Burgundy, we need to talk

Year 14, No. 10

If someone were to make the grave error of giving me a talk show, right now would be the time in the program when we return from commercial break to find me sitting behind a desk with an (even more) scowly face as it’s that, “We need to have a talk” moment.

Specifically, we need to talk about Burgundy.

Yes, I know that people in the know have been saying since January that the 2022 vintage is a “resounding success” with “supple, approachable wines for early drinking” but as we all should know, that’s simply Wine Speak to say that it’s “okay”. That’s perfectly fine when talking about your choice of barbeque wines for the summer, but when it’s bottles that are hundreds if not thousands of Euros, that’s a problem.

This is why in March I went up to the bi-annual Grands Jours de Bourgogne to taste through as much as possible and see how the wines were in the first person. The results were quite interesting with some things that didn’t surprise and others that did quite a bit. But, it’s culminated in this new Burgundy Report which spans the entire region.

Back to the south of the Pyrénées, there was a bit of truly unfortunate news in that a massive hailstorm in the Penedès region appears to have at least heavily affected if not destroyed the grapes in a massive spread of 1,500ha of vineyards. (*)

And we otherwise find ourselves in a strangely-cool June. I can only remember it being like this a decade ago in 2014 as from 2015 onwards we’ve been very much in the grip of Climate Change Vintages.

Does this lick of coolness potentially bode well for this year’s harvest? Well, the 20mm dump of rain was most certainly welcome even if it meant getting damp whilst walking the dogs in the morning. Otherwise, as it’s been in the general theme of the 21st century, who knows!

Drink well, be well.

-Miquel

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