2023 Vintage
“Vintage 2023 in Burgundy: Beyond Expectations!”
Start of Harvest : September 8, 2023
It has been a few years since Burgundy had two consecutive years with volumes above average. 2023, coming in the wake of 2022, puts balm at the heart of winegrowers and traders: the cellars are again (almost) full, with quality each time to the rendezvous.
This is the other happiness of this vintage. Despite the unstable weather of the summer, the final result is stunning. Chardonnay, reach full maturity in a perfect health condition, while preserving enough freshness to be up to the reputation of white wines of Burgundy. After a often severe sorting, facilitated by the yields, very beautiful juices have been returned with great aromatic richness.
Year after year, the exceptional becomes normal. Fortunately, the Burgundians know how to be resilient and adapt to capricious weather conditions, redoubling attention to the vineyard and in the cellar. This vintage proves it once again.
To everyone’s delight, the harvest is beautiful, both in quality and quantity, especially on the Chardonnay side.
All of Burgundy is unanimous, it’s a «very great year in white!».
The ripe, balanced and healthy grapes have given wines that are distinguished by their richness and a beautiful opulence, without excess.
The wines are aromatic, evoking beautiful ripe white fruits, such as pear, peach. The beautiful balances are preserved despite the very hot weather of the beginning of the harvest.
As a result, expressive and fruity wines have very beautiful aromatic profiles. There will be something for everyone, because this vintage offers a variety of profiles related to the choice of harvest dates. It will be nice to explore the 2023 vintage!
2022 Vintage
“2022, a long-awaited vintage!!”
Start of harvest – 31st August 2022
After a complicated year in 2021, winegrowers are smiling again with the arrival of the 2022 vintage, which is characterized by quality and quantity despite frost, heat waves and drought. But the road towards the harvest was fraught with difficulties. After a milder and drier than normal winter, 2022 began like 2021, with spring frosts. The winegrowers once again had to battle against frost. They feared the worst. Fortunately, at the end of March, on the eve of the frosts, the vineyards were at the stage of bud swelling and thus the development of the vine was a few days later than the average over the last 20 years.
This period of cold weather was quickly followed by mild temperatures which allowed the vines to quickly recover and the fruit-bearing buds to develop. The heterogeneity of the stages and situations seen during this period continued throughout the vine's growth cycle. On May 8th, there was a hail storm that hit a narrow strip of vineyards, with limited damage. The exceptionally warm spring of 2022 was a turning point: the rise in temperature in May gave a boost to the vegetation. Topping and trimming were performed at a frantic pace. Full flowering was observed at the end of May. The conditions were excellent, with little shatter or millerandage. And the result was beautiful! Although the vines were late in March, they were now ten days ahead of the average for the last 20 years. The vintage was shaping up to be an early one. On May 19, the Yonne department was placed under a drought watch.
A new hail storm hit the eastern part of the vineyard on June 19th, without causing too much damage. Then finally, a long-awaited rainfall arrived between June 21st and 25th, with variable accumulations depending on the sector, ranging from 42mm to 88mm in the Chablis area.
A dry spell followed throughout the month of July. The health of the vines was excellent: no rain, no disease! August 10, the Serein valley was designated as a drought crisis area; restrictions on water use were reinforced. The effects of the hot spells on the vines were limited and they withstood the hydric stress rather well. However, vineyards did suffer in shallow or sandy soils. Rain finally fell in mid-August, although the benefits varied according to the millimeters of rainfall.
The Domaine Servin began harvesting early the 31 st August to preserve as much acidity as possible. Small amount of rain fell either in the late afternoon or at night. The foliage, which was still in good health, benefited from it. Thanks to the rain, juice concentration was limited and the bunches of grapes were able to provide a good balance between sugar content and acidity. In the end a perfect balance was achieved and the vintage will go down as an excellent one with both the quality and quantity!!
2021 Vintage
“A year of never-ending attention”
Start of Harvest: September 17, 2021
The harvest began around September 20 and quickly terminated 12 days later. The harvest was more than half of a usual one, with some plots losing 70% to 100% and the spring frosts were the main cause of this. Some mornings had temperatures falling at times to -8°C.
Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes were carefully sorted and vinified with precision, with great attention paid to aromatic balance. The tension in the wines, a hallmark of Chablis, is indeed present, having been preserved by rather cool weather. The vintage, then, is historically low in volume, but classic in its profile.
To the very end, 2021 has been a trying year for winemakers. Ever since the April frost, made worse by a too-early start of the growth of the vines, right to harvest time, harsh changes in weather have imposed their tempo: winemakers have had to be constantly attentive and reactive. The only respite was the flowering, which took place under good conditions, and the ripening, which benefited from sun starting in mid-August.
Notwithstanding the loss of volume due to the frost, the grapes must still be meticulously selected, both at the vine and in the winery. The capricious weather in July and early August led to the development of a few disease sites, which fortunately were limited in scope thanks to the efforts of the winemakers and the return of dry weather in August.
It is generally conceded that 2021 required technical expertise: the winemaking must be very precise. Even moving quickly, great attention was made to aromatic balance.
In the first tastings, the trends are already clear: the aromatic potential of the must is indeed present, showing fresh citrus notes in the Chablis wines, and the sugar-acid balance is in keeping with typical ones that are appreciated by lovers of Bourgogne wines. A vintage that despite the difficulties has produced some wonderful wines just available in tiny quantities!!
2020 Vintage
“The 2020 has the freshness of 2017, and the concentration and the expression of 2019”
Start of harvest – 28th August 2020
2020 will remain in the memory for many reasons. Not only was it the year of lockdowns and pandemic; it was also a unique and very satisfactory vintage for producers in Chablis.
This vintage was an historically early one, from budburst right through to harvest. The hot and sunny weather also ensured the grapes were bursting with health on the vines.
Even more surprisingly, tasting has confirmed that despite the high temperatures and almost constant drought conditions, in addition to their rich aromas, the wines are also revealing a freshness that is as unexpected as it is remarkable.
Everyone is fascinated how the Chardonnay grape is adapting to climate change. How this grape can react on the vine to warmer and drier vintages without losing its sense of place. Despite the heat and dryness, the alcohol levels are normal, the acidity levels are exceptional and the overall balance on the palate means the wines are representative of an excellent vintage for the region.”
We are impressed by the fleshiness in the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus, we are confident enough to extend the wines’ élevage on their lees – adding further tension and flavour complexity to the wine. It is a vintage with great ageing potential in terms of balance and acidic backbone, One could compare it to 2017 or 2012 – two very popular vintages for vignerons in Chablis, where the acidity is classic but there is body too. It is what one calls “a truer expression of Chablis”.
The 2020 has the freshness of 2017, and the concentration and the expression of 2019, a vintage that expresses a superb minerality and freshness with a nice intensity of fruit and especially citrus fruit characters.
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