The remarkable 2020 vintage makes its appearance on the international scene
#BourgogneWeek
2020 will be remembered for more than one reason: The year of the pandemic and confinement, but also a singularly good year for the wines of Bourgogne.
A vintage of historic precocity, from budding all the way to harvesting. The sun and the minimal rain of that year led to essentially perfect conditions for vine health.
The result was lavish, aromatic wines with remarkable and unexpected freshness, in quite satisfactory amounts: 1.55 million hectoliters.
The 2020 vintage will be making its first appearance on the world stage on the occasion of the London Bourgogne Week in January (10 to 14). Producers will then travel around the world to present it, before the big reunion in Bourgogne in March with Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne (21 to 25 March, see below).
Winegrowers and négociants await your presence to discover the recent vintages of the 84 Bourgogne appellations.
5 days, 12 walk-around tastings, in 10 different venues, from Chablis to Mercurey, 1,000 exhibitors, and almost 6,000 wines, this 16th edition will be an overdue get-together!
On the agenda: Immersion in the terroirs of Bourgogne, discussions and exchange of views, pleasure and conviviality, discovery, and encounters…
New in 2022: An app will replace the tasting notebooks. The app will allow you to record your tasting notes (vocal or typed), store photos, keep the coordinates of domaines you encounter…a true digital and personalized tasting notebook to keep track of all your data. The app should be downloaded before arrival and can be used offline.
A challenging year for winemakers, who have had to carefully monitor and appropriately react to deal with very sudden changes in weather. In the end, some pleasant surprises and, despite minimal volumes, promising wines.
The initial tastings seem to indicate a fine sugar-acid balance and a strong aromatic potential. These are typical and highly appreciated qualities in Bourgogne wines.
In this 3-minute video, Isabelle Meunier, winemaker with the Cave de Lugny, summarizes the main points concerning this vintage, along with its particular characteristics.
Bourgogne wine exports on the rise in almost all markets
In 2021, Bourgogne enjoyed growth in almost all its markets, with an increase even relative to the period prior to the Covid-19 crisis, due to the 2020 harvest, to the consumption boom following general lockdown, and to government recovery plans…
In the coming year, its progress could be endangered by the less generous harvest of 2021 and a possible slowdown of the world economy.
- The 2020 harvest (nearly 1.56 million hectoliters) continues to stimulate sales activities.
- The 2021 harvest is estimated to be between 900 and 950 000 hl.; that is, roughly half of a normal full harvest
- Although stocks by the end of July 2021 seemed to be down on the five-year average, they are being supplemented by equivalent stocks in the négoce trade.
- In terms of exports: a significant increase, with results even exceeding those of 2019: up 21.8% in volume and up 26.4% in value for the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019.
- In France, Bourgogne wines continue their growth, notably due to their strong positioning among major retail distributors.
Founded in 1959, the GJPV is an association of young winemakers whose goal is to stimulate professional exchanges and to provide information on the new generation of winemakers.
It currently has 150 members spread over the greater Bourgogne.
This year, Olivier Borneuf, editor of the French wine guide “La Tulipe Rouge”, and Margot Ducancel, French Instagramer, were the patrons of the event. They tasted 3 wines from each of the 21 nominees and selected 7 wineries to be honored.
Find out who won the current edition of the competition: see who won here.
12 new Majors wines named by Tastevinage
The 5th Ceremony of the Majors of Tastevinage took place Thursday November 18th in the Grand Cellier of the Château du Clos de Vougeot, and the 12 Majors of 2021 were named.
Since 2017, the Tastevinage label selects Majors: Unanimous favorites of the tasting juries gathered at the Château du Clos de Vougeot. This distinction for excellence, the fruit of the work of many months, honors the savoir-faire of the winemaker and the exceptional quality of the chosen wines.
In its quest for excellence, Tastevinage awards to the wines designated as favorites of the jury the title of Major. The idea is to highlight a wine that perfectly represents its appellation and vintage and stands apart in its quality. Rigorously chosen among the more than 1,000 Bourgogne wines selected during the two annual Tastevinage events.
The Saint-Vincent Tournante de Bourgogne will take place in Puligny-Montrachet, Corpeau and Blagny:
Two days of festivities are planned, with music, art, tastings, and food; come celebrate Saint Vincent, the patron saint of all winemakers!
The format of this 78th edition has evolved because of the health situation. The Gala Dinner is canceled but other events (parade of the saints, tastings, workshops…) will take place as usual.
The Saint-Vincent Tournante du Chablisien will take place the 5 and 6 of February. It has twice been postponed: first in 2019, when it ceded its turn to the Saint-Vincent de Bourgogne in Vézelay, then taking place in the village of Béru in 2020, and again in 2021 due to the pandemic. But this year will be its turn!
There will be activities and tastings, a parade, a mass in honor of Saint-Vincent…and all in a festive atmosphere!
In the context of the National Plan against vineyard decline (PNDV), the Chambers of Agriculture are organizing a PNDV Tour in each winemaking region.
Following its passage in Bordeaux, Provence, Champagne, and the Loire Valley, the PNDV Tour is coming to Bourgogne. First up will be Côte d’Or on Tuesday January 11 in Beaune, with a day devoted to the fight against vine deterioration.
Reserved for vineyard and nursery professionals, the event will concentrate on today’s issues in order to impart a better understanding of the causes of vine deterioration.
Four lectures will present the results of research programs, and six technical workshops will be based on the various practices which allow decline to be minimized.
Bourgogne vs. Burgundy: to re-affirm their identity, the region and the producers are reverting back to the original French iteration of the name, Bourgogne.
EN DIRECT 9 issues per year, published by
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