Phenolic ripeness – we need rain …

Ohh no, not Phenolic ripeness again…

Yes, phenolics again… and given the current situation in the vineyards, there is a big risk of not achieving sufficient phenolic ripeness in 2026.

The wines in many vineyards are struggling with a lack of juice, thick skins, and prospects of a very problematic phenolic ripeness if we don’t get some water – and even if we get water, it can be too late to produce wines of true quality.

This is a very bad situation in many appellations, vineyards and plots.

I will, during my tasting of 2025 and later the 2026 vintage, set a greater focus on correct/optimal/perfect phenolic ripeness as this is the core of getting the best wines in a world with increasing global warming.

Perfect phenolic ripeness

Perfect phenolic ripeness is difficult to obtain in all wines. Depending on the wines produced, appellation and vineyards, and the sepage in the vineyard, harvest can be very crowded with many wines reaching maturity and phenolic ripeness at the same time.

Sometimes the harvest window is very small … a question of days rather than a week … sometimes hours rather than days!

And then we can also have variation in the phenolic ripeness within the same plot… further complicating things.

It is therefore also quite rare to see what you would call perfect phenolic ripeness … some vintages develop very rapidly, making it very hard to hit the phenolic ripeness spot on.

The world is rarely perfect

To be honest, the world is rarely perfect, and not all wines are vin d’émotion, but it is, nevertheless, extremely important to understand phenolic ripeness – to better navigate the Burgundian waters – and find the next vin d’émotion.

To do this, one has to treat the whites and the reds separately, but in reality, many of the “symptoms” are the same.

So, here is a short guide to understand why under- or overripe phenolics will ruin your chances of getting the true experience of a Vin d’émotion.

The phenolics of white wines

Underripe phenolics white

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