2011 White Burgundy

Careful vignerons who judged their picking dates intelligently have produced a healthy crop of delicious white wines in the 2011 Burgundy vintage, with some flesh on the palate and good acidity, very nicely balanced for medium term ageing.

They have the fresh aspect of 2007 wines but a little more weight. We can report very good results from Mâcon and Chablis as well. Another clear character of the year, for both colours, is how well the wines reflect the characteristics of their appellations and indeed their vineyards. There is certainly admirable precision offered by many wines this year.

Read here the 2011 Vintage Report on Red Burgundy wines.

The Weather
A moderately severe winter, though without the deep freeze of the previous year, ended early and a fine spring was ushered in from the middle of March. The wind patterns were unusual, blowing mainly from the north (the benchmark wind on Palm Sunday), cool and dry – or veering right round to the south, warm and dry. The flowering in the white wine vineyards was more successful than the reds.

The first flowers were seen as early as May 10th, almost exactly the same as in 2007, and properly looked after vineyards were bursting with health. There was a long term fear for the build up of drought problems however, especially if the season was to develop along 1976 lines.

But, as in 2007, May was a little cooler than April and with a few more showers, occasionally storms. The village sages were talking of a hot and stormy summer – apparently the magpies were nesting close to the houses which they do when storms are in the offing! Useful rain followed in early June rapidly followed by a hosepipe ban which immediately brought more rain and questions as to whether this could be the same deteriorating pattern as 2007.

The sun came back with a vengeance at the end of June, flirting with 40°C, and causing some grilling of the grapes. The first week in July was dry too, bringing thoughts of 1976 back into view. When it rained, solidly and evenly without stormy side effects on Thursday 7th July, the growers were thrilled but further rain over the next few days was less welcome and the whole month of July proved to be cooler and wetter than usual.

Overall the season was less stormy than expected apart from minor hail in Corton-Charlemagne (20th May), Gevrey-Chambertin (23rd July) and Puligny-Montrachet, plus one really devastating storm in Rully on 12th July following a more minor attack in June. August began clear and sunny but the July pattern of showery days returned with temperatures below or approaching the seasonal norm. There was little sustained rain except on Friday 26th with many growers starting to pick the following week in the good weather which returned.

Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer

Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.

Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.