Burgundy 2018 En Primeur Report

January is the time of year for us to turn our attention to the new vintage from Burgundy and with 2018 we have made an outstanding selection of wines which really deliver at every level.

2018 may well go down in history as a perfect example of a modern, global warminginfluenced Burgundy vintage. A very wet winter ensured water tables were high, which helped the vines cope admirably with an extended period of sunshine and warmth (but luckily no spikes of extreme heat) from mid-June right until the end of the (early) harvest, in midSeptember. Overall the growing season was very straight forward, the only major challenge being managing a touch of mildew appearing during a relatively humid Spring, and making the right decisions with regards to the picking dates – the most important decisions in a vintage like this, and one that was often the deciding factor between the timely successes and the (relative) challenges of the vintage.

There is no doubt that once again, it pays dividends to be working with top growers who understand that the only way to make great wine is by first putting in the meticulous work required in the vineyard. The next step is to put our strict selection criteria, tasting skills and experience of our team to best use and produce a list of wines that we feel are really worth buying now ‘’En Primeur’’ at the earliest opportunity.

We have done just that, and our selection represents the vintage beautifully; on the one hand ripe, opulent reds that have kept an impressive sense of place and terroir definition. The most successful examples rival the best vintages of the last 10 years, especially the sun-drenched 2009s and 2015s, which rarely had the same expressivity or poise. On the other hand, gloriously seductive whites that have benefitted from the generous volumes of beautiful fruit granted by Mother Nature, the larger yield gifting these rich and concentrated wines a delicious freshness that puts many of them on par with the superb 2017s or the exceptional 2014s.

In a nutshell, the whites are consistently very good, the reds (at their best ) even better, prices are either on a par or show only a slight increase on last year, and the Villages and lower appellations of Bourgogne Rouge or Côtes de Nuits have performed impressively – this is a year in which “taking advantage now’’ at every quality level will bring great rewards, and our team of wine experts is only a phone call or an email away to help you do just that. Alternatively please visit our offer online at www.mrwheelerwine.com/burgundy where you can place your order

Contact [email protected] or call 01206 713560.

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