Burgundy 2016: Full en primeur report

Burgundy 2016 will be remembered for terrible frosts that took their toll on yields in many areas, including premier and grand cru sites, but there is quality if you know where to look among the wines that made it through. Read William Kelley's in-depth report...

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Full report on Burgundy 2016

• ‘Frost was unprecedented in my career,’ says Christophe Roumier

• This year, more than ever, the devil is in the detail. Here’s what to look out for…

See the Burgundy 2016 top scoring wines

Along the Côte d’Or, no one could recall anything like it. Burgundy is no stranger to frost, but the night of 26-27 April was unique, striking not just the low-lying regional and village appellations, but many celebrated grand and premier crus up-slope. Vineyards that normally escape unscathed were razed. ‘I’ve never heard of Echezeaux freezing,’ reflected Emmanuel Rouget. ‘My uncle, Henri Jayer, said that even Richebourg froze in the winter of 1947, but never Echezeaux.’ Christophe Roumier, whose vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny were hit hard, agreed: ‘It’s certainly unprecedented in my career.’

 ‘It is close to impossible to generalise in this vintage’

The caprice of the April frosts, denuding some vineyards of grapes while leaving others untouched, has left an indelible mark on the 2016 wines, resulting in almost unexampled heterogeneity.

Generalising about a vintage is always a challenge, but in 2016 it is close to impossible. This year, more than ever, the devil is in the detail.Before 27 April, the Côte d’Or was looking forward to a copious crop; indeed, many growers in Morey-St-Denis, which escaped the freeze, reported their largest harvest since 1999.

Consequently, distinctions were stark between frosted parcels, cropped at often punishingly low yields, and the generous production of vines that survived unscathed.

As smaller yields ripen faster, vines that had lost some of their crop to the frost tended to bring their grapes to maturity much more rapidly than those which escaped. As if that were not enough, some frosted vines produced second and third generations of grapes, which ripened after their elder siblings.

Picking the ideal moment to harvest the frosted vines, parcel by parcel, was thus a complicated affair: many were forced to compromise. Those who got it right – and many did – often made beautiful wines, their concentration amplified by the tiny yields.For the less successful growers, the results vary: some 2016s are extremely ripe, while others are lean and tart.

A few unfortunate producers who harvested very ripe first-generation grapes together with under-ripe second- and third-generation grapes made wines which unite both characteristics in an unhappy amalgam.

The small yields of 2016 also presented problems in the winery and cellar, frequently enforcing a departure from the house style. Fermenting small volumes can be difficult, so some growers blended appellations that they normally vinify separately; others used more whole-cluster fruit than usual to make up volume in their tanks.

In the cellar, with many domaines producing less than half of a normal crop, maintaining consistent percentages of new oak was often impossible. Some growers opted to use a larger proportion of new barrels than usual, others to use none at all. These different responses to 2016’s challenges only amplified the heterogeneity of the raw materials.

Frost, then mildew

A blow-by-blow account of which appellations suffered and which were spared could easily occupy the entirety of this report, as the frost’s impact and the vines’ response often varied from one row of vines to the next.

‘The first thing to know is that there isn’t any wine’ Guillaume Michel, of Domaine Louis Michel in Chablis, who lost 50% of his harvest.

In brief, however, the villages which were hardest hit were:

• Marsannay
• Flagey-Echezeaux
• Vougeot
• Chambolle-Musigny
• Nuits-St-Georges
• Pernand-Vergelesses
• Savigny-lès-Beaune
• Beaune
• Meursault
• Chassagne-Montrachet

Santenay and Morey-St-Denis were almost entirely spared, while Puligny-Montrachet, Volnay, Pommard, Aloxe-Corton, Gevrey-Chambertin and Fixin were damaged in places and untouched in others.

But if the 2016 vintage will be long remembered for the April frosts, what of the rest of the growing season? A mild winter gave succour to vine diseases and parasites, as well as precipitating an early bud break. Then, the humid weather that persisted largely unabated until 15 July nourished the worst attack of mildew since 2004, with record-breaking rainfall making it difficult to apply treatments in the vineyards.

Several growers were forced to temporarily abandon their organic or biodynamic principles. ‘Having lost half my crop to frost,’ said Puligny-Montrachet’s Jean-Michel Chartron, ‘I was in no mood to lose what remained to mildew.’ Unlike the frost, these challenges were relatively even-handed in their impact.

From 15 July onwards, the remainder of the growing season was sunny and dry, with a prevailing northerly wind. Light rainfall in early September, and then again on 16 and 18 September, alleviated hydric stress, allowing vines to ripen their grapes. It was only at the beginning of October that sustained rainfall began, but by then many growers had happily already brought in all their grapes.

This warm, dry weather saved the vintage. As Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti put it, ‘we found ourselves believing in miracles!’. Of course, those who had lost much of their harvest found it hard to muster much enthusiasm, and the mood along the Côte d’Or was far from jubilant.

Silver linings

But as producers began to taste their wines, their attitude changed.

 ‘Whereas the 2015 reds were rich, lusty and ample, the successful 2016s are more vibrant and less massive.’

‘It was difficult to imagine that the 2016s could ever rival the 2015s,’ says Pierre Duroché of Gevrey-Chambertin, ‘but today I think it’s possible’ – a sentiment echoed by many of his fellow producers. In fact, at some addresses the 2016 reds don’t merely rival but actually surpass what was achieved in 2015, although in a very different register.

Whereas the 2015 reds were rich, lusty and ample, the successful 2016s are more vibrant and less massive.

A diverse cast of vignerons, including Emmanuel Rouget, Frédéric Lafarge and Bertrand Dugat, identify ‘energy’ as their defining characteristic. Their sappy vitality lends them a certain friendly immediacy, but they should keep well, too.

Importantly, distinctions of site are articulated with clarity in 2016. The downside is that the lower appellations do not often transcend their place in the hierarchy this year.

If 2015 was a great year for regional and villages appellations, the high points of 2016 are more typically located among the premiers and grands crus.

‘It was difficult to imagine the 2016s could ever rival the 2015s, but today I think it’s possible’ said Pierre Duroché, Domaine Duroché, Gevrey-Chambertin

The 2016 whites are less inspiring than the reds: generally open-knit, and lacking both tension and concentration; most will be at their best in their youth. Indeed, many serious producers expressed satisfaction if they were at least able to produce something that respected their house style and the differences between their appellations.

Not everyone, however, was so fortunate. Where small crops ripened rapidly, the wines are musky, exotic and atypical. Others reveal a tart core of acidity – from unripe second- and third-generation fruit – that reminds Jean-Philippe Fichet of the wines of the 1970s. It’s possible that they may surprise with time.

But what of the north and south?

Chablis, like the Côte d’Or, was devastated by frost and beset by mildew. The 2016s will be scarce: ‘The first thing to know is that there isn’t any wine’, said Guillaume Michel of Domaine Louis Michel, who lost 50% of his harvest.

Many Chablis wines, especially those from frosted vineyards, are exotic and rather atypical, but some producers have done well; and, as with the Côte d’Or reds, it was only towards the end of their maturation in barrel that their promise became apparent. After initial misgivings, Etiennette Dauvissat has come to believe her 2016s will outlast the family’s lovely 2015s.

In southern Burgundy, 2016 is a consistently superb vintage for Côte Chalonnaise reds from Mercurey, Givry and Rully. As the wines of the Côte d’Or attain ever higher prices, it is here that true value is to be found.

The whites, by contrast, are mostly rich, gourmand and open-knit; wines for the restaurant, not for the cellar.

In the Mâconnais, the picture is mixed. Hail struck several of the region’s grander appellations in the south, especially St-Véran, and the grapes that survived sometimes ripened too quickly. On the other hand, vineyards which were spared were often grotesquely over-cropped, producing dilute and vegetal wines.

The best examples are similar to the 2014s, but with less tension and more amplitude.

Drink, keep… or avoid?

So, the big question: are these wines to buy? They will certainly be expensive. Even with the prospect of a plentiful harvest in 2017, many producers are facing financial pressures after a string of small crops, and most will be forced to increase their tariffs; increases only amplified by the weak pound for UK-based buyers.

The wines, moreover, will be scarce; and not only because of the year’s low yields. As Burgundians increasingly tire of seeing their wines immediately resold on international markets (a practice endemic among UK wine merchants), British consumers are likely to find their allocations reduced.

But the Côte d’Or’s many excellent reds will be well worth snapping up, and it would be a pity if their quality were hidden in the shadow of the superb 2015s. The 2016 whites should be bought selectively and earmarked for comparatively near-term consumption.

Finally, value-seekers should explore the lovely Pinot Noirs of the Côte Chalonnaise. The 2016 vintage is not a year to buy blindly, but it’s certainly a vintage to buy.

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