The 2016 vintage will be remembered by the Burgundian vignerons for many years – as a year of frost, mildew and devastation – but also a vintage with a happy ending.
The successful and relatively abundant 2017 harvest have now erased the worst memories of the troublesome 2016 season and the matching mediocre yields.
Erwan Faiveley showing the 2016s
This have changed the focus somewhat from the vintage they wanted to forget – to the vintage with very little wine but saved by the bells of the 2017s.
Make no mistake desperation was visible in the summer of 2016 when the growers were fighting mildew with in some cases only 10% of the harvest still in the vineyards after the April frost and the awful spring.
In the end they did harvest and the quality was certainly better than expected by many. The first indications were positive quality wise – and tasting the wines (first wines were sampled in January 2017) the wines are lovely in their own right, and nothing short of a revelation given the conditions during the first part of growing season.
A complex vintage from frost to cask
The 2016 vintage is complex in many ways – the growing season was both hard and troublesome, and this also translates into some both complex wines and a rather challenging evaluation of the vintage.
You need to login to read the rest of this article. If you are not a subscriber, use the subscribe function and sign-up.Related articles
- Domaine Méo-Camuzet … tasting a few 2016s I had the pleasure of tasting a few of the Méo-Camuzet 2016s during the Grand Jours de Bourgogne. Jean-Nicolas Méo was as usual showing a range of his wines at the big Grands Jours de Bourgogne tasting at Clos de Vougeot. A rather intense tasting at the Chateau – with many people. I did however have a ...
- Top reds of the 2016 vintage – a Winehog view There are many very fine and even outstanding wines in the 2016 vintage. The variation in quality and style is however quite large – and not all wines are great. The list will be updated as I taste more, and get ratings in place. Click on the wines to see the description of the wine, and ...
- The top of the 2016 vintage, editors choice – update 12/12/2017 I have tasted a range of 2016s Burgundies over the last year and some are extraordinary in a quite unique way. The low yields due to the frost and mildew have given intensity and generosity and this paired with a vibrant freshness in some cases give some uniquely concentrated and balanced wines. This page will include ...
- Burgundy 2016 insight – tense low yield wines Some of the 2016 red Burgundies are made from very low yields, and while this give a very fine intensity and concentration, some of these low yield wines seem very tense, lacking some of the effortless balance found in other wines. The stressed 2016s Some of the 2016s that have been strongly affected by the frost ...
- Le Roi Chambertin – Gevrey Galore Thursday offered the possibility to attend Le Roy Chambertin, a annual tasting held in connection with the Hospice de Beaune auction – in Gevrey Chambertin and by the producers of Gevrey. Most producers are attending generously providing cask samples of some of their wines – this year the 2016 vintage. Thanks a lot to all the ...
- More tastings of the 2016s – exiting and delightful A very busy week with plenty of tastings – covering a large part of Burgundy. From Morey to Santenay in just the last days – meeting a lot of nice people making wines with love and talent. I’m always surprised how many new and fine estates one can find just scratching the surface. Domaine du Comte ...
- Insight 2016 reds – the cool wines from Vosne-Romanée After tasting several producers making a range of Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echezeaux wines it’s pretty clear that the 2016s from these ares are divided in two groups – the ones seriously affected by the April frost, and the others not touched significantly by the frost. Related articles
- Impressions from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Cathiard Thursday was a busy day, starting out with a memorable tasting at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. First out a tasting of the 2016 vintage from cask with Alexandre Bernier, the righthand man of Bernard Noblet. Related articles
Enjoy very much your comments on wines and vintages.
Best,
NK
Thanks for the kind words NK … really the appreciate the comments and the support.
Best regads
Steen Öhman
And your vineyard maps and analysis of the plots within the vineyards are terrific. Thank you. Tom
insightful and interesting!