It appears to be a vintage that will both excite and satiate
– Jason Haynes, Burgundy Buyer
For the next 6 months, Christmas allowing, Burgundy 2022 will take center stage, as it gently unfolds its offerings upon an eager audience. It appears to be a vintage that will both excite and satiate, being bountiful quantitively and qualitatively in equal measure – a rare phenomenon in these times of minuscule vintages.
We launch into the vintage with an offer from the Mâconnais, a region which critic Neal Martin described in a recent article for Vinous as ‘dynamic, with a feeling of newfound pride, as its top wines finally garner plaudits and gain a reputation long deserved’.
There has always been potential for making great wines in the Mâconnais even in these warmer times, with some excellent cooler sites, often at altitude, and plenty of limestone encouraging the most talented and ambitious vignerons to make wines of wonderful vibrancy and intensity, despite being further south than the Côte d’Or. The newly classified Premiers Crus recognise these excellent sites and provide real incentives for winemakers to up their game and produce wines worthy of the classification.
Despite 2022 being a bountiful vintage overall, volumes in the Mâconnais are less significant due to drier conditions. There were plenty of bunches and plenty of grapes, just not much juice in them! Still, the quality of juice is high and, of course, it’s not just the fruit that becomes concentrated in such situations, but also the other elements of the wine, including dry extract and acidity. So, these are wines to get excited about and, although the arrival of Premier Cru Status has brought with it a touch of inflation, prices start at a low base so there is still much value to be had.