Burgundy 2019 Index Introduction
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En Primeur Burgundy 2019 Index Introduction Welcome INTRODUCTION.................................................................... 03 Burgundy has the power to seduce; Rebourseau, which we are delighted its wines to hold you in thrall; its to offer for the first time; you’ll find VINTAGE REPORT................................................................06 complexity to pull you deeper. It is an interview with Louis de Surrel on WHERE TO START a region not just to like, but to love. page 70. A Guide to En Primeur........................................................ 10 Over the years that I've had the You’ll also hear from the team too What is Terroir?..................................................................... 14 Understanding Burgundy Classifications......................... 16 pleasure to drink and to buy from – my colleagues Mark Pardoe MW Burgundy, I’ve immersed myself in it, and Will Heslop – who offer their BURGUNDY’S GRAPES and the more I learn, the more I want advice and expertise on buying, On Chardonnay................................................................... 18 to know. cellaring and enjoying Burgundy. And, On Pinot Noir...................................................................... 24 This year, as we prepare to offer on page 98, you can catch up with our KEY REGIONS our 2019 En Primeur wines, former colleague and wine Chablis................................................................................ 28 we wanted to take the critic Jasper Morris MW, Côte de Nuits...................................................................... 42 opportunity to share some who reflects on his 40-year Côte de Beaune.................................................................. 64 Côte Chalonnaise............................................................... 78 of what makes the region love affair with the region. Mâconnais.......................................................................... 88 so special. Over the coming If you are eagerly pages, we’ll explore the awaiting details of the ’19 MEET THE PRODUCERS ’19 vintage itself. We also wines, tasting notes and Dominique Lafon................................................................ 34 delve deeper into Burgundy, prices then rest assured, Domaine de la Vougeraie................................................... 50 Burgundy Benjamin Leroux................................................................ 60 taking a closer look at this information will be Domaine Henri Rebourseau.............................................. 70 its winemakers, wines and included in our digital Price Domaine Sébastien Magnien............................................. 74 appellations. List, which will be sent out Olivier Merlin..................................................................... 94 2019 Those of you who are before Christmas. You may OPINION just beginning your journey want to make a note of the The Value of Patience......................................................... 38 into Burgundy should find ’19 En Primeur launch date: The Buyer’s Cellar............................................................. 54 all you need to immerse 9am on 7th January ’21. Finding Value in Burgundy................................................. 82 Why I Love Burgundy......................................................... 98 yourself in the region and But, for now, I should breeze through its hand over to the vintage, terminology. If you’re more which I discuss in depth on seasoned, then we hope page 6. I am delighted to say we can bring Burgundy’s pleasures that '19 is a year you should buy with total a little closer. And there’s no better way confidence – at whatever level best to do that than by telling its stories. suits your cellar and your pocket. Its Starting on page 34, we talk to six wines are remarkable and, as I hope brilliant winemakers. You’ll hear their you discover, will offer pleasure for take on what makes Burgundy so years to come. mesmerising – and also how they Should you have any questions, or if found the ’19 vintage. Those of you we can help in any way, please email familiar with our range will notice us at [email protected] or get in touch a new producer, Domaine Henri with your Account Manager. Adam Bruntlett, BURGUNDY BUYER 3 4 005 Each vintage has its story. And 2019’s is an exciting one, characterised by concentration, ripeness and acidity. Here, our Burgundy Buyer, Adam Bruntlett, gives his verdict THE GROWING SEASON The vintage was characterised by greater than average sunlight. The harvest was relatively late by modern standards, beginning in September rather than August. The dry winter set the tone for the season; Chablis enjoyed slightly higher rainfall than the Côte d’Or and Mâconnais during this early part of the year. Frost hit in early April, mostly affecting Chardonnay in the lower parts of the Côte de efore the language of lockdowns and Beaune, particularly Chassagne-Montrachet. pandemics entered common parlance, This would have a negative impact on volumes Vintage Report the Burgundians were dealing with at the regional and village levels come harvest Banother unfamiliar phenomenon: a 2019 vintage time. Cool, damp weather at flowering in with previously unseen levels of both ripeness June, again affecting the more precocious and acidity. This drought year has produced Chardonnay to a greater extent than Pinot Noir. wines with a baffling combination of searing This led to coulure and millerandage, which freshness, perfect ripeness and crystalline reduced the crop on the mid-slope Premier purity. Our growers simply couldn’t fathom Cru vineyards. how such a warm and dry vintage could This was shaping up to be a small vintage, produce such energetic wines – but they and was exacerbated further by hot and dry were delighted with the results. weather in June and July. August was sunny but In an uncertain world, the ’19 vintage not excessively hot, and the Mâconnais received offers reassurance: you can buy it with above-average rainfall as it had in June. confidence. Benjamin Leroux explains that it’s The Côte d’Or had almost normal precipitation a great vintage in both colours, with quality to in August, while Chablis received just over 20 be found across the region and at every level. millimetres, less than half the average. The There are, naturally, different styles of wine, general lack of water caused drought stress and some growers and areas have been more and further diminished the crop, concentrating successful than others – but there should be the juice in the grapes. something to appeal to all budgets and palates. After the relatively generous crops of ’17 and ’18, volumes are smaller this year; they remind me of the period around the middle of the last decade. However, prices are generally stable: most growers understand the difficult economic conditions and have held their prices at ’18 levels accordingly. 6 7 HARVEST DEVELOPMENTS AND TRENDS Picking began around 6th September in In contrast to ’18, this was a relatively easy The wines were very approachable the Mâconnais and a few days later in the vintage in the cellar, with straightforward from barrel; their tremendous balance Côte d’Or and Chablis, corresponding to fermentations. There are one or two between 10 days and two weeks earlier than exceptions, but many of the growers we work and concentrated fruit should ensure the traditional “100 days from fl owering”. with are opting for either a short élevage or medium- to long-term ageing potential In the Côte de Nuits, a number of growers to transfer the wine from barrel to tank for the waited until mid to late September; they felt second winter; the aim is to preserve freshness that the unusual weather conditions had blocked in the wines and avoid drying them out with too phenolic ripeness and the grapes needed a little much oak infl uence. more time – and possibly some rain. In the end, The trend for incorporating whole bunches relatively little water arrived, but there doesn’t persists, as do arguments over whether their seem to be excessive alcohol or richness in inclusion adds or takes away freshness. later-picked wines. Notably, some whole-bunch practitioners The resulting berries were concentrated, dialled the proportions back to avoid with a high ratio of skins to juice, high acidity de-acidifying the wines in what is a ripe vintage. and higher than usual sugar levels – though A recent development in the fi eld of whole- without hitting the extremes occasionally bunch fermentation has been to remove the encountered in ’18. Importantly, the pH of the central trunk of the wood, keeping only the wines was low, and there was a high proportion pedicels. Arnaud Mortet, Thibault Liger-Belair, of stronger tartaric acid with lower levels of Domaine de la Vougeraie and Jean-Pierre malic acid. The former remains in the wine Guyon are all using this to a greater or lesser unchanged, whereas the latter is converted extent, arguing that removing the thicker into softer, creamy lactic acid during malolactic trunk avoids extracting coarser tannins fermentation – this gives wines their creamy from the green wood. texture. The concentration of tartaric acid More innovation seems to be taking place had given the wines plenty of freshness, which in the vineyards, with growers reacting to the counterbalances the relatively high alcohol challenges thrown up by warm and dry vintages. levels, ranging from 13.5% to 14.5%. A recurring theme was the use of the vine’s canopy to shade grapes. Historically,