2013 Burgundy En Primeur

The trend for turbulent growing conditions continued in 2013 but, once again, many excellent wines have been produced, albeit in lamentably smaller quantities.

A detailed report of the growing conditions can be found in our vintage report, but in essence, the best whites display beautiful fruit and balanced acidity, while the most successful reds have mouth-filling fruit on the palate that backs up the attractive bouquets on the nose.

Finally, we have a number of new producers on offer this year, vignerons with great skill who have produced exciting wines from a variety of regions during a difficult season.

Vintage Key Points

  • Prices below those of 2012 in almost every case
  • Beautifully aromatic reds, very terroir-focused
  • Characterful and balanced whites, concentrated Chablis
  • Another tiny crop for most of the Côte de Beaune
  • Another short crop in the Côte de Nuits
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Buyer

Burgundy 2013 En primeur - Producers at a Glance

Vintage Report Overview

You can read the full vintage report here, but the general overview of the 2013 vintage is that, although it was a difficult one for vignerons, those who utilised their skill and expertise have produced some really wonderful wines that are rich in body, with excellent acidity.

To fully understand the vintage one must understand the weather patterns and how they forced winemakers hands.  The year began with completely miserable spring which resulted in delayed and ineffective flowering, especially for old vines, followed by another hideous hailstorm on 23rd July affecting the Côte de Beaune, especially Corton-Charlemagne, Savigny, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault.

August was mostly dry and sunny without excessive heat, while September was rather more mixed. The race was on between the ripening process and the onset of rot. The earliest pickers began on Thursday 26th September for white wines, and harvesting continued in good conditions until the significant storm over the wet weekend of 5th and 6th October. Thereafter temperatures dropped considerably as the bulk of the reds were brought in. They did not appear to have suffered from the storm nearly as much as any lingering whites however, and the extra hang time proved beneficial.