Following on from my earlier note on the overall success of this vintage, here are a number of wines that you may wish to add to your cellar.

I tasted dozens of wines that I could recommend. However, to provide some focus, I have just listed 9 wines that I would be very happy to serve at home over the coming years.

The prices quoted here are from the merchants’ En Primuer offers. therefore, you will need to pay Duty, VAT and delivery when they arrive in the country.

1 - Domaine Borgeot - Bourgogne Blanc Clos de la Carbonnade 2022

The two Borgeot brothers own this single vineyard and produce a very drinkable wine. Fresh lemon on the nose, good acidity on the palate with more than enough fruit and intensity to comfortably sit alongside a Dover Sole or rich prawn risotto. Drink once released and remaining fresh for the next two to three years.

£162 - 12 bottles from Tanners or £170 from Davy’s

2 - Domaine Barraud - Saint Véran En Crèches 2022

Nose was rather rich with classic buttery notes combined with hints of almond and nutmeg. Long on the palate with a great balance of fruit and energy. 70% of the cuvée is matured in barrels, the rest in 600L wooden casks. Drink 2025-2028.

£180 - 12 bottles from Lea & Sandeman

3 - Domaine Moreau-Naudet - Petit Chablis 2022

A really classic Chablis at a very sensible price. The area of Petit Chablis accounts for approximately 20% of the area under vnder vine. The vineyards are located on the higher slopes and are made up of hard, brown limestone, or sometimes silty, sandy soils: elevation of between 230 and 280 meters, with varied orientation. Aromas of green apples and pears with a persuasive body that is both satisfying and generous. Good balance here with classic acidity matched perfectly to ripe fruits.

£190 - 12 bottles from Lea & Sandeman

4 - Domaine Sebastien Magnien - Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc, Clos du Bois Prévot 2022

I wrote about this domaine a couple of years ago, and the wines just get better and better. I had not tasted this specific wine before, and what a delight. Zesty, full of ripe fruit, aged in oak with a small amount of new barrels, lemon tones and good length. A really easy decision. Drinking once it is released and will improve over the next 5 years.

£192 - 12 bottles from Berrys

5 - Domaine William Fèvre - Chablis 2022

Fèvre needs little introduction. A house that produces highly acclaimed Chablis year after year. The entry level wine here ticks all the boxes. With vines averaging over 40 years, the nose is flinty with just a hint of oak, a classic palate that will benefit from a couple of years, but is highly drinkable today.

£240 - 12 bottles from Berrys

6 - Domaine Michel Bouzereau - Bourgogne Cote d'Or Chardonnay 2022

Year in, year out, this wine is utterly reliable and delicious. Grapes from Puligny and Montrachet make a compelling reason to stock up on a few cases and know that every time you pull the cork you will not be disappointed. Classic White Burgundy at a very reasonable price for the quality that it delivers. Enjoyable today and should be drunk over the next couple of years.

£240 - 12 bottles from Berrys

7 - Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Bourgogne Rouge, Les Grands Chaillots 2022

20% whole bunch fermentation, fermented and aged in stainless steel, this is a rather fruit-focused wine that has good length with very good balance and length. Can be very easily be consumed in 2024, and will have a shelf-life for at least 5 years.

£270 - 12 bottles from Berrys

8 - Domaine Heresztyn-Mazzini - Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Les Millandes 2022

Simon and Flo make exceptional wines. This is the only Burgundy I bought from the 2021 vintage, and when tasting the 2015 last June at the domaine, I immediately came back and added a case to my cellar. Very stylish. The nose has a density of vibrant dark red fruit with a lingering richness, and the palate already has layers of intense, complicated flavours. Drink early 2030s to early 2040s. Alongside the wine below will make a great pairing at a future dinner.

Contact Ed Hume-Kendall - ed@montrachetwine.com - at Montrachet Wine Merchants: £1,012 - 12 bottles.

9 - Domaine Faiveley - Corton, Clos des Cortons Grand Cru 2022

This is outstanding. Talking to Faiveley’s Export Director, Matthieu Luneau, he was very excited about the entire 2022 wines from this impeccable domaine. The Faiveley family have owned this plot since 1874, covering just under 7 acres of vines. It has the concentration of richly flavoured fruit, balanced with fine tannins and positive acidity that will see this drinking exceptionally well into the 2030s and probably 2040s. Although it is very, very appealing to drink today, this needs time and I’ve put my bottles aside for a birthday in 2033.

£2,160 - 12 bottles from Stone, Vine & Sun.

Many of you are probably receiving emails from merchants recommending you buy wines from their 2022 Burgundy En Primeur offers.

My advice, having been in the region twice last year and currently attending a series of trade tastings during January, is to buy.

Everything that I have tasted to date ranges from very good to outstanding. If you have a favourite producer and/or vineyard that you follow on a regular basis, then this year will not disappoint.

To help with these decisions, this is the first of three missives. This one provides a summary of the 2022 vintage in Burgundy, and hopefully encourage you to stock up with this vintage.

The second will list a number of wines that I have tasted during January, highlighting wines to buy that will be ready for drinking relatively soon, as well as those that need to go into your cellar for a few years.

The final missive will look beyond France and assess a selection of Pinot Noirs from other parts of the world. Many friends have expressed their concerns at the ever rising price of good Red Burgundies, and have asked what alternatives exist. There are a considerable number.

1 - Overview. There is universal praise for the quality of wines produced during 2022. Speaking to producers at tastings over the last week, and when visiting the region last June, they were keen to express their delight that finally they had a vintage that not only produced excellent wines, but also in volume across the board. Merchants were in agreement - both, you might say, not surprisingly - but this was supported with immense enthusiasm from wine writers and journalists. From what I have tasted to date, this is definitely a vintage to buy both for the short-term village wines as well as the longer-term Premier and Grand Cru offerings. From Chablis in the north to Côte Chalonniase and Mâconnais in the south, there is a consistent quality throughout the breadth and depth of the region.

2 - Weather. The driest and sunniest year since records began . Overall, an excellent growing season. The vines managed the warm conditions and have been able to retain their freshness with no signs of the grapes being cooked or baked.

The frost damage was minimal with a cold patch in early April that soon passed. May saw an early flowering. June saw torrential rain in the Côte de Nuits, particularly bad in Gevrey-Chambertin where a month's rain fell in two days, however, elsewhere, all good. July and August progressed with highish daytime temperatures, but not heatwave conditions, married with coolish nights. Rains fell on 14th and 20th August, just to restore some moisture prior to the start of the harvest.

Managing a warm vintage like this would have been a problem 20+ years ago. However, vignerons have learned how to orchestrate canopy management, soil health and picking dates. The relatively early start of this harvest has made a significant contribution to the overall style and quality. Are the vines adjusting to the change in temperature? Nice thought, but probably not.

3 - Harvest. The crop was in excellent health when picking started towards the end of August for the whites, and early September for the reds. There were concerns about sugar levels increasing, and acidity levels dropping, but everything seems to have worked to perfection and an excellent balance achieved. I believe the producers in the Côte de Nuits were immensely positive, and those in the Côte de Beaune even happier. Fermentations seem to have progressed well. Reduction in the use of whole bunch fermentation is an interesting factor given the growth of its appeal over the last decade. The volume of this harvest was 75% more than 2021.

4 - Chablis. Balance and integrity. Plenty of refined fruit with delicate acidity. The wines have a freshness and vitality that will have many ready for drinking in the not too distant future, and perhaps not many that will benefit from extended ageing. Plenty of citrus flavours, married to the minerality of the region and a ripeness of expressive fruit with a broad array of flavours.

There are a few wines from Petit Chablis wines, an appellation accounting for approximately 20% of the wines produced in the region with around 1,100 hectares under vine, that will feature in my next article.

5 - Côte d’Or. The short-term volume of rains in June raised a few concerns in the north of the patch, but it would seem this downpour provided just enough for the rest of the growing season. Jasper Morris favours the Côte de Beaune wines over the Côte de Nuits, but most commentary has given a very strong ‘thumbs up’ across the region. The assessment is that the wines are very representative of their terroir with the individual characteristics of vineyard sites being accentuated.

6 - Côte Chalonnaise & Mâconnais. There are some stalwart wines from a handful of producers that will feature in the second article. If you have previously enjoyed Rully, Mercurey, Givry, Montagny and a host of Mâcon derivatives, then study the notes and buy from the same producers. Tasting a large number of these wines on Monday has convinced me that there are excellent examples.

7 - Pricing. Good Burgundy is expensive, and that pricing has accelerated over the last decade. I have used this example before, but Bonneau du Martray’s Corton-Charlemagne cost around £80 per bottle ten or twelve years ago, and it now retails for around £300+, with Averys currently selling their 2020 at £600. Ok, this is an extreme example, but you get the general drift. However, what I have noticed so far are an excellent collection of entry-level Bourgogne Blancs and Rouges. Notes to follow.

8 - Summary. If warmer vintages are becoming the norm, then may they all replicate the conditions of 2022. A vintage to buy from those looking for well-made, short-term Bourgogne Blancs or Rouges, plus village wines, to those who would like to enjoy more exotic brews after a decade or more.

Next week I shall send out a summary of what caught my attention.