2010 Burgundy Vintage

A particularly rigorous winter brought temperatures of around -20 C on 19 December 2009, and the December frost killed off some vines. Spring was far kinder, with almost summery temperatures in April, and budburst came mid-April in excellent conditions. The weather worsened in May, and only in early June did temperatures return to, and pass, seasonal norms. Flowering began mid-June in the rain, causing coulure and millerandage and promising uneven ripening. July and August were very variable, with a damp, not very sunny early summer and a cool, wet August; mildew and rot appeared and vigilant growers had to deal with them. September warmed up, though hail hit some vineyards in the southern Cote de Beaune, Santenay among them. September was when the wine was made: picking began at the end of the month and ran into early October, with sorting essential. The crop was small. The 2010 volume was 1,393,030 hl, 12.4 percent below the large 2009 harvest and 6.5 percent below the 5-year average, with village and grand cru appellations of the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits down 20 to 25 percent.

• Around -20 C on 19 December 2009; budburst mid-April in excellent conditions, then a worsening May
• Flowering from mid-June in the rain, causing coulure and millerandage
• Very variable July and August; a cool, wet August, with mildew and rot
• September hail in the southern Cote de Beaune; picking from the end of September into early October

The cool summer preserved acidity, and the small crop let the fruit ripen slowly despite the lack of sunshine. Had yields been much higher, it is unlikely that much of the crop would have ripened fully. Sarah Marsh MW named tiny yields, healthy grapes and a decent September as the saving grace. The small berries gave a high ratio of skin to juice, hence plenty of tannin, body and colour, and the cool, dry September gave a long hang time while acidity stayed fresh. Picking had to start in late September, while the trend in Burgundy is to pick early. Ripeness and grape health set picking dates, and growers alternated between red and white parcels instead of picking red then white as usual. Not every grower was convinced of the quality at harvest; it became clear only after very slow malolactic fermentations.

• Small crop: pruning, coulure, millerandage and sorting all cut volume
• High skin-to-juice ratio gave tannin, body and colour
• Small berries and dense caps meant excessive punching down risked over-extraction
• Very slow malolactic fermentations; the quality showed only afterwards

Decanter's guide calls the Cote de Nuits exceptional in 2010, adds that good Cote de Beaune estates also made exceptional wines, and singles out lovely wines from Volnay and Pommard. It flags question marks over hail-hit Santenay, where sorting was essential, and notes that the Cote Chalonnaise suffered from uneven ripening. At release the BIVB described Cote de Nuits reds as elegant, perfectly balanced and fleshy, with firm yet silky tannins built for ageing. Sarah Marsh MW found Gevrey-Chambertin consistent, Chambolle-Musigny fresh and lucid, and Vosne-Romanee charming, with less power and more elegance, while Nuits-Saint-Georges was mixed, possibly from more rain and botrytis there.

• Gevrey-Chambertin: fine-textured tannins and energy with elegance
• Volnay "sings with fine fruit and vivacity"; Thomas Bouley (Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley) and Nicolas Rossignol made elegant examples
• Beaune: a top year, with excellent premiers crus from good negociants, per Marsh
• Corton: care was needed in cooler areas; Savigny-les-Beaune lively and concentrated

In its release the BIVB found Chablis and Grand Auxerrois whites fresh, with citrus, green apple and peach notes and superb minerality under real tension. It described Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune whites as very aromatic, lively and ample, with excellent ageing potential, and Maconnais wines as worthy of a great vintage. Cremant de Bourgogne showed intense aromatics with freshness and good ripeness. The BIVB's later vintage page describes the whites as nutty and delicately honeyed, sometimes with truffle, broad and full-bodied with vigour and admirable length.

• Chablis and Grand Auxerrois: fresh, mineral, tense; ready to drink early, per the BIVB
• Yonne and Maconnais whites fell only 4 to 8 percent in volume on 2009
• Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune whites: aromatic, ample, built to age
• Cremant de Bourgogne volume fell 13.2 percent on 2009

Decanter's guide sums up the contrast with 2009: the 2010s lack the opulence of the 2009s but have intensity, limpidity and structure, and the best will be very long-lived. "These are racehorses; the 2009s teddy bears." Sarah Marsh MW judged 2010 a cut below 2005 and less consistent than 2009, a vintage in which to know your grower. She noted that 2010 shares high acidity with 2008 but has different tannins, plentiful and supple. She suggested approaching village wines from 2013, premiers crus from 2015 and grands crus from 2018, adding that a top premier cru would repay a good 10 years. The BIVB's vintage page finds the reds full of ripe and candied fruit with undergrowth and sweet spice, velvety tannins and exemplary length.

• 2010 vs 2009: less opulent, more limpid and structured, per Decanter
• 2010 vs 2005: "a cut below the top-drawer 2005", per Sarah Marsh MW
• 2010 vs 2008: similar high acidity, different tannins, per Marsh
• Less conscientious growers may have made wines with unripe tannins and a lack of concentration