“Nobody makes Pinot Noir like Burgundy”.
Yesterday evening (UK time), Vinous published a report by Neal Martin on Burgundy’s 2017 vintage. Martin said that “readers should note that although this report is large, it is not complete” and we should “expect more in early 2019”.
Martin’s report predominantly focusses on Burgundy’s red wines. Martin said that Stephen Tanzer produced a report for Vinous on the Burgundy 2017 whites earlier in the year and as a result, his report only contains a few “Chadonnay-centric domaines not included in Tanzer’s report”.
Overall, Martin said that “the main headline” this year was that “there is wine! Hallelujah!”. When describing the whites, Martin said that he briefly agrees with Tanzer regarding the quality. He adds that although his sample size was smaller than Tanzer’s, “there are some quite brilliant whites that, many growers are beginning to opine, equal or even surpass the haloed 2014s”.
As for the reds, Martin commented that “the 2017 reds are very good, often excellent, and from time to time, bloody awesome”. He went on to say that “the benign growing season predicates one of the most consistent vintages [he] can remember in 20 years of visiting Burgundy”.
He adds that, “perhaps one disadvantage facing the 2017s is the scarcity of superstars or showstoppers like 2015 and 2016, and potentially 2018 also. It is not that kind of vintage”. However, “the lack of ‘headline action’ or ‘100-point stars’ should not devalue a growing season. Quality is evenly spread and the winners are the consumers gifted more choice”.
Overall, Martin says that “the expression that best sums up the 2017 reds is in the title of this article: A Modern Classic”. He adds that “Burgundy will be expensive for the foreseeable future. But it remains a magical, unique region” and “the 2017 reds have a lot of charm, will give a lot of pleasure and will surprise many with their longevity”.
Martin’s top-scoring red wines can be found in the table below. You can read his full report at Vinous.com, here.
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