Pulses are racing with the arrival of the 2022 red Burgundies. The wines are delicious, and the best will age beautifully. Will the prices be as outrageous as other recent vintages? Yes. Will they be worth it? That is a highly personal decision. But at least you will be able to find more of the wines given the generous volume of the vintage.

2022: A Vintage for Classic Red Burgundy Lovers

• There is much to like about the 2022 red Burgundies, especially if you prefer the region’s more classical expressions.
• The Pinot Noirs are good to very good. The closest these new wines resemble to other recent vintages are the 2017s, a vintage that everyone based in Burgundy has been drinking up during the last few years.
• The big question looming is cost. Prices for Burgundy have been on an unrelenting ascent for almost a decade, and the rise has only steepened in the last five years. Despite producers' cellars looking much fuller with the generous 2022 vintage and over-abundant 2023 vintage, most producers said their prices would increase again, even if only a little.
• The good news is that, unlike the sparse 2021s that have been challenging for even the most experienced Burgundy buyers to find—unless they shopped in France—there are many more bottles of 2022 to go around.

The 2022 Vintage, In The Glass 

• Colors, reassuringly, are back to medium ruby—avoiding the Syrah-like blackness of 2020, and the occasional anemic paleness of 2021.
• The 2022 red Burgundies have immediacy. Most are already charming, with nicely integrated structures. Alcohol levels are generally shy of 13.5%, and acidities feel fresh.
• If you taste 2022s to see what you'd like to buy to age, watch for the mid-palate complexity in the reds. Some wines—especially some Premier Crus—are not as complex as they should be. If you're planning to stack cases in the basement, stick to wines that are already throwing off lots of aromas and flavors and taste true to their appellation. Many winemakers feel the reds won't "shut down" or become tight and ungiving, in the bottle. Naturally, a few, like Alec Seysses at Domaine Dujac, feel the opposite. I caution that the wines I tasted that were bottled very early—unusually, some were bottled even before the 2023 harvest—seemed much firmer compared to their unbottled counterparts in October and November 2023. Not that you'll find this information on the label, but bottling dates may affect how wines show on release, too.
• If your favorite red Burgundies are the 2015s, 2019s, and 2020s, you may want to pass on 2022s. Or maybe they’ll suit your palate as a summery red. If you like the 2014s and 2017s, or even the 2021s, don't miss the 2022s.

Red Burgundy 2022: The Vintage in the Vineyards

• The 2022 vintage was another record-breaker, with more high-temperature days and sunshine accumulation (the amount of sunshine a vineyard receives throughout a growing season) than ever, accompanied by 21.5% less rainfall than the average between January and September.
• The vintage was so dry that there was hardly any frost pressure in early spring. With the exceptions of Brochon (the village north of Gevrey-Chambertin, whose wines take the Gevrey name on their labels) and Nuits-Saint-Georges, there was also almost no hail damage during the summer.  
• Rain eventually came, and it arrived at just the right times. Late June was the first critical moment of intense rainfall. In fact, there was so much in Gevrey-Chambertin that vineyard walls fell and cellars flooded. No one really knows how much it rained in the village because all of the measuring devices overflowed within an hour, according to Philippe Harmand of Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy. Then, just before the harvest in mid- and late-August, more sprinkles helped revive the struggling vines.
• Despite the climate challenges, Burgundians universally seem more confident that the vines are adapting well to climate change. No doubt certain challenges require immediate solutions, like replanting young vineyards planted on the 161-49 rootstock, which struggles in dry conditions, and replacing clones that now too easily accumulate sugar. To study and find solutions for the latter, Burgundy has established a research vineyard for Pinot Noir clone performance called the Pinot Noir Foundation. Plus some producers are raising their trellises, spraying vines with a sunscreen-like kaolin clay spray, and finding other measures to aid their vines.  

The Vintage in the Cellars

• In the cellars, whole cluster use was back, given the good lignification of the stems. The challenge for some producers is that whole clusters take up 20% to 30% more space in the vats. Some had to adjust for certain cuvées, especially where there were younger, more productive vineyards.
• Malolactic fermentation is less of a preoccupation these days, as sunshine degrades malic acid. Some producers had malos finish before alcoholic fermentations, but no one seems concerned as long as their tartaric acids remain fresh. While pHs are fairly high in many 2022s, there is good energy in Burgundy reds—just like in the 2022 Bordeaux reds—that gives the wines tension. It will be interesting to watch this evolve as the wines mature.
• This year's cellar obsession was the carbon dioxide levels in wines. Producers were keen to keep the residual carbon dioxide from fermentations in order to naturally aid the perception of freshness in the wines.

Aging 2022 Red Burgundy

• The approachability of the vintage may prove irresistible to many Pinot Noir-lovers, especially when faced with the frequently backwards 2020s, the fruit-bomb 2019s and the rich and succulent 2018s. The wines from those vintages are really best left in the cellar for a while, so it will be tempting to pop 2022s early on. But the best wines will age brilliantly. Frédéric Weber of Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils says he is "putting away a lot of wines for at least 15 to 20 years."
• Maxime Cheurlin of Domaine Georges Noëllat declares, "I don't like drinking old Pinot." Yet, old is relative when it comes to Burgundy. Cheurlin typically waits 10 years before opening Premier Crus. Today he's working on 2014s, 2012s, and 2006s. Frédéric Mugnier of Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier cautions with a shrug, "We've killed the culture of aging wines. But when you drink wines too early—especially prior to 10 years post-vintage, you miss the magic for which they are known." 
• For the best wines, don't be too impatient. They will easily last 15 to 25 years or more. You can pull out the lesser Premier Crus—and even lesser Grand Crus—in the 8- to 15-year range. (By lesser, I don't mean they simply are less-heralded in the hierarchy of crus. They could also be very top crus that are simply not well made.) If you're not into aging wines or don't have the space to cellar them very long, focus more on village-level wines, which develop more quickly. This way you don’t pay the Premier and Grand Cru premiums for evolutionary complexity that you won’t be waiting to experience.

Tips on Buying the 2022s

• It's up to you and your budget to decide if the wines are worth the try. If the price feels rich, rest assured that everyone—no, really, everyone—feels the same way. Always cross check prices on the invaluable wine-searcher.com. If you're serious, it's worth subscribing to its PRO level.

• All terroirs showed well in 2022s reds. It's worth looking into second-tier, village-level wines from Marsannay, Fixin, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses, Monthelie, and Auxey-Duresses. Also, many Hautes Côtes and Côteaux Bourguignons wines from top producers offer better value than Bourgone Rouge. Plus, the reds from the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais are terrific! Vincent Dureuil-Janthial in Rully is raising his prices for his 2022s because he believes his wines are highly age-worthy. (They are gorgeous.)
• The best producers always make great wines. What is often hard to find are excellent (relative) value wines. Some of the more impressive reds amongst the entry-level wines were made by these producers:

Burgundy: The Visitors' Experience Transformed

• Burgundy has transformed itself in the last two decades. From rundown country wine town to glitzy epicenter, Beaune—the heartbeat of the region—now caters as much, or more, to tourists than to locals. And, it posts the prices to prove it. Many locals are thrilled with the flow of additional euros. However, the detractors range from bitter to disgusted at what they deem a "total culture shift," "a money grab," and other choice phrases to describe a total revolution in lifestyle. There are quite a few experiences that now define luxury and exclusivity in Burgundy beyond just buying a coveted bottle. 
• California's Mirabel Group has just opened an opulent boutique hotel in a historic building belonging to the Drouhin family. The crowning gastronomic gem is The Slanted Door, Beaune—off-shoot of the San Francisco classic.
• The (still) sleepy village of Vosne-Romanée now boasts two new open doors:  La Cuverie and La Maison de Jacqueline. The former is the mastermind of Louis-Michel Liger-Belair. La Cuverie hosts a welcoming trio: the wine bar that serves one wine from every domaine based in Vosne-Romanée (save one holdout), a gourmet grocery store, and a boutique hotel. La Maison de Jacqueline—also a boutique hotel in a revitalized, former family home—is the work of the two generations of women now running Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg. 

• New in Gevrey-Chambertin are the chambre d'hôtes of Domaine Drouhin-Laroze and Domaine Trapet. You can also reserve a meal with winemakers at the latter. Plus, there is the still relatively new one-star Michelin, La Rôtisserie du Chambertin, with its wine bar and hotel.
• The small house in the northern, central portion of Clos Vougeot—now named La Folie de Vougeot—has been entirely renovated and is now for rent for dinners and stays.