Burgundy 2019 en primeur: Full report plus top-scoring wines

Côte d’Or whites score

4/5

Côte d’Or reds score

4.5/5

Individual appellation overviews for:

Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Nuits & Mâconnais

COMING SOON

Individual commune overviews for:

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

Overview

In describing the 2019 Burgundy vintage, François Labet, proprietor of Château de la Tour in Clos de Vougeot and co-president of the BIVB, the regional wine board, said: ‘2018 was Arnold Schwarzenegger but 2019 is Maria Sharapova!’

If the 2018 wines were notable for their (albeit stylish) power and mass, the 2019s bring finesse and elegance to the equation without sacrificing concentration. The vintage takes its place alongside other exceptional recent years in Burgundy, carving out a niche for its outstanding balance of intense fruit, firm structure and supple texture.

Scroll down for Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Burgundy 2019 tasting notes and scores

Yields

Yields were low, however: 1.2 million hectoliters, compared to an average of 1.5 million – and the 1.8 million harvested in 2018. The reds are generally ripe and forward, with plenty of body and velvety tannic structure. The whites are also rich but show remarkable balance despite the heat.

The recent vintages of 2018, 2019 and 2020 all share the heat in common, where a mild winter preceded the growing season. Predictions in 2019 were for another uncommonly early harvest as in 2018, when picking began on 20 August. But temperatures turned colder in April, dropping below freezing on the night of 4 April, and the region saw scattered damage from frost. There was also frost on 12 and 15 April, but the consequences were less severe.

See all Burgundy 2019 en primeur tasting notes and scores

Weather conditions

‘On 4 and 5 April, just as the buds were ready to open, we were struck with a black frost, particularly in the regional- and village-level appellations at lower elevations where we lost 60% of our harvest,’ said Frédéric Lafarge.

May was warmer, and the vines started to grow in earnest. By early June, however, temperatures had dipped again, and it had started to rain, drawing out the flowering. This led to millerandage (shot berries), further reducing yields. These bunches produce large and small grapes (‘hens and chicks’), which give more concentrated wine because of the higher ratio of skin to juice.

By the last week in June, temperatures had become unseasonably hot, reaching 40°C, and Burgundy was plunged into the first of two severe heatwaves. Temperatures flared up again in the last week of July.

‘Between the frost, the drawn-out flowering and the sunburn, yields were down,’ said Louis-Michel Liger-Belair. ‘There was a reduction in yield of about 10% with each heatwave.’ Low yields and the heat combined to concentrate both acidity and sugar in the grapes, allowing both reds and whites to maintain a very fine balance of richness and structure.

Fortunately, the vines were refreshed by a bit of rain in mid August, which brought on the start of veraison and helped them to ripen fully. The effect of the cool weather in April and June was to push the harvest date into September, in line with historical norms.

Picking began in the first week and continued at a leisurely pace throughout the month. The heat and relative lack of rain meant the grapes were in perfect health, and growers could pick each parcel as it became ready to harvest.

Top 10 producers to watch

• Laurent Ponsot (Gilly-lès-Cîteaux)
• Sylvain Pataille (Marsannay)
• Benjamin Leroux (Beaune)
• Domaine Joliet (Fixin)
• Domaine Berthaut Gerbet (Fixin)
• Domaine Jessiaume (Santenay)
• Eric Forest (Pouilly Fuissé)
• Stéphane Aladame (Montagny)
• Jean-Marc Vincent (Santenay)
• Philippe Pacalet (Beaune)

Comparisons and verdict

According to Beaune négociant Benjamin Leroux, these wines reflect the ‘new normal’ rather than what wine writers might describe as ‘classic Burgundy’.

They are friendly, ripe, open and lush. And thanks to the concentration of the year, they have found their balance.

In describing the style of the vintage, Bertrand de Villaine said: ‘2019 was a bit like 2005 or 2009, but even more generous than ’09 and not as opaque as ’05. 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 went further into the past to compare it to 1865, noting the similarities between 2019 and what his ancestor Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet described at the time: ‘15.75% to 16% [potential alcohol at harvest] in Beaune Grèves, Vignes-Franches and Clos des Mouches on 19 September – unlike anything we had ever seen.’

Perhaps in 150 years, people will still remember the vintage of 2019?

You can be certain, however, that few of these wines will be available then. If you love great Burgundy, you should think about securing some 2019s quickly. Given current pricing trends, they will never be cheaper than they are now.

My view is to seek top-quality producers working in relatively cool spots – at the top of the slope, just inside the combe, with a north-facing exposure – and purchase with confidence. Although some people might find the reds a bit too fruity or the whites a bit rich, my advice is to relax and savour them: 2019 is a hedonistic vintage and these wines are a joy.

See Charles Curtis MW’s top-scoring Burgundy 2019 tasting notes and scores

The following wines scored 98 points or above.

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