BURGUNDY 2023 An excellent vintage of fresh, well-balanced whites and attractive, generous reds...
The 2023 vintage in Burgundy is the rarest of birds, offers a rare combination of excellent quality as well as quantity, yielding such delicious, drinkable and charming wines.
For once, Burgundy experienced a straightforward (yet very warm) growing season, producing a plentiful crop of ripe fruit. We have carefully chosen a range of producers who have picked the grapes early enough before the heat spike preserving the crucial levels of refreshing acidity and not allowing for over-ripeness. 2023 is a vintage of pure pleasure where no single element dominates, each component – alcohol, acidity, tannin, fruit – is in perfect harmony.
The viticultural year, for once, happily started with an early budburst and no significant frost in April. It was an unremarkable spring with normal temperatures and regular rainfall. The vineyards were healthy and the potential crop looked generous with 2 or 3 large embryonic flower clusters on each cane, the result of the consistently fine weather the previous summer.
The weather improved for the flowering at the end of May after which it was apparent that a huge crop was in prospect. As June continued with more of the same dull, cool and rainy weather, the growers were worried both by the threat of fungal diseases, particularly mildew, and by how such a large crop was going to reach full maturity.
Most serious producers decided to perform at least one and sometimes two, green harvests to thin out the crop and, fortunately, the weather subsequently improved with drier and warmer conditions in July and August. Indeed, younger vines in well-drained soil even began to show signs of stress by the end of August. Finally, a burst of hot weather with temperatures well above 30C arrived at the beginning of September and growers suddenly found themselves bringing forward the harvest date as the grapes raced towards final ripeness at an unprecedented pace. Hot conditions necessitated the need for well-equipped cellars with cooling equipment to bring down the temperature of the fruit and juice, and most of the white grapes were harvested with excellent levels of ripeness by the weekend of the 10th September. By then, the red wine harvest was also underway but it was complicated by a couple of days of significant rainfall on 12th and 13th September. Fortunately, the ground was dry and, after 48 hours, the later pickers were able to resume and were rewarded with greater levels of phenolic maturity.
Although 2023 was Burgundy’s warmest year on record, much of that heat, however, came through warmer nights and higher temperatures during the winter, spring and autumn; in comparison to 2019, 2020 and 2022, the summer was relatively cool. The growing season was less luminous than 2003 or 2018, a factor which ultimately helped to retain moderate alcohol levels and preserve the much needed acidity in the final wines making them beautiful energetic, bright and elegant.
To summarise, the whites are easy to love. Chardonnay tends to be less affected by a more generous crop than Pinot Noir; with yields for serious growers typically a little below the permitted maximum, dilution was not a concern. Acidity, fruit and alcohol are all in harmony without any one element dominating. There is good definition between villages and vineyards. They are ripe yet less opulent than 2022s with more transparency and Burgundian typicity in 2023, with a little more acidity when grapes were picked early and with similar levels of concentration where yields had been kept under control.
The reds are round and elegant, with beautiful, pure red fruits and sufficient structure to age gracefully mid-term. It is difficult to draw comparisons to other vintages. There are some similarities to 2017 in terms of pure pleasure and drinkability, though the 2023s are more concentrated. The wines will drink well from an early age, but don’t underestimate their potential for ageing.
Overall, they are more forward and less concentrated than the 2022s but will give more immediate pleasure. It is the most charming vintage since 2017, which is now beginning to drink really well, but with greater depth and personality.
We feel that it is a vintage well worth and importantly, the 2024 Burgundy harvest has been one of the smallest ever on record. This is particularly the case for the red wines where many estates, especially in Côte de Nuits have produced 50% to even 75% less of what they made in 2023.
Kasia Konys-Pieskzo
Wine Buyer - Dunell's