Burgundy 2021 en primeur: full report and top-scoring wines

Côte d’Or 2021 whites score: 4/5

Côte d’Or 2021 reds score: 3.5/5

‘Given the weather patterns of the year, it is nearly inevitable that whites and reds alike have fresh acidity, light body, moderate alcohol and firm structure.’

White wine of the vintage:

Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Montrachet Grand Cru, 97pt

Red wine of the vintage:

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

The small amount of white wine produced in 2021 has the lively, fresh acidity to produce crisp, concentrated wines, assuming a rigorous sorting took place between picking and fermentation. The best red wines are light in colour and body, perfumed, elegant and structured – a distinct departure from recent vintages. Less good examples can show tart acidity, herbal flavours and astringent tannins.

For those who didn’t sort well, the risks are ‘off’ aromas from rot and volatile acidity – but buyers who choose carefully will be delighted by the classic style of this vintage, which can be seen as the antithesis of recent years.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Burgundy 2021 wines

A ‘big little year’

‘Un grand petit millésime,’ boutique négociant Philippe Pacalet remarked concerning 2021. ‘But not a vintage for beginners.’ Despite reports of the vintage being an absolute catastrophe, some lovely wines were produced. To pull this off required unstinting work in the vineyards and knowhow in the winery. Results were uneven, with liltingly charming wines alternating with less successful examples and vast differences between the regions of the Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais.

The year began with a mild, wet winter, with rain in January more than 40% above average in the Côte d’Or. February and March were dry, and a cold snap in mid-March was followed by almost summery temperatures that tricked the vines into an early bud burst – with disastrous consequences. Temperatures plummeted beginning on the night of 5 April, and there was a hard frost on the nights of 6-8 April, with snow on the second night. Losses were dramatic and widespread, with many vineyards losing 50%-90% of the future harvest.

Although temperatures rose later in April, there was no easy solution for the vines, which struggled to produce their secondary buds. May was hardly kinder to the vines, with heavy rain throughout the month. Temperatures remained cool, and the rainstorms often brought sleet or hail. Weather in June was seasonable and fair, and flowering steadily accelerated after the second week, however there were scattered episodes of hail throughout the month.

Difficulties were compounded in July and August as temperatures remained low, skies cloudy, and rain fell incessantly. Rainfall in July was nearly as heavy as in May and continued everywhere through August, leading to intense pressure from mildew (particularly downy mildew) and rot.

Veraison – the point at which the berries begin to change colour and soften – was delayed by these conditions, and sugar remained low and acidity high through to the end of the season. Harvest began in the second half of September in a classic nerve-wracking race against poor weather after the autumnal equinox. Right on schedule, up to 60mm of rain fell in several large storms in the second half of September. Conditions continued to deteriorate after this, and disappointed vintners turned their attention to their fermentations. According to the BIVB regional wine board, the harvest was just above 997,000 hectolitres, down from nearly 1.6 million hl in 2020 and a decrease of 47.8% compared to the average of the past five years.

Careful inspection

Given the weather patterns of the year, it is nearly inevitable that whites and reds alike have fresh acidity, light body, moderate alcohol and firm structure. The challenge for growers was to combat the endemic mildew and rot of the vintage and choose the harvest date to ensure the best balance of sugar and acid before the late September rains began. Once picked, it was essential to sort rigorously, which is time-consuming and heartbreaking for vignerons who have already lost at least half their crop to frost. It was not a vintage for the faint of heart.

I began my own assessment of the vintage with a first look in May and June 2022 and returned in October and November for more tasting. To understand the vintage thoroughly, I tasted more than 1,300 wines, including over 1,000 during 87 domaine visits throughout the Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais, rounded out with several hundred more tasted blind with the BIVB in Beaune.

My domaine visits moved from the Mâconnais northwards, finishing in the Côte de Nuits. The Mâconnais was among the regions hardest hit by the weather, and the mood was grim.

Losses to frost and struggles with rot and mildew were also severe in the Côte Chalonnaise and Côte de Beaune. Still, there were strong performances here, with the Chardonnay being more severely impacted than Pinot Noir. Much of the Côte de Nuits was less severely damaged, and here the mood was better, and the wines often more successful.

Many see 2021 as a return to the past – ‘a departure from all the recent hot vintages’, according to Guillaume d’Angerville of Volnay-based Domaine Marquis d’Angerville. Jean Lupatelli, the new [as of the 2021 harvest] winemaker at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, commented: ‘It wasn’t an easy year, but a classic one.’ The best wines are definitely worth buying.

2021 is a classic Burgundian vintage and almost a trip down memory lane for experienced Burgundy lovers. Still, buyers will have to choose with care and adapt to a style that is radically different from those of recent years.

COMING SOON

See the score table listing Charles’ top Burgundy 2021 wines all scoring 94 points or above

See all 700 Burgundy 2021 tasting notes and scores

Around the appellations

Côte de Nuits

Bruno Clair, based in Marsannay, reported 70% losses from frost here, noting that damage was more intense than it was in Gevrey-Chambertin. Although Gevrey may have had less frost, it still was not an easy year. Cyrielle Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau commented that it was the smallest harvest she had ever done, with volumes down 40%. She started to pick on 22 September, just after the rain that began Sunday and stretched until the following Tuesday.

In Morey St-Denis, Jeremy Seysses from Domaine Dujac recalled the old Burgundian advice: ‘Early harvest, harvest early; late harvest, harvest late.’ They opted to wait, not starting until 25 September. Seysses notes that his Morey St-Denis village and premier cru vineyards largely dodged the frost, while the remaining vineyards suffered losses of between 30%-60%. Nearby in Chambolle-Musigny, Christophe Roumier described a classic vintage that delivered ‘energetic and fresh’ wines despite an ‘unprecedented’ pressure from the frost, rain and mildew. Losses in many of his vineyards were limited to 25%-35%.

The largest producer in the Clos de Vougeot, Château de la Tour, saw volumes at 60%-70% of what a ‘normal’ vintage might be. In response, none of its top wine Hommage à Jean Morin was produced, but the grapes were used to reinforce its Vieilles Vignes bottling.

In Vosne-Romanée, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti reported serious losses of 80% in Corton and 90% in Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet, with yields among the lowest of the past half-century. Co-director Bertrand de Villaine, however, remained optimistic. ‘There were bright spots – we lost much of the harvest, but we didn’t lose any vines, and we certainly could have.’ He compared the results to 1991: ‘I wasn’t here then, but the wines remind me of the bottled wines from that year, another that was overshadowed [like 2021] by the previous year.’

In Nuits-St-Georges, Thibault Liger-Belair downplayed the losses due to weather in 2021. He noted that his yield was 25%-30% lower due to frost in the Côte de Nuits, and some parcels, such as Charmes-Chambertin, actually produced more wine in 2021 than in 2020.

Côte de Beaune

Claude de Nicolay at Chandon de Briailles in Savigny-lès-Beaune remarked: ‘It wasn’t an easy year, but I love the results. The last three weeks of the season helped us to ripen the fruit better than we did in 2016, for example, and we didn’t need to chaptalise any lots.’

For Yves Confuron, régisseur of the Domaine de Courcel in Pommard, 2021 was a ‘Brittany’ vintage, with rain and mildew and few grapes, yet they were picked at an average of 13.5% alcohol. He noted only 10%-15% lost due to the frost but more due to mildew.

Frédéric Lafarge in Volnay, however, reported 80% losses, noting that his selection of Domaine Michel Lafarge cuvées was drastically foreshortened, with the elimination of the ‘Vendanges Selectionnées’ and all the individual premiers crus, which were blended into a single cuvée of Volnay premier cru.

Pierre Lafon, who has just taken over from his uncle Dominique, pegged production at one third of an average crop. All Meursault producers agree, however, that the damage to their vineyards was highly variable. As Benjamin Leroux pointed out, his losses varied from 80% at the top of the hill to 50% in the premiers crus.

Jean Chartron from Puligny reported losing half of his crop to the frost, although he noted that rot was less of a factor. He picked fairly early, starting on 21 September for still wines. Lucie Coutoux, the winemaker at Domaine Michel Niellon in neighbouring Chassagne, added: ‘It was a difficult year in every aspect, but winemaking was comparatively easy since we had done the work in the vineyards.’

Other appellations

Moving south, the Côte Chalonnaise suffered along with the rest of Burgundy in 2021. The April frosts were perhaps less severe in Mercurey than in Givry, but some south-facing sites in Montagny were hit worst due to early budding.

In the Mâconnais, the northern villages were more affected by frost than the southern ones around Pouilly-Fuissé, where vineyards were devastated by a very localised hailstorm at 3pm on 21 June.

It was undoubtedly a challenging year for Burgundy in 2021, particularly following harvest shortfalls in 2019 and 2020 caused by the heat of those years. Frost and hail, mildew and rain at harvest – vignerons were tested at every step. Yet still, lovely wines were made.

Indeed, I found many delicious wines of more ‘classic Burgundian’ levels of colour, tannin and acid that show charming fruit and admirable intensity. It’s true to say that 2021 is not a vintage for long-term cellaring, but it is one to be enjoyed in its youth for its fresh and lovely fruit.

COMING SOON

Quick links & score tables:

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

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

and

top-value

Charles’ top 10s

Top 10 quality red wines

99 Domaine Armand Rousseau, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze GC

98 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche GC

98 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti GC

97 Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Richebourg GC

97 Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays GC

96 Domaine Dugat-Py, Chambertin GC

96 Domaine Bruno Clair, Bonnes-Mares GC

99 Domaine Georges Roumier, Musigny GC

96 Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, Clos Vougeot GC

96 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, La Romanée GC

Top 10 quality white wines

97 Domaine du Comte Lafon, Montrachet GC

96 Bouchard Père et Fils, Montrachet GC

96 Maison Millemann, Corton Charlemagne GC

96 Domaine du Comte Lafon, Meursault PC Perrières

96 Domaine Paul Pilliot, Chassagne-Montrachet PC La Romanée

95 Domaine Jean Chartron, Chevalier-Montrachet GC ‘Clos des Chevaliers’

95 Domaine Henri Boillot, Bâtard-Montrachet GC

95 Domaine Michel Niellon, Chassagne-Montrachet PC Les Chaumées ‘Clos de la Truffière’

95 Domaine Lamy-Caillat, Chassagne-Montrachet PC La Grande Montagne

95 Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin Morey, Puligny-Montrachet PC La Garenne

Top 10 under-the-radar

95 Domaine Lamy-Caillat, Chassagne-Montrachet PC La Grande Montagne

95 Domaine Philippe Naddef, Mazis-Chambertin GC

94 Domaine Pierrick Bouley, Volnay PC Clos des Chênes

94 Château de Chamirey, Mercurey PC En Sazenay

94 Domaine Alexandre Parigot, Savigny-lès-Beaune PC Les Peuillets

93 Pernot Père et Fils, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois

93 Domaine Albert Morot, Beaune Bressandes PC

93 Alvina Pernot, Puligny-Montrachet Rue des Vaches

93 Domaine Chataigneraie-Laborier, Pouilly-Fuissé Aux Vignes Dessus

91 Domaine Pascal Prunier Bonheur, Monthélie

Top 10 value

94 Domaine Alexandre Parigot, Savigny-lès-Beaune PC Les Peuillets

94 Château de Chamirey, Mercurey PC En Sazenay

94 Domaine des Heritiers du Comte Lafon, Macon Milly Lamartine Clos du Four

93 Domaine Henri Boillot, Bourgogne Chardonnay

93 Domaine Belleville, Rully PC Les Cloux

92 Domaine Albert Morot, Beaune Dessus des Marconnets

92 Domaine Jean-Marc Vincent, Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Hautés

92 Domaine A. & P. de Villaine, Bouzeron

92 Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, Hautes Cotes de Nuits

91 Domaine Pascal Prunier Bonheur, Monthélie

A taste of the top 2021 Burgundies

Wines are listed in order of white then red, then by scores, and then alphabetically by producer. The 2021s are bottled from January 2023, hence prices, stockists and alcohols are not yet finalised. Contact specialist merchants for allocations or to enquire about en primeur tastings.

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