2022 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Like the previous vintage, Domaine Dujac organized two or three “classes” in the vat room. So, I tasted their 2022s with around 20 other importers and writers, seated in rows and desperately hoping not to be put into detention. This has advantages and disadvantages. Jeremy Seysses tutored the tasting and offered his insights into the vintage, the first vinified in their newly-built winery opposite the family home in Morey-Saint-Denis.

“We are still learning about the particularities of the winery,” he begins. Obviously, with brand new vats operating in a completely new environment, this will have unexpected effects on the must and the fermenting wine, something that can only be learned through experience. “The vintage is in line with what is described as the ‘new normal.’ We didn’t have a relentless heat wave like we had in 2003. We have cooler nights, but the wines still have acidity. In the 1990s, we had much more malic acid, so there has been a significant shift in pH during élevage [that is to say, malolactic has less effect since there is less malic to convert into lactic acid]. Also, the timing of picking has an impact.”

“We started picking on August 30 in Puligny Folatières, picking the whites and some reds until September 2, mainly in the morning and early afternoon. It’s not easy getting a full crew of pickers, and you can lose part of your team during the day, so you have to pace the harvest. The fruit was clean, apart from minor oïdium for the whites and a little grillure for the reds. It was large in volume, up to 45 to 48hL/ha for the Premier Crus. Most alcohol levels are between 12.8% and 13.5%, around 13% for the whites. We are working on having permanent cover crops with higher trellising [to inhibit higher alcohol levels]. The whites were acidified in the must as early as possible. We used to do punch-downs three times a day on some tanks, but now it’s more like one every other day, and now we do an 11 or 12-day maceration, whereas it used to be more like 15 or 16 days. Since there is less nitrogen in the soil, it can lead to more sluggish ferments and potentially more reductive wines. There is around 85% whole bunch across all the cuvées although I feel it’s a vintage where the stems do not make such an impact. There is no chaptalization. Most malos were done early, and the wines were racked in June.”

Asked what he felt about the 2022s, Seysses opined that they are less “thuggish” than some of the 2018s, an evocative word for that vintage. The Clos de la Roche and Clos Saint-Denis are level pegging at the moment, whereas in previous vintages, I usually err towards the latter. Yet the Gevrey Combottes, always one of Dujac’s strongest cards, matches them pound-for-pound. But for me, the most excitement lies in the two Vosne Premier Crus: Les Beau Monts and Les Malconsorts – wonderful expressions of their respective sites. I think the assiduous lowering of whole bunches from 100% to around 80-85% results in characterful wines not defined by the stem addition. Rather, the technique enhances their individual terroirs’ expressions. I am not sure their 2022s will rank among the best in Dujac’s career. Then again, they have overseen some of the greatest Burgundy wines I’ve ever drunk. I think the vintage contains some gems that will mature beautifully in bottle.