In the last month or so I have concentrated on delivering some of our larger reports: Mâconnais, Beaujolais, the 2014 ten year on tasting and now White Burgfest 2020. Having just spent a happy week at the beginning of September tasting the 2020 Burgfest reds, that will be my next report published. The Côte Chalonnaise (2022 & 2023 vintages) and 2023 Chablis should not be far behind. A number of smaller reports will be infiltrated over the next couple of months, as I devote most of my time to tasting the 2023 vintage, from 1st October.
It’s another soggy day here, as the harvest slowly gets under way. The rain is due to clear, though with a cold spell for a few days before the weather cheers up from the weekend. Alas, this year I will not be around in Burgundy to join in, or at least monitor proceedings, as I am about to head off to New Zealand where there is a Chardonnay Conference happening in Hawkes Bay. There have been so many Pinot celebrations of one form or another round the world, that it is refreshing to find one dedicated to Chardonnay – the grape that has been so much taken for granted, but which needs just as detailed analysis as its red friend.
When I get back most of the 2024 Burgundy grapes will have been picked. At least, for once, this feels like classic harvest weather as the last of summer gives way to the start of autumn. It was weird in 2018, 2020 and 2022 that when the typical sort of weather for harvesting came round. The grapes had already been picked at least a month earlier! What I am hearing now is that the vineyards in the Côte de Beaune are looking rather happier than in the Côte de Nuits, with the reds about ready to be picked and the whites a little bit further behind. Mildew is an issue everywhere but not consistent – some plots, managed by both smart and lucky vignerons – you needed both attributes this year – have been spared but other holdings look grim. Conditions throughout the season have been particularly difficult in Chablis, alas.
Nil desperandum! There should still be quite a few decent and relatively classic wines throughout Burgundy, albeit in smaller volumes. 2024 does feel much more like a return to earlier times than 2021 ever did.
And finally…. Good progress has been made in updating our website so that it will be faster, more robust, notably more attractive to look at and with extra features. The launch date will be announced next month, after exhaustive testing.
Until then, enjoy your wines!
Jasper
