Burgundy 2024 harvest report

The harvest is ON - finally!

The grapes have been given hard conditions to ripen this year, and early on the domaines' predictions indicated that the harvest would occur later than usually; around mid-September. And voilà, here we are.

Further south in Mâcon and Beaujolais, some producers started already a week before that, but the official kick-off can be said to have taken place around the 14th of September, particularly in Meursault/Puligny/Chassagne, and then widely across Côte de Nuit from the 16th/17th.

However, most of the Grand Cru vineyards are still holding off—expected for about another week ahead of these dates. As far as we know, the harvest has though started in Clos Vougeot for some producers on Monday 16th.

Here are a few glimpses of the current harvest-vibes - the buzzing vineyards in Meursault, harvesting with Jérémy Recchione in Marsannay and a happy Mark Haisma in the winery after picking Chardonnay in Mâcon:

Les Misérables kind of vintage

After a season that, in many ways, has been one long Les Misérables theater performance, with numerous challenges such as spring frost, hail (worst in Chablis), a very wet start to the summer that never really let up, and despite some sunshine here and there, hasn’t allowed the good producers and growers much of a summer break.

In other words, the vineyard work this year has been endless, with efforts focused on keeping diseases from devouring the entire harvest.

A particularly exhausting battle has been waged against mildew, and in several places, producers are reporting that, for the first time, they’ve seen this "downy mildew" attack the vines before flowering. And after the fruit-set, the humid conditions favoring the mildew caused has continued to cause loses of berries and whole clusters not able to mature. Therefore, in the remaining clusters, it’s common to see individual grapes suffering within clusters, with dried up juice, making the "grapes" look like small, dry peppercorns hanging among the fresh ones.

This can also be seen on the leaves, as well as the cooler season itself. The vines would normally be vibrant with chlorophyll at this time, and while the vineyards are green, up close, many leaves are either attacked by mildew, reducing photosynthesis and thus the ripening process, or already well on their way into autumn.

The major white appellations, however, seem to have been hit somewhat less severely than those further north, especially those with the best exposures and well-drained soil. Nevertheless, even in the top Grand Cru vineyards, the challenges are evident.

Have a look for yourself here. From the left; Le Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, La Romanée og Le Musigny:

What to expect

The short answers: 
Is there going to be wine? YES. 
Will there be a lot? NO. 
Will it be good? Likely YES.

BUT, let me elaborate: 
The vast majority of producers, who have been harvesting so far, seem relieved and surprisingly pleased with the fruit they’ve picked.

The "but", of course, is the quantity. The losses have been significant— most reporting around 50%. In other words, yields of 20-30 hectoliters per hectare, which is less than half of the usual level.

It’s even worse for those who haven’t been diligent or skilled in the vineyard, as well as for those practicing organic/biodynamic farming, who couldn’t spray the heavy amounts that others found necessary. Here, losses are as high as 80%. With an exception of a few young and otherwise promising producers who, according to reliable sources, decided to say "screw it" and harvest two weeks ago to avoid further losses. They’d rather construct the wines with sugar and the like...

Worst has it been for producers in Chablis, where predictions are a frightening 10-20 hectoliters per hectare, meaning 10-20% of yields compared to a good year. The harvest hasn’t started in Chablis yet, so we’re just crossing our fingers that reality turns out to be more positive at the moment.

Optimism in the vineyards

But all in all, one red-grey basket after another is being filled and loaded onto trucks and tractors. As i'm typing this, the vineyards are buzzing with pickers. The sun is shining over the Côte, and despite the losses, we're experiencing optimism as well among the producers in the vineyards, from north to south.

Among the ones that we talked to were mother and daughter Amelie and Marie Andrée of Berthaut-Gerbet in Vosne-Romanée, Australian Mark Haisma, Danish winemaker Thomas Dam, Eric and his son Charles Boigelot in Meursault, and rising star Jeremy Recchione. 

And, I’ve certainly spotted some beautiful fruit as well.

Despite every producer emphasizing that it’s been a tough year, they remain optimistic and likewise pleasantly surprised to find more and better fruit on vines in some vineyards than expected. As we know, Burgundy is all about "wines of triage," and in a vintage like this, the final quality will largely depend on selection, selection, selection.

The alcohol levels are averaging between 12-13%, which is one degree lower than last year.

So, i’ve asked several producers the classic question of which vintages they think might serve as a reference. Naturally, they responded that nothing is certain until the wine has fermented and the complexity between the difficult vintage and the slowly ripened, reasonably good grapes that have survived will finally reveal itself in the glass.

Saving the best for last

Which is that a lot is pointing towards the potential of the vintage not being that bad at all. At least for those who have worked hard through the season—perhaps even quite the opposite!

In other words; a season that can truly separate the sheep from the goats. While this is certainly a challenging and fresher vintage, with less fruit volume than 2022 and 2023, there’s potential for great concentration in the smaller grapes. Á la 2021, 2017, 2011... could 2024 actually turn out to be one to remember? Let’s see ;-)