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It is with great pleasure that we bring you the 2021 vintage, a year characterised by fortitude, solidarity, exceptionally low yields and surprising quality.
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At Domaine de Montille, the estate unfortunately lost 70% of their crop. For Bouchard Père et Fils, 2021 saw the lowest production in the entire history of the Domaine. Some estates lost entire vineyards. In the Côte de Nuits, some villages which escaped the frost were later affected by disease, such as mildew. Jean-Luc and Eric Burguet in Gevrey-Chambertin maintained similar yields to 2020 (which were not particularly high), but Domaine Ghislaine Barthod in Chambolle-Musigny suffered up to 75% losses in certain parcels, Domaine Jean Grivot suffered a reduction of 50%.
For many, the only way to keep going was to give extra attention the remaining fruit as best they could and hope that 2022 would bring better luck in yields. It was a vintage of hardship, solidarity and keeping one step ahead of the wildly unpredictable weather. The key to quality was to harvest even less but to look for optimal quality. Heavy sorting was essential, as was highlighted at Domaine d’Eugenie, Domaine Jean Grivot and Domaine AF Gros. Matthias Parent admitted he was originally very scared about the quality of the vintage, but thankfully the wines evolved with time and developed during their maturation. This feeling was also shared by Jean-Marc Blain at Domaine Blain-Gagnard, who was unsure of the profile of the vintage until malolactic fermentation was underway, developing a much needed structure to his white wine.
The Pinot Noir is pure, precise, and expressive of its terroir. Since 2018, the region has experienced a run of solar vintages, with the reds characterised by sweet, ripe fruit and generous body. The 2021 vintage is more traditionally Bourguignon: the fruit is tense and racy, offering precision of flavour, a grippy tannic structure, nervy acidity and moderate alcohol levels. Most of the producers have limited the impact of the new oak and a we have noticed a tendency of shortening the ageing in barrels across our range of producers.
At Domaine Michel Mallard in Ladoix-Serrigny, quality is excellent, from his Ladoix up to the Corton Grand Crus. Michel explained to us the necessity of thorough sorting in the vineyards, to ensure only healthy grapes made the blend. His Ladoix ‘Clos Royer’ and Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru ‘La Toppe au Vert’ were amongst the highlights of our tastings and represent some of best value in all of Burgundy. Mathilde Grivot of Domaine Jean Grivot and Nicolas Potel of Domaine Roche de Bellene shared the same approach. So long as the skins were healthy, a gentle infusion (thereby limiting extraction) was an important means of keeping the purity of fruit.
At Domaine Georges Roumier in Chambolle-Musigny, we had the pleasure of meeting the next generation, Alexis Aubin. Whilst Christophe still calls the shots, Alexis spoke with great nuance about the challenges and character of the vintage. The wines offer pure Pinot finesse, characterised by a supple, juicy palate and firm grippy texture. Romain Taupenot at Domaine Taupenot-Merme in Morey-Saint-Denis described quality in 2021 as “superb”. Meanwhile, commendable quality was to be found in Santenay from Jean-Baptiste Jessiuame, epitomised in his flagship Santenay 1er Cru, Les Gravières. For those new to the estate, his Santenay bottlings are the place to begin.
Whilst the Chardonnay may not offer the consistency of the Pinot Noir, there are some impressive wines to be found. Sabine Mollard at Domaine Marc Morey described 2021 it to us as “a very good vintage”, breathing a sigh of relief before saying: “I am happy”. Sabine’s Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Crus Les Vergers and En Virondot were amongst the most vibrant, saline and precise whites that we have tasted at the domaine. Jacqueline and her son Matthieu at Domaine Thomas-Collardot are excited about quality, calling it “a very good but rare vintage”. Despite 60% less yields, they managed to keep on track their organic conversion and delivered a concentrated but vibrant family of wines.
Pierre-Antonin of Domaine Darviot-Perrin was also very happy, describing the vintage as “a return to a very traditional style”, noting the stylistic differences from the recent hot years we have become accustomed to. However, the estate suffered a 60% decrease in yield, and we expect our small allocation to be highly sought-after. At Domaine Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet, a warm welcome awaited us from Brice de la Morandière and winemaker Pierre Vincent. The wines were among our highlights of the vintage: terroir expressive, complex and complete.
Chablis produced amongst the most expressive, racy and vibrant whites we tasted. The broad range at Domaine William Fevre was nothing short of remarkable, from the humble Chablis Village to the Grand Crus. Meanwhile, a visit to Domaine Raveneau is always a special occasion, but the wines were stratospheric. Isabelle Raveneau described the conditions as challenging but called the resulting wines “joyful”.
