Vintage preview: Burgundy 2017
A mixed bag is the simplest way to describe this vintage: a bumper crop of early-drinking reds and whites with patches of excellence but also plenty of pitfalls awaiting buyers. Tim Atkin MW gives his expert analysis and selects 102 top wines
Tim Atkin MW assesses the quality of this large vintage and recommends over 100 of his top reds and whites to buy
Burgundy witnessed in 2017 something that it hadn’t seen for eight years: a large crop of mostly good-quality wines, red and white. with the significant exception of Chablis and a few isolated spots in Morey-st-denis, st-Aubin and rully, the growing season was free of vine diseases and adverse weather events. Volumes are large – this is Burgundy’s biggest-ever red wine harvest – which means most growers and négociants finally have some wine to sell.
the year began with a cold winter (more and more unusual in the region) with three weeks of sub-zero temperatures in January. spring, however, was mild and dry, leading to
an early bud burst and flowering, 20 days ahead of 2015. The freezing temperatures that did such damage in Chablis also descended on the rest of Burgundy in late April, but a combination of luck, dry soils and the collaborative effort of producers who lit bales of damp straw to create a protective smoke screen helped to avert disaster.
After that, the year began to hot up, with rapid growth in the vineyards – it got to 39°C in Vosne-Romanée on 21 June, marking the first of two heat spikes (the other came at the end of August). There was some rain in mid-July, late August and early September, but this was still a hot vintage where some vines suffered water stress.
It was also a very early vintage for many. Arnaud Ente in Meursault led the way on 23 August, with many top white wine producers picking before the end of the month. The red wine harvest started in the first week of September and continued until the end of the month in the Hautes Côtes. This was a vintage when acidity levels were low at the end of the summer and fell rapidly thereafter. In September, potential alcohol levels increased at more than twice the normal rate.
The vintage was also shaped by the severe frosts of 2016. Affected vineyards often overcompensate in the ensuing vintage, which is what happened in 2017 – just as it did in 1982, 1992 and 1999. Frost-ravaged villages such as Marsannay, Chambolle-Musigny, parts of Nuits-St-Georges, Meursault and ChassagneMontrachet were especially prone to high yields. Some opted to try to ripen larger crops, not always successfully, while others did one or more green harvests.
‘A mixture of 2007, 2011 and 2014 comes closest to describing the style of the best wines’ Tim Atkin MW
Comparisons and verdict
The heat and early harvest reminded some producers of 2007 and 2011, though it’s better than both. Other comparisons included 1979, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2014 and 2015 (but with more freshness), which goes to show that opinions vary, even within Burgundy. A mixture of 2007, 2011 and 2014 probably comes closest to describing the style of the best wines.
It’s an exaggeration to call 2017 a superb harvest, but there are patches of excellence, especially in the whites, which seem to cope better with the combination of heat and high yields. These are wines for comparatively early drinking, though some think they could age better than expected. They are a pleasure to drink in many cases, with supple tannins and lots of sweet fruit in the reds and freshness, focus and minerality in (early-picked) whites.
Situated between the superior 2016 vintage and the powerful, already-hyped 2018s, 2017 could easily be overlooked – which would be a shame. Prices in the UK are unlikely to come down, partly as a result of the weak pound but also a reflection of the cost of land and grapes, plus producers’ understandable desire to put some money in the bank after seven smaller crops. My advice would be to buy while exercising a degree of caution. When it’s good, 2017 is very good indeed. When it’s bad, you’d be better off buying what’s left of the 2014s, 2015s and 2016s instead.
Around the regions Côte de Nuits
While it is true that 2017 is a vintage that expresses individual terroirs, it is also one in which human decisions – especially picking dates, crop levels and time in barrel – have had a significant impact. Hailstorms hit the northern part of Morey-St-Denis, but it was the dry conditions and heatwaves at the end of June and August and the number of bunches left on the vines that had a greater influence on vintage style. The harvest was very spread out, with some people waiting to ripen large crops, while others started early to preserve acidity. Green harvests were widely practised by many top names to reduce volumes, while rain at the start of September helped to mitigate heat stress. The conditions even prompted some producers to pick their grands crus first. Overall, this is a vintage that certainly produced some excellent reds, as well as a lot of pleasurable, easy-drinking ones, but also has its share of soft, dilute ones. More than ever, it makes sense to taste before you buy and stick to producers you know and trust. For all that, even some famous names under-performed in 2017.
Best producers: Comte Georges de Vogüé, Comte Liger-Belair, De la Romanée-Conti, Denis Mortet, Drouhin-Laroze, Dugat-Py, Fourrier, Georges Roumier, Jean Grivot, Robert Groffier.
Côte de Beaune
Apart from a frost in St-Aubin on 24 April and sporadic mildew in the southern part of the region, the Côte de Beaune escaped unscathed from the elements in 2017, which was a massive relief after the hail in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the terrible black frost of 2016. Vineyards badly affected in 2016 tended to over-produce, often dramatically, in 2017. The temptation was to leave too many grapes on the vine – understandable after a run of vintages in which some producers made the equivalent of 1.75 crops in five years. Picking dates, as well as yields, varied widely, making it difficult to generalise about style and quality. That said, the best whites from CortonCharlemagne, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, St-Aubin, Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet are outstanding. The reds are more mixed, but highlights include Volnay, the Beaune premiers crus and the hill of Corton – a grand cru that is coming into its own as the climate hots up.
Best producers: Bonneau du Martray, De Montille, Etienne Sauzet, Lafarge, Des Comtes Lafon, Leflaive, Marquis d’Angerville, Paul Pillot, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Roulot.
Côte Chalonnaise
Many producers in the Côte Chalonnaise made bigger volumes of wine in 2016 than they
‘Between the superior 2016 vintage and the alreadyhyped 2018s, 2017 could easily be overlooked – which would be a shame’ Tim Atkin MW
did in 2017 – especially in Rully, which was beset by the combination of frost, mildew and uneven flowering – and Montagny, where the dry conditions produced small berries with little juice. As was the case elsewhere in Burgundy in 2017, the best producers tended to be those who picked early and didn’t over-crop. There are some very good 2017s here, both white and red – particularly in Mercurey and Givry where Pinot Noir is king. This is a vintage when the leading producers came into their own. Wines from cooperatives, where yields were often higher, should be bought with greater caution.
Best producers: Bruno Lorenzon, De Suremain, Faiveley, François Lumpp, François Raquillet, Jean-Baptiste Ponsot, Paul and Marie Jacqueson, Stéphane Aladame, TupinierBautista, Vincent Dureuil-Janthial.
Mâconnais
Chardonnay, which tends to perform better in hot vintages than Pinot Noir, is the dominant grape in the Mâconnais, to the tune of 95% of plantings, so provided producers picked early (some in Fuissé started on 20 August), the results show lovely balance. Spring frosts and July hail reduced the crop in some vineyards, but overall the region produced good volumes of attractive, if often ripe wines. Late summer
rain (up to 60mm on 31 August) was beneficial for those who hadn’t picked, while others blocked malolactics in some cuvées to retain acidity. The best terroirs in PouillyFuissé – many of which will soon be classified as premiers crus – are generally impressive, but look out for wines from higher, cooler sites (especially in Mâcon-Vergisson) that were overlooked in the classification for being too marginal. There are also some lovely crunchy Gamays in 2017, as well as a few delicious Aligotés, here as well as in the overarching Bourgogne appellation.
Best producers: Bret Brothers, Château de Fuissé, Château des Rontets, Christophe Cordier, Clos des Vignes du Maynes, Daniel et Julien Barraud, Dominique Cornin, Ferret, Frantz Chagnoleau, Leflaive.