A Crazy Vintage: Summing Up 2023

The 2023 harvest is now finished, so time to sum up, and reflect!

It seems 2023 is an historic vintage with exceptional yields not seen since 1982; there were sometimes giant bunches of grapes weighing 300 grams (double the norm), with the vines carrying a large number of clusters. Yields beyond 100 hectolitres/hectare were spoken of, but of course not harvested (INAO rules). This is extreme.

None of the vignerons I spoke to remember yields like this before.

This is the setting in which big producers had to cut 50% of the harvest to come down to 35-40 hl/ha – a normal, more optimal yield. I will return to the topic of optimal yields for reds below.

The whites were also blessed with tremendous yields, but that poses less of a problem than with the reds.

Optimal yields

Normally, one would not recommend yields above 40 hl/ha for pinot noir, as quality usually drops around 45 hl/ha (note I said normally).

There is, however, nothing normal about the yields in 2023. We will simply have to wait and see how the higher-yield reds develop.

The whites are more flexible, and even very high yields can produce some truly lovely wines that are hedonistic rather than ultra-precise. This last statement is important: red and white 2023 are painting with a big brush and generous strokes. Some love this (I do), with all the positive traits of generosity.

But how far will this carry the reds quality-wise?

INAO rules

It was a very generous vintage. In many places, only the INAO-imposed limits will set the yields, despite heavy green harvesting by numerous domaines.

The permitted yields are strict, and even last year these limits were challenging for some. If you harvest beyond the limits (and declare it), there are ramifications. 

For each appellation, the maximum yield is defined legally in terms of hectolitres of wine per hectare of vineyard (hl/ha). Subject to certain conditions, this base yield may be augmented in a given year by 15%-20%. The decision to increase the yield depends on the conditions during the year, and the grower has to obtain permission. Base yields in Burgundy for 2023 are as follows: 

• Grand cru reds: 35-37 hl/ha; whites: 40-64 hl/ha 
• Premier cru reds: 40-45 hl/ha; whites: 45-68 hl/ha 
• Village reds: 40-45 hl/ha; whites 45-70 hl/ha 
• Regional appellation reds: 50-69 hl/ha; whites: 55-75 hl/ha. 

Further details from the INAO are on its website: www.inao.gouv.fr (source BIVB).

Quality – whites

My expectations for the whites are quite to very high. I anticipate fine hedonistic qualities and quite a few vins d’émotion. It could turn out to be a lovely white-wine year with its generosity, energy, and appeal.

It is not a year of extreme or even high acidity, so we shall see about the energy levels in the whites.

Quality – reds

The reds started out rather lively and vivid, taking on during fermentation both colour and concentration. I was more optimistic at the start of the fermentation than I am now afterwards, although a lot can still happen.

The colour is surprisingly dark, even when only lightly extracted, and the wines are building intensity and weight. The question is now if they have enough energy and freshness from the acidity and pH levels to reach emotional nirvana, particularly post-malolactic fermentation.

My guess is that the best do. But there’s a question as to whether the wines harvested after the rain have the goods to make them true vins d’émotion.

The yields are the key in this game. Can one make good pinot with yields of 50hl/ha? Or is the old 40hl/ha benchmark still valid, and written in the Comblanchien marble?

Will it be a great vintage? I don’t think so, as the yields are simply too high. Will it be a lively, energetic vintage? is really the question you should ask. And as to that, I think there’s a chance that we will have our share of vins d’émotion.