Burgundy Mid-Summer 2024
Daniel Johnnes
August 8, 2024
I hopped over the ocean for a quick visit to see first hand the state of the vineyards after hearing all kinds of news reports of rain, hail, mildew and other less than desirable conditions challenging the Burgundy landscape. Fortunately I enjoyed three days of near perfect weather. Hopefully, the weather that greeted me was an indication of what the rest of summer and early fall would offer the vines.
Up until now, from March on, it has rained nearly every day and most everyone I spoke to lamented how they had never experienced such a wet season. Rain was not the only culprit as hail did some damage as well but that was mostly limited to Chablis where they experienced 3 devastating attacks this Spring and will surely have a lower than average crop.
Harvest is still 6-8 weeks away, making it far too soon to make a projection on this vintage. Journalists and others alike are too quick to proclaim what a vintage will be like when such powerful forces of nature intervene during the growing season.
True, this year will most likely be a shorter crop than both ‘22 and ‘23. Those were fairly abundant with ‘23 being even more generous than the precedent. In fact, with no relief in sight on escalating Burgundy prices growers were actually expressing concern on what impact a bumper ‘24 crop would have on the market. This is a topic for a future article as more than one person expressed to me an imminent crisis in the region.
Back to the quality of the ‘24 vintage. Because of the difficult conditions through July there could be a tendency to condemn the vintage. This is far from reality. A sunny dry August and September could erase any memories of the previous months. The last two weeks of the season can have a profound impact on the maturity of the vines.
With that in mind, at lunch with Fred Mugnier, he once again told me how his favorite vintages are those that have had to struggle a bit. He and I are in agreement about how we are loving the ‘07, ‘08, ‘12, 13, 14, 17, 21 vintages now. Vintages in their individual ways were challenging and were not declared “great vintages”.
What about ‘05, 09, 18, 19, 20? Those were declared in the press as exceptional. Yes, exceptional for some reasons. Mostly for their ripeness, something you need in Pinot Noir, but not extreme ripeness. Those “exceptional” vintages are the ones I rarely choose to drink. They are either too powerful (alcoholic), tannic, closed, or just lack finesse, which is the hallmark of a great white or red Burgundy.
They can be great but demand more time - as evidenced by the great fortune I had in drinking some of the most magnificent Burgundies of my lifetime last week - thanks to the generosity of a friend: Richebourg 1961 Louis Gros, De Vogué Musigny 1935, Romanee-Conti 1998, DRC, Romanee-St-Vivant 1971, DRC Richebourg 1952.
These wines were made before the journalists raced to declare great or bad vintages. Some may have been condemned after release. No matter how these wines were when young, it made no difference. Time paid off. Today the true expression of their place and grape was shining through brilliantly.
