‘…an almost universally successful vintage for the white wines… the wines taste like some of the most classical white Burgundy vintages of recent times: 2017 with a proportion of 2014 added in. Those who picked earlier are more likely to have made wines reminiscent of 2014…. ‘ – Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
For those wanting detailed weather conditions, we would refer you to either Jasper Morris’s report here, or Neal Martin’s one here – both are excellent.
In short, there was decent rain in the winter, no frost, a very early start to the growing cycle thanks to a lovely spring and a warm dry summer with no real heat spikes until August. This means that 2020 is the earliest harvest on record for most producers, but without the savage heat & dryness experienced in 2003.
This weather has meant very small, concentrated berries, but hydric stress experienced in August concentrated everything, including acidity. In many cases the Pinot was picked before the Chardonnay.
White is probably more successful than red in 2020, although there has been some fantastic reds made – however growing Pinot was considerably more complicated in 2020 – mainly focusing around this intense concentration with very little juice in the berries, and very high sugar levels. The best wines show lovely red fruit aromas, and with excellent acidity giving lots of freshness and surprisingly fine tannins given the juice to skin ratios. Controlled picking seems to have been the key here – leaving the grapes on the vine even a little too long has led to some overripe notes and some high alcohols.
It is very much producer by producer and wine by wine in 2020, but there are some absolutely thrilling efforts – with the additional caveat that quantities are down, and prices are up. With 2021 a miniscule crop at most estates, 2020 is an excellent opportunity to stock the cellar. Demand for fine Burgundy is off the charts – in over 20 years in the trade we have never seen anything like it.
It is clear that Burgundy is in high demand in almost every country in the world now, and the appetite in Asia is only just getting started. Whilst prices for the very best are high, there is still plenty of excellent wine to be had at fair prices – Jadot’s Corton Pougets and anything from Boris Champy spring to mind.
We will be adding new wines to this section of the website as we buy them, so we advise you check back from time to time.
The majority of these wines will be shipping in autumn 2022.
