Burgundy 2018
Vintage Report
| Date | 13 January, 2021 |
| Author | Nick Brookes |
The 2018 Burgundy vintage was characterized by extremes. Winter was particularly wet, with 30% more than average rainfall. From April 10th temperatures soared upwards to 33°C in some spots, causing an explosive growth of buds. An even, rapid, and remarkably fruitful flowering resulted in a substantial production of grapes. There was little to complicate the picture from one village to the next throughout the growing period. It was also an historically sunny year, with 30% more sunlight hours between May and September. Temperatures were on average 2°C higher throughout the year. Debudding and even green harvesting were widely practiced. One other trend is that ‘rognage’ is increasingly being avoided, with growers allowing the tips of the vines to roam free, often tying them in arches to maintain air circulation and also enhance shade, particularly useful in 2018. Despite the dry summer, the ample reserves of water accumulated during the winter allowed the vines to bring grapes to full maturity. Generally, there were heat spikes during the summer, not a prolonged heatwave like 2003. As harvest approached winemakers could look back on a growing season that had seen the traditional hang time of 100 days from mid-flowering to harvest reduced to 80. The harvest started around August 20th for the whites and August 31st for the reds, finishing around September 12th. Weather conditions throughout the harvest were ideal with no rain at all.
The white harvest was especially generous, and the maximum yields were pushed in all appellations from Chablis in the north down to Santenay in the south. However, the much more finickity pinot noir grape gave yields around 20hh less (averaging 36hh), with less juice inside the berries than the chardonnay grape. Alcohol levels are perhaps surprisingly not too high, but rather in the perfect 13-13.5% range. The year’s generous yields slowed down ripening in the chardonnay grapes, and the abundant yields meant that growers could afford to be selective at the press, retaining only the higher acidity juice liberated at the beginning of pressing. Many of the growers decided to reduce the percentage of whole bunches used for the reds, including Cécile Tremblay because her pH levels were high, and stems contain potassium that combines with tartaric acidity thus reducing acidity. She explained: “It was a hot early vintage with good flowering. But in fact, it [by this she refers to global warming] is not bad for pinot noir...but not good for the planet. High alcohol can be a problem if you cannot get the phenolic ripeness. 20mm of rain at the end of August proved crucial and I started the picking on 4 September and harvested for five days. I’ve never really seen a harvest like this, and it was a new kind of vinification, using less whole cluster because the pH was high, and I didn’t want to increase it further. The pH in 2018 is a little higher than 2019." As far as vinifications are concerned many growers took a softly, softly approach, cutting down on pigeage, just keeping the cap wet and allowing the juice to infuse. There is a general trend of cutting back slightly on the percentage of new oak used for the reds - much overdue from our perspective.
As regards the whites you might be surprised to discover many wines with pitch perfect balance, classic in style with tension and acidity – Burgundians are becoming increasingly adept at making wines in warm summers and have become accustomed to picking early. Further north in Chablis, Thomas Pico was finally able to fill his cellars in 2018 (for the first time since 2015), producing charming, seductive wines in the line of 2009 and 2015, delivering expressive fruit tones and fleshy mid-palates that are buttressed by succulent acids. Open and approachable, most will drink well young, and the best marry the generosity of the year with the classic Chablisien signature. The big question is how well 2018 white burgundies will age, and here some experts such as William Kelley consider that the wines may well confound expectations, and age gracefully – he cites 1982 as an apt comparison.
Moving on to the reds, in barrel the wines have true pinot character with vivid, bright red and blue fruit aromatics, transferring through to the palate, with a beautiful quality of fruit, blueberries and even blackcurrant typical together with floral and spicy notes. Alcohol levels average 13.5% and there is a clear demarcation of terroir from one wine to the next. There is a purity and energy about the wines, and the tannins are fine grained and ripe. Growers who avoided deleafing and hedging to shade their fruit were rewarded with fresher more vibrant wines. There are marked differences from one domaine to the next, and the vintage’s heterogenous quality makes comparison to other vintages a tough call. Perhaps the best wines marry the qualities of 2015 and 2017.
As regards pricing, demand continues to exceed supply many times over, especially as you approach the top of the quality pyramid. And there are ominous signs as demand from mainland China strengthens just at the point when it weakens from the USA market (thanks to a 25% tarif levied by the USA on wines imported from Europe below 14%). Covid has impacted markedly on other markets, quickly replaced by new markets who have been waiting patiently in line for an opportunity to buy. The good news is that thanks to full cellars, especially for whites, our suppliers are pricing most of their wines equal to or slightly below 2017 levels.