Burgundy 2023 En Primeur

Burgundy 2023: approachable, harmonious drinking 

The 2023 Burgundy vintage offers a delightful combination of quality and quantity that is rarely seen. Unlike many growing seasons, 2023 unfolded relatively smoothly, producing a large harvest of ripe, healthy grapes. This has translated into wines that are a pure pleasure to experience, both red and white.

These 2023 Burgundies are characterised by a remarkable harmony, where no single element – alcohol, acidity, tannin, or fruit – overpowers the others. They exhibit a charming transparency, arguably reflecting their terroir more truly than the bolder, more assertive wines of recent warm vintages like 2020 and 2022. The influence of the growing season is evident: a hot harvest period contributed to the perfectly ripe fruit on the palate, while a relatively cool and wet summer provided a refreshing, invigorating lift.

Yield management was crucial throughout the season. To maintain the highest quality and ensure the concentration and ripeness of the fruit, many producers employed rigorous measures, including multiple green harvests (and even "pink" harvests) to restrict yields. Further selections were made on the sorting table, where up to 15% of the grapes were discarded.

Unlike the often-challenging task of evaluating young Burgundies, tasting these young wines has been a properly pleasurable experience. Rather than wines dominated by assertive tannins and acidity, the 2023s were at the other end of the scale. The fruit, juice, and purity seemed to flow from each glass. These wines are not overly demanding; they won't require decades to come into their own. While these wines undoubtedly possess the potential for long-term ageing, their inherent balance and drinkability make them ripe for savouring in their youth.

While prices in Burgundy have climbed significantly in recent years, there are still ways to find value. Exploring wines from lesser-known appellations like the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, as well as focusing on skilled producers in areas such as Beaune itself, St-Aubin, St-Romain, Monthelie, and the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits Villages, can offer excellent quality at more reasonable prices.

2023 presents Burgundy lovers with the chance to experience charming wines across all appellations and quality levels with yields high enough to ensure there is enough for everyone. Contrast this with what is coming down the tracks. The 2024 vintage will be very different. Yields for both the red and white wines are significantly lower, with some red wine producers in the Côte de Nuits experiencing "catastrophic" losses, producing less than 15 hectolitres per hectare. This scarcity will inevitably lead to limited availability and higher prices for the most sought-after 2024 wines.

THE 2023 GROWING SEASON
Overall, 2023 was recorded as the hottest vintage in history. However, a closer look beyond this attention-grabbing headline reveals a more nuanced story. A lot of the higher-than-average temperatures took place during the winter months, and in spring and autumn. The summer was relatively mild, with less sunshine hours than comparable “warm” vintages. This played a crucial role in preserving acidity in the resulting wines.
The warm winter led to early bud break, very minor frost damage occurred in early April, fortunately growers mostly escaped a loss of yield.

Obtaining balanced yields was a key challenge for the vintage. According to Alexandrine Roy “the challenge was to regulate the abundant yield to maintain the top quality and concentration of our fruit as well as their maturity, essential to the quality of our wines.” Some of our growers reported to doing as many as 3 green harvests, to restrict yields. The abundant yields enabled our growers to keep only the best bunches.

In mid-August a heat wave occurred and, picking began in late August/first few days of September in the Côte de Beaune. The heat quickly escalated the maturity of the grapes, increasing sugar levels with acidity falling, picking teams were quickly mobilised. For instance Anne-Cecile Lumpp’s alcohol levels range from 12.5%-14.5% which reflects the first fruit to be harvested a village level to one week later with the 1er Crus. Due to the hot conditions, pickers mostly only worked up until lunch time, to avoid the hottest part of the day. Later flowering in the Côte de Nuits led to picking dates mostly in the 2nd week of September.

Stylistically, the levels of concentration are between the 2017 and the 2022s. They will be a pleasure to drink young, and to hold on to for the grander wines. The whites had a wonderful crispness with the reds a lovely brightness of fruit. Both reds and whites have plenty of intensity, but without a touch of heaviness.

Burgundy 2023 En Primeur

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