When this vintage was released in 2022 at essentially the top of the market, I was told these were like 2019s but even better – and fresher. That has not been my experience. They are pitch black, high alcohol monster wines. The 2020s I’ve had have been clearly inferior to 2019, and perhaps even 2018. Many of the 2020s I see on shelves are 14% and 14.5%. I just don’t want to drink these wines. Do they stand any chance of improving with age or do we think they’re always going to be freaks of nature?
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Who told you this? I don’t recall being pitched 2020 as better and fresher than 2019. I recall most tasting the wine describing ripe, pitch black wines with counter balancing freshness (which has been my experience) and variable alc levels (the stuff I own is from 13% to 15%), with generally more excitement for 2019 than 2020.
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It wasn’t one person or anything, but I seem to recall that was the prevailing wisdom at the time.
I agree–I have generally found the 2020s to be a bit more dense and dark than the 19s.
The prevailing wisdom among producers and others in the distribution chain is always that this year’s vintage is better than last year’s vintage. How else could they sell it?
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I’ve tasted quite a bit of 2020, 2019, 18 etc.
I like 2020, maybe even more than 2019, but it depends on producer and Cru. Most GCs and the best PCs 2020 are fine, lower level wines can be a bit thick without enough structural balance.
Both vintages 20 and 19 need time - so unpatient drinkers might feel disapointed, but these vintages are not for enjoying after 2 years in the bottle.
20 is more variable, but definitely more ripe than 19, but more balanced than 18. Some producers made good wines but they are going to need time. I’m not opening any 20s anytime this decade, while 18s and 19s are drinking well now. For sure 19 is by far my fav red vintage among them, maybe the top in the past 10 years.
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I don’t think one can make a blanket statement about 2002 reds. I tasted through a bunch of 2020 reds at the Paulee Grand Tasting a couple of years ago and found them to be a mixed bag. Grand Tasting at the Paulee - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
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I like them but I never believed the hype they were at the level of 2019. 2019 was just so obviously one of those rare vintages where all the stars aligned.
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I find most over the hill at this point. Unless you like really old wine.
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I think A.D. 202 wines have some runway left.
202 BC, however, drink up.
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Some of us are still drinking through our 198s
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Only my second vintage buying Burgundy so I lacked the first-hand context of experience. Loved '19 from the get-go, and could see how clearly superior they were to the ‘18’s- so much more delicate and bright and red-fruited, and so much more fresh than the ‘18’s.
The thing is, and I probably didn’t fully understand it before ‘20, is I vastly prefer red fruit over blue. Every 20 I’ve had has been just so blue. I mean I read all I could and I was aware, as the warnings were there.
Then I popped my first ‘20 and my first thought was “oh, so this is what they meant?” Eye-opening, for sure. Hopefully as others mention these will evolve, but I have no idea what that means in terms of whether I’ll ever enjoy them.
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I thought you liked really old wines, or is that only from Pepe.
You’re not crazy. Burghound generally believes 2020 reds to be better than 19. Jasper Morris thought that the quality was maybe wider spread in 19, but that the best 20s were better than the best 19s. d’Angerville called 20 his best vintage since 10. I’m sure there are several more examples.
From what I understand growers generally prefer 2019, but some high profile critics liked 20. The reason being that 2020 had cooler evenings which helped retain higher acidity than 19.
Personally, I much prefer 2019, but I still wouldn’t sleep on 20. I generally agree with your assessment, but I recently drank a 20 Duroche Gevrey Village that was truly stunning. Red fruited and super fresh.
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This bloke agrees
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While I generally like 2020 reds, they are darker and denser than 2019s and will take time to come around. They’re certainly not fresher, so I’m surprised by any description which suggests that. The wines have plenty of acidity, so I’m not concerned by their ability to age (unlike 2018) but they’re not very approachable young. They were like this from barrel, too - the difference between 2019 and 2020 at some domaines was quite noticeable.
We did a big 2020 village horizontal earlier this year, and while the wines aren’t as good as 2019, there were few wines that were disappointing. But I’d drink 2019s and 2021s before 2020.
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Thats the kind of vintage I like buying Cote de Chalonaisse and Bourgogne Rouge. Great for early drinking as well.
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I agree with @David_K2 maybe it was a narrative Distributors in the NE were given, but words like “deeper” and “more filled out” implied 2020 could be seen by some as a more complete vintage over 2019 in some people’s ears…
Luckily things move slowly up here in Maine so there is still a chance to backfill for those that make the trek.
I popped quite a few 19s and 20s on release. 20s were always more austere generally but they grew on me. 19s are more consistent, and delicate if that’s your style, but the good 20s show depth with nuance that can sometimes surpass 19s. I don’t think 18s are in the ballpark.
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