Red Burgundy retrospective

A September check-in on the 2018 red Burgundies proved a fascinating, and at times, thrilling five days of tasting. I had not tasted the vintage so extensively since the Autumn of 2019 and so I was delighted to find as many good wines as I did then, from barrel; if anything I came away even more enthused than my initial impressions allowed me. Many of the wines have found a calmness and balance I had not broadly predicted at the time: alcohols were a little less dominant and bold tannins, though still very much a feature of the vintage, were better matched to the fruit.  There is no doubting this is a big, powerful vintage, of course, but they seem to have settled into themselves and feel a bit less daunting. Whilst it is clearly one of the less consistent red vintages of the last few years, lack of freshness or predominance of brett being the two major pitfalls, there were so many wines I loved; many wines I could seem myself enjoying earlier in their life than I had imagined. Be selective but don’t miss the 2018s, embrace their exuberance and boldness, you won’t regret it.