We are pleased to present a ‘pre-arrival’ offer for the 2008 White Burgundies. Allen meadows has proclaimed the 2008 White Burgundy vintage to be 'another classic vintage that is essentially a 2007 Redux but with better concentration'.

This extensive list of wines below are accompanied with ratings from the world’s leading Burgundy authority Allen Meadows (Burghound.com).

The 2008 White Burgundy Vintage Summary (courtesy of Burghound)

It’s fascinating how it’s possible to sometimes have two vintages where the wines resemble one another yet the growing seasons and harvest dates are vastly different. Consider: 2007 began early, 2008 began later than is typical; 2007 had its summer in April, 2008 had its summer in September; April 2007 was incredibly dry with less than 10 ml of rain, April 2008 was beyond wet with 81% more precipitation than normal; 2007 had little problem with botrytis, 2008 had botrytis pressure almost from start to finish; 2007 harvested early, 2008 harvested late; in 2007, those who picked late produced the best wines, in 2008, those who picked late typically produced over ripe wines; in 2007, the less successful wines are under ripe, in 2008 the less successful wines are over ripe, and; 2007 produced average quantities, 2008 production was short.

Yet for all of those significant contrasts, both vintages produced traditional and classic wines, some of which will be capable of genuine greatness. There is one other notable similarity and that is that in both 2008 and 2007, the whites outperformed the reds by a wide margin. There are plenty of poor to barely average reds in both 2007 and 2008 but very few whites are downright mediocre. Happily, there are also any number of excellent 2007 and 2008 reds but it would be fair to say that there are many more excellent whites.

To put a finer point on things, 2007 is the more classical vintage between the two. It is also a bit leaner and generally more austere. By contrast, 2008 is more concentrated, slightly riper and will be more agreeable young. But it’s important to make clear that such statements are generalities and there are plenty of wines from both vintages that do a convincing “crossover”. There are plump, round and generous ‘07s and there are austere, lean and taciturn ‘08s. As the saying goes though, it’s the exceptions that prove the rule and the average ’08 is rounder and riper than the average ’07, which is leaner, less ripe and perhaps even more transparent. 2007 is perhaps more for the hardcore traditionalist whereas 2008 will please most enthusiasts.

There is another unexpected characteristic of both vintages, and that is that they are going to drink well relatively young. This is not a typical occurrence for classic vintages. Usually, they require medium to long-term cellaring for the wines to reach their peaks but both the ‘07s and the ‘08s, with relatively few exceptions, and almost all of those are at the grand cru or top premier
cru levels, will require only short to medium-term cellaring. And between them, despite the fact that 2008 is the younger vintage, most ‘08s will drink well before their ’07 counterparts.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that there are a small minority of wines in both 2007 and 2008 that are screechy. Generally these wines come from either excess yields or fruit that was harvested too early, or in the most egregious cases, both. By contrast, there are very, very few over ripe 2007s but such is not the case in 2008 where surmaturité is less rare even though it is not common. On the other hand, it is not unusual to find exotic fruit aromas in the ‘08s as there was definitely plenty of botrytis, which tends to impart such aromas.


Please note that the majority of the wines will be reaching our shores in September this year, with the balance arriving in November/December.

If you would like assistance in selecting some of these wines for your cellar please do not hesitate in contacting us. All orders will be confirmed within one business day of receipt.

Regards
Scott Farraway