scored from the 2022 Burgundy vintage.

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Fortunately for wine lovers, the news from Burgundy this year is overwhelmingly positive. The quality of the 2022 vintage is very good, and the crop generally was abundant. If prices realistically are not going to decline, neither will they climb as much as they have in recent years.

With the 2021 vintage, the focus was on ‘catastrophic’ frost damage and 80% losses. This year, Burgundians have a single word to sum up their new harvest: ‘generous’.

It is always risky to rush to judgment before a new vintage is in bottle. Still, in my recent visits to Burgundy, I have tasted over 500 examples of the new vintage, and I am starting to have a feel for the vintage.

The direction is up: more quantity, more body, more richness, more alcohol (but not too much more). There is less acidity, but not alarmingly less. If last year was a ‘classic’ Burgundian year, then this year, the pendulum has decidedly swung back to ‘global warming’ territory.

The sunny tendency of the year, however, was fortunately tempered by well-timed rainfall, and the grapes did not suffer drought stress or sunburn as they have in some of the earlier ‘global warming’ vintages.

Overall, the vintage produced 1.75 million hectolitres, or about 230 million bottles of wine, according to the BIVB. This figure is an increase of 20% on the rolling five-year average, and an increase of 65% over the 2021 harvest, providing a much-needed respite for winegrowers here.

Weather in 2022

The quick read is that 2022 was the hottest, the driest, and the sunniest year since 1900. As we have seen in recent years, this type of weather can play havoc with yields, 2022, however, was saved by a large rain event in June and a smaller one in August.

Although the winter before the growing season was colder than normal, February and March were warm before temperatures plunged again in April. The sudden chill brought a risk of frost in the first third of the month, but the damage was largely avoided. After the chilly April, though, temperatures remained above normal until the end of the harvest.

The season was also dry. The region began with a water deficit, with less rain than normal from January until almost the end of June. Between the 21st and the 25th of June, however, a series of storms dumped roughly the equivalent of an entire summer’s rainfall in a few short days.

The amounts varied widely, but this last week in June saw anywhere from 100mm to 150mm of rain. There were localised episodes of hail during these storms, but fortunately not enough to cause widespread damage.

After the deluge, the drought. The weather in July returned to hot, sunny and dry, and these conditions persisted until mid-August when a series of smaller storms in the third week relieved the dry conditions, and a brief soaking on the 30th plumped the grapes just before the harvest.

Rainfall from January through September was about 20% less than normal, but the heavy rains in June ensured enough water for the vines through the heat of the summer.

The picking began as early as 16 August for crémant and started in earnest for the reds and whites of the Côte d’Or after the showers of 30 August. Most of the grapes were in by mid-September. The Hospices de Beaune, for example, concluded their picking on 16 September in late-ripening St-Romain.

Style in 2022

The weather in 2022 produced ripe, very healthy grapes. Opinion was split on acidity, with some winemakers claiming plenty of freshness while others spoke of high pH (and thus low acidity).

Jérôme Flous, the technical director Faiveley charged with overseeing both the vineyards and the winemaking, noted an average pH of 3.40 in the reds of the Côte Chalonnaise (near perfect) and an average of 3.60 in the Côte d’Or (high, but not dangerously so).

He described the harvest: ‘Potential alcohol at harvest averaged 13%, as in 2017, with a range from 12.8% – 13.3%. The pH levels were a bit high (even up to 3.80 in places). In the end, the fruit in the Côte d’Or is as ripe as it was in 2018, but there is more tannin and structure, while the grapes in the Côte Chalonnaise, where we had a nearly perfect year, was more like 2019’.

Frédéric Barnier, technical director at Louis Jadot, reported overall pH and acidity levels in the finished wine are in line with those of 2021, but he notes that the level of malic acid was low, and thus he blocked the malolactic conversion that had been necessary the year before.

Producers working with old vines often reported very few problems with the dry weather. Jean Lupatelli, the technical director at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, noted that although there was a large crop of grapes, it ripened thoroughly, if somewhat slowly.

He commented that his older vines remained a vigorous green throughout the season and that there was no drought-related blockage of ripening in the summer despite the heat, reporting moderate yields of 30 hl/ha, potential alcohol levels that hovered around 13% and pH between 3.30 – 3.40, thus correct in every respect.

The abundant crop, the reserves of water delivered in June, and the sunny, warm weather all conspired to produce ripe, supple fruit without the excess alcohol or concentration that one has seen in some recent vintages.

While the wines may lack the sheer power of the 2019 vintage, or the titanic concentration of the 2018, it should generally provide the elegance of the 2017 vintage with more ripeness and fruit—a delightful prospect indeed.

Red Burgundy

2022 is a very good to excellent vintage, according to the terroir. The wines generally will have a moderately deep colour, with a ripe, lush, forward red and black fruit character. For the most part they should avoid sunburnt ‘prune-like’ character and cooked fruit aromas and should be more focused on fresh fruit and floral notes.

Alcohol levels will mostly be moderate, and acidity is often balanced rather than noticeably fresh or flat. The wines will be medium to full in body, with firm but supple tannins that support the wine without astringency or bitterness. The wines should be approachable fairly young, but the best should age nicely over the mid-to long-term.

The best terroirs will be those on the slope and at elevation. The Côte de Nuits is more broadly successful than the Côte de Beaune because there was more rain, and the grapes suffered less from drought stress.

There should be good value throughout the range. Many agree that prices for top wines and entry-level wines will likely remain steady, while prices for good village-level wines and premier-cru level wines may even soften a bit.

Reds from the Côte Chalonnaise may present an exceptional quality/price ratio. A key strategy to capture value at every level will be to buy early, with lesser wines for drinking soon and better wines for cellaring.

White Burgundy

Some experts have called 2022 better for whites than for reds. Other authorities disagree and feel that the slightly higher pH/lower acidity means that wines lack the nervous energy of the best years.

The wines tend to be sunny, generous, round and lush. They will have more ripe apple and pear aromas than lemon or lime, yet they seldom seem to veer into pineapple or mango territory.

Because of the size of the crop, the grapes ripened, but not to excess. Slightly lower acidity levels mean the wines will be approachable young, but there should be enough structure for at least mid-term ageing.

Despite the ripeness of the year I did not see any excessive alcohol levels in any region due to the large crop size. The wines will likely be full in body but not heavy or harsh.

The best terroirs for whites are also higher on the slope: choose Chevalier over Bâtard, for example, or Meursault Blagny over Meursault Charmes-Dessous. Tasting suggests that the cooler terroirs in the Mâconnais, such as Vergisson or Mâcon-Pierreclos, have produced some exciting results.

Because of the abundant crop, prices for entry-level wines should be reasonable and they should be lovely for early drinking. Choose wines to age with care.

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‘The unique conditions – economic as well as meteorological – of 2020 mean it is an exceptional Burgundy vintage,’ said Charles in his Burgundy 2020 en primeur vintage report.

Yet he found himself questioning whether the wines from the 2020 vintage truly reflect what most consumers perceive to be a Burgundian style.

Across the region yields were much lower than usual and the fruit was particularly concentrated.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Burgundy 2020 premier cru wines

Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Even though it is the grand cru wines that tend to score the highest, Charles noted that the premiers crus from the highest reaches of Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault, such as Puligny Champ Gain, Chassagne La Romanée or Meursault Blagny, offered excellent quality.

In the first year that Pouilly-Fuissé could label its premier cru wines, the wines fared particularly well: ‘It is gratifying that the first year to see wines labelled as premier cru was so successful,’ said Charles.

Looking at Morey-St-Denis, Charles encourages readers to seek out the wines from Premiers Crus Chaffots and Monts Luisants.

‘In Puligny-Montrachet, look for the Premiers Crus La Truffière, Caillerets, Folatières and Champ Gain, while in Chassagne, the Les Chaumées and La Grand Montagne were particularly good,’ he said.

In Gevrey-Chambertin it was a good year for Premier Crus Cazetiers, Clos St-Jacques, Lavaux St-Jacques and Aux Combottes, while in Chambolle-Musigny Charles finds excellent quality in the Premiers Crus Les Fuées, Les Cras and La Combe d’Orveau.

Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St-Georges were showing strongly in the following premiers crus: Beaux Monts, Aux Brûlées, Les Petits Monts and Malconsorts in Vosne, and Damodes, Chaignots and Les St-Georges in Nuits.

Below is a list of the top-scoring premier cru wines from Charles’ Burgundy 2020 en primeur report.

See Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Burgundy 2020 premier cru wines:

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As the hottest vintage in Burgundy since the start of the century, it’s no surprise that the wines are showing a high concentration of fruit, with high levels of tannins in the reds and richness, density and ripeness in the whites, particularly in the Côte Chalonnaise.

This was the first year for Pouilly-Fuissé’s premier crus and Charles Curtis MW found it was a resounding success, producing ripe wines that ‘retained a lively acidity’, he said.

Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Charles highlights Vergisson as a stand out area for well-balanced, delicious wines this year and Domaine Barraud’s Mâcon-Vergisson ‘La Roche’ can even be found in the top value list below.

‘In the warm, sunny conditions of 2020, the Mâconnais delivered lush fruit, but there was also solid value, and top producers have given us wines of balance and even tension’, Charles said in his report.

Find the tasting notes and scores for Charles’ top-value white Burgundy 2020 picks below.

Top-value white Burgundy 2020 wines:

• Benjamin Leroux, Auxey-Duresses, 2020
• Domaine A & P de Villaine, Bouzeron, 2020
• Domaine Barraud, La Roche, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Vergisson, 2020
• Domaine Ferret, Hors-Classe Tournant de Pouilly Cuvée, 1er Cru Les Reisses, 2020
• Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson, Sous la Velle, St-Romain, 2020
• Domaine Lucien Jacob, Savigny-lès-Beaune, 1er Cru Vergelesses, 2020
• Domaine Paul Pillot, Bourgogne Blanc, 2020
• Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, Clos du Four, Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine, 2020
• Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, St-Aubin, 1er Cru Chatenière, 2020
  

Charles Curtis MW’s top 10 value white Burgundy 2020 wines

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Charles Curtis MW tasted over 1,200 wines for his Burgundy 2020 en primeur report and despite it being yet another hot year, he discovered some sublime wines from producers that have managed to tame the concentration of fruit.

‘The results are delicious, but they hardly conform to many wine lovers’ idea of what Burgundy is’, he said, as aromas and flavours in the reds tended more towards black fruit than red.

Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Cool nights, wind, early harvesting and sorting for sunburn has allowed producers to craft some excellent wines despite such dry conditions.

If money is no object, Charles Curtis MW recommends seeking out reds from Bonnes-Mares, Richebourg, Ruchottes-Chambertin or Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts.

However, Charles has also compiled a list of top value reds, featuring wines from appellations such as Santennay, Marsannay and Chorey-les-Beaune.

’The Côte Chalonnaise is perhaps the best region to hunt for good value reds, an increasingly scarce commodity.

In 2020, these will offer plenty of structure and density, as well as a lush, sensual fruit that should provide both the balance for drinking young and the stuffing for mid-term ageing’, said Charles.

The list below even includes some value premier cru options from Aloxe-Corton and Mercurey.

Find the tasting notes and scores for Charles’ top value red Burgundy 2020 picks below.

Top-value red Burgundy 2020 wines:

• Château de Chamirey, Mercurey, 1er Cru Ruelles, 2020 – £37.50/$50.85
• Domaine Comte Senard, Chorey-lès-Beaune, 2020
• Domaine de la Cras, Bourgogne Montre Cul, 2020
• Domaine Gérard Mugneret, Pourpre, Vin de France, 2020
• Domaine Jessiaume, Clos du Clos Gênet, Santenay, 2020
• Domaine Michel Lafarge, L’Exception, Bourgogne Passtoutgrains, 2020
• Domaine Michel Mallard, Aloxe-Corton, 1er Cru Les Valozières, 2020
• Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Aux Etalois, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2020
• Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Marsannay, 2020

Charles Curtis MW’s top 10 value red Burgundy 2020 wines

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Read Burgundy correspondent Charles Curtis MW's expert analysis on the Burgundy 2020 vintage, plus see his 650 tasting notes and scores.

Among the whites, the best of the Meursault Perrières are breathtaking, and there are marvellous wines from Meursault Gouttes d’Or and Bouchères as well.

In Puligny-Montrachet, look for the Premiers Crus La Truffière, Caillerets, Folatières and Champ Gain, while in Chassagne, the Les Chaumées and La Grand Montagne were particularly good.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Meursault and Montrachet 2020 wines

This will give you a good selection from the top villages of the Côte de Beaune.

The good news is that many of these will be approachable young, yet the best of the reds will last 30 years or more and the whites at least 20 years.

See the score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Beaune 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

In Meursault, Brian Seve of Domaine de Montille seemed very content with results: ‘The profiles of the 2018s and 2020s have some similarities, but the level of acidity in 2020 is more evident,’ says Seve. ‘Because of the concentration, they taste as though there is higher acidity, even if pH is largely the same, and for the red wines this appearance of freshness keeps the fruit profile more in the red than black. Ultimately, all the alcohol levels are around 13%. My Beaune Premier Cru Les Sizies is 12.8% for example; nothing is chaptalised and nothing is acidified.’

Paul Delorme, cellarmaster at Domaine Roulot, seemed equally pleased: ‘We picked from the 20th of August through to the 29th, beginning with [regional-level] Grandes Coutures on the Puligny side and finishing on the Volnay side. Everything was about 13% alcohol, with a pH of around 3.2 (3.22 for the Bourgogne Blanc). 2020 is the vintage that rediscovers the energy of the 2017s,’ he concludes.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Benoît Riffault of Domaine Etienne Sauzet in Puligny concurs: ‘The 2020s are refreshing but not brisk. We started picking on the 22nd of August. The early-ripening sites with thin, stony soils retain lots of freshness, while those with deeper clay soils are more compact and dense.’

Jean-Marc Blain of Domaine Blain-Gagnard expanded this thought, noting that acidity levels improve as the soil recovers from its excess potassium of the 1960s and 70s.

Even in 2020, the pH levels were between 3.2-3.3, with moderate alcohol levels.

His niece, Caroline Lestimé of Jean-Noël Gagnard, agrees, taking as an example her Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru Les Chaumées: ‘The yield was 21 hl/ha; normally it is 58 hl/ha,’ she reveals. Across the board we are down at least 30-40% due to drought, millerandage and frost, but the results are really concentrated and very fine.’

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Meursault and Montrachet 2020 wines:

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To the south of Beaune in Pommard, Caroline Parent-Gros of Domaine A. F. Gros noted: ‘2020 was a year of drought and concentration, but a concentration of both acidity and sugar.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2020 wines

Picking dates in this sector were very early due to the concentration and the danger of sunburn. Guillaume d’Angerville began to pick on the 19th of August, a record for his estate.

See the Burgundy 2020 score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Beaune wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Most winemakers left as much foliage on the vines as possible and followed through with a ‘hands-off’ policy.

‘I didn’t touch the vines at all,’ says rising star Joannès Violot-Guillemard in Pommard. ‘I punched down only once and shortened the length of fermentation; everything finished very quickly.’

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Vosne-Romanée

Even producers such as Nicolas Rossignol who typically favour a firm extraction showed restraint: ‘This year, it’s more about infusion than extraction,’ explains Rossignol.

Overall, the classic red wine terroirs of Rugiens and Epenots in Pommard, and Volnay’s Les Caillerets, Champans and Clos de Chênes were all reliable.

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Pommard and Volnay 2020 wines:

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In Chambolle, Christophe Roumier was pleased with his results: ‘The surprise of the vintage is the freshness of the wines. The village-level Chambolle suffered in 2020 due to the lack of water, but the old vines not as much. There was less alcohol in 2020 than in 2018, and more complexity than 2019.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny 2020 wines

See the Burgundy 2020 score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

It was, above all, important to vinify carefully.

As Charles van Canneyt of Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat put it: ‘We don’t want to make 2005 all over again’, referring to the hard tannins of that vintage.

Away from the grand crus, it is a great year for the premier crus Les Fuées, Les Cras and La Combe d’Orveau.

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Chambolle-Musigny 2020 wines:

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According to Denis Bachelet in Gevrey, 2020 ‘was a vintage where the wines resembled the Rhône more than Burgundy’.

He notes that his yield was 35-40% below an average harvest.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Charles’ top-scoring Gevrey-Chambertin 2020 wines

Fellow Gevrey vigneron Loïc Dugat-Py was pleased with his results: ‘We began to pick on the 20th of August, but the old vines did not suffer too much from the dry conditions. The weather concentrated the sugars and the acidity simultaneously, and we have a similar quantity as in 2019. Potential alcohol levels were 13-13.5% at harvest, with pH levels between 3.1-3.2.’

See the score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Dugat-Py (whose teams pick early in the morning) attributes this partly to the fact that he did not hedge the vines or pull any leaves until one week before the harvest.

Satisfied with the quality of the fruit, he did not feel the need to adapt either the percentage of whole clusters (which remained high) or his habit of punching down to ensure extraction.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Rossignol at Domaine Rossignol-Trapet was surprised at the balance of the vines. ‘Between the 15th of June and 15th of August, there was no more than 10mm of rain,’ he recalls.

‘Fortunately, there was another 20mm on the 20th of August and again on the 27th. Despite the rather severe drought conditions, there was no “figging” of the grapes [over-ripe, cooked or jammy flavours], and the overall yield was similar to 2019.’

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

All of the nine grand crus in Gevrey produced delicious wines, and it was a particularly good year for Ruchottes-Chambertin and for Premier Crus Cazetiers, Clos St-Jacques, Lavaux St-Jacques and Aux Combottes.

Gevrey-Chambertin 2020 top value wines:

Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Aux Etalois, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2020

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Gevrey-Chambertin 2020 wines:

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In Morey-St-Denis, Jacques Devauges at Domaine des Lambrays calls 2020 a ‘historic vintage’.

‘The broad lines are striking: 30% less rain than normal and 20% more sun,’ he says. ‘Sunburn was a problem for the vines classed in village or premier cru, but the grand cru parcels were planted parallel to the slope which provided protection. Still, the yields were meagre – 15 hl/ha for the old vines sensitive to coulure.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2020 wines

See the score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Clos de Tart winemaker Alessandro Noli concurs: ‘The property produced 60 barrels in 2020, 65% of a normal harvest. Usually the grapes are plumper, but this year each picking case weighed in at 315kg instead of 380kg.’

He crushed the fruit gently by foot to avoid over-extraction, using only a single treading for the entire harvest.

In addition to these grand crus, seek out Clos de la Roche and Clos St-Denis, as well as the Premier Crus Chaffots and Monts Luisants.

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Morey-St-Denis 2020 wines:

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Top 2020 Côte de Beaune en primeur wines

In Vosne-Romanée, Louis-Michel Liger-Belair was very sensitive to the risk of ‘figging,’ noting that his whites were significantly affected, as were the younger Pinot Noir vines.

‘We sorted three times at the end of the vine rows to eliminate the problem,’ he explains.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Vosne-Romanée 2020 wines

Marie-Christine Mugneret was pleased, if a bit hesitant, about her 2020s: ‘Everything is above 14% alcohol, and the Bourgogne Rouge, at 14.8%, is the highest. We extracted colour and tannin very gently. There is such a level of alcohol and concentration that we will have to wait and see what it will give us.’

See the score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Her neighbour Etienne Grivot seemed more sanguine: ‘The acidity level is perfect and alcohol levels are lower than they were in 2018. 2019 will please connoisseurs, but the 2020s are moreish [‘gourmand’] and should please everyone. They are not monstrously atypical and there is a pleasantly spicy, saline side to them.’

In addition to the grand crus, seek out Beaux Monts, Aux Brûlées, Les Petits Monts and Malconsorts in Vosne, and Damodes, Chaignots and Les St-Georges in Nuits.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay

The world of wine lovers waits with the same combination of anticipation and trepidation as these winemakers to see how the wines of this historic vintage will show in the years to come.

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Vosne-Romanée 2020 wines:

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Top 2020 Côte Chalonnaise en primeur wines

Top 2020 Côte de Beaune en primeur wines

At the end of a relatively warm and sunny winter season, budbreak in the Mâconnais occurred at the end of March.

According to Audrey Braccini of Domaine J.A. Ferret, the rains at the end of April ensured that the vines were an entire month ahead of an average vintage.

This advance continued as flowering was completed in mid-May and an ample crop was set on the vines.

Scroll down for tasing notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Mâconnais 2020 wines

There was welcome rain in June throughout much of the region, but there was little pressure from mildew or rot. Most of the month was sunny and warm, with the first signs of veraison occurring in early July.

Braccini notes that there were variations within the Mâconnais and that the northern sector was drier than the region south of Fuissé, thus producing wines of greater concentration.

Picking began on the 24th August and a large, healthy crop was brought in, with all the generosity of 2018 but better acidity levels.

See the score table listing Charles’ top Mâconnais 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

How the Mâconnais 2020 wines are tasting

Lovely wines were produced throughout the Mâconnais, particularly from the appellations Mâcon-Villages, Pouilly-Fuissé, St-Véran, Viré-Clessé and Mâcon-Vergisson, where many sites face east or northeast and sit high on the slope. This location helped mitigate the effects of the heat in 2020.

Viré and Clessé were classed with Mâcon-Villages until 1999 when they became the first village-level wines to break out from this semi-regional category. Both are located in the northern part of this zone. Wines from local specialist Domaine Les Grands Crays were delicious.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits| Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

The first year for Pouilly-Fuissé’s premier crus

It was also a solid year for Pouilly-Fuissé. It is gratifying that the first year to see wines labelled as premier cru was so successful.

Here the grapes ripened well but retained a lively acidity. Delicious wines were produced throughout the zone, although those around Vergisson stand out here as well. Look for the lieu-dit La Roche to explore these well-balanced wines.

Growers also made delicious wine in the southernmost reaches of the Mâconnais such as St-Véran, and Verget enjoyed particular success.

In the warm, sunny conditions of 2020, the Mâconnais delivered lush fruit, but there was also solid value, and top producers have given us wines of balance and even tension.

Mâconnais 2020 top-value wines:

Domaine Ferret, Hors-Classe Tournant de Pouilly Cuvée, 1er Cru Les Reisses, 2020

Domaine Barraud, La Roche, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Vergisson, 2020

Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, Clos du Four, Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine, 2020

Mâconnais 2020 top producers:

Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon

Verget

(These two producers delivered fine work across many appellations)

Domaine J.A. Ferret

Domaine Daniel & Julien Barraud

Château-Fuissé

(These three producers stand out for their Pouilly-Fuissé)

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Mâconnais 2020 wines

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Top 2020 Côte Chalonnaise en primeur wines

Top 2020 Côte de Beaune en primeur wines

By every measure, the Côte Chalonnaise was the region most affected by water stress, heatwave and sunburn in 2020.

The region was consistently two weeks or more in advance of the norm. The midpoint of budbreak was in March, of flowering, in May, and of veraison in July.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Côte Chalonnaise 2020 wines

According to Jean-Baptiste Bordeaux-Montrieux, proprietor of venerable Givry estate Domaine Baron Thénard, this was the earliest harvest on record – they started picking on the 18th of August.

The Côte Chalonnaise was even further along than their neighbours to the south in the Mâconnais.

The sugars accumulated (and the malic acid fell) most rapidly here, as one might surmise.

See the score table listing Charles’ top Côte Chalonnaise 2020 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

The overall effect on the white wines

The effect of the heat was perhaps least traumatic for the Aligoté in Bouzeron. While this variety ripens early, it has high natural acidity, and while the wines were rich and dense, they were still in balance.

Chardonnay has lower overall acidity levels and was thus more severely impacted in the Côte Chalonnaise.

This tendency to heaviness was most evident for me in the appellations Montagny and Montagny Premier Cru in the southern section of the Côte Chalonnaise, while some of the wines from Rully were more attractive. Most of the Chardonnays I tasted were lush, ripe wines for early consumption.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

The overall effect on the red wines

Although the thin-skinned Pinot Noir was at relatively high risk of sunburn and raisining, those producers who sorted for these conditions had the potential to make top quality wines in a dark-coloured, tannic mould.

While many of these are hardly typical of either Pinot Noir or Burgundy, there were notable successes in Mercurey and Givry.

My top-scoring wine from the region was the Mercurey Les Montots from Domaine A. & P. de Villaine.

The best of these wines have an almost freakishly deep colour, but they also have the density and tannic grip to age, and enough acidity to provide balance.

The Côte Chalonnaise is perhaps the best region to hunt for good value reds, an increasingly scarce commodity.

In 2020, these will offer plenty of structure and density, as well as a lush, sensual fruit that should provide both the balance for drinking young and the stuffing for mid-term ageing.

Côte Chalonnaise 2020 top-value wines:

Château de Chamirey, Mercurey, 1er Cru Ruelles, 2020

Domaine A & P de Villaine, Bouzeron, 2020

Côte Chalonnaise 2020 top producers:

Château de Chamirey (Mercurey)

Domaine A. & P. de Villaine (Bouzeron and Mercurey)

Domaine Baron Thénard (Givry)

Domaine de la Ferté (Givry)

Joseph Drouhin (Rully)

See Charles Curtis MW’s tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Côte Chalonnaise 2020 wines:

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

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Top 2020 Côte de Beaune en primeur wines

This region suffered the most from the drought conditions, so it was necessary to manage sun exposure for the Pinot and extract colour and tannin gently; for the Chardonnay, it was essential to maintain acidity.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Charles’ top-scoring Côte de Beaune 2020 wines

Assuming neither pH nor alcohol levels got out of hand, the potential for great wine existed.

There were fabulous red and white wines around the hill of Corton, particularly in the cooler sites near the top, and the west-facing slopes in Pernand.

Both red and whites in Beaune also had potential, but the quality was less homogeneous here.

See the Burgundy 2020 score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Beaune wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

At Bonneau du Martray in Pernand-Vergelesses in the north of the Côte de Beaune, they started to pick on the 25th of August – Pinot first and then Chardonnay.

They had 85% of the crop in before a big rainstorm on the 27th interrupted picking. In general, the grapes were picked at 13.5% potential alcohol with a pH that averaged 3.13.

‘The wines showed good minerality and freshness, and should have more balance than those of 2019,’ according to estate manager Thibault Jacquet.

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Some producers in the Côte de Beaune began to pick early to retain maximum freshness. Michel Mallard started to pick at his domaine in Ladoix on the 20th of August and was finished by the 29th.

Others preferred to wait for fuller physiological ripeness. David Croix of Domaine des Croix in Beaune waited until the 24th to pick and finished on the 30th.

Much of the difference depends on the specific terroir. Chisa Bize of Domaine Simon Bize in Savigny-lès-Beaune notes that in 2020, sandy lieux-dits such as Les Marconnets can be difficult, while those with more clay such as Grands Liards ‘sort themselves out quite easily’.

Côte de Beaune 2020 top-value wines:

Domaine Jessiaume, Clos du Clos Gênet, Santenay, 2020

Domaine Michel Mallard, Aloxe-Corton, 1er Cru Les Valozières, 2020

Domaine Comte Senard, Chorey-lès-Beaune, 2020

Domaine Lucien Jacob, Savigny-lès-Beaune, 1er Cru Vergelesses, 2020

Benjamin Leroux, Auxey-Duresses, 2020

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, St-Aubin, 1er Cru Chatenière, 2020

Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson, Sous la Velle, St-Romain, 2020

Côte de Beaune 2020 top producers:

Principally for white wines

Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Domaine Roulot

Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey

Domaine Etienne Sauzet

Domaine Bonneau du Martray

Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard

Domaine Paul Pillot

Principally for red wines

Domaine Marquis d’Angerville

Domaine Michel Lafarge

Domaine Michel Mallard

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Côte de Beaune 2020 wines:

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Top 2020 Côte Chalonnaise en primeur wines

Top 2020 Côte de Nuits en primeur wines

Conditions were warm, sunny and dry throughout Burgundy in 2020, although there were differences between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune.

According to Frédéric Weber of Bouchard Père & Fils, the latter bore the brunt of the drought conditions: ‘In general, the Côte de Beaune suffered more from the heat, while there was a bit more rain in the Côte de Nuits.’ he says.

‘2018 was a sunny year that gave average volumes but with lower acidity; 2019 was more classic, where we began picking on the 11th of September, and 2020 was the hottest of all.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Côte de Nuits 2020 wines

In addition to these differences, the Chardonnay that dominates the Côte de Beaune weathers the heat better than the Pinot Noir that dominates the Côte de Nuits, with young Pinot vines most susceptible to sunburn.

This logic helped determine picking dates. Cyril Jacquelin, the winemaker at Domaine du Clos Frantin, points out: ‘In 2020, the yield was lower than in 2018, and the maturity arrived later due to blockages from the heat in August.’

‘At the Bichot properties, we began with the young-vine Pinot on the 19th of August, switched to Chardonnay on the 27th, and returned to finish the grand cru Pinot in the Côte de Nuits after the rains, beginning on the 30th. The strategy generally worked well, although the whites are rich in phenolic compounds, which can make them a bit austere in the beginning.’

See the Burgundy 2020 score table listing Charles’ top Côte de Nuits wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Jérôme Flous, the winemaker at Domaine Faiveley, notes the effect on yields: ‘Yields overall for the Chardonnay were closer to normal, averaging 40hl/ha, while the Pinots gave 20-30hl/ha depending on the site,’ he explains.

‘The difference is because Chardonnay had an average bunch weight, since it flowers and sets earlier, but the Pinot is later and had a lower bunch weight because of the heat. The region which faced the most challenges was the Côte Chalonnaise since the quality of the clay was different and there was less water available for the vines. The Côte de Nuits can support more dryness for a longer period than the Côte Chalonnaise.’

Frédéric Drouhin sums up the difference in the wines: ‘It is an early year, but without haste,’ he says. ‘There was no frost or hail, no disease, and almost double the number of sunshine hours compared to any other year.

‘In terms of vinification, we look for balance and elegance, and the key thing was to work on the lees. In 2020, the quality of the lees was unique, bringing flavours and freshness to the wine. It is a good vintage, quite aromatic, and the key was keeping the freshness. We’ve probably lost 30% because of the lack of water, however you can still taste the typicity of each appellation: a Charlemagne tastes like a Charlemagne.’

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See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Marsannay-based Bruno Clair gave further, intriguing details regards the ripening in his vineyards: ‘The grapes ripened because of the loss of water through dehydration and not through photosynthesis,’ he states.

‘Many of my vines are located in poor soils at the top of the hill, sites that suffered most during the drought conditions. [For Bruno Clair, across all appellations,] the yield averaged 24hl/ha, and some vineyards produced even less, 16-18hl/ha for the oldest vines, for example.’

Côte de Nuits 2020 top-value wines:

Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Marsannay, 2020

Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Aux Etalois, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2020

Côte de Nuits 2020 top producers:

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair

Domaine Dugat-Py

Domaine Dujac

Domaine Georges Roumier

Domaine Grivot

Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat

Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair

Domaine Trapet

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Côte de Nuits 2020 wines:

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Burgundy 2020 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Top 2020 Côte Mâconnais en primeur wines

Top 2020 Côte de Nuits en primeur wines

Côte d’Or 2020 whites score: 4/5

Côte d’Or 2020 reds score: 4.5/5

‘2020 was the third year in a row of hot, dry weather, and may prove a template for the future era of global warming.’

White wine of the vintage:

Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Montrachet Grand Cru

Red wine of the vintage:

Domaine Georges Roumier, Musigny Grand Cru

The unique conditions – economic as well as meteorological – of 2020 mean it is an exceptional Burgundy vintage.

The potential was there to make sublime wine if one avoided the traps of overripeness and over-extraction.

A judicious choice of picking date and a gentle hand in the winery were required, but the best producers made delicious wines that will last for decades.

‘It’s good. But is it Burgundy?’, I found myself asking on more than one occasion during the recent month I spent in the region tasting the 2020 vintage.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of Charles’ top-scoring Burgundy 2020 wines

After more than 1,200 samples tasted, I’m still on the fence. There is one certainty, however. As more than one winemaker pointed out: ‘We have no choice but to deal with what nature has given us.’

2020 was the third year in a row of hot, dry weather, and may prove a template for the future era of global warming. The results are delicious, but they hardly conform to many wine lovers’ idea of what Burgundy is.

The colour in the reds is often inky dark and the aromas are more black fruit than red. Still, unlike 2018, the differences between terroirs are apparent.

As Guillaume d’Angerville, sixth generation head at Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, remarked: ‘2015 was greatly affected by the warm conditions; 2018, less so; 2019, even less so; and 2020 was almost classical in style.’

See the Burgundy 2020 en primeur score table listing Charles’ top 153 wines all scoring 95 points or above

See all 650 Burgundy 2020 tasting notes and scores

Quick links:

See further analysis and top-scoring wines of the following areas:

Côte de Beaune | Côte de Nuits | Mâconnais | Côte Chalonnaise

Morey-St-Denis | Meursault | Gevrey-Chambertin | Chambolle-Musigny | Pommard and Volnay | Vosne-Romanée

Beating the heat – 2020 climate and growing conditions

2020 began warmer and drier than average, and temperatures remained high in February. Fortunately, much of the region (except the Côte Chalonnaise) received much-needed rain to recharge reserves in the soil.

Bud break began three weeks earlier than usual, between 18-23 March. Temperatures again greatly exceeded the norm in April, and flowering was also three weeks early, the process beginning in some precocious sectors as early as 14 May and producing many bunches and little evidence of coulure or millerandage (respectively, poor fruit set due to inconsistent flowering, and uneven-sized grapes on bunches due to poor fertilisation).

The summer season continued to be warm, but less so than April. There was an intense heatwave during the second week of August, but the real story was the drought.

After the refreshing rains in March, there was little precipitation. The small amount of rain that fell was in the form of highly localised thunderstorms that didn’t benefit the broader region, and in general, drought conditions prevailed.

This was particularly true in the Côte d’Or, where precipitation was down by 62%, according to the Burgundy wine board BIVB.

By contrast, the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais to the south were 28% drier than usual.

Along with the lack of rain, total hours of sunshine were more than 25% above the average. Yet despite this, many growers reported a blockage of maturity due to the lack of water.

Veraison [onset of colour change in the berries], which was underway before 1 August, was slowed by the blockage and did not finish until the end of the heatwave.

The vines shut down at this point and stopped ripening, which posed the danger of green, unripe tannins.

Exceptionally low yields

Conditions also led to a concentration of the juice by evaporation. Growers cited a harvest anywhere from 20%-40% lower than expected because of this phenomenon.

Fortunately, tartaric acid was also concentrated – this acidity helped the grapes retain freshness even in the face of malic acid levels that were very low.

According to Bertrand de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a north wind that prevailed from Palm Sunday (5 April in 2020) onward also helped concentrate the fruit.

It is this wind and concurrent cool nights that gave 2020 the balance which sets it apart from 2018 and 2019.

Beaune-based producer Philippe Pacalet compared the 2020 and 2019 vintages in this way: ‘2019 had a smaller sortie [number of bunches] leading to a smaller harvest; 2020 had a good sortie, but because of the lack of water, the grapes didn’t swell. An average picking case was 2kg less than usual. It’s the millésime of density.’

However, the same sunny, dry conditions also exposed the bunches to the danger of sunburn, which can bring bitterness to the wines.

Growers found it necessary to sort for sunburn, although there was little disease.

Decanter’s Côte d’Or vintage ratings

2020

Whites 4 | Reds 4.5

2019

Whites 4 | Reds 4.5

2018

Whites 3.5 | Reds 4

2017

Whites 4 | Reds 3.5

2016

Whites 4 | Reds 4.5

2015

Whites 3 | Reds 5

Overall verdict – healthy and ripe

Overall, the 2020 Burgundy vintage was the hottest since the start of the 21st century.

Harvest commenced as early as 12 August in the Mâconnais, and growers throughout the Burgundy region began picking the following week.

Many harvested the Pinot Noir first, because the thinner skins are more susceptible to sunburn and water stress, and left the hardier Chardonnay for later harvest.

Many growers even finished picking before the beginning of September – but those who waited were rewarded with a bit of rain over the last weekend in August, which helped the vines finish their ripening.

In the end, the crop was healthy, slightly smaller than usual, and very concentrated.

Among the reds, 2020 saw a very high average level of tannin – on a par with 2015 – and the amount of colour in the skins was the highest ever measured.

According to Frédéric Drouhin, the harvest was ‘completely homogenous, from Chablis to the Mâconnais, everywhere healthy and ripe, although yields were 20% less than a normal crop’.

In red and in white, Burgundy 2020 is certainly a vintage worth buying.

Among the whites, perhaps the most compelling are the southwest-facing Corton Charlemagne, Chevalier-Montrachet from high on the slope, and the premiers crus from the highest reaches of Puligny, Chassagne and Meursault, such as Puligny Champ Gain, Chassagne La Romanée or Meursault Blagny.

For the reds, Bonnes-Mares, Richebourg, Ruchottes-Chambertin or Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts are all superb options, if money is no object.

Burgundy 2020 top-value whites:

• Domaine Paul Pillot, Bourgogne Blanc, 2020
• Domaine Ferret, Hors-Classe Tournant de Pouilly Cuvée, 1er Cru Les Reisses, 2020
• Domaine A & P de Villaine, Bouzeron, 2020
• Domaine Barraud, La Roche, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Vergisson, 2020
• Domaine Lucien Jacob, Savigny-lès-Beaune, 1er Cru Vergelesses, 2020
• Benjamin Leroux, Auxey-Duresses, 2020
• Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, St-Aubin, 1er Cru Chatenière, 2020
• Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson, Sous la Velle, St-Romain, 2020
• Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, Clos du Four, Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine, 2020

Burgundy 2020 top-value reds:

• Domaine de la Cras, Bourgogne Montre Cul, 2020
• Domaine Gérard Mugneret, Pourpre, Vin de France, 2020
• Domaine Jessiaume, Clos du Clos Gênet, Santenay, 2020
• Château de Chamirey, Mercurey, 1er Cru Ruelles, 2020
• Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Marsannay, 2020
• Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Aux Etalois, Gevrey-Chambertin, 2020
• Domaine Michel Mallard, Aloxe-Corton, 1er Cru Les Valozières, 2020
• Domaine Comte Senard, Chorey-lès-Beaune, 2020
• Domaine Michel Lafarge, L’Exception, Bourgogne Passtoutgrains, 2020

Burgundy 2020 top-quality whites:

• Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, 2020
• Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard, Montrachet Grand Cru 2020
• Etienne Sauzet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, 2020
• Domaine Blain-Gagnard, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, 2020
• Domaine Paul Pillot, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru La Grande Montagne, 2020
• Domaine Roulot, Meursault, 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères, 2020
• Maison Pierre Millemann, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Roulot, Meursault, 1er Cru Perrieres, Burgundy 2020

Burgundy 2020 top-quality reds:

• Domaine Trapet Père & Fils, Chambertin Grand Cru, 2020
• Domaine Dujac, Romanée-St-Vivant Grand Cru, Burgundy 2020
• Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat, Richebourg Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Denis Bachelet, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Faiveley, Les Ouvrées Rodin, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 2020
• Hubert Lignier, Hommage, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, Musigny Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Grand Cru Monopole, 2020
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, La Romanée Grand Cru 2020

Burgundy 2020 under-the-radar wines:

• Domaine Duroché, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Amiot-Servelle, Les Bas Doix, Chambolle-Musigny, 2020
• Maison Pierre Millemann, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2020
• Domaine Joannès Violot-Guillemard, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, 2020
• Domaine Yvon Clerget, Volnay, 1er Cru Les Caillerets, Burgundy 2020
• Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson, Sous la Velle, St-Romain, 2020
• Domaine des Croix, Beaune, 1er Cru Grèves, 2020

See tasting notes and scores for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Burgundy 2020 wines:

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Chablis 2020: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

In Andy Howard MW’s Chablis 2020 vintage report, the top-scoring wines mainly consisted, somewhat unsurprisingly, of grand cru and premier cru wines.

A vintage marked by classicism, both of these quality tiers showed distinct terroir influence in 2020, as well as good ageing potential, although command much higher prices.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for a selection of top-value Chablis 2020 wines

However, Petit Chablis was also very successful in 2020, with many wines showing an attractive stone-fruit character combined with freshness and approachability.

The wines will provide excellent short-term drinking before many of the best Chablis are ready. Petit Chablis retains the drive and purity of Chablis but in a more accessible, less complex way and at more everyday prices.

AOP Chablis wines had lots of acidity and concentration, as well as great energy and a mineral streak, hinting that these wines will benefit from careful ageing. These will therefore offer great value and should be on the radar to snap up quickly.

Quick links to Chablis 2020 top-scoring wines by appellation:

Petit Chablis | AOP Chablis | Premier Cru Chablis | Grand Cru Chablis

The list of value wines below is made up of mostly AOP Chablis and Petit Chablis. However it does also include three premier cru wines, which will provide insight into the ageability and complexity of the higher tiers and which Andy Howard MW also reveals are disarmingly drinkable now.

That being said, as Oliver Bailly advises, make sure to decant the premier cru wines for at least an hour in order to reveal the wines’ true potential.

Which value Chablis 2020 wines to seek out

Domaine Céline & Frédéric Gueguen’s Chablis retails at just £15.99 but shows concentration on the palate and extra layers of flavour, kept in perfect balance by crisp acidity and a fine, mineral finish.

The Chablis ‘Vieilles Vignes’ from Domaine Séguinot-Bordet comes in at just over £20 and offers a great deal of fruit purity and an energy on the palate which makes one want to drink another glass.

To taste a very fine example of AOP Chablis which would compete very effectively against many a premier cru, try Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard’s Sainte Claire Chablis.

You’ll find great value with one of the top Petit Chablis around, punching well above its weight, in Samuel Billaud’s Petit Chablis, retailing at just £17.68

Domaine des Malandes Premier Cru Montmains scored 93 points and will retail between £30-£35 (based on previous years prices) and considering Andy Howard MW highlighted Montmains as being one of the top-performing premiers crus in 2020, this is one to try and get your hands on.

Chablis 2020 wines that scored 91 points or above and retail at under £30:

Daniel Dampt, Chablis, 1er Cru Fourchaume, 2020 – £25.90 (based on 2019 prices)

Domaine Camille & Laurent Schaller, Chablis, 2020 – £21

Domaine Céline & Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis, 2020 – £15.99

Domaine Sébastien Dampt, Chablis, 1er Cru Beugnons, 2020 – £29 (based on 2019 prices)

Domaine Séguinot-Bordet, Vieilles Vignes, Chablis 2020 – £21

J Moreau & Fils, Petit Chablis, 2020 – £15-19

La Chablisienne, Vibrant, Petit Chablis, 2020 – £16.99 (based on 2019 prices)

Samuel Billaud, Petit Chablis, 2020 – £17.69

Vincent Dampt, Chablis, 1er Cru Vaillons, 2020 – £26.75 (based on 2019 prices)

See Andy’s full Chablis 2020 vintage report and top-scoring wines

Top-value Chablis 2020 wines:

Related content:

Petit Chablis 2020: top-scoring wines

AOP Chablis 2020: top-scoring wines

Chablis 2020 score table

Created in 1944, the Petit Chablis appellation covers 1,189ha and is a great introduction to the crisp, fresh style of Chablis wines.

Scroll down for the top scoring Petit Chablis 2020 wines

In most cases the vines have been planted relatively recently. A key difference to AOP Chablis is that Petit Chablis vines are nearly always found on younger, Portlandian limestone bedrock.

The Portlandian rock is often found higher on the slopes, where the warmth and direct exposure to the sun is reduced.

See the 2020 Chablis full vintage report and top scoring wines

See all 180 Chablis 2020 tasting notes and scores

Petit Chablis retains the drive and purity of Chablis but in a more accessible, less complex way.

The classic mineral character associated with Chablis is usually more muted with Petit Chablis. It must be said that ‘Petit’ does not indicate ‘lesser’, as good producers, such as Domaine François Raveneau, William Fèvre and Samuel Billaud, all make Petit Chablis that can out-compete many a Chablis.

Petit Chablis 2020: the verdict

In 2020 many Petit Chablis show an attractive stone-fruit character, purity of fruit and bright acidity making then delicious to drink now.

Their freshness and drinkability will provide immediate pleasure while you wait for some of the best Chablis to be ready to drink.

Quick links

Find links to the full report and analysis of individual appellations below:

Chablis 2020 Full Report | Premier cru Chablis | Chablis | Top-value Chablis (coming soon)

Petit Chablis 2020: key producers

• Domaine François Raveneau
• Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
• Domaine William Fèvre
• Samuel Billaud

Petit Chablis 2020: under-the-radar producers

• Domaine des Quatre Chemins
• Domaine Orion
• Domaine Passy Le Clou

Petit Chablis 2020: top-value wines

• J Moreau et Fils, Petit Chablis

Andy Howard MW’s top-scoring Petit Chablis 2020 wines:

Related content:

Chablis 2020 full report and top scoring wines

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

Rightly world famous and one of the most important appellations in France, Chablis is produced in the northern part of Burgundy, with the marginal climate giving the wines a distinct freshness and pronounced acidity.

Scroll down for the top-scoring AOP Chablis 2020 wines

The AOP Chablis vineyards sit across 3,702ha and the wines have a very distinct character to Petit Chablis, with notes of green apple and pear fruit allied with good concentration and flinty, stony notes on the palate.

The key differentiator between Chablis and Petit Chablis is the soil. Vines within the AOP Chablis area are planted on Kimmeridgian soils dating back to the Upper Jurassic period.

See the 2020 Chablis full vintage report and top scoring wines

See all 180 Chablis 2020 tasting notes and scores

This limestone-clay soil is rich in fossilised marine deposits, which contributes to the extra layers of complexity and ageability one should expect to see in Chablis.

Chablis is nearly always fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks, with the best wines capable of improving for several years after the vintage, and ageing for several years more.

AOP Chablis 2020: the verdict

Many Chablis AOP wines were very successful in 2020, with plenty of acidity, concentration and crisp fruit. They seamlessly combined ripeness and energy with a saline, mineral finish.

With many of the wines showing a distinct step up from the Petit Chablis and pronounced apple and pear fruit characters, they will benefit from careful ageing.

Quick links

Find links to the full report and analysis of individual appellations below:

Chablis 2020 Full Report | Premier cru Chablis | AOP Chablis | Petit Chablis | Top-value Chablis (coming soon)

AOP Chablis 2020: key producers

• Domaine François Raveneau
• Domaine Vincent Dampt
• Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
• Domaine William Fèvre
• Jean-Marc Brocard
• Samuel Billaud

AOP Chablis 2020: under-the-radar producers

• Domaine Charly Nicolle
• Domaine des Quatre Chemins
• Domaine Jean Claude Courtault
• Domaine Orion
• Domaine Oudin
• Domaine Passy Le Clou

AOP Chablis 2020: top-value wines

• Didier et Agnès Dauvissat, Les Brèches de Fyé, Chablis
• Domaine Camille et Laurent Schaller, Chablis
• Domaine Céline et Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis
• Domaine Séguinot-Bordet, Chablis
• Domaine Orion, Chablis

Andy Howard MW’s top scoring AOP Chablis 2020 wines:

Related content:

Chablis 2020 full report and top scoring wines

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

There are 47 climats (named vineyard sites) in Chablis, of which 40 are designated premier cru Chablis, sitting across 778ha. Yields are slightly lower and minimum alcohol levels slightly higher than for AOP Chablis.

Some producers feel that a little oak maturation (perhaps 10-20%) adds to the complexity of the wines, although other leading producers, such as Louis Michel, eschew any form of wood, believing it reduces the focus on specific terroir.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the top premier cru Chablis 2020 wines

Premier cru Chablis is fantastic value compared to other premier cru wines from the Cote d’Or.

The 40 named climats are located on the left and right banks of the Serein River, each having a distinct character.

See the 2020 Chablis full vintage report and top scoring wines

See all 180 Chablis 2020 tasting notes and scores

Somewhat confusingly, a number of the major premiers crus (Vaillons, Montmains, Montée de Tonnerre and Fourchaume) also have several climats within them.

As a result, it is sometimes possible to see bottles labelled Butteaux or Forêt (both are part of Montmains and can also be named as such) or L’Homme Mort and Vaupulent (part of Fourchaume).

Montée de Tonnerre and Vaulorent are perhaps the highest regarded premiers crus, but any climat, in the hands of a good producer, will produce memorable, terroir-driven wines.

Premier cru Chablis 2020: the verdict

2020 produced wines which combine extra layers of richness and complexity, with a distinctive terroir character.

On the left bank of the Serein, Montmains and Vaillons were particularly noteworthy, while Mont de Milieu and Vaulorent stood out on the left bank, as did the reputable Montée de Tonnerre.

Although deserving of longer ageing, many 2020 premiers crus will be disarmingly easy to drink while young.

Quick links

Find links to the full report and analysis of individual appellations below:

Chablis 2020 Full Report | Premier cru Chablis | Chablis | Petit Chablis | Top-value Chablis (coming soon)

Premier cru Chablis 2020: key producers

• Domaine François Raveneau
• Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
• Samuel Billaud
• Domaine William Fèvre
• Jean-Marc Brocard
• Domaine Long-Depaquit
• Domaine Billaud-Simon
• Domaine Vincent Dampt

Premier cru Chablis 2020: under-the-radar producers

• Domaine Céline et Frédéric Gueguen
• Domaine Camille et Laurent Schaller
• Charlène et Laurent Pinson
• Domaine Jean Claude Courtault
• Domaine Ternynck
• Domaine Oudin

Premier cru Chablis 2020: top-value wines

• Domaine des Malandes, Premier Cru Montmains
• Domaine Long-Depaquit, Premier Cru Les Vaucoupins
• Domaine Sébastien Dampt, Premier Cru Les Beugnons

See tasting notes and scores for Andy Howard MW’s top premier cru Chablis 2020 wines:

Related content:

Chablis 2020: full vintage report and top scoring wines

Top scoring Grand Cru Chablis 2019

Top scoring AOP Chablis 2019 wines

At the top of the Chablis quality pyramid lies Chablis grand cru.

There are seven different expressions of the one grand cru (as opposed to seven different appellations): Bougros, Preuses, Valmur, Grenouilles, Vaudesir, Blanchot and Les Clos.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring grand cru Chablis 2020

La Moutonne is an unofficial eighth climat which was overlooked when the appellation laws were set. It is a monopole belonging to Domaine Long-Depaquit, with 5% of it situated within Les Preuses and 95% within Vaudesir.

Chablis grand cru, like the top sites within the Cote d’Or, is a complex map of different plots and different producers, with many having different holdings within the one grand cru climat.

See the 2020 Chablis full vintage report and top scoring wines

See all 180 Chablis 2020 tasting notes and scores

At 102ha, the grand cru vineyard area is a wonderfully exposed, steep slope which in most cases faces south-west (Blanchot is the exception facing east-south-east).

Oak use is much more common in these wines, but new oak is very rarely used.

Chablis grand cru wines will need at least five, often 10 years to hit their peak, so buy from a top producer in a top vintage and the wines will have an extremely long life.

Grand cru Chablis 2020: the verdict

Some classic grands crus were produced in 2020, marrying pronounced terroir character with complex flavours, additional levels of concentration and freshness, and the ability to age for over a decade.

Well-placed oak has produced great power and texture, with Les Clos and Les Preuses being particularly impressive climats in 2020.

Quick links

Find links to the full report and analysis of individual appellations below:

Chablis 2020 Full Report | Premier cru Chablis | Chablis | Petit Chablis | Top-value Chablis (coming soon)

Grand cru Chablis 2020: key producers

• Domaine François Raveneau
• Domaine Long-Depaquit
• Domaine Louis Michel
• Domaine Vincent Dauvissat
• Domaine William Fèvre

Grand cru Chablis 2020: under-the-radar producers

• Charlène et Laurent Pinson
• Domaine Charly Nicolle

Tasting notes and scores for Andy Howard MW’s top grand cru Chablis 2020 wines:

Related content:

Chablis 2020: full report and top scoring wines

Top scoring Premier cru Chablis 2020 wines

Investing in Burgundy: search on for next stars

Quick links

Analysis of individual appellations and their top-scoring wines coming soon:

Grand cru Chablis | Premier cru Chablis | Chablis | Petit Chablis | Top-value Chablis (coming soon)

Following on from the super-concentrated 2019s and the softer, peachier style of 2018, the word most heard during my recent visit to Chablis was ‘classic’.

While 2020 may not quite have the linear acidity of 2014, there are a lot of similarities with 2017, another classic year. Although 2020 was a very early vintage, it was not a particularly hot one and managed to avoid the dramatic heat spikes of 2018 and 2019.

My high tasting scores suggest that this is a vintage which can be rated at least four stars, with a wide incidence of five-star wines.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring Chablis 2020 wines

Domaine Seguinot-Bordet’s Jean-Francois Bordet, President of the BIVB Chablis commission, says ‘it was a very classic vintage’. Olivier Bailly of Domaine Billaud-Simon echoes that verdict, confirming ‘2020 is a classic vintage more like 2014 and 2017 than 2018 or 2019’.

Vincent Dauvissat, whom I visited while he was dashing around in the cellar moving wines between barrels, stopped long enough to describe the year as a ‘magnificent’ vintage.

On a visit to Domaine Francois Raveneau, Isabelle Raveneau confirmed the general view, noting that 2020 was ‘more classic than 2019’, although she believes 2019 was still ‘a fine year which was very concentrated and had great density, as it was only half the yield’.

Recipe for success

Following the reduced crop in 2019, and the exceedingly difficult 2016 vintage (devastated by bouts of frost and hail), the weather in 2020 was generally kind to Chablis producers.

Winter saw plenty of rainfall to boost water reserves and the mild start to the year encouraged early budburst, although producers feared the worst when temperatures plummeted at the end of March and early April.

Bailly said he had spent seven nights in his vineyards lighting frost-protection candles (bougies), but fortunately damage was slight and only affected the lowest sites.

A warm April was followed by soaring temperatures in May, which encouraged a rapid, successful flowering.

Summer was warm and dry, with July experiencing virtually no rain. However, due to ample water reserves, few vines were adversely affected, the main impact being smaller grape sizes which boosts concentration but reduces the potential yield at harvest.

Occasional showers in August freshened up the vines, with some localised hailstorms affecting the villages of Béru and Beines on 12 August.

The growth cycle was completed 15-20 days earlier than normal in the past 20 years, with harvest starting on 24 August and finishing within three weeks. Alcohol levels are generally between 0.5 and 1 degree lower than 2019, with higher levels of tartaric acid in the grapes – all the ingredients for a fine Chablis vintage.

Raveneau said their harvest began on 28 August, the second earliest after 2003, although she felt it was ‘a completely different year in the vineyard’.

She described 2020 as an ‘easy’ vintage, not because shortcuts could be taken, but because producers had sufficient time to make careful decisions about what to do, and when. For her, the objective is simple, ‘to produce the very best wine we can make from the healthiest raw material’.

At Domaine Louis Moreau, Louis Moreau agreed that 2020 gave producers plenty of time to make the best choices in both the vineyard and at harvest time – the opposite of what happened in the difficult 2021 growing season.

Chablis: know your vintages

2020 Early but high-quality vintage with typical Chablis drive and freshness. Along with 2017, the best since 2014. A vintage to buy, and to keep the top wines carefully for drinking over 5-10 years.

2019 Some spikes of heat, but the grapes were very concentrated giving Chablis wines with weight and the acidity to support the ripe fruit. Best sites will keep many years.

2018 Big harvest with a dry, hot summer leading to ripe grapes which lacked a bit of concentration but had plenty of fruit purity. Stone fruit characters more evident, less classic, relatively early drinking.

2017 A fine vintage, plenty of acidity, floral and mineral notes, and a lot more drive and intensity than in either 2016 or 2018. Vintage to keep.

2016 Beset by frost and hail damage – very low yields as a result. Decent wines were made but acidity quite low; all but the best premiers crus and grands crus need drinking.

See all 180 Chablis 2020 tasting notes and scores

Quality across the board

In 2020, it appears that overall quality is not only high, but also homogenous across quality tiers, vineyard sites and both banks of the Serein river.

Petit Chablis was very successful with many wines showing an attractive stone-fruit character combined with freshness and approachability. The wines will provide some excellent short-term drinking before many of the best Chablis are ready.

Nearly all of the Chablis AOP tasted showed a distinct step up in concentration, with more pronounced acidity, apple (sometimes pear) fruit notes and a distinctly mineral edge. Although there is a thirst for youthful Chablis among consumers, this is one dry white wine that will benefit from careful ageing.

Premier cru Chablis adds more ageability and a lot more terroir influence, with the top climats showing very strongly. Montmains and Vaillons were impressive, while on the right-bank of the Serein, Mont de Milieu and Vaulorent shone, the latter showing why it is regarded by many as comparable to Chablis grand cru. As expected, the wines from Montée de Tonnerre lived up to their lofty reputation. Consistently good across every producer tasted, these will be wines to enjoy after a few years’ bottle age, and then over the next decade.

Oliver Bailly advises that the premier cru wines from 2020 should be aerated in a decanter for at least an hour if they are broached within the first two to three years following the vintage.

Chablis grand cru delivers extra levels of concentration, excellent long-term ageing potential, power and additional layers of texture via a greater use of oak. Les Clos and Les Preuses were perhaps the most memorable of all the wines tasted.

The top performers

The must-buy wines of 2020 range across many appellations, producers and sites. The wines of Domaine William Fèvre are stunning across the board. The effort put in by managing director Didier Seguier and his team to extract the maximum expression of individual terroirs is very impressive, with the results clearly evident in the glass.

A tasting of Samuel Billaud’s range showed why he is now considered another Chablis superstar.

And it is no surprise that Domaine Francois Raveneau and Vincent Dauvissat are producing the finest Chablis on the planet. Raveneau’s Les Clos was my wine of the vintage, but I would be extremely happy to be the owner of a single bottle of the Chablis or Petit Chablis, as these wines are also stunning.

Chablis – Decanter vintage ratings

2020 ****

2019 ****

2018 ***

2017 ****

2016 **

2015 ***

2014 *****

2013 **

2012 ****

Chablis: the facts and figures

As with other wines from Bourgogne, Chablis has seen strong growth in both revenue and volume in the past six months. According to the BIVB, white wines in 2020 accounted for a record 64% of the volume of wines produced in Burgundy, with Chablis the engine room for the region.

The UK remains a key market for the wines of Burgundy and has regained its position as the leading export market for Chablis, with revenue up by 9% and volume up by 13%, compared to 2019.

Sales have been driven mostly by Petit Chablis and Chablis, benefitting from higher production in 2020. Overall volumes in 2020 were up 16% compared to the average over the past five years.

Chablis has a total of 5,771ha under vine, with the Chablis AOP accounting for 66% of the planted area. Petit Chablis represents 19% and premier cru 14%, while grand cru comprises 102ha, just 1% of the total area.

Overall

2020 is a very fine vintage which is not easy to compare to other years. Although very early, the dry weather and absence of heat spikes meant that grape quality and health was exceptional.

Yields were slightly impacted by the dry weather, but this only appears to have added to the vitality of the wines.

Demand for Chablis is high and consumers should undoubtedly take the opportunity to stock up on 2020 and enjoy it over the next decade, as the wines represent fantastic value compared to many wines from the Cote d’Or.

The only shadow is that cast by the 2021 vintage. Where 2020 was kind to producers, 2021 presented a universally challenging growing season and yields will be no more than 50% of a normal year. Bulk prices are already rocketing and this will impact the price of bottled wines in 2022.

On a more positive note, early reports suggest the quality in 2021 is remarkably good considering the viticultural challenges, but the absence of volume will take its toll.

Andy Howard MW’s top-scoring Chablis 2020 wines:

The following wines all scored 94 points or above

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Last chance to buy Bonneau du Martray virtual masterclass tickets for Decanter at Home event

Domaine Dujac is indisputably at the top of its game.

Since being founded by Jacques Seysses and his father Louis Seysses in 1967, it has gone from strength to strength as it has grown.

Today the holdings total more than 15 hectares, and while the minute production of Chambertin and Romanée-St-Vivant may command the highest prices, the heart of the domaine is in Morey-St-Denis where they are based.

Morey is where more than half of their vineyards are located, including nearly two hectares of Clos de la Roche and 1.29 hectares of Clos Saint-Denis. Today, Domaine Dujac is run by Jacques’ two sons Jeremy and Alec, along with Jeremy’s wife Diana (née Snowden) and their brother Paul.

Full Burgundy 2019 en primeur report

Individual appellation overviews for:

Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Nuits & Mâconnais

Individual commune overviews for:

Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges, Pommard & Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet & Santenay

According to Alec Seysses, 2019 was a medium-size crop, noting that it was larger than the crop in 2020 but smaller than those from 2016 – 2018.

It was also more homogeneous than 2020 due to water stress this later year. A difficult flowering was only one of the reasons limiting crop size.

Seysses feels in general that the slightly larger yields in recent years help to balance the influence of rising temperatures and global warming. ‘Under-ripeness is no longer the issue in Burgundy; over-ripeness is the thing you have to be careful of,’ he says.

Regarding the yields, he adds, ‘it used to be six to eight bunches per vine, now it’s more like seven or eight.’

See all Domaine Dujac tasting notes and scores

Domaine Dujac began picking the first parcels on 3rd September. As with many estates, they started with the Pinot Noir and then moved on to Chardonnay.

They began to pick the whites in Puligny-Montrachet on the 10th and 11th of September and followed through on the reds after finishing on 19th September.

Dujac is not certified organic, but they farm their vineyards using organic methods combined with some elements of biodynamics, and the work in the winery flows as much as possible following the biodynamic calendar.

The winemaking at Dujac is very sensitive and essentially non-interventionalist. Although they are famous for whole cluster fermentation, the exact percentages are determined by the ripeness of the stems and the presence of botrytis (none in 2019).

Alec says that they usually destem 10-15% of the fruit, commenting ‘it’s more about infusion than extraction,’ with a combination of punching down, pumping over, and gently foot-treading some of the smaller vats.

Since they incorporate a relatively significant portion of the press wine, it is essential to understand how much tannin will come from pressing. Fermentation is done with wild yeasts, and the wines are typically bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Seldom does one find winemaking as expressive as that being done by the young generation at Dujac.

Charles Curtis MW rates the Domaine Dujac 2019 releases

See also

Chablis 2019: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Best value 2019 red Burgundy en primeur to buy

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy

The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti occupies a unique place at the summit of esteem and quality in the world of Burgundy.

As befits a domaine of such renown, it is sometimes thought of as unchanging, but in truth the domaine has never ceased to evolve.

They have long used organic farming and have begun fully biodynamic practice in 2007 under the supervision of Nicolas Jacob, who became vineyard manager in 2006. Jacob took over from Gérard Marlot, who had come in 1986 with cellar master Bernard Noblet.

Noblet stayed in his post until 2018 when he was replaced by Alexandre Bernier at his retirement. The winemaking appears not to have changed at all: strict sorting, whole bunches, wooden vats, and new casks from cooper François Frères.

Full Burgundy 2019 en primeur report

Individual appellation overviews for:

Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Nuits & Mâconnais

Individual commune overviews for:

Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges, Pommard & Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet & Santenay

The personnel continues to evolve, and even the universally-beloved Aubert de Villaine has stepped back somewhat, and visitors are most likely to be received by his nephew, Bertrand de Villaine.

Through the changes in personnel, the line-up of wines has also continued to evolve.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti first produced a red Corton in 2009 from 2.27 hectares that they lease from the heirs of the Domaine Prince Florent de Merode (in Corton Bressandes, Clos du Roi, and Renardes). They have been working with these new holdings, replanting where necessary and converting to biodynamic production to ensure consistent quality.

New projects

2019 will be the first vintage of Corton-Charlemagne, which will be produced from 2.49ha of vines that they are leasing from the new proprietors of Bonneau du Martray.

The vines are spread over six parcels in En Charlemagne (Pernand-Vergelesses) and Le Charlemagne (Aloxe-Corton). The Domaine did not show the wine at the journalists’ tastings with the rest of their production, but with nearly 2.5ha of Corton-Charlemagne now, hopes run high for securing a taste.

See all Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wine tasting notes and scores

Despite the generalised fear of global warming, Bertrand de Villaine remains sanguine. ‘Even though all the vintages from 2015 – 2020 are thought of as demonstrating the effects of global warming, there are nuances: 2017 recalls the classic style of 2014, while 2016 was definitely moreish [‘plus gourmand’]. Ultimately, getting rain at the right moment is more important to the quality of the wine than the general trend of global warming.’

Aubert de Villaine reaches even further into the past to compare 2019 to 1865, noting the similarities between 2019 and the harvests that his ancestor Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet described then.

Perhaps despite it all, some things don’t change after all.

Charles Curtis MW rates the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2019 releases

See also

Chablis 2019: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Best value 2019 red Burgundy en primeur to buy

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy

Copy here on the Domaine Méo-Camuzet wines and how they fit into the vintage….

Full Burgundy 2019 en primeur report

Individual appellation overviews for:

Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Nuits & Mâconnais

Individual commune overviews for:

Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges, Pommard & Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet & Santenay

Charles Curtis MW rates the 2019 Domaine Méo-Camuzet releases

See also

Chablis 2019: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Best value 2019 red Burgundy en primeur to buy

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy

Copy here on the Domaine Armand Rousseau wines and how they fit into the vintage….

Full Burgundy 2019 en primeur report

Individual appellation overviews for:

Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Nuits & Mâconnais

Individual commune overviews for:

Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St-Georges, Pommard & Volnay, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet & Santenay

Charles Curtis MW rates the 2019 Domaine Armand Rousseau releases

See also

Chablis 2019: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Best value 2019 red Burgundy en primeur to buy

Best value 2019 white Burgundy en primeur to buy