Burgundy winemakers have been able to replenish their cellars following the relatively generous 2022 and 2023 vintages.
Winery stocks were around 12% above the five-year average at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, said the regional Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) recently.
‘Bourgogne has not seen a situation like this for over 20 years,’ it said.
‘This allows the industry to better anticipate potential future hazards and preserve its market share.’
Higher stocks may also mean Burgundy wine lovers could see lower prices on some bottles, BIVB co-president François Labet told a press conference ahead of the Grands Jour de Bourgogne event.
A spokesperson clarified that release pricing was a decision for individual producers and négociants, however. Other factors, such as tax, inflation and import costs, can also impact final consumer prices.
Total production from Burgundy’s 2023 vintage has been estimated at almost 1.9m hectolitres, equivalent to around 253m bottles – including 149.6m bottles of white wine, said the BIVB.
That is up 9% on the 2022 crop and is also 29% above Burgundy’s five-year average. By contrast, frost and mildew ensured Burgundy’s 2021 vintage was 33% below the five-year average.
This highlights how climate can cause big fluctuations in yields in the region, although not all producers and areas were affected to the same extent in 2021.
‘These sudden variations seem to have become more pronounced in recent years,’ said the BIVB in its recent market report.
‘As a result, the average of the harvests has hardly changed at all, but the standard deviations have risen sharply.’
Burgundy wine exports fell by 6% in volume last year, versus 2022, to around 87m bottles – partly impacted by the uncertain geopolitical situation but also a trend for consumers to drink wine less often.
Exports also dropped 0.3% by value, although still reached €1.5bn (£1.3bn) and sales to several top destinations increased slightly, as BIVB data below shows. It’s the fourth consecutive year exports have have been above €1bn.
Chablis, Petit Chablis, white wines from the Mâconnais appellations and Grand Cru white wines from the Côte d’Or all saw export revenues rise to varying degrees last year, but this wasn’t enough to offset lower sales of red wines, the BIVB added.
The top 10 export markets for Burgundy wines by value in 2023 were:
- US €291.3m | +0.6%
- UK €235.1m | +0.7%
- Japan €137.4m | +1.4%
- Hong Kong €93.4m | +3.4%
- Canada €79.7m | –14.1%
- [Mainland] China €77.4m | +15.2%
- Switzerland €76.3m | +0.4%
- Belgium €55m | +5.8%
- Denmark €42.1m | -4.4%
- Sweden €41.3m | -8.5%
Sources: Customs DEB&EMEBI+DAU / BIVB
Several UK merchants reported relatively strong buyer interest in the recent Burgundy 2022 en primeur campaign, which began in earnest in January 2024.
Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at UK merchant Corney & Barrow, said of the Burgundy market in general, ‘I think after a real pinch point of “a tiny 2021 crop combined with a red-hot market” there is a return to more normality. Many people kept their 2022s at the same price as 2021s and a few went up a little.’
