2020 will be remembered as one of the earliest years Burgundy has known: a mild winter, a sunny spring, a hot dry summer, and harvest under way from the end of August in the Mâconnais. A fast season, but without major incident — no severe spring frost, no notable hail on our sector.
The 2020 paradox
One might have feared heavy wines; nothing of the sort. Nights that stayed cool and the deep roots of old vines preserved the acidities, and the whites of 2020 marry solar ripeness with tension. In southern Burgundy, the vintage gave ample Chardonnays with assertive yellow fruit, held upright by a mineral backbone.
Where are the 2020s now?
Village-level cuvées are entering full maturity today. The Pouilly-Fuissé built for ageing, notably the long-aged Premiers Crus, continue to improve: their generosity refines with the years into notes of dried fruit, honey and brown butter. If you have some in the cellar, there is no hurry — but no reason to hold back either.