Burgundy 2023 En Primeur

In late November we made our annual pilgrimage to Burgundy, to taste the 2023 vintage from barrel.  The wines were a wonderful surprise, far higher in quality and exciting to taste than we had anticipated.  The white wines are ripe but beautifully fresh, slightly less concentrated than the '22s, but with more texture and balance.  The reds are delightful to taste, with exceptionally supple tannins, immediate but also age-worthy.  Best of all, both reds and whites were especially representative of their terroirs this year, something you don't see so readily in hotter years.

2023 also produced a good-sized harvest, similar to 2022.  With the 2024 harvest drastically reduced in size, this year's en primeur campaign represents an excellent opportunity to secure stocks of your favourite wines.    

Fresh and supple are the bywords for the 2023 vintage 

The 2023 growing season was unusual in recent times, in so far as there were no extreme weather events!  Spring frosts were largely avoided, mildew pressure was moderated by airflow and not an issue for most, and temperatures, although warm, did not see the heat spikes that characterised 2022.  The conditions were so favourable that many producers carried out a green harvest, reducing the volume of the crop by removing a proportion of unripe fruit from the vines.  

The autumn ripening period saw some beautiful weather, but although temperatures were in the mid-30s by day, by night they cooled significantly.  Most producers harvested in the first 2-3 weeks of September.  Rain in the Côte de Nuits around 16-18 September was a key decision point, with some growers opting to delay harvesting until after the rains had passed. 

The white wines

For us, the white wines were consistent in offering beautifully ripe fruit, with an attractive texture.  In hotter years such as 2020 and '22 the texture can come from glycerin, but not so in this new vintage.  The warm autumn meant that growers picked early, to preserve ripeness, leaving plenty of malic acid to be converted in lactic acid during the malo-lactic fermentation, giving a supple, sometimes creamy texture.  The perception of alcohol on the palate is also notably low, giving the white wines a weightless quality.  At least one grower compared the '23 white wines to the superb 2017s, but with more fruit concentration.  The distinct terroirs of each vineyard were beautifully delineated, particularly in Puligny-Montrachet.

.

The red wines

The reds were among the most immediate and approachable we have tasted from barrel, even at the level of the grands crus.  The fruit concentration may be a notch lower than in the 22s, but we found more red fruit character, more acidity, more balance, and more precise expression of terroirs.  Tasting at domaines like Joseph Voillot and Hudelot-Baillet in Chambolle, the wines were generous but with nothing excessive about them.  The acidity and tannins will ensure they age beautifully.

The case for 2023 Burgundy

2022 and 2023 are both beautiful and plentiful vintages, bookended by 2021 and 2024, which were severely reduced in quantity.  The very best wines (at every price level) will most likely sell out this year.  Whilst the market for the top ten domaines (DRC et al) has been over-heated and seen prices falling, this does not apply to the more modest domaines that are the focus of our offer.  Wines like those from Michelot in Meursault and the Santenays from Borgeot and Bachey-Legros are extraordinarily good value, in their context.  

Expressions of interest

We will be offering the 2023 wines between now and January, as our allocations are confirmed.  You will find all of the releases on our Burgundy 2023 homepage.

We hope to offer wines from the following, subject to availability:

Drouhin-Laroze, Rossignol-Trapet, Hudelot-Baillet, Joseph Voillot, Domaines Michelot, Antoine Jobard, Jean Pascal, Borgeot, Bachey-Legros, Jeannin-Naltet, Jean Collet, Château des Jacques, JA Ferret and more!

We welcome advanced expressions of interest, do please email us.  

Offered en primeur.  White wines expected in spring 2025, and red wines in autumn 2025.