2024 Burgundy Vintage

The 2024 growing season in Burgundy was shaped overwhelmingly by rain, disease pressure, and a striking lack of sunshine rather than heat or drought. Winter arrived wet, with December and January bringing more than double average rainfall. Mild February and March temperatures triggered early budbreak, roughly eight to ten days ahead of schedule. Spring frosts struck between April 18 and 23, causing localized damage in Chablis, the southern Côte de Beaune, the Hautes-Côtes, and Maranges, though the Côte d'Or's main villages were largely spared. Far more destructive was the hailstorm of May 1, which devastated approximately 2,000 hectares of Chablis. Mildew then became the dominant threat from May onward, driven by persistent overcast, humid, and warm conditions. Sunlight hours ran 10% below the norm from January to September, with April and May especially gloomy. A saving reprieve finally arrived in mid-September, when a northerly wind brought cool, dry conditions and opened a narrow but decisive harvest window.

• April 18 to 23 frosts caused localized damage in Chablis, the Hautes-Côtes, Maranges, and parts of the southern Côte de Beaune; the Côte de Nuits main villages suffered limited frost impact
• May 1 hailstorm struck around 2,000 hectares of Chablis; further hail events continued through early August across the Côte d'Or and Maconnais
• The region recorded 50% more rainfall than normal from June through August, with 550mm falling from January to May against an average of 220mm
• Mildew arrived extraordinarily early, before flowering in May, forcing producers to apply up to 16 or 17 vineyard treatments across the growing season

Contrary to the original narrative of 2024, Chablis was the hardest-hit subregion in all of Burgundy, not a beneficiary. Floods, frost, successive hailstorms, and relentless mildew combined to reduce production by an estimated 60%, with many cuvées entirely wiped out. What little wine was rescued showed characteristic minerality and freshness, but quantities were painfully scarce. On the Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges were the worst affected of the main appellations, with some producers reporting yields as low as 8 hectoliters per hectare. Gevrey-Chambertin suffered heavily from coulure at flowering. The Côte de Beaune fared comparatively better, particularly for Chardonnay, and produced the vintage's most consistent wines. The Côte Chalonnaise and Maconnais escaped the worst of the disease and hail damage and delivered more uniform quality at village level.

• Chablis: the most severely damaged subregion, with production under half the 2023 level; some Grand Cru and Premier Cru plots lost entirely to hail and mildew
• Côte de Nuits: Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges down 80 to 90%; Gevrey-Chambertin particularly affected by coulure at flowering
• Côte de Beaune: relative winner of the vintage; Chardonnay yields down 10 to 20%, Pinot Noir up to 50%; sloped Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites fared better than valley-floor parcels
• Côte Chalonnaise and Maconnais: considerably less mildew damage; more generous and consistent yields made these subregions standout value in 2024

The 2024s are emphatically a classic, cool-year style of Burgundy, with perfume, tension, and lower alcohol levels rather than weight and concentration. Multiple producers and merchants compared the style to 2014, 2017, and 2021, noting that the combination of low yields and a late-season dry spell allowed surviving fruit to ripen with surprising phenolic completeness. White Burgundy is the unambiguous star: critics and merchants awarded the whites a higher overall quality rating than the reds, praising their precision, mineral tension, citrus-driven aromatics, and definition. For reds, quality was tightly linked to vineyard position, drainage, organic regime, and the grower's decisiveness at harvest. There was markedly less whole-bunch fermentation than usual due to mildew on stems, and chaptalisation was widespread. The Côte de Beaune delivered some exceptional red Burgundy from Volnay, Pommard, Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune, and Santenay.

• Whites received scores of 9 out of 10 from several merchants; described as the most classically styled since 2014, with citrus, white stone fruit, and saline mineral acidity
• Reds are lighter, perfumed, and elegant; widespread chaptalisation to reach around 13% ABV; less whole-bunch usage due to mildewed stems
• Côte de Beaune reds outperformed expectations, with Volnay, Pommard, and Beaune among the most successful villages for Pinot Noir
• Producer selection is critical: those who managed mildew rigorously, sorted meticulously, and harvested at precisely the right moment made clearly superior wines

The 2024 reds are approachable early by Burgundy standards, structured by balance and acidity rather than tannin density. Several experts compare the aging trajectory to 2017, which drank beautifully from youth and continues to evolve gracefully. Village and Premier Cru reds can be enjoyed from around 2027 onward, with peak expression likely in the 2028 to 2033 window. Grand Cru reds from the finest producers merit cellaring of eight to twelve years, though they will never be vin de garde in the same sense as the richest recent vintages. White Burgundy, including Chablis, will be approachable within three to five years of vintage, with the finest Premier Cru and Grand Cru examples developing nicely through 2035 and beyond. The key guidance for buyers is producer selection above all: given extreme quality variation driven by individual vineyard management, the label on the bottle matters more than the appellation name.

• Village reds: approachable from 2027; drink within ten years for freshness-driven pleasure
• Premier Cru and Grand Cru reds: peak window broadly 2030 to 2038, though lighter than recent warm vintages in terms of long-term structure
• White Burgundy from Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites: drink from 2027 to 2028 onward; best examples will evolve through 2035 or beyond
• Key buying advice: prioritise trusted producers with documented low yields and rigorous vineyard management; village wines from lesser-known appellations such as Santenay and Savigny offer genuine value

Technically, 2024 Burgundy is a study in contrasts. Natural potential alcohol at harvest averaged around 12 to 12.5%, unusually low even for a cool year, making chaptalisation of 0.5 to 1 degree of alcohol standard practice across the region. Acidity at harvest was elevated, with tartaric acid levels notably higher than 2023, though malic acid was also significant; the transition through malolactic fermentation softened the overall acid profile and added creaminess to both reds and whites. Mildew caused berries to shrivel and drop from bunches rather than rot on the vine, which paradoxically improved airflow and sanitary conditions for the surviving fruit. Sorting was exhaustive: producers deployed vibrating tables, optical sorters, and positive sorting techniques to isolate healthy clusters. Whole-bunch fermentation for reds was reduced or eliminated at many estates due to mildewed stems. Bunch weights were abnormally low, meaning juice volumes were far below what the modest rainfall totals might have suggested.

• Natural potential alcohol of around 12 to 12.5% at harvest; chaptalisation to approximately 13% ABV widely practised and technically justified
• Elevated tartaric and malic acidity at harvest; MLF softened the wines and added roundness; no green or aggressive acidity in well-made examples
• Mildew caused shrivelled berries to drop from bunches, reducing yields but leaving surviving fruit in good sanitary condition with natural concentration
• Reduced whole-bunch fermentation across the Côte de Nuits due to mildew-affected stems; rigorous sorting at every stage was the defining winemaking act of the vintage

The 2024 vintage invites comparison to other cool, low-yield years in Burgundy's recent history. Stylistically, producers most frequently cited 2014 for freshness and vibrancy, and 2021 for concentration and purity, with 2024 described as sitting between the two, carrying more density than 2021 but the same classical tension. Unlike the heat-driven vintages of 2015, 2020, or 2022, 2024 offers transparency of terroir rather than power. The Hospices de Beaune auction on November 17, 2024 reflected the vintage's realities: 449 lots were offered, down sharply from 753 in 2023 and 820 in 2022, raising approximately 15.5 million euros in total including the President's Barrel. Pricing from producers has been watched carefully; industry observers noted that using low yields to justify price increases risks repeating the mistakes seen in 2021 and, more broadly, in Bordeaux en primeur. For buyers, 2024 represents a vintage of genuine quality in small volumes, where focus on trusted producers and under-the-radar appellations will reward careful selection.

• Stylistic benchmark comparisons from producers: 2014 for freshness and white wine tension, 2021 for red wine purity and concentration
• Hospices de Beaune 164th auction on November 17, 2024 raised approximately 15.5 million euros total; 449 lots offered, sharply down from 753 in 2023
• BIVB reported overall Burgundy and Beaujolais production down approximately 25% from 2023; individual Côte de Nuits producers saw losses of 70 to 90%
• Market advice from leading merchants: producer selection is paramount; resist price rises justified solely by low yields; Côte Chalonnaise and Maconnais offer strong value