IMHO - Burgundy 2020 & 2021

WINE TALK
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My fellow Berserkers,

I have just returned from almost a month in Burgundy and I would like to share the following info for those of you ITB or not.

As you have seen the price of the wine have gone up considerably since the 2017 vintage that was and will probably be the last affordable vintage as most of the 2018s were impacted by the Tariffs and the 2019s were so acclaimed that I doubt there are many more around to be had.

On top of this, you all know how difficult transportation has been to bring wine into the country with deliveries taking closer to 90 to 120 days versus 30 a few years back and cost of freight having doubled. The only bit of good news is that the EUR/USD rate has been somewhat stable around 1.1 versus closer to 1.2 a year ago.

On the producer side, raw material is also a nightmare with cost of glass up 30% and that does not actually mean that you get delivered on time even if you pay more, lots of small Domaines have wine stabilized in tanks and ready for bottling but no bottles in sight. On the cork front, I am assuming we all remember those fires in Portugal a few years back, well this has also resulted in a 40% price increase in the cost of corks and since the circle would not be closed without the printers struggling to keep up with raw material for printing, the metal that is used for the foil is also problematic and I have producers offering to ship without foil.

This is a dark picture that gets a bit darker as the frost from the first weekend of April although it did not truly affect the Cote dā€™Or wines, definitely affected some areas of Chablis pretty bad and some producers have told me that it is ā€œas bad or worst than 2021 in some partsā€. The frost of the second weekend (last weekend) although not as impressive as far as the low temperatures did more damage across the Cote dā€™Or as it had rained all week leading to the frost and the vines got frosty with almost 100% humidity in many parts, it will take a few days still to see that actual impact but I donā€™t see a ā€œbreakā€ headed our way for a large 2022 crop, unless there are no more hiccups until harvest.

In conclusion, I am suggesting that if you are offered 2018 and 2019, pull the trigger as the 2020s are much much more expensive and honestly equally good but maybe less seductive and more ups and downs for reds) the whites 2020 are the true Unicorn to get as there will be so little 2021 that this will definitely keep a few loversā€™ mouths dry for Burgundy.

Cote Chalonnaise produced several great vintages in a row since 2016 and they are with appellations like Santenay, Saint-Romain, Auxey-Duresses or Pernand amazing wines to be had for both reds and whites.

The Maconnais 2020s are stunningā€¦ and the 1er Cru in Pouilly-Fuisse are truly stunning and justify the move to the higher level of appellation that I tasted.

Letā€™s talk a little bit about 2021: I sampled a few hundred wines from the vintage and the whites will definitely have this high acidity profile that many are looking for with lower alcohol (around 12 for most of the wines I tasted) with great potential for age-ability in my opinion. The reds are going to be leaner with light colors and also fairly high acids but I feel like (from what I tasted) they will turn out to be enjoyable wines, although clearly dramatically different from most vintages since 2015. THey will clearly not seem like bargains but I fear that the ceiling will not be broken any time soon and they will still sell as the volumes are truly small.

Hope you enjoy the noteā€¦

Your Burgundy Servant,

Bertrand

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Hmmmm. We shall see I suppose, but I wouldnā€™t think of buying ā€˜18 because of anything Iā€™ve tasted for 2020. I think the 2020 reds are going to be pretty special. Between the amazing freshness of the fruit and the quality of tannins - thick but not grainy or coarse - I think itā€™s likely to be the best vintage for me in a very long time. The price is, unfortunately, the price. All asset prices seem to be up.
Alex

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This is a strange time in Burgundy. The wines have turned into a true commodity. Low production. Huge demand. For the true lover of Burgundy, it is so hard to get the wines. I hope that we will see some areas that are relative bargains. I am resigned to the fact that it will be difficult. Thanks for this very sobering but honest report. 2021 from my small world seems to be almost a lost vintage. No quantity and variable quality. FWIW.

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Iā€™m getting daily emails with offers for 2020 whites trying to convince me to buy their overpriced offerings because 2020 is slim and the 2021 and maybe 2022 are going to be non existent so I better stock up now!

Luckily I have amassed more white Burg in the past few years than I can drink in a lifetime at the rate Iā€™m going so Iā€™ll just hold out to 2023 or 2030 or whatever.

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ā€œ if you are offered 2108 and 2019 pull the trigger.ā€ No and yes. If you like overly extracted Burgundy the 2018 is fruity delicious and simple and not complex. The 2019 is much better. This is just a broad generalization, but to my palate just pass on 2018.

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My thoughts as well. Iā€™m still buying plenty of 2019 and have just started buying 2020s. Iā€™ll probably focus almost exclusively on whites for '20.

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Also pricing on 2020 depends. Were there massive increases for some producers? Sure. For smaller / lesser known / less established producers, Iā€™ve seen prices either only go up slightly or even hold.

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Question for the masses. Purchase past vintages or wait until the low yield 2021ā€™s come out and pounce on those?

Or if funds are available do both?

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I have tasted none of the aforementioned vintages but, based on past experience, if one loves Burgundy: buy both. The vintages develop differently and first taste may not be how they taste years hence. Also itā€™s wonderful to look at vintage variation and not just top years. Look at reds from 2003ā€“hot and unbalanced, overroasted at first, many now quite delicious. Look at 92 and 93 whites, the former a hot ā€œCaliforniaā€ vintage, the next a shrill acidic oneā€”both lovely in their own ways now. Buy both.

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Barzelay who worked with Burghound makes an excellent yearly assessment of the wines of top producers with a bit of revisiting of the previous year. One may read his reports before drawing definitive decisionsā€¦ especially given pricesā€¦

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I was going to post tis myself. I loved his commentary on the new hot producers and their prices.

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I think it depends on a lot of factors. Do you like lighter styles of Burgundy or do you like riper Burgundy? Do you want vintages to drink sooner? Do you expect to get offered allocation pricing? Are you trying to get allocations? It really is a combination of factors, and depends what producers youā€™re looking at.

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Thank you for sharing the link to Barzelayā€™s site, donā€™t think Iā€™ve seen it before. Very fair and honest reporting, though very much focused on the untouchable (for me) ultra-high end of the market.

What really stunned me was this about Lafargeā€™s 2021s: ā€œThere was not much to taste this year, as all the Volnay premier crus were combined into a single cuvĆ©e.ā€ Wow. Has this ever happened before?

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I am going to go long in 20 and mostly pass on 21. Iā€™m very long on 19.

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Reds or whites? Or both?

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mostly reds, 95% of my burgundy is red.

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Just started jumping in the pool. I like a few producers such as Gouge and Bichot. However as I am learning it depends on vintage, location, and producer. Many variables here.

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I note that Barzelay list of producers changes a bit from year to year. There may be several explanations:

  • He could not include the (top) domaine visit in his schedule (these things happen including cancelled appointments)
  • The wines of the producer did not perform to its hypercultish status and, rather than report a disappointing performance, he may want to avoid bringing prejudice and not report as, especially for very young wine tastings, there is the risk that the wines will end up OK or even excellent.
  • There are up and coming producers he may want to include and there is not room for everybody so he may have selectedā€¦

Given his general judgment on the vintage ā€œā€¦ I am reminded of Winston Churchillā€™s description of his political rival Clement Attlee as ā€œa modest man with much to be modest about.ā€ With slight adaptation, this might well serve as an epigraph for the 2021 vintage. That said, conditions were far from disastrous, and the best producers made wines that are very good and even, in a few cases, transcend the vintageā€¦ā€, it would be prudent to taste before committing to large expenses (?)

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He tends to visit a slightly different group of producers every year, with some changes. Heā€™s not a professional or in the industry - just an individual that is passionate about burgundy. I think tasting is nice in theory, but is a little tricky with burgundy if you are in the US as there isnā€™t much offered. Iā€™m off to London next week for en primeur week, which this year is as allocated as the wines. So on many of these you just have to take a leap of faith or pass completely, although I think Alan Weinbergā€™s advice up the thread about the joy of vintage variation is really the right way to go.

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I spent two weeks tasting nothing but 2021s in December and they will pleasantly surprise everyone as they essentially were deemed to be a much lesser vintage. I find them pure and precise and reminiscent of what put the region on the map.

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