The vintages

A mild start to winter brought early budbreak, raising fears of damage when late frosts were forecast for April.

Happily the vineyard was spared, but repeated rain and low spring temperatures slowed growth and demanded heavy work between the rows.

Early 2023 saw temperatures yo-yo, which slowed budbreak.

Summer was punctuated by storms and heat spikes, which brought the grapes to fine ripeness, concentrating sugars and promising real quality.

After the trials of 2021, the 2022 vintage stands out for its generosity and quality. Later budbreak spared the Mercurey vineyard from April’s last frosts.

The vines then came through a summer of successive heatwaves, broken by a few welcome rains. Those episodes let the grapes concentrate steadily and reach, by late August, a fine balance between sugar and acidity.

The 2021 vintage will be remembered for heavy late frosts in early April, which hit vines already out because a mild winter had brought early budbreak.

Flowering went well, but poor weather from July to mid-August meant heavy work in the vineyard. Fortunately veraison arrived in mid-August under sunshine, letting the grapes build sugar while holding fairly firm acidity right up to harvest.

The 2020 vintage is a remarkable one.

It was marked by historic earliness, from budbreak to harvest. The result is quite exceptional.

The magic of years ending in nine. The vintage was hot and dry, yet the wines show a freshness that will delight lovers of Burgundy, alongside a generosity that wins you over.

Volumes were below an average year, but the small yields gave the wines remarkable concentration and finesse.

The year enjoyed extraordinary weather throughout, and exceptional conditions at harvest, which is why we believe 2018 will be a very great year.

After a wet winter, a mild April let the vines get slightly ahead. Summer meant heat and unbroken drought. The vines held out and kept growing at a steady pace until mid-August.

After several harvests hit by the weather, 2017 shaped up well.

The vines made the most of a summer-like spring, taking a lead they held to harvest. They were in flower by mid-June, confirming an early year. Summer brought a few heatwaves and, two weeks ahead, the first grapes came in on 30 August. Picking ended on 12 September.

A fine surprise, that is how to describe 2016, a singular vintage because of the year’s weather.

After a frost on the night of 26–27 April, the first leaves already out, and a cold wet spring, the sun finally took hold and the vines recovered. A warm summer let the grapes ripen in very good conditions. Picking began on 20 September and ended ten days later, with perfectly ripe, healthy fruit.

2015 is a very great, generous vintage that will reveal itself over the years.

The whites: highly expressive, on summer fruit, of great aromatic purity, balanced by remarkable freshness and fine richness on the palate.

The whites: 2014 is an excellent year for white. The grapes, at optimal ripeness thanks to September sunshine, give perfect balance. Their chiselled, precise character points to fine ageing potential.

The reds: intense colour, fruity nose, concentration on the palate and supple, agreeable tannins, these reds show fine fresh-fruit character. All finesse, they hint at everything a great red can offer.

After a cold start to the year, temperatures only returned to seasonal norms in April. May stayed cool, making 2013 the latest vintage of the last twenty years.

Fortunately summer delivered its heat, peaking in late July just as the bunches closed. That providential summer carried ripening at a steady pace into early September, despite rain at intervals through the season.

This may be one of the greatest vintages of the last twenty years in the Côte Chalonnaise.

The wines are perfectly balanced, with very ripe, very silky tannins.

The reds of this vintage are generous and subtle, on raspberry. Among them the Premiers Crus are fine and thoroughbred, 2 to 7 years’ keeping. The whites are ample and rich, on citrus and white flowers.

In 2011 the harvest ran from 29 August to 10 September.

The reds, scented with ripe fruit, are fine-boned. They come into their own within 2 to 3 years.

In 2010 the harvest ran from 18 to 25 September.

A very fine vintage, with generous, concentrated wines and well-coated tannins.

A keeping wine: concentrated, with a smooth texture and fine length.

A fine vintage, with well-balanced wines and elegant, fine-grained tannins.