First thoughts on Burgundy 2022

Thirty-six hours in Burgundy, and my first taste of the 2022 vintage

Late last month, I dipped my toe in the latest vintage to emerge from the Côte d’Or, 2022. Producers were still immersed in the 2023 vintage – both mentally and physically, just reaching the end of vinification.

When I had visited in 2022 (to taste the 2021s), we’d inevitably touched on the vintage just in the cellar, and producers were excited by its potential – and relieved, especially after the challenges of 2021, to have a full crop, as well as a return to a “global warming” vintage, if not quite as extreme as recent years.

Visiting only three producers (Louis Jadot, Paul Pernot and Alvina Pernot) does not give a complete picture of the vintage, by any stretch – but it’s interesting to get a glimpse of the year and its wines, nevertheless.

So far, I’m most excited by the reds. It was a warm year, and I expect there are some fantastic whites – but balancing acidity and flavour ripeness seems to have been a challenge. The fruit profile, is ripe yet not exotic, with a phenolic bitterness (in a good way) that shone through on those I’ve tasted, helping bring freshness and tension to the wines. The reds I tasted, however – and only from Jadot so far, whose wines tend to not show superbly en primeur – combine a gluggable fruit quality with fine tannins and real terroir transparency. They are crunchy and fresh yet open and approachable – moreish and amazingly drinkable now.

There will be more to follow after another trip in November, but read a bit more about the growing season and producers’ views on the year in my feature at frw.co.uk/editorial