The 2010 Red Burgundies

by Antonio Galloni

I spent a total of six weeks in Burgundy in 2011. My most recent trip, in late November/early December, was focused on the 2010 red Burgundies. Overall, I am thrilled with the 2010 vintage. The wines are racy, show fabulous minerality and are very true to site. In other words, the vintage embodies all of the qualities that make red Burgundy one of the world’s most compelling wines.

The 2010 Harvest

To better understand the vintage, it might be helpful to take a closer look at some of the key events of the year. The first of these was a deadly winter frost in December 2009 that killed many plants and wiped out a number of vineyards, especially in lower lying areas that are particularly susceptible to frost. Most of the damage was done to the village level parcels that lie adjacent to or near the Route Nationale. Cold weather during the flowering was highly problematic. In a normal year the flowering takes around a week, but in 2010 it took as long as a month. There was a very high incidence of shatter and shot berries, both of which reduced potential yields dramatically. As we will see later, these would turn out to be blessings in disguise. The vines went into the summer with very light loads. There were very few bunches on the vines, many of those bunches were loose (meaning with few berries) and the berries themselves were small. A cold, damp summer followed, which only served to fray the nerves of producers as they left for their August vacations. At this juncture the expectation for the vintage on paper was very low.

The weather improved in September, with a key spell of dry, warm weather in the middle of the month. The harvest began later in the month and stretched into October for some domaines. Growers had to work around rain on September 24, but otherwise there were no major weather events during the harvest. Most growers reported bringing in healthy fruit, which isn’t as surprising as it might seem, given that one of the virtues of loose bunches is that they allow for excellent access to air and sun for the individual berries. There is little question that the naturally low yields were key in allowing the fruit to ripen fully.