Damn … too sticky and too ripe

Global warming is producing more and more phenolically ripe and richer wines. The wines are getting riper and riper, and those with lesser, or smaller, terroirs are losing the crucial balance between sweet ripe fruit and freshness in the form of acidity, terroir and energy.

Let’s face it … in vintages like 2018, and even 2022 some of the lesser wines are getting sweet … sometimes even sticky, and many of them do lack some acidity, freshness and energy.

This is the main challenge of Burgundy … or should I say, red Burgundy!

Chardonnay can be adjusted with higher yields without a significant negative impact on complexity and focus, but pushing Pinot Noir at high yields (more than 45 hl/ha) is a very serious issue. High yields of Pinot Noir can cause the wines to lose focus, nuances and complexity.

Wines with great terroirs will (almost) always prevail … but Pinot from lesser terroirs will struggle more and more.

The Bordeaux syndrome

The one-eyed focus on phenolic ripeness began in Bordeaux and since the middle of the 1990s, we lost a lot of the characteristics that we used to love in Bordeaux … do “real tannins” ring a bell ?

Now, many of the wines are fruit soup with 14.5% alcohol and oak! This is the end, more or less, for me.

In Burgundy, the wines are now taking the same tour, and this could be even more serious, as a 14.5% Burgundy from a limited terroir will lose a lot of the coveted complexity and freshness that we normally get in Burgundies.

15% alcohol is the end of red Burgundy, sadly … to the Winehog at least.

Vif … vin vif … VIF

The solution is wines made in a light style where viticulture is done in a way where the ripeness is kept under control. This is not easy …

The grapes are made with a suitable balance between phenolic ripeness, acidity and alcohol … perhaps, even accepting that not all grapes are 100% phenolically ripe in the rich and ripe years … to ensure a liveliness and some acidity.

This is a separate topic … but trust me when I say – a singleminded focus on phenolics will not produce the Burgundies that I want to drink … nor will it produce classical Burgundies the way some producers see them.

The wines should furthermore be lightly extracted, and discretely oaked … oak is always a balance, but it is rarely successful in hiding high alcohol and overripeness in an highly toasted oak soup.

I will get back to the lower or should I say, mixed phenolic ripeness later …

A Vin vif should be fresh, energetic and have a light appearance … frais et léger … as these are the very fundament of all Vin d’émotion.

This is especially the case with the lesser wines … as bigger terroirs have larger potential and more possibilities.

The potential vin VIFs

Next up will be to find the VIF wines … names like Nicolas Faure, Chanterêves and Domaine Rougeot have been mentioned … but I WILL BE BACK