Full cellars: This was the most immediately noticeable difference in the cellars we visited between this year and our visit the previous November. Less pensive winemakers was another, and with good reason: After two short vintages in succession - with drought in 2020 and severe frosts in 2021, 2022 produced a bumper crop (38hl/ha at Domaine de L'Arlot, compared to an average of 23) and 2023 was even bigger, one of the biggest on record (Duroché recorded 40hl/ha and L'Arlot 43hl/ha).
This is encouraging for two main reasons: 1) Allocations that were dramatically reduced or lost altogether in the 2021 vintage may now be restored, and 2) after a decade of increasing prices, we hope to see the en primeur market stabilising. Both will be welcomed as 2022 is a superb vintage for our growers, old favourites and new discoveries, who have sculpted whites and reds that will delight purists and yet have broad appeal to those for whom Burgundy has yet to become an obsession!
Individual grower profiles, tasting notes and our favourite wines will follow in the coming weeks, so do register interest for Burgundy 2022 and we'll send you our highlights and our top recommended wines across villages and cru levels. In the meantime below is our general overview of a vintage which was as much of a pleasure to taste as any we can recall in the last 23 years.
The Growing Season
Abundant winter rains ensured there were good groundwater reserves moving in to spring, and, like many others, Celine Fontaigne-Gagnard in Chassagne, was thankful for the lack of early spring frosts in 2022, observing that by June vines showed the same stage of development as in 2020. 80mm of rain fell in Vosne Romanée in June (and nearly double that in Gevrey Chambertin) which would prove helpful to avoiding hydric stress in the subsequently dry months to follow. Very little rain fell during July (just 30mm in Chassagne Montrachet) and August with more exposed vineyards, like Clos des Chenes in Volnay, recording incidences of sunburn. As usual, here and elsewhere, older vines suffered less.
The growing season was not without drama however: The torrential downpour on 20th June particularly affected sites in Gevery Chambertin, with Marianne Duroché ruefully recording a loss of 20% of their fruit across their prized Lavaut Saint Jacques plots. Hailstorms on 21st and 25th June hit Domaine Tollot-Beaut's Chorey-le-Beaune vineyards, diminishing potential yields here by 25%.
Harvest and into the Winery
Domaines Albert Bichot was early out the gates, with picking starting from 18th August for the Cremant, 25th August in Domaine des Rochgrès, 30th August at Domaine du Clos Frantin and Domaine du Pavillon and1st September at Domaine Long Depaquit. Philippe Pacalet began harvesting whites on 23rd August, with a number of others following on 26th August, after a refreshing spritz of rain on 20th, with sugar levels increasing rapidly from 31st onwards. Rising star Benoit Girardin, in Santenay, started harvesting on 1st September, as did Guillaume Tardy in Vosne Romanée, and both judged it very well, whilst Pierre Gros, at Domaine Michel Gros, an address on a thrilling trajectory, began picking on 3rd. 2022 is not a high acid vintage and conscientious winemakers, like self-confessed acid freak Brian Sieve at Domaine de Montille, have been especially careful with battonage and lees-stirring of the Chardonnays, to maintain freshness and verve: "There is an equilibrium of structural elements with balanced acidity and textured tannins, fresh fruit and mid-palate intensity". Alcohols across the domaines we visited generally range from 12.5-13.5%, with a few outliers touching 14% on the hill of Corton.
For Edouard Delaunay picking began on August 30th, continuing through to the 19th of September for the Aligoté (showing how well this variety handles the warmer summers in Burgundy). On tasting there were lots of beautiful floral notes in the whites, whilst the reds abounded in gorgeous plush fruit and notes of dusty rose petals and Potpourri. At Domaine Rapet Père & Fils in Pernand-Vergelesses the harvest also started at end of August. They are in their final year of organic conversion, with a generational change from Vincent to Robin. Like many producers they used more de-stemming in 2022 (roughly 30% whole bunch depending on cuvee). This was a beautiful tasting, where the wines invariably showed beautiful perfumes, abundant red fruit, a mineral profile, good tannic structure, and were lightly herbal.
With the exception of Philippe Pacalet, who continues to employ 100% whole bunch (with great results), most growers we tasted with used less whole clusters in 2022, an indication that this is different style of solar vintage than 2018, 2019 and 2020. The influence of new oak continues to diminish, with bigger (500l) barrels and lighter toasting more in evidence in various cellars, as well as the increasing presence of alternative vessels - terracotta amphorae, concrete eggs and ceramic globes. These experiments are playing their parts in emphasising fruit quality, minerality, and individual terroir expression, all of which the wines of 2022 show in spades.
In this respect tasting the Volnays comparatively in amphora and barrique at Domaine de la Pousse d'Or was a fascinating experierence. At this early stage the samples were totally different, the amphora showing clean ripe red fruit with firmer tannins, whilst the latter proffering a more profound, deeper expression of red fruit, with more sweetness and spice on the nose and a longer finish. Where appropriate, Pousse d'Or are even offering collectors the option to buy amphora-aged or barrique-aged wines!
Morey producer Frédéric Magnien is also doing very interesting things with technology, trying to "translate the terroir into the wine" by working "biodynamically and trying to understand the harmony between our work in the vineyard and our winemaking. I prefer to bring my experience to bear to focus on the end result and just use the winemaking tools I'm given to produce elegant gourmandaise expressive, mineral and elegant wines."
More growers are also further along the path to organic or even biodynamic conversion, certified or otherwise, suggesting the concern for greater sustainability continues to be important.
The Style(s)
The first thing to say is that, despite being another solar vintage, 2022 is generally built and presents differently to 2018, 2019 and 2020. Geraldine Godot at Domaine de L'Arlot was perhaps the only grower we tasted with who made comparison to the cooler 2021s (albeit noting greater structural depth) but was among the many, surprised how the wines have ended up differing from 2020. Tasting at Eric Boigelot was a pleasure and this was a best-ever showing for us, with the wines showing incredible delicacy and perfume - a hybrid between the power of 2020 and the sophistication of 2017.
For Pierre Duroché reds have the precision of 2017 but more volume, and are more harmonious than 2019 and 2020, with better balance and less density. Natalie Tollot likewise sees a comparison with the silken tannins of 2017, allied to the suppleness and vivacity of 2019. Pierre Gros, also sees shades of 2019, with good maturity but a touch less generosity, characterised by ripe, round, red fruits that show less heat than 2018 and gentler acidity than 2020.
Based in Morey-Saint-Denis, Romain Taupenot suggested his 2022s show the energy and salinity of 2020, but are less concentrated with more red fruit character and sapidity, finer tannins and less alcohol. They also have the charm of the 2019s, but with higher acid and greater freshness, although his Mazoyeres Chambertin, never a shy wine, shows characteristic intense, darker fruit, and density.
Down the road in Chambolle, Romauld Bourseau also pointed to the same sweetness and floral perfumes of 2019 but with greater tension and precision. Pierre Meurgey, whose Clos de la Chapelle wines with Dominic Lafon, we are excited to offer for the first time this year, also sees less concentration in 2022 than 2020 and a more natural balance, wines "full of happy fruit".
For Edouard Delaunay picking began on August 30th, continuing through to the 19th of September for the Aligoté (showing how well this variety handles the warmer summers in Burgundy). On tasting there were lots of beautiful floral notes in the whites, whilst the reds abounded in gorgeous plush fruit and notes of dusty rose petals and Potpourri. At Domaine Rapet Père & Fils in Pernand-Vergelesses the harvest also started at end of August. They are in their final year of organic conversion, with a generational change from Vincent to Robin. Like many producers they used more de-stemming in 2022 (roughly 30% whole bunch depending on cuvee). This was a beautiful tasting, where the wines invariably showed beautiful perfumes, abundant red fruit, a mineral profile, good tannic structure, and were lightly herbal.
Meanwhile for Jane Eyre this is a vintage that very much plays to her strengths, with a wonderful floral character to the wines, which have crunchy fruit and perfect ripeness. She invited comparisons to the floral notes of her 2017s and power of the 2020s yet without the extract. Her new whites are also superb, in nicely racy, cool style.
Céline Fontaigne-Gagnard noted that whites had the same balance as 2020, with similar tartaric acid levels but higher malic acid, and overall presented a more generous, open style. The domaine's reds, she defined as being concentrated, with good colour and structure but "glossy, a mix of 2019 and 2020". Brian Sieve at De Montille has turned in an excellent set of wines from bottom to top, similar in concentration to 2020, with reds achieving full phenolic ripeness despite the quantities and early harvest but showing a fresher acid profile and more stone red fruit detail. The domaine's whites meanwhile have the freshness, length, transparency and minerality of the best years. Like a number of the most exciting wines this year these have the balance and substance to age well but are pleasingly approachable in their youth.
At Domaine des Lambrays, which has exciting new 1er cru wines from Morey, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée, to add to their portfolio, head winemaker Jacques Devauges goes further back, suggesting the 2022 flagship Clos des Lambrays offers "the fruit profile and aromatics of 2002 and the classic structure of 2016". We would certainly like to be present for the next comparative tasting!
As mentioned in the introduction, notes on individual growers, including new and recommended wines, will follow. Meanwhile, looking through Tom's 600+ predominantly enthusiastic tasting notes from the trip - we've listed some descriptors that appeared most frequently:
Reds: Perfumed, fresh, deep, rose petals, succulent, elegant, supple, generous, sorbet red fruits, spicy acid, filigree silken tannins, harmonious
Whites: Racy, precise, honeyed orchard fruits, white stone accents, good tension, ripe, sophisticated, chiselled acidity, saline, balanced
Hopefully these will give you a flavour of this delightful vintage!