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With the New Year now upon us, we have concluded our time in Burgundy, completed all our producer visits and in depth barrel tastings, and assessed our conclusions of one of the most challenging vintages of our times.
Our focus now shifts ahead to the forthcoming Burgundy 2024 campaign, set to launch on January 6th, 2026.
Below is our immediate assessment;
“C’était la guerre!” That was the greeting offered by more than one weary vigneron as we stepped into their cellars when we visited the region in October. Burgundy has always been one of the world’s most challenging wine regions to farm, but 2024 tested even the most experienced growers to their limits. Whilst the Côte d’Or in autumn strikes a breathtaking beauty, the golden leaved vineyards shimmering in the late autumn sunshine as we arrived, the stories behind the wines this year were marked by relentless rain, mildew pressure, depleted yields and sheer hard work.
And yet, as is so often the case in Burgundy, adversity has delivered something rather wonderful.
Despite the trials of the year, or perhaps because of them, the wines produced in 2024 possess a beautiful classical profile, marked by purity, definition and refreshingly modest alcohol levels. Above all, what thrilled us most was the clarity of terroir expression, the differences between appellations shining vividly in both red and white categories.
The white wines of 2024 are a triumph. This is not a vintage of power that was demonstrated in 2022, nor of lush ripeness as in 2023. Instead, 2024 offers precision, linearity and tension, underpinned by mouthwatering, saline acidity. The top wines of Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault display a delicate honeysuckle perfume, whilst the palates are laden with white stone fruits, citrus pith and a ‘salivant’, quenching finish.
2024 is all about classic Chardonnay. Vibrant, energetic, beautifully balanced, and already showing a degree of elegance reminiscent of both 2021 and 2014, though with greater poise and refinement than the latter. These are wines of real charm and finesse, and the whites wines of 2024 should not be missed.
Turning to the red wines, after such a difficult season for Pinot Noir, the purity and charm of the reds came as an extremely pleasant surprise. Sadly there was so little wine produced, with the Côte de Nuits particularly badly affected.
This is a vintage for lovers of classic cool climate Pinot Noir. Fragrant rose petal perfume, crunchy red fruits, sappy freshness and finely woven tannins. The wines do not have the weight or opulence of 2022 or 2023, but they do offer something arguably more compelling – clarity, brightness and terroir transparency.
The red wines produced in 2024 are sophisticated rather than showy, stylish rather than flamboyant, with complexity emerging through purity rather than power.
In the Mâconnais, analytically 2024 bears similarities to 2021, though with more rain and far greater challenges for growers. The wines, however, are delicious. Defined, bright, and expressive, with a spiky freshness and notes of fennel, anise and saline chalk. The minerality is racy and vivid, making the wines wonderfully drinkable yet clearly age worthy.
As Olivier Merlin noted, it is a heterogeneous vintage. Normal volumes in whites, very low yields in reds , but the quality among the best domaines is excellent.
In conclusion, 2024 is a classic vintage where you can see the real differences between appellations and it will give a great deal of pleasure, especially when young. Not all of us can wait 20 years, either through lack of patience or indeed time on the clock!
Please click to notify your interest in any particular wine or wines and we will contact you as soon as they are released.
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