Bourgogne 2019 vintage an ‘exceptional but peculiar one'

By Lisa Riley

Published: 04 October, 2019

The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) has described the 2019 vintage as “without doubt a peculiar one”, adding the grape quality was "exceptional and "worthy of a year with a nine".

The weather events at the start of the growth cycle and the drought during summer had an impact on volumes that was more or less significant depending on the area, it said.

But the mood among winemakers was good since the common denominator across the whole region was the "high quality of the grapes”, it added.

The tastings ahead of the Hospices de Beaune wine auctions in early November should “once again confirm the local dictum that Bourgogne wines made in a year with a nine in the number tend to be among the best”, said BIVB.

“The grapes were harvested in excellent health and of exceptional quality, with a perfect sugar-acid balance, promising a great year with wines of typical Burgundian elegance,” it said.

Fermentation for the whites started easily, thanks to a good balance of acidity and optimal ripeness, foretelling an elegant and balanced vintage, with fermentation progressing well for the reds, and first impressions suggest deep color and refinement.

The first harvests destined for the production of Crémant de Bourgogne began on 31 August in the Mâconnais. For still wines, the start dates for the Mâconnais, the Côte Chalonnaise and the Côte de Beaune were all in the first half of September. On the Côte de Nuits and in Chablis / Grand Auxerrois, picking began from 10 September onwards. The Hautes Côtes brought up the rear, and will be finished by the first week in October.

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