The year 2022 brought intense heat to Burgundy. From April to September, temperatures and sunshine reached near-record levels; in early April, vineyards near Puligny-Montrachet were at risk of frost, and candles were lit in the vineyards to combat the effects of the frost. It was water that saved the white wine. After flowering concluded smoothly, nearly 20 centimeters of rain fell toward the end of June, replenishing soil moisture ahead of the dry conditions of July and the sharp temperature rise on the 18th and 19th of July. By early August, the vines began to show signs of water stress. Rain fell again just before harvest.
The resulting 2022 white wines have a well-ripened character rather than a lean one; their acidity is softer than usual, and their alcohol content is generally lower than that of the 2020 vintage. Some growers even increased the acidity to improve balance. The overall quality of the 2022 white wines is rated good to very good, and the Côte de Beaune vintage is considered to be at least as good as that year's Côte de Nuits vintage.
Vinous (96)
The 2022 Montrachet Grand Cru is quite powerful and explosive in the glass. Orange marmalade, marzipan, white pepper, tangerine oil and a kiss of French oak fill out the layers. Readers who can find the 2022 will want to grab it, as production will fall sharply for the foreseeable future now that one-third of the vineyard has been torn out in preparation for replanting in a few years' time. From there, it is likely that fruit from the replanted section will not go into the Montrachet bottling for at least several years.
Jasper Morris (98)
Pale in colour. The nose is spectacular. A sense of majesty that transcends. No sucrosity, no excess sunshine. Tightly knit, yet superbly generous. The oak is evident, which it wasn’t in the Corton-Charlemagne, but I have no problem perceiving the oak in a properly grand wine in its youth. A superbly sensual finish. Just a hint of reductive control thereafter, which is entirely valuable for the long-term progression of this great wine.
