Burgundy 2021 En Primeur | A classic & terroir-driven vintage 

"What 2021 delivers, in the right hands of course, is a return to classicism, the produce of weather more often encountered in the 1970s and 1980s but with first-class plant material in the vineyards and infinitely more skill and ambition in the cellar..."  Jancis Robinson, The FT

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The Weather

The 2021 burgundy vintage will be remembered for fresh, classic, terroir-driven wines, as much as for the terrible frosts which very nearly made this a 'lost' year.  Burgundy is accustomed to spring frosts, but in recent years the vine growers have also become used to hot summers, leading to earlier pruning each winter.  This can stimulate the vines to flower and fruit earlier, adding an extra few weeks to the ripening season...all-important in vintages like 2018 and '20, when the harvest had already begun in late August.  However, it also means that the vines are at a more perilous stage if hard frosts strike early in the growing season. 

In normal circumstances, a ground frost would not be too disastrous.  Ground frosts are created by katabatic winds, moist air draining down the slopes and touching the freezing soil, condensing and freezing its water content.  This has the greatest impact on the lower slopes and flats, where the generic vines are situated for making Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc.  However, in 2021, the frost of 6th April described below was an 'air frost' or 'black frost' ('gel noir', so called because it kills vegetation, turning it black), which hung on the upper slopes where the premiers and grands crus sites are found. 

Before they begin to unfurl the vine buds can withstand temperatures as low as - 6 °C.  Devastatingly, following early pruning and a burst of warm weather in late March, the buds had begun to open.  Air temperatures as low as -7 °C meant that not only were the buds themselves destroyed but the secondary buds which nestle beside them in the vine were also destroyed, ruining any chance of a secondary bud break, which is often the saviour of a frost year.  The damage was compounded by even colder weather on the 7th April which left many vines covered in ice.  As in 2016, the ice acted as a magnifying lens for the morning sun, effectively burning the buds beneath.

In June, hail struck much of the region.  July and August were cool and rather wet, hence there was pressure from mildew throughout.  Vineyard teams worked throughout this period, spraying the vines and green-harvesting in order to reduce the impact.  September began promisingly with dry, warm weather, but in the second week, rain and cold temperatures struck again.  This forced some growers to pick, whilst others waited and were rewarded with warm weather at the end of the month.  

After three years of early harvests, 2021 saw a return to more traditional picking dates.  According to the BIVB, the harvest began around 18 September but was still completed by early October, as the yields were so reduced.  BIVB's President, Francois Labet, was quoted as saying that losses were between 30% and 50%, but much of this focused on the Côte de Beaune, where losses were more like 70%!  Red grapes were less affected than whites from the earlier-budding Chardonnay, and Chablis in particular was also very badly affected.  This year, instead of tasting 8-12 wines at each domaine, we were often offered just three or four, in some cases just two.  Other domaines showed no '21s at all and produced reserve stocks of their 2020s to taste. 

Frost candles in Burgundy in April.  Costing around 10 Euros each, with a burn-time of 8 hours, 300-400 are needed per hectare.  Capable of changing the temperature around the vines by between +0.5°C + 2°C, they are hugely expensive and only economical for use in vineyards producing fruit for top-level wines.  Pic courtesy AP.

The Wines 

"...the 2021 vintage is shockingly good in the context of an appalling growing season that pushed many to the brink, physically and mentally. In some ways, it defies explanation. But look closely at the season’s minutiae; you see valid reasons why many clutched victory from the hands of defeat."  Neal Martin, Vinous.com

Tasting the wines from cask at the domaines, we routinely heard figures for yields as low as 10-25 hl/ha (30-40 might more usually be hoped for).  It turns out this was also the making of vintage.  When each vine produces such a tiny amount of fruit, the whole root system is focused on providing nutrients to just a few bunches, which can produce great concentration in the grapes.  As a taster, you notice this on the palate as flavour concentration, rather than the physiological concentration found in fruit from hotter climates (which elevates alcohols and sugars).  The relatively later harvest allowed fruit and mineral character time to develop even further.  We noted this immediately at our first tasting of 2021 white wines in London, before going to Burgundy.  The whites have a weightless feel, not big or heavy, but hanging on the palate for ages.  They are also very representative of their terroirs, particularly the premiers crus.

It took some further tasting in burgundy to determine that we liked the reds as much as the whites.  In general, the red wines struck us as beautifully balanced, with a lovely harmony between the tannins, alcohol and acidity.  Like the whites, the reds display their terroirs beautifully, so much so that in some instances (tasting Meursault 'Les Genevrieres' 1er Cru at Michelot, or Chambolle-Musigny 'Les Charmes' 1er Cru at Hudelot-Baillet, for example) it felt like meeting the terroir for the first time, even though we have tasted many previous vintages.  

This pronounced terroir character has been enhanced by a judicious approach to winemaking.  Several domaines told us they had held back on techniques like whole bunch fermentation (due to stalks being insufficiently ripe), pigeage and remontage.  The use of new oak has also been reined back and we noticed more domaines are beginning to experiment with inert vessels like amphora and ceramic eggs for fermentation and elevage.  After the 2018, '19 and '20 vintages, the '21s are less textured on the palate, but more than make up for this with their tension and focus.  

The Case For 2021 Burgundy

Worldwide demand for top burgundy is unabated and UK merchants receive a disproportional share of the allocations, mostly for historical reasons.  We are also the first market to offer the wines for sale, with the US, for instance, not offering the 2021s until later this summer.  It's worth remembering these relative advantages when assessing pricing and availability. 

Prices have risen for three main reasons: Firstly, in response to the size of the harvest, with most increases being far smaller then the reductions.  If a domaine makes just 30% of its usual production, is it still good value if the price is 20% to 50% higher?  In many cases the question will be academic as there will be no wine to be had, giving rise to the second reason for price increases, namely demand.  This is less a factor for entry-level wines and more evident with grands crus and some top premiers crus sites, which are moving steadily upwards, no doubt influenced by the stellar prices commanded by the top dozen or so domaines.  A third factor, more relevant for us mere mortals, in the price of materials, from corks, to bottles, to diesel for tractors and electricity in the winery, all of which have risen here as elsewhere across Europe.  It was illuminating to hear, from several winemakers, how many of these manufactured materials were made in Ukraine and are now in short supply.

November's Liv-ex Market report points out that, for the first time in a while, the secondary market for burgundy has softened (a little).  But the Liv-Ex Burgundy indices are driven by a handful of top domaines, whose village wines even command three of four figure sums per bottle.  It seems likely to us that there is still plenty of room for good premiers crus from the best middle-tier producers to command higher prices.  Adjusting to Chassagne or Chambolle premiers crus at retail prices of £100-plus per bottle seems a likely scenario to us.  

With this in mind, we think it worth looking out for 2021s which release without big price increases (there will be a few).  This vintage will be ready to drink quite early, but the wines will cellar for almost as long as the '20s, in some cases, so they will be an asset in your cellar.  The generic wines and lesser village wines seem more appealing every year, so there is still great value to be had from names like Bachey-Legros, Eric de Suremain, Château de Chamilly and Jeannin-Naltet excel in this area.  As for the more sought-after premiers and grands crus, these seem likely to become like those rare Penny Blacks, scarce on the market in future years. 

"These will be good, sometimes very good wines, and as long as price does not prohibit, I see no reason not to follow them without qualms....The whites in particular, though the reds too, are very clear reflections of their individual sites."  Jasper Morris MW, Insideburgundy.com

Our 2021 offers may be missing certain wines, either because little to none has been made, or because they are offered on allocation to buyers of previous vintages.  We loved tasting the wines from this vintage and think they will be superb in bottle.  Cool in style, they capture some of the best attributes of 'classic' burgundy (which possibly means something different to each of us!) whilst having more modern qualities of precision and purity.

See a full list of all releases, below: