BURGUNDY 2018

Historic is a word that has been widely employed to describe Burgundy’s 2018 vintage. It was certainly a year of extreme weather – the hottest since 2003 – and of large volumes, particularly for white wines. Some have compared 2018 to the semi-mythical 1947, while at least one UK importer has claimed that many domaines have produced their ‘finest-ever’ reds. The truth, as it invariably is in Burgundy, is much more complicated.

There were two key factors. The first was the wet and mostly mild winter. February was dry and cold, but otherwise the period from November 2017 to March 2018 was marked by well above-average rainfall. This meant the water table was high and the soils had plenty of precious humidity, not the case in 2003. The second key factor was the torrid summer temperatures between June and September, which were hotter in Dijon than in Marseille.

Sugar levels at harvest were elevated in many vineyards,