BURGUNDY 2019

After 16 days in Burgundy tasting 1,177 wines in all, Charles Curtis MW recommends 67 of his top-scoring whites and reds from this heat-affected but very well-received vintage

- Charles Curtis

Describing the 2019 Burgundy vintage, François Labet, proprietor of Château de la Tour in Clos de Vougeot and co-president of the BIVB regional wine board, said: ‘2018 was Arnold Schwarzenegger, but 2019 is Maria Sharapova!’

If the 2018 wines were notable for their (albeit stylish) power and mass, the 2019s bring finesse and elegance without sacrificing concentration. The vintage takes its place alongside other exceptional recent years in Burgundy, carving out a niche for its outstanding balance of intense fruit, firm structure and supple texture.

Yields were low, however: 1.2 million hectolitres, according to BIVB, compared to an average of 1.5m hl – and the 1.8m hl harvested in 2018. The reds are generally ripe and forward, with plenty of body and velvety tannic structure. The whites are also rich but show remarkable balance, despite the heat.

Weather conditions

The recent vintages of 2018, 2019 and 2020 all share the heat in common, where a mild winter preceded the growing season. Predictions in 2019 were for another uncommonly early harvest as in 2018, when picking began on 20 August.

But temperatures turned colder in April, dropping below freezing on the night of 4 April, and the region saw scattered damage from frost. ‘In the regional- and village-level appellations at lower elevations we lost 60% of our harvest,’ said Frédéric Lafarge in Volnay.