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All wines below were tasted from coravined bottles.
Frédéric Lafarge said that 2020 yielded 65-70% of a full harvest. The harvest began on 22 August. (Continue reading here.)
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In 1987, Michel Lafarge was one of the first vignerons I met on my initial trip to Burgundy for the purpose of writing about wine. I last saw him as I had every vintage since then, while visiting the estate in 2019, the year prior to his death at age 91. He is gone, but this remains one of the iconic estates of Burgundy.
Michel’s son Frédéric, who each year resembles is father more and more, greeted us, as he has for many years, and we tasted a handful of 2022s before moving on. I expect to return in the fall to taste through the whole line.
Malolactic fermentations for the whites had not finished when I tasted in early June, but for the reds, they finished in March. Yields were "normal." (Continue reading here.)
Since I last visited in 2019, a new cuverie has been installed, looking very much like that which Faiveley put in a few years before.
The 2022s were ready to pick as early as 25 August, explained Jacques Devauges, but he delayed until 1 September. He began then with the whites and the harvest was over on 8 September. Yields in 2021 were about half of normal; in 2022, they were normal plus some more. Malolactic fermentations finished before Christmas 2022, quite common in Burgundy, as there was very little malic acidity in the vintage.
As the estate continues with organic and biodynamic practices under the excellent direction of Jacques Devauges, there is no question that quality continues to mount. (Continue reading here.)
It’s not so easy to write about my experience tasting the 2022 wines from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from barrel. I have tasted every vintage from bottle from 1985 to 2017. Additionally, beginning in the early 1990s, I have tasted every vintage from barrel up to the 2018 vintage. Tasting the 2022s was my first time back at the Domaine to taste from barrel since tasting the 2018s in 2019.
So from the foregoing, you can see that I have tasted many great vintages and many great wines from the Domaine. Consequently, when I say that I came away from my tasting of the 2022s feeling that it was the most impressive set of wines I’ve ever tasted there, that is a statement that means something. That said, as I pointed out in my introduction to the vintage overall, there are serious shortcomings to comparing wines across periods of time, just as there are to comparing paintings, music, literature, and so on across time:
"producers in a given era are responding to environments, problems, and questions that are of their era and not the same as those faced by producers in a different era. For wine, there is no question that global warming has changed the game in recent years and continues to do so. In particular, for Burgundy, the prospect of a vintage without sufficient ripeness is almost unthinkable these days, whereas the prospects of wines with excess alcohol and ripeness of fruit and deficient acidity are constant challenges.”
That said, Aubert de Villaine compares the vintage to 1959, a great and abundant year of wines that impressed and drank well immediately and where the greatest can still offer astonishing experiences.
Bertrand de Villaine, who has now taken over from his uncle Aubert de Villaine, said that the Domaine has been making various changes to deal with global warming. For example, in the past, dried berries were added back to the grapes to be fermented for their sugar, but the sugar no longer is needed.
After a small 2021 due to frost damage, a generous 2022 was expected — if all other elements went well — because the vines compensate that way. There was hot and mostly dry weather through mid-August, resulting in a an early bud break and an early and rather rapid flowering (the rapidity being important for uniformity of maturity at harvest time). By August, some vines had ceased to continue to progress in maturity, but rain from 15-18 August was just what was needed to remedy the problem.
Harvesting began on 30 August with the Corton. For 2022, all the reds are 100% whole cluster. The reds finished their malolactic fermentations in late April, but the whites were still fermenting when I visited in the first week of June. (I did taste the partially-fermented Corton-Charlemagne, reported below and not the definitive blend, but not the Montrachet). Also, because the Corton was in a different cellar, I did not taste that wine.
The estate, of course, has long been organic and biodynamic. (Continue reading here.)
Vincent Guillemot said that harvesting in 2022 began on 28 August. He used about half whole clusters for all the wines, with five days of immersion of the chapeau at the end of vinification. Overall, yield for the reds was 35 hl/ha, 42 hl/ha for the whites. Alcohols are about 12.5%.
The estate was certified organic in 2021 and now is practicing biodynamic methods.
Savigny-lès-Beaune is not a glamor name among Côte d’Or villages the way Gevrey-Chambertin or Volnay are, but you will find tremendous quality here at keen prices, and the 2022s here are real standouts.
For 2022, I only tasted the reds. (Continue reading here.)
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Jacques Bavard’s paternal grandfather was an owner of a significant estate in Puligny-Montrachet until the mid-1970s, including wines from Chevalier-Montrachet and Bâtard-Montrachet. But times were different then, and not everyone wanted to follow a career in wine. The generation of Jacques’ parents left and Jacques eventually found himself with a restaurant in Paris (that had a very good wine list). In 1995, he found himself in Burgundy tasting wine for his restaurant and was attracted back to the wine world. He eventually studied two years at the lycée viticole in Beaune and established a négociant operation based in Puligny.
The wines here are not from grand appellations and the wines are not going to make you forget the stars of the Côte de Beaune. But for relatively modest prices, they can scratch the Burgundy itch when needed, something that is very much needed in today’s overheated Burgundy market.
For white wines, Bavard uses both 350-liter and the standard 228-liter barrels. There has been an increase in new oak since 2017 for the whites because that use increases reduction, and since 2006, there has been no bâtonnage (stirring of the lies). The wines are made for drinking in the first ten years, with an emphasis on freshness; longer aging would require more use of sulfur, which Jacques is not willing to do. (Continue reading here.)
This introduction to the whites of 2022 shows plenty of promise and some potentially great wines at the top end. (Continue reading here.)
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Continuing to the more structured Côte de Beaune wines and the Côte de Nuits wines. (Continue reading here.)
Brian Sieve, chef de cave at Domaine de Montille, said that 2018, 2020, and 2022 were the warmest vintages ever. Of the three, 2022 produced the most fruit. Alcohols are about 12.8º, with only two wines in the estate being above 13º. Harvesting in 2022 started about 24 August. Production levels were generous.
The estate began adopting organic practices in 1985, and by 1995 had totally abandoned synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides. In the 2000s, the estate began to adopt biodynamic processes. (Continue reading here.)
I have been visiting this estate since the mid-1990s. The wines have always been of high quality (a 2001 Romanée-Saint-Vivant that I opened at the end of last year was all that one could have asked of that great vineyard), but there has been a welcome evolution over the years toward wines with less new oak and more elegance.
Alain and Sophie Meunier’s son Louis has now taken charge of the fermentations here and further added to the trend toward elegance and balance. Specifically, he has increased the period of cold maceration, does very little physical intervention, and uses much less SO2.
In short, this is an estate that has not received as much attention as it deserved in the past and that appears now to be poised to go to go to very top echelons of quality. Those lamenting the high prices of recent Burgundy vintages will find good values and quality wines at the lower levels. Those seeking top-of-the-heap Burgundy will focus on the top appellations.
Harvesting in 2022 began at the end of August. Overall yields were 39 hl/ha. Malolactic fermentations here were rapid, as was the case generally in 2022.
All wines below are red wines and were tasted from barrel. The estate has been organic since 1989, quite early for Burgundy. (Continue reading here.)
From 1987 through 2019, I visited Burgundy at least once a year to taste for this publication. In 2020 and 2021, the COVID pandemic prevented my visiting; in 2022, I chose not to visit because of the very small quantities produced in 2021 and also because I had conflicting obligations that fall.
The first week in June of this year I finally returned, primarily to taste the wines from 2022, although some producers chose to show 2021s and earlier instead. It was an emotional homecoming, and I will be back to taste more this coming fall. (Continue reading here.)
This producer is a new discovery for me in the Wonnegau region of Rheinhessen (home to other favorites of mine such as Wittmann, Groebe, Keller, Battenfeld-Spanier, Dreissigacker, and Winter). Speaking of Keller, Katharina Wechsler did an apprenticeship with Klaus-Peter Keller.
The estate consists of a total of about 17ha, one-third of which currently in Riesling (expect that to increase). As of 2021, the estate is certified organic and follows biodynamic practices. (Continue reading here.)
One of the very top Bandol producers.
Certified organic. (Continue reading here.)
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Some unusual and very attractive wines worth looking for. (Continue reading here.)
Not to be confused with the better-known Domaine Christophe & Fils. The wines here can be found for very little money and deliver well above what their prices would suggest. (Continue reading here.)
There's some inconsistency in the wines here, but at their best, they show decent quality at attractive prices. (Continue reading here.)
The 2021 vintage in Germany has received plenty of accolades, and this collection from von Kesselstatt affirms the quality. (Continue reading here.)
Following on the releases last year that I found so promising, these wines, while still good, are not to my taste on the same level, showing much more overt oak influence. (Continue reading here.)
A mixed set of wines from a mixed range of vintages. (Continue reading here.)
As I've previously stated, one has to be careful about overripeness in Loire reds for 2018-2019-2020, but producers who were able to master that challenge were able to produce good and even excellent wines. (Continue reading here.)
Recent vintages have produced mixed in the Loire, but with careful selection, very good wines can be found, and generally at bargain prices.
These wines are all from Cabernet Franc as the dominant or sole grape. (Continue reading here.)
More brilliant wines from 2020 and some surprising 2021s from the Western Loire. (Continue reading here.)
We turn now to Carnuntum. In the past, it has been known for easy-drinking red wines, but it is now trying to move up the quality scale. Blaufränkisch seems to be the grape of the future in this area that is south and southeast of Vienna.
I tasted thirty-five wines from 2020 and 2019. I reproduce only my notes on the better wines; as for the rest, they ranged from not especially interesting to seriously flawed. Unfortunately, we did not have any wine from Trapl or Markowitsch, both producers of high reputation. (Continue reading here.)
Perhaps historically the most typical wine of Vienna is the Wiener Gemischter Satz. It now must be made of at least three different grapes with no more than 50% being of one grape and less than 10% being of any grape. There are some stunning wines to be had here. (Continue reading here.)
As with the Grüner Veltliner from Wien (Vienna), the overall Riesling quality is honorable even though not up to the level of some of the more celebrated regions to the west, and Mayer am Pfarrplatz here, too, is a revelation. (Continue reading here.)
Vienna is not as famous for Grüner Veltliner as the regions to the west such as Wachau and Kamptal, but these wines are quite honorable, and in the case of Mayer am Pfarrplatz, a revelation. (Continue reading here.)
Wine from Vienna dates back to the Middle Ages, but relatively recently, increased attention has been paid to it as it is clear that it can produce wine that is more than just for quaffing in a Heuriger (wine tavern often in the vineyards) on a fine day.
We start with Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) from vineyards newly designated as Erste Lagen. (Continue reading here.)
Despite its name, Roter Veltliner is not related to Grüner Veltliner, but like Grüner Veltliner, it makes white wine. Wagram is the main area where it is cultivated.
The vine tends to be quite productive and needs to have yields severely limited in order to produce quality wine.
From the villages of Fels am Wagram and Ruppertstal. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages of Fels am Wagram, Feuersbrunn, Grossriedenthal, Grossweiersdorf, Mitterstockstall, Oberstockstall. (Continue reading here.)
From the towns of Grossriedenthal and Ruppertsthal. (Continue reading here.)
From the towns of Getzersdorf, Inzersdorf, Neusiedl, and Reichersdorf. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages fo Gedersdorf, Oberfucha, Rohrendof, and Senftenberg. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages of Furth, Krems, and Rohrendof. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages of Krems, Rhohrendof, and Senftenberg. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages of Gedersdorf, Krems, and Stratzing. (Continue reading here.)
From the villages of Furth, Gedersdorf, and Palt. (Continue reading here.)
From Hollenburg, Rohrendorf, Senftenberg, and Stein. (Continue reading here.)
From Langenlois, Kammern, and Strass im Strassertale. (Continue reading here.)
From Zöbing and Langenlois, more great wines. (Continue reading here.)
Anyone who has any doubt that Heiligenstein is one of Riesling’s greatest vineyards need only taste through this selection of wines. (Continue reading here.)
The producer group Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW) has been working for thirty years on a classification of the best vineyards, originally in the Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, and Wagram districts. They now have been joined by the Wien (Vienna) and Carnuntum districts, and hope is that eventually all wine districts in Austria will be covered.
So far the best vineyards have been classified ÖTW Erste Lage (First Growth), but work is being done now to try to pick out those First growths that will qualify as ÖTW Grosse Lage (Great Growth). It is expected that the ÖTW Grosse Lage will comprise about 5% of the vineyard surface and ÖTW Erste Lage will comprise about 15% of the vineyard surface
The wines from the ÖTW Erste Lage vineyards are marked on the label by a symbol with a a “1" followed by “ÖTW" linked together to look like a grape bunch.
The Gaisberg vineyard exists in three communes, Zöbing, Kammem, and Strass. I did not taste any Riesling from the Strass portion. (Continue reading here.)
Grüner Veltliner from Rosatz and Mittermasdorf to finish the Wachau reviews (Continue reading here.)
More Grüner Veltliner from Loibenberg and also from Mauternbach. (Continue reading here.)
A number of superb Grüner Veltliners from the village of Spitz. (Continue reading here.)
Grüner Veltliner came to the world’s attention through the Renaissance of Austrian wines in the 1990s. It has proved to be such a fascinating and versatile wine that it is now being planted in Germany, France, Italy, and the New World to see if they can come up with anything similar. But the true masterpieces remain in Austria, and 2021 is as splendid for GV as for Riesling. (Continue reading here.)
Finishing up the Wachau Rieslings, here including a couple of non-2021 wines. (Continue reading here.)
From the town of Dürnstein. Knoll is, as expected, magnificent. (Continue reading here.)
More great wines, all from the village of Weissenkirchen. (Continue reading here.)
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The festival continues with more wines from Spitz. (Continue reading here.)
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The 2021 vintage in Austria has received much acclaim. In September, I was privileged to attend a series of tastings of the wine in Austria and I found the advance publicity largely deserved. We begin here with beautifully-crafted Rieslings from the Wachau. (Continue reading here.)
This estate holds vines in both the Nahe and the Rheinhessen areas, but the Rheinhessen vines are just over the boundary in Bingen, so that for all but the political boundary purposes, they are Nahe wines.
Production in the Nahe is small but there are many high-quality producers. The two best-known in recent decades have been Dönnhoff and more recently, Schäfer-Fröhlich, but there are a number of others that are worth seeking out, including the wines from Salm, at the northern end of the Nahe region.
The estate dates to 1200, the oldest German estate still in private hands, and one of the oldest estates in operation anywhere.
The estate was a founding member of the Nahe chapter of the prestigious VDP organization. Moreover, Prinz Michael Salm, former head of the estate, was for 17 years the president of the overall VDP. His son, Felix Salm, has in recent years taken over the estate and the wines, which were already excellent here, are now perhaps even better.
Beginning in 1988, the estate converted to organic agriculture, one of the early estates in Germany to do so. (Continue reading here.)
Recent vintages have been challenging in the region due to problems such as frost, hail, and scorching weather. Each wine has to be evaluated on its own, not by vintage. (Continue reading here.)
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Bonnaire is located in the village of Cramant on the Côte de Blancs. Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, it has long been a favorite of mine. (Continue reading here.)
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The estate has long been one of my favorites. For many years, it was known as Agrapart; now the current principal, Pascal Agrapart, has added his first name to the estate, although not all labels may yet reflect that fact.
Seven wines are produced, of which I review four here. All wines are from estate grapes on the Côte des Blancs. (Continue reading here.)
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All wines are red except for the Cave de Tain Crozes-Hermitage Empreinte du Rhône. (Continue reading here.)
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Of recent vintages, 2020 may be the most consistent, as these wines demonstrate.
All wines below are red. (Continue reading here.)
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Recent Northern Rhone vintages have been quite mixed. In 2019, especially, overripeness was frequently a problem, while in 2021 I have found wines that showed phenolic immaturity. Choose carefully.
All wines below are red. (Continue reading here.)
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Good Michel, poor Keller. (Continue reading here.)
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More promising than the Weisser Burgunder from Baden. (Continue reading here.)
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A slightly more satisfying group. (Continue reading here.)
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Here, too, a poor showing for Weisser Burgunders. (Continue reading here,)
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A small, but not very edifying, showing for Württemberg Weisser Burgunders. (Continue reading here.)
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Very good wines here, even if not the finest of Weisserburgunder vintages. (Continue reading here.)