Burgundy 2020: The Early Birds
After three weeks of tastings at fifty domanies across Burgundy, we are delighted to discover a 2020 vintage of records and surprises. Most
wine-growers had never known such early picking dates – the very first
pre-harvests beginning on the 17th August - whilst for the majority
of Domaines it was certainly the first time a vintage had started and ended in
August. Even in the coolest, most northerly parts of the Côte de Nuits such as
Marsannay, harvest was done and dusted by the 10th of September. One
of the driest years on record had also produced one of the smallest for reds.
Flowering was largely successful but berries were small. Summer
conditions were characterised by drought rather than heat, and this
concentrated both sugars and acidities in the Pinot Noirs, resulting in reds of
higher than average alcohols (broadly between 13.5% – 14.5%) and high acidities. When 2019 offered record-breaking
analyses, no one would have guessed that just one year later growers would once again proclaim
that new boundaries had been broken in terms of the balance between alcohols
and pHs.