Two generous vintages in a row… An almost impossible case, the old-timers would say, and yet: the “miracle” has just happened. After a year 2022 with exceptional yields, 2023 will once again fill the cellars in Burgundy.
Although the inter-professional association has not yet communicated official figures, it is common knowledge that the year’s yields will approach peaks. It was enough to walk through the vineyards this summer to see it: clusters as numerous as they were voluminous covered the vines, even forcing certain winegrowers to practice green harvesting, which means cutting the grapes before they are ripe, in order to regulate the yield.
Year without disaster
Two main factors explain this luck. On the one hand, significant quantities of flowers in spring, all of which formed fruits. On the other, an absence of major climatic hazards this year. No frost, and almost no hail, except in a few villages like Meursault or in the Mâconnais. Finally, heat peaks are present, but with relatively limited damage thanks to regular stormy rains. Thus, the harvest has “gone to the end”. A chance that not all vineyards had this year. Let us cite the South-West victim of the ravages of mildew, or Languedoc-Roussillon, affected by drought.
Very disparate styles
On the quality side, the news is also good. If 2022 stood out for the solar and gourmet side of its wines, for 2023 things seem a little more complex. The big differences in rainfall throughout the year made the maturities very different from one plot to another. Thus, we will find types of wines that are quite fresh and others that are richer within the same village. A disparity which will reveal more than ever the particularities of the terroirs. Even if the style of the year will remain, on average, that of a hot vintage. To find out more, answer in the glass at the end of the vinification!
