Prices in 21 were way up/allocations cut due to volumes (at least in UK EP). No reason to buy at scale vs. 22 really.
I hear mixed reviews; especially on the whites from 2022 that seem be quite warm although not at the levels of 2018. Reds sound like theyāre more open and generous young, but that thereās a big variance between producers.
Are you all really just going all-in on 2022?
1 Like
From 2017? My 2017s from Picq (Vosgros and Dessus La Carriere) have been outstanding. My wife even went out of her way to ask me to get more.
2020ā¦ 2017 were amazing agreeā¦
Iāve heard largely positive reviews for 2022 that lead me to believe I will really enjoy this vintage. Opinions that Iāve been going off are William Kelley and Jasper Morris. Ultimately, we will need to start tasting them in bottle to truly judge. I would encourage you to read through their in depth vintage reports and consider subscribing if budget allows / you donāt already 
- Reds: āa hypothetical marriage of 2017ās easy charm with some of 2015ās depthā
- Whites: āevoke a somewhat more giving, open version of the 2020 vintage. In other words, pleasure-bent Burgundies that will delight in their youth and at maturity.ā
- Reds: ā2022 and 2020 could not be further apart. 2022 is far less extremeā¦ Vintages that came to mind were 1985 for the health of grapes, 1999 for the size of the crop and relative consistency of qualityā¦ and 2002ās lovely flavor profile.ā
- Whites: ā2022 is not dissimilar to 2020, with a few nuances of difference: slightly less energy in 2022, slightly more precision certainly, and fewer examples of higher alcohol levels.ā
7 Likes
IMO 22 is definitely a buy vintage on both red and white. 23s are not nearly as good and 24 is already looking extremely difficult, so probably the last chance to grab some very good reds and excellent whites for a while.
I think the whites may prove to be the best vintage in the last 10 years, 14 included, but only time will tell. Reds are charming and inviting with nice depth perfect for crushing early as we are wont to do.
Iām going deep on the usuals: Lafon, PYCM, Dujac, Cathiard, Mugnier, Leflaive, Sauzet, HN, Bachelet, B-G, DurochĆ©, Grivot, LāArlot, Lamy-Pillot, TLB. And of course DRC next year. Thankfully yields are also good so allocations have been strong. Havenāt seen full cases of GCs in a few years.
2 Likes
I will be buying at my usual domaines. Being a faithful client is always rewarded. Which means that starting next week I will be visiting ARLOT, ANNE GROS, MILLOT, ROUMIER, MUGNIER, HUDELOT-BAILLET, Vicomte LIGER BELAIR, GRIVOT, GEORGES NOELLAT, JJ CONFURON, GOUGES, CHEVILLON, R SIRUGUE, ROUSSEAU and BRUNO CLAIR.
Sincerely JOHAN
3 Likes
So far, nothing from 2021 or 2022. Only a couple of 2020s. At 75, I think my collecting days are mostly finished.Several older Burgundies in the cellar should see me through.
Youād be a lot better off buying 21 than 20
1 Like
ooookkkk Mike Chang! 
I donāt buy grivot or gouges and I donāt see DRC or Mugneret Gibourg
2 Likes
I was in Burgundy last week and a few people asked me to post some thoughts, so this thread feels like the right place given that I tasted a lot of 2022s. Iām not a fan of writing travelogues (which is a strictly personal opinion, not trying to stop anyone else), but if you have any specific questions, PMs are open 
- As always, all opinions free or your money back.
- I am not a wine critic and do not pretend to be one, so if you disagree with my thoughts or think a wine critic said something else is right, thatās cool!
- Barrel tasting is hard, and itās a learned skill. I think doing it well requires both a good palate and a lot of experience with the specific wine to understand how it shows and where it may go. Which is also why I donāt write tasting notes on what is essentially unfinished wine (what a barrel sample really is).
With all the throat clearing out of the way:
-
Most of what I tasted were 2022s in bottle, often because quantities are very large (which everyone is happy about), so everyone was happy to pour the range. 2022 is generally a good vintage. There were only a few wines I tried that I didnāt like and, in a few cases, the wines were better than I expected them to be based on barrel tastings last year (barrel samples!). In a few cases in particular, the reds were a bit fresher than they seemed in barrel last year. Whether thatās due to chaptalization or other things people did in the cellar, I donāt know. Probably my tasting skills
-
That said, 2022 is, for me, one of the most heterogeneous vintages Iāve ever tasted, especially for whites. The whites are, again, pretty good, but very different across different Domaines. At some Domaines the wines were more incisive, while at others they were more generous and more reflective of a warmer vintage. What was also notable is how producers discussed the vintage ā almost every producer viewed the vintage and its challenges differently; some saw it as a continuation of the warm vintages of 18, 19 and 20, others saw it as a challenging growing season, while others saw it as a challenge distinct from a āwarm vintageā paradigm. I donāt think itās as good as 2020, which remains to me the best vintage this century for white Burgundy in the Cote dāOr (not in Chablis).
-
I think the reds are also somewhat heterogeneous, but less so. Again, producers discussed the vintages differently ā some saw the vintage as a continuation of previous warm vintages, some saw them as somewhat sui generis. To me, the wines felt somewhat more reflective of terroir ā the tastings in Morey felt more Morey, Gevrey more Gevrey, etc., but thatās obviously a personal view and I wasnāt exactly doing visits blind! Itās a more charming fresher vintage given the weather, so maybe a combination of 19 (itself a rather warm vintage!) and 17. I donāt think itās as good as 19, but there will certainly be some very good wines. I thought the Volnays I tasted were particularly charming, but this continues to be a theme in these warm vintages; as a famous producer said at dinner a few years back, global warming is helping them make better wines in Volnay (and making it easier to do so).
-
Taking this back to the title of the thread, what I tasted wonāt affect my buying too much, though it will cause me to buy a few extra bottles of a few things I especially liked. This isnāt like 2021 which I thought was a particularly tough vintage for whites, for example and a much more heterogeneous one in quality (rather than style) for reds.
-
That said, the pricing; there are now some very interesting discussions being had on that front in Burgundy, and the pricing on some of the wines in 2022 will certainly make some purchasing decisions easier, especially for people buying in the US. While some producers are moving prices down a bit or keeping them stable, some are moving in the other direction (sometimes aggressively). Some distributors, stores and agents are now seeing a lot more softness in the market than they let on publicly, even for some surprising names. So, weāll see! One thing thatās certain is that some of the more natural leaning micro-negociants are now very available at declining prices; if that happens to some of the conventional unicorn producers remains to be seen.
-
I also tasted quite a bit of 2023 in barrel ā it will be a bigger vintage than 2022; not necessarily more tannic, but riper and richer. Again, a lot will depend on who producers handled the vintage. For the best producers, I expect they will producer a richer vintage (to me resembling 2015, perhaps), though in less attentive hands the wines could be headed more towards 2018. But I am not a believer that climate/weather is destiny, and I certainly tasted some very exciting 2023s in barrel that Iām really looking forward to drinking.
-
Overall, I would say that as the weather becomes less predictable, there seems to be less homogeneity among producers, perhaps because producers have fewer āstandard practicesā to fall back on. When every vintage is similar to 2003, which was once a once in a lifetime event to many producers 20 years ago, producers canāt treat such vintages as outliers and are developing their own techniques to deal with such vintages as they become more typical. Some openly talked about trying new things within the past 6 years (both in the vineyards and the cellars), whereas others seem somewhat comfortable where they are. It also means very different views on how early to pick, how to farm, etc. Interesting times ahead, and different producers are more optimistic/pessimistic about the effects of climate change, which is quite interesting.
35 Likes
Thanks for the great write up. I think this is a good thing. The importers are the ones imposing pricing that is all over the place on these wines and it is not fair to the growers as it sets expectations too high.
2 Likes
My impression is that the ānatural leaning micro-negociantsā do not have national importers and are, in fact, mostly grey market. I think some make it to major markets through small local importers but Iām not sure who prices them to market, wholesalers or restaurants/retail.
For the ones that do haver an importer most come through NY and this is where I see the importers jacking up the price. Of course it could be at the restaurant / retail level. I tried a new producer producer from Burgundy the other day, 2022 Petite Empreinte CoĢtes dāAuxerre āTapis Rougeā Pinot Noir, and I noted that it was fairly priced and of course it turned out to be a LDM wine. I later found out the wine is made by MĆ©lissa Bazin and Romain de Moor of Chateau De Moor. It all made sense.
So far:
- 1x Fourrier CSJ
Want to buy based on endless reading of this forum: Dujac, Tremblay.
1 Like
Iām still waiting for someone to call a vintage homogeneous . I get why heterogeneous is a more helpful highlight, but at this point, itās like the āyou take it one game at a timeā of most vintage reports.
1 Like
I tend to agree with you, and I think in some cases it has increased the hype to levels that arenāt realistic or may have pushed them in directions that I donāt think are necessarily ideal (in my opinion).
Some have larger importers, some do not. Iām generally with Robert on this one.
While I appreciate your comment was in jest, 2018 (in both colors), 2020 (in reds) and 2021 (in whites) are fairly homogenous.
Definitely not. 2018s whites have split between overripe swill and really nice early drinkers depending on producer and how they handled the weather. And 21 whites are extremely heterogeneous with a lot of lean examples and some nicely balanced.
1 Like
BTW, I am buying Lafon Meursault Charmes 2022 if I can find it. Andrew K knows why!
2 Likes