2020 Burgundy: a few thoughts

[Larry_Weitzner]

Great report Robert. I love drinking my Audoin Marsannay wines and sharing them with friends all of whom cannot believe how good they are.

Burgundy is very special. Lets hope it stays that way

[Howard_Cooper]

“What’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding???”

Written by Nick Lowe actually. But EC is a great tunesmith in his own right.

Lowe was the grower, Costello the negociant?

I thought Costello made wine with Abbott.

[Peter_Chiu]

Great report Robert. I love drinking my Audoin Marsannay wines and sharing them with friends all who cannot believe how good they are, while other hunt trophies at higher and higher prices but do not get to experience drinking them.

Burgundy is very special. Lets hope it stays that way

Larry - totally agree.

I did a match-tasting - single blind - on Tuesday ( 2021/11/16 ) of the 2 followings wines by Audoin - Charmes aux Pretes and CdRoy 2008.

It did not take too long for everyone to identify them easily due to the fact that the Charmes aux Pretes was crafted 100% whole-clustered. CdRoy is fully matured and will not be improved - but other is still firmed… .

[Mark_Golodetz]

Thanks for the report, Robert, and the kind words!

I suppose I’m about half way through my tastings of 2020s (the report will be a touch shorter than last year, perforce, as with the later harvest I have five fewer weeks to taste), and one has to pinch oneself to be encountering yet another great vintage for Burgundy. I’ll have some more things to say on 2020 presently, but I think I’m beginning to get a handle on its nuances and it’s a very interesting year indeed, for a variety of reasons including but not limited to the quality of the wines.

How can you not love a reviewer who actually uses the word “perforce” in a sentence and it seems perfectly natural? Only William …

Perforce, I was mentally applauding William as well. Now he needs to use “forsooth” in a full sentence.

[Jayson_Cohen]

I like Elvis Costello from his prime period, and the musicality is still there, but his voice has been pretty much shot since the early 2000s.

On 2020s I guess I’ll have to save some Shekels.

[LasseK1]

Thanks for the note on the 2020 N. Rhones. Sounds very promising.

[Andrew_K]

My first bottles of 2020 white have arrived. Cathiard Aligote and Guillemard-Clerc BB. Have to pop one soon. I’ve had several bottles of the Esmonin Clos Prieur, but I can’t say I’ve preferred it to the 19 at this point, but I think it might have more stuffing for the future.

[ErlendFA]

Thanks for the report, Robert, and the kind words!

I suppose I’m about half way through my tastings of 2020s (the report will be a touch shorter than last year, perforce, as with the later harvest I have five fewer weeks to taste), and one has to pinch oneself to be encountering yet another great vintage for Burgundy. I’ll have some more things to say on 2020 presently, but I think I’m beginning to get a handle on its nuances and it’s a very interesting year indeed, for a variety of reasons including but not limited to the quality of the wines.

How can you not love a reviewer who actually uses the word “perforce” in a sentence and it seems perfectly natural? Only William …

Perforce, I was mentally applauding William as well. Now he needs to use “forsooth” in a full sentence.

Also include «aforethought» in the same sentence.

[Andrew_K]

Zachy’s release email yesterday. Could they get more prosaic with their superlatives?

“Magical Vintage”

whites are the best in decades!

A MUST-BUY VINTAGE

this vintage will sell in a flash

[Ardeis_Scott]

Any US sources for Audoin you’d be willing to share? Not finding hardly any clues on WS.

[Larry_Weitzner]

Yes, Robert Panzer imports directly from them. He is on the board, a great guy and his prices are excellent

Larrry

[J_Galang]

@Robert_Panzer

Broadly speaking, both Burgundy colors are very very very good, with the whites presenting something in the vein of a more classical/low ph/good freshness vintage akin to '17/'14/‘10, if more lacy and delicate in their attack, rather than searing laser beams; I characterize the whites as being particularly defined by such a lacy, elegant character.

Just wanted to ask everyone regarding this quote, are 2020 red and particularly white burgundy really more “classic” than let’s say 2019 or 2018? Now that 2020’s are starting to arrive states side, any updates on this opinion? I am just a bit confused as I have heard from a few people that 2020 is actually a riper vintage for whites than 2019? I am pretty sure from what I have tasted of 2018 whites in general that it is a solar vintage. I was just a bit surprised when a few people told me that 2020 was also quite a ripe vintage.

Please note that I am not trying to start a debate whether riper vintages are good or not, I am just trying to get a better handle on how the 2020’s are compared to other past vintages.

[Mike_C1]

I haven’t had any out of bottle stateside, but I agree that 2020 is the most classic of 18/19/20 from tasting last fall. But I have heard of exceptions (someone who tasted Ramonet thought they did not do as well in handling the extreme vintage).

[A_Gillette]

Usually when people describe a vintage as classic they mean boring. I can’t speak to the whites, but they 2020 reds are anything but. There is a freshness to the acidity that made the wines particularly exciting. They are energetic and delicious and I think they will go on for a long time. I was tasting at top domaines and the wines were very early in their lifespan, but I found the 2020 reds that I tried to be exceptional.

[YLee]

He has been making wine for several years now. Try it. Its pretty good.

[Greg_K]

I’d say 2020 is the strongest of the 3 vintages. I tasted a fair amount of the 19s next to the 20s next to each other in the last year and the 20s are consistently better. I’ve opened a few from bottle which hasn’t changed my view. What distinguishes 20s for me is typically better concentration and clarity.
It’s true that all three vintages were fairly warm, but I don’t think they’re especially similar for whites or reds. For whites 2018 is notable for low acidity, which isn’t the case for 2019 or 2020.

Edit: To be clear, was referring to whites. I think 2019 and 2020 reds are both very good, but in different ways. 2020 is more structured, 2019 more charming (neither is a backhanded compliment!), but those are broad generalizations and a lot will depend on the producers. For whites I found 20s were just consistently better than 19s.

[J_Galang]

@Greg_K

Edit: To be clear, was referring to whites. I think 2019 and 2020 reds are both very good, but in different ways. 2020 is more structured, 2019 more charming (neither is a backhanded compliment!), but those are broad generalizations and a lot will depend on the producers. For whites I found 20s were just consistently better than 19s.

Thanks, this is what I thought as well from reading posts here in WB. I just found it bewildering that a few retailers I have talked to kept saying that 2020 white burgs were riper than their 2019 counterparts as 2020 was generally warmer than 2019. This is the opposite view of what I have read in this board as more seasoned wine drinkers, critics and online retailers kept saying 2020 was a tad more classic than 2019, particularly for the whites.

[Greg_K]

@J_Galang

@Greg_K

Edit: To be clear, was referring to whites. I think 2019 and 2020 reds are both very good, but in different ways. 2020 is more structured, 2019 more charming (neither is a backhanded compliment!), but those are broad generalizations and a lot will depend on the producers. For whites I found 20s were just consistently better than 19s.

Thanks, this is what I thought as well from reading posts here in WB. I just found it bewildering that a few retailers I have talked to kept saying that 2020 white burgs were riper than their 2019 counterparts as 2020 was generally warmer than 2019. This is the opposite view of what I have read in this board as more seasoned wine drinkers, critics and online retailers kept saying 2020 was a tad more classic than 2019, particularly for the whites.

I would say 2020s are consistently more concentrated than 2019s, not riper. I’m not sure it’s a more “classic” vintage - I find that term tougher to handicap in white burgundy which has had bigger swings in the last decade than for reds (from highs like 2014 and 2017s to abject lows like 2016 and 2018).

[Ethan_Abraham]

That’s particularly good info considering the prices on ramonet seem to have nearly tripled since 2018 vintage.

[Andrew_K]

Yeah it’s crazy. Same with Leflaive. Price for '19 1er is same as I paid for '17 GCs.