2023 is considered a hot vintage without showing a solar expression in the wines. There was more rain than in 2022 (June, August and September), less acidity and moderate alcohol favoring an elegant style. Per Marie-Christine Teillaud-Mugneret from Domaine Mugneret Gibourg, the vintage 2023 is “a Burgundy vintage”. It is also a year of volume, and as such, yield management was key.

Temperatures were above seasonal norm in June and July with peaks at 38°C, accompanied by several showers and humidity. All along the Cote d’Or, vines bend under the weight of the grapes offering a beautiful, bucolic landscape. A violent storm arrived on July 11th and brought located hail in a few places like the Cote Chalonnaise (Rully) and Meursault, but it did not affect the final crop much.

Per William Kelley’s report on Burgundy 2023, «Growers adapted to nature’s abundance in different ways. Those habituated to pruning late and debudding hard always produce more moderate but more consistent yields from year to year. In 2023, these approaches were often complemented by green harvesting. That permitted producers to remove any touching bunches that might otherwise have succumbed to rot and, when performed late, to eliminate any bunches lagging in maturation».

Indeed, all practiced green harvests, some more severely than others. From the second half of July till early August, temperatures lowered a bit, there were even cool nights, and several showers. These conditions brought a bit of disease like acid rot and mildew.

Veraison continued.

To quote Jasper Morris, “In red wine vinification, choices on the inclusion of stems were variable. Several producers who sometimes use them did not do so at all in 2023, either for reasons of space, or because they preferred not to for stylistic reasons, or because acidity levels were already low and the use of stems tends to increase pH readings.”

Many winemakers practiced ‘saignée’ (tank bleed) to help the wine gain in concentration. The aging process was often pushed so that the wine can spend a second winter in barrel in order to gain in tension and balance.

There are excellent wines from growers who practiced severe sorting and who managed to pick at the right moment with optimum phenolic ripeness. And we are blessed with many of these! After extensive tastings from our buying team, we find 2023 offering expressive, ripe wines, terroir-transparent with incredibly fresh fruit in both colors.

A very good to outstanding vintage for whites which are approachable, fruit-driven, quite full, yet keeping a fresh
sensation. Reds seem to be good to very good, lush, offering fluidity, ripeness without excess, with polyphenols bringing color and soft tannins. According to William Kelley, “the 2023 red Burgundies exhibit a wide range of styles, but the best producers have crafted velvety, fleshy wines that are suave and sensual.”