A bountiful and joyful vintage

In the Autumn of 2023 while we were in Burgundy getting to grips with the 2022s – all our growers were cock-a-hoop with the 2023 harvest that they had just brought in. Not only was it a bountiful crop – a serious boon for vignerons who have been robbed so much in recent years by Mother Nature – but they insisted, the quality was looking great too. The joy was undiluted, a promising 2023 on the back of the impeccable 2022 vintage – this was what dreams were made of.

Next year, after the harrowing 2024 harvest, we will see how the Burgundian winemakers’ rollercoaster ride continues, but for now the focus must be on the generous and very charming 2023 vintage. This autumn we have once again spent two full weeks in Burgundy chatting to vignerons, tasting intensively and visiting cellars up and down the region. And I’m pleased to say that the early joy for 2023 remains resolute – and with good reason.

The growing season itself was relatively straightforward. It started perfectly on the whole, with ideal conditions for flowering and plenty of moisture in the soils. A huge potential harvest was on the cards. Exciting as this seems, too many bunches can result in dilution and so most winemakers reduced buds early on - or were dramatically green harvesting in these early days. A secondary green harvest was widely carried out in August too. Many producers claim to have dropped up to 40% of the potential bunches.

Amusingly, the sporadic hailstorms that affected some zones in the Côte Chalonnaise, Meursault and Morey-Saint-Denis were brushed off as ‘helping with the green-harvesting’ by some!

Potential complications arose later: a cool end to July and start to August meant growers were worried their huge crop may never ripen. Thankfully a late burst of real heat- the most significant heat-spike of the year – towards the end of August and another from the 5th of September – got them there. The intensity of this salvation heat was almost too much though, as ripeness and therefore sugar started rising very rapidly and the harvest date became crucial. Rising sugars meant that potential alcohol levels were jumping up dramatically every day, while acidity was in free-fall – so action needed to be swift and decisive.

From our growers, the overall quality is very good in 2023, at times mind-bogglingly so. We tasted wines from north to south at every level that give real joy.

In the reds we found real charm and vivid purity, Pinot Noir expressing its place with a calm ease. They have a generosity of fruit and an often-remarkable succulence, a peppy edge that is just so moreish. The whites offer great, expressive fruit, a sleek, silky feel and yet great precision and lift.

We left every tasting smiling. This is not a lightweight nor frivolous vintage, yet it is a joy to taste young. The 2023s will certainly give much pleasure in their youth but that does not mean they have to be short term wines. Indeed, the structural finesse and the pert freshness is in such great balance with the charming fruit – that these are wines that can be kept, and they will continue to give pleasure for many years. Burgundy’s 2023 vintage is one that will bring much happiness to buyers.

David Porter
Lea & Sandeman Buyer

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