2025 Burgundy Vintage

Winter passed without extremes and the vines came out of dormancy quickly. March balanced mild and cold spells, and by early April buds were already breaking in the earliest-ripening areas, with well-above-normal temperatures accelerating budburst; mid-budburst still landed on 8 April, right on the 31-year average. By mid-April the season was in full swing, with almost summer-like warmth and timely rainfall pushing growth and bringing shoot-thinning forward. That rhythm held through a slight cool-down in mid-May, and by then inflorescences were clearly visible and an early vintage looked certain. The first flowers opened on 26 May, and warm weather over the Ascension weekend of 29 to 31 May set off explosive flowering in the earliest plots while starting it in the later ones. In those later-ripening areas humidity and rain disrupted the process, causing coulure and millerandage and cutting harvest potential before summer, with the southern Maconnais also hit by a hailstorm on 1 June. Two heatwaves followed, the first in late June and the second from 8 to 18 August. Temperatures reached 35.8C in the Cote Chalonnaise on 22 June, 34.2C in the Maconnais, and 38C in the Cote-d'Or, approaching 40C on several occasions. The vines took advantage and the cycle advanced quickly, but skins thickened, berries stayed small, and pulp was lost. The heat also triggered violent localised storms, sometimes with hail, though the rain that came with them was essential to keeping berries growing; where it missed, vines went into water stress. Picking opened on 18 August for Cremant de Bourgogne, with the first still wine parcels a few days behind. Just then a cold air mass swept across France and ended the heat, bringing substantial rain, heaviest in the north. From that point the harvest ran in two stages, split between early and later parcels according to ripeness and passing showers, and was finished across the region just after mid-September. The BIVB reports average quantities overall but flags the yield as the year's one disappointment, with volumes differing sharply from one area to the next.

• Mid-budburst on 8 April, in line with the 31-year average, after a winter without extremes and a fast exit from dormancy
• First flowers on 26 May; explosive flowering over the warm Ascension weekend of 29 to 31 May, with coulure and millerandage in later plots and hail in the southern Maconnais on 1 June
• Heatwaves in late June and from 8 to 18 August, peaking at 38C in the Cote-d'Or, thickened skins, shrank berries and reduced pulp
• Harvest opened 18 August with Cremant de Bourgogne, was interrupted by a cold air mass and heavy rain, then resumed in later parcels
• Picking finished across the region just after mid-September, with low and uneven volumes the BIVB's one reservation about the year

The split harvest is the structural fact of 2025 in Bourgogne. The heat ended abruptly just as picking began, and from that moment growers were choosing between fruit that was ready before the rain and fruit that would ripen after it. The BIVB describes this as a year in which agility was needed right up to the final snip of the secateurs, with growers monitoring sugar and acid plot by plot and tasting berries to assess ripeness and skin texture. Bad weather disrupted picking crews, and some estates including the Hospices de Beaune paused before resuming in later parcels. Jason Haynes of Flint Wines told Harpers that there was no definitively right or wrong answer and that top domaines were split on what to do, with those who picked after the rain seeing potential alcohol drop by a degree or so without the jump in juice volume they might have hoped for. The Cremant de Bourgogne harvest shows the same divide clearly: the first wave, picked in the August sun, gave a structured and expressive base with depth and aromatic clarity, while the second, after the early September rains, produced fresher and more delicate grapes.

• Growers monitored sugar and acidity parcel by parcel and tasted berries for skin texture, with picking dates decided plot by plot
• Jason Haynes of Flint Wines: top domaines split on picking before or after the rain, and those who waited saw potential alcohol fall by around a degree
• The Hospices de Beaune and other estates paused picking before moving into later-ripening parcels
• Cremant de Bourgogne was harvested in two waves, the August pick giving structure and depth, the post-rain pick giving freshness and delicacy

Vinifications went smoothly, with quick, even fermentations helped by well-balanced sugar levels and acidity that stayed intact. In most cases analyses showed excellent sugar with balanced acidity, and the BIVB reports words like charming, generous, and elegant circulating in the wineries. Two white styles emerged. The first is tense and fresh, with notes of white-fleshed fruit. The second is richer, broader, and smooth, with exotic fruit. In the reds, small thick-skinned berries ripened well and gave deeply coloured wines at moderate alcohol, described by the BIVB as having a sense of poise and lightness, balanced with small red fruits, cherry and raspberry in particular. The range of expression across the year reflects the spread of terroirs and microclimates. The BIVB's own summary is that 2025 is a vintage for the cellar, a year to set aside while drinking older or more approachable wines in the meantime.

• Fermentations were quick and even, helped by balanced sugar levels, with acidity holding through
• Two white styles: tense and fresh with white-fleshed fruit, and richer, broader and smooth with exotic fruit
• Reds are deeply coloured at moderate alcohol, with poise and lightness and small red fruit, cherry and raspberry in particular
• The BIVB's verdict: a vintage for the cellar, to set aside while drinking older or more approachable bottles

Yield is the year's sore point. The BIVB's press release opens by describing growers as relieved and reassured but a little disappointed by the volumes, and names the yield as the drawback once again. Losses came from two directions. Coulure and millerandage in the later-flowering plots cut potential before summer had started, and the two heatwaves then took their toll on what was left, with skins thickening, berries staying small, and pulp declining. Haynes singled out the second canicule as especially important for volumes, since much of the juice in the grapes evaporated in the heat. The BIVB noted a few issues with frost and hail alongside uneven rainfall distribution in summer, but framed the outcome as average quantities carried by the excellent health of the fruit and the purity of the juice. Haynes also flagged a colour split against the previous year: there is generally less white in 2025 than in 2024, and the reverse for the reds.

• The BIVB names yield as the year's one disappointment, with volumes varying sharply between areas
• Coulure and millerandage in later-flowering plots cut potential before summer; the heatwaves then reduced pulp and berry size
• Jason Haynes: the August heatwave was decisive for volume, with much of the juice in the grapes evaporating
• Less white was made in 2025 than in 2024, with the reverse true for the reds, according to Haynes

The two vintages sit side by side as small crops made for opposite reasons. Haynes put it plainly to Harpers: one is small in volume because of bad weather, the other small in volume because of good weather, and the two will be very different stylistically while both remaining in short supply. He also noted that growers were still focused on the success of their 2024s, a vintage that demanded more mental and physical effort from their teams than any other. For buyers, that means two consecutive Bourgogne vintages of limited availability, one built around a cool, disease-pressured season and the other around heat, early picking, and thick-skinned fruit. Early assessments from the BIVB point to 2025 as a year with fine concentration, virtually no disease, and the raw material for good wines from both merchants and estates.

• Jason Haynes: 2024 small because of bad weather, 2025 small because of good weather, both in short supply
• Growers were still emphasising the quality of their 2024s at the time of the 2025 harvest report
• The BIVB reports fine concentration, virtually no disease, and superb raw material for both merchants and estates
• Two consecutive short vintages leave availability tight across Bourgogne appellations