The 2022 vintage

We are delighted to offer you this selection of 2022 Burgundy in bottle. Our senior consultant Anthony Hanson MW’s report on the 2022 vintage and wines follows.

The 2022 growing season was very different to that of 2021, being both much warmer, and drier. I was in Burgundy during much of the summer and harvest period of 2022, and the question on my mind was whether these wines would be too rich and dense to offer balance and freshness. 

But as I had the chance to personally visit from March 2023 to January 2024 most of the domaines in this offer, and taste from cask or bottle, it quickly became clear that we had something quite special here – both whites and reds. Indeed, I cannot recall ever tasting a vintage at this youthful stage so serious yet charming as 2022. I have no hesitation, from a quality point of view, in recommending you dive deep into 2022, from regional Bourgogne level on up to the grand crus, for both early drinking, and longer cellaring prospects.

This year we would like to make special mention of prices, which as we know, have risen over the years. In 2021, with often tiny yields, and wines in high demand, many prices rose a great deal. But yields in 2022 are normal (and 2023 yields are high), so we have been clear with producers that we will not support still higher prices. This is a commitment we make to you, and communicated clearly to our friends in Burgundy. If there have been any price increases to us from domaines from 2021 to 2022, we have absorbed them. Indeed, our entire 2022 offer is priced lower than our 2021 offer. Given the superb quality in 2022 – surely a modern day classic – we think this makes the chance to acquire them a compelling one. 

2022 Burgundy Growing Season and Harvest
Introduction by Our Resident Senior Consultant
Anthony Hanson MW

Our senior consultant Anthony Hanson MW tasted with The Fine Wine Experience team during 2023. These are his impressions of the vintage.

Spring came early to Burgundy vineyards in 2022, but thankfully there was virtually no frost damage in April. The flowering went through well in May, in sunny, dry weather, allowing growers to think about an early harvest. July then broke the records for sunshine, and August continued hot and dry. Fortunately, there had been plentiful rain in mid-late June, and the accumulated water reserves allowed grape maturation to proceed apace during the summer, without the blockages which are to be feared in very dry, hot summers. Young plantations suffered, but mature vineyards thrived. There was no succession of very hot nights, so interesting balances could be maintained, between sugars and acidities, while grape-skins and tannins ripened. 

Picking started in many villages at the end of August, and went through in excellent conditions. Good volumes have been produced, in both colours, bringing a welcome stability to prices. There is a thrilling variety of styles, with varied potentials for early and mid-term drinking, and many great wines for laying down - as may be seen, from our descriptions below. It is an excellent vintage for both reds and whites.

Domaines on offer:
Domaine Amiot-Servelle
Domaine Aymon
Antoine Lepetit de la Bigne 
Domaine Bachelet-Monnot
Domaine Marc Antonin Blain
Domaine Blain Gagnard
Domaine Buisson-Charles
Domaine du Cellier aux Moines
Domaine Christian Clerget
Vincent Dancer, Théo Dancer & Roc Breïa par Théo Dancer
Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy
Domaine Armand Heitz
Les Horées
Pierre-Vincent Girardin
Domaine Jessica Litaud
Château de la Maltroye
Domaine Perrot-Minot
Domaine Emmanuel Rouget
Maison Étienne Sauzet
Domaine Tortochot
Domaine Comte de Vogüé

For full producer reviews and 2022 price list, please click here.

WHY BUY EN PRIMEUR

The most obvious traditional answer was price. The basic deal was that the best price would be the en primeur or ‘futures’ price – the consumer rewarding the merchant, the merchant rewarding the negocient, the negocient rewarding the châteaux with cash up front, long before anyone would see the finished wine in bottle. 

Of course you are not buying an entire vintage, you are picking out individual wines, so over-performers who nonetheless price ‘normally’ may well prove to make financial sense.

But there are some other reasons to buy en primeur

- Provenance is assured. You will be the first to take delivery of the wine and you will have control over its handling and storage from day one, with all the assurance for preserving condition that that brings. Years down the line that will mean either drinking the wine in its optimal condition, or being able to offer it for re-sale with complete assurance to the next buyer. Everyone benefits from assured provenance.

- Access. It is true that some of these wines appear later in the secondary market in much lower quantities. This is the best chance to ensure you can own what you want.

- Sunk cost. It’s not an obvious one, but taking the pain of the expense now is something akin to savings. The wine will feel like a bonus when it comes to drinking it!

- Choice of bottle formats. If you like to own your favourite wines in a nice mix of halves, magnums and imperials, this is your best – often only – chance to have the wine bottled in formats you want. (Subject to availability and advance ordering).

- If you had a child born in 2022, or got married, this is a very nice way to mark the occasion from the outset – investing in furture anniversaries and birthdays.