2020 Burgundy En Primeur Preview
In November, Seckford ventured to Burgundy to taste the 2020 vintage and bring you all of the inside information!
Read on for a preview of what's to come:
A wonderful vintage, with wines that display beautiful freshness and red fruits. Intensity and concentration in the reds, with some delicate floral notes coming through - fabulous!
Fabien Joannet says the 2020 vintage was atypical - it was easy and early, but a small quantity. It represents a continuation of the recent vintages - 2018 and 2019. The fresh notes of 19 are present, but with the warm aromas of 18. The harvest was in August and very early, resulting in small, very concentrated berries due to the dry weather.
Boursot Père et Fils explained that 2020 has an amazing dark purple colour and is fresh & fruity because it was harvested early. There used to be ban des vendanges which indicated the exact dates when you could harvest grapes, however this recently changed and the harvesting window is just based on the sugar levels in the grapes. Boursot used 30% whole bunch and 70% completely destemmed in 2020 (2021 will be 100% destemmed as the stems etc were not ripe enough) and vinification finished at the start of September.
Louis from Virgile Lignier-Michelot said that 2020 was an early vintage with small but very concentrated berries. 2020 has similar alcohol levels to 2019 and they are a fascinating pair of vintages, but 2020 is more tannic.
Domaine Louis Boillot started their harvest on August 18th - the earliest harvest in the history of the domaine. They had to start the harvest quite early because the grapes were already ripe. It was hard to decide when to start because they were worried about not having enough balance and freshness, but it turned out to be a very good harvest. Rich and perhaps not a typical Burgundian vintage, but very good and the domaine really like it. They mentioned that perhaps it was a bit like 2003, but with more freshness and red fruit.
Florent from Agnès et Didier Dauvissat said that 2020 was a vintage of good quality and was quite easy. The wines are fruity with good acidity, and 2020 is a riper and fuller vintage than previous years, perfect for immediate drinking.
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With best wishes for a fantastic Christmas
The Seckford Team
Here are a few shots from a rainy Burgundy taken during Seckford's recent visit in November.