Vintage Report 2010

The 2010 Burgundy Briefing Vintage Report is an in-depth assessment of the 2010 vintage on the Côte d’Or with a quick dip into Chablis. It is a top quality and notably energetic vintage for reds. The whites have elegance and density.

The report has become a valuable tool for buying the often expensive wines wines of Burgundy, but remans true its original concept to be an engaging insight into the region, aimed at those who wish to keep informed about Burgundy’s latest vintage and its people.

There are two comprehensivevintage reports, one for red wine another for white, which follow a similar format. They include plenty of contributions from the growers and hence cover 40 pages, however I summarise first with a few key facts.

Vintage Vantage Point

  • The defining factors of the season which have shaped the wines.
  • Analysis: Considering sugar, acidity and tannins and how they are balanced.
  • How the vintage was handled in winery.
  • Style is considered with plenty of contributions
  • Quality; my assessment and the growers’ opinions.
  • Vintage comparions.
  • Villages and vineyards:
  • Villages: An overview of each of the principal villages on the Côte d’Or; the style and quality of the village wines and specific lieux-dits (named vineyards).
  • Vineyards: Drilling down into the premier and grand crus within the villages; which vineyards stood out or under-performed.
  • Ageing capacity and when to drink the wines.
  • Pricing and the market in and for Burgundy, reflecting the growers’ perspective

Tasting Notes

The bulk of the report consists of approximately 300 pages of tasting notes with introductions to each domaine or negoce (90 visits). The wines were evaluated and those those which stood out in each cellar were marked with an asterisk.

Selection of favourite wines

A red and white ‘hit’ lists; my pick of the favourite wine from each cellar.

Older Vintages

As usual I try and taste some past vintages of red to compare and contrast with the current vintage and the notes scattered among the 2010 tasting notes.

Whites from past vintages. This included tasting the 2009s with the 2010s in Chablis together with a couple of small verticals.

  • Domaine Jean-Paul Drion, Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 2004 to 2009
  • Domaine Louis Michel, Chablis Vaudésir 06, 08, 09 & Montée de Tonnerre 05, 06 and 09

On the Côte de Beaune

  • Domaine Etienne Sauzet, Puligny-Montrachet, Champs Canet 2004 to 2009
  • Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault, Clos de la Barre 2004 to 2009
  • Domaine Rene Lamy Pillot, Saint-Aubin, Les Pucelles 2004 to 2009
  • Domaine Francois Jobard, Meursault, En la Barre 2004 to 2009
  • Domaine Michel Morey-Coffinet, Chassagne-Montrachet, La Romanèe 2003, 06, 07 & 08

This report can be purchased for £65. It will be emailed as pdfs on receipt of payment via Paypal. If you wish to purchase it by cheque or by bank transfer, please contact me by email. The pdfs are sent manually, so please be patient if you do not receive it immediately, particularly in May, June and October when I am in Burgundy.