2012 Red Burgundy: Against All Odds

by Antonio Galloni

Mother Nature threw the book at Burgundy’s vignerons in 2012, with just about every kind of weather imaginable. There is little question that overall the 2012 red Burgundies have turned out far better than initially expected. Painfully low yields resulted in rich, luscious wines with considerable appeal. The finest wines also capture plenty of site-specificity and nuance. Quality is uneven across the board, especially in the Côte de Beaune, but the best 2012s are undeniably thrilling. For more on the 2012s, readers might enjoy this short video I shot just after finishing my tastings.

The 2012 Growing Season

The 2012 growing season in Burgundy was one of the most unusual I can remember seeing in any region. The year started with a brutal frost in February. Cold, wet conditions in the late spring and early summer drew out the flowering for almost a month and resulted in significant incidences of coulure (shatter) and millerandage. (shot berries).  Sadly, some of the most affected vineyards were the oldest, as many of those parcels began to flower just as conditions were at their most challenging. But it was far from over.

On the evening of June 30 I was walking back to my hotel in Beaune after dinner. The skies looked ominous.  A very nice gentleman asked if I wanted to take cover, but I was sure I could make it back safely. Then the hail came. Luckily I was able to retreat. Standing in the city center, it was hard to know how severe the hail was. Frankly, it didn’t look that bad to me. I had seen much more damage the year before in Italy. But the worst was still to come. 

An hour or so later I was back in my hotel. Then the second wave of hail struck, something I had never witnessed before – two hailstorms on the same day. Poor weather continued, seemingly with no end. Rainfall during the summer months was much higher than normal. Mildew and oidium proved to be formidable opponents through most of the summer. Just getting into the vineyards to spray was a challenge, as wet soils made it impossible to work with tractors. As more than one grower told me, there simply was no margin for error in treating the vines. Mother Nature severely punished even the smallest mistakes in timing.

Les Malconsorts, Vosne-Romanée