Back from the summer pause and now it’s time to concentrate on content – oh, and there’s a harvest coming too !!

There are already a few outlier domaines who are in the vines, picking grapes – more on that later. The crémant harvest kicked off in a more concerted fashion, with a new record early harvest, they are almost a week underway. Likewise, parts of Beaujolais – even in the crus – are following suit for still reds too.

Although we had a wet first quarter – lot’s of standing water in flat areas of vineyards that were reminiscent of 2024 – this year has panned out very differently to 2024. So much so, that before further posts on the harvest itself, I wanted to compare this 2026 vintage with other recent hot vintages:

The 2026 vintage based on official vineyard assessments of ‘heat-sum monitoring*’ versus other benchmark warm years

*base 10°C tracking, base indicies from the Chambre d’Agriculture (Bourgogne Franche-Comté):

The Key Thermal Comparisons

• 2026 vs. 2009 & 2015:
  2009 and 2015 are known for warm, sunny, and stable ripening periods. In contrast, 2026 has been defined by unprecedented, indeed volatile, thermal anomalies, such as a historic May heatwave featuring a weekly average temperature 10°C above the monthly normal for May, and additional June/July canicule events featuring daytime peaks of 38°C to 40°C paired with tropical nights exceeding 24°C.
• 2026 vs. 2018:
  While 2018 was characterised by a generous, warm summer and swift ripening, 2026 demonstrated significantly more extreme early-season spikes. 2026 achieved growth milestones (such as bunch closure and initial véraison) roughly 10 to 15 days ahead of the trajectories seen in the late-2010s vintages.
• 2026 versus the recent precocious benchmarks of 2020, 2022 & 2025:
  The 2020 and 2022 vintages are well-known for their early vegetative starts and high heat sums. 2026 tracked closely to these two years during bud-burst and early spring, but moved ahead of even those vintages by the summer. By mid-June, 2026 was outpacing 2020 and 2025 by at least 8 days, and by late June, it confirmed an advance of 5 days compared to 2020.
• And the one that you’ve been waiting for – 2026 versus the historic heat standard of 2003:
  The 2003 vintage has long stood as the gold standard for intense summer heat in Burgundy. However, by mid-July, the 2026 vintage surpassed 2003’s heat accumulation. Specifically, as of Jul 12, 2026 recorded 940°C in accumulated temperatures since Mar 01, compared to 91°C* for 2003 at the exact same date.

A different comparison:

But what is the phenological impact of all this heat?

This concentrated thermal mass created a “flash” cycle. While previous hot vintages like 2015 or 2018 allowed steady, sun-drenched development, 2026 forced a lightning-fast flowering period in under a week, pushing the earliest parcels toward potential harvest dates as early as Aug 20 to Aug 25.

A newly Michelin 2-star (grapes!) producer has already told me that they currently see the 2026 vintage more like an (even more) extreme version of 2020, than a 2003-style vintage – of course, that’s just one data point, and before picking too…

However, the heat in 2026 has been so intense that it hit a ceiling: unlike 2018 or 2020, where in those vintages heat consistently advanced maturity, the extreme thermal and hydric stress of 2026 has triggered physiological blockages (‘blocages de maturation‘), causing a sharp divide between maturing plots and those entirely stalled by the heat.

And what about differences between the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits?

The peak summer weeks of 2026 delivered both a thermal and hydric parting of the waves between the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. While both sectors experienced historic heat sums, the Côte de Beaune experienced more early-season hydric stress and heat spikes. Conversely, the Côte de Nuits experienced more localised weather anomalies, including a severe mid-July hailstorm around Marsannay and into Dijon.

Effectively, the climate of June and July 2026 created two distinct ripening environments across the Côte d’Or:

Côte de Beaune: Early Stress and High Acid Degradation
The Côte de Beaune entered the peak summer weeks under significant hydric-stress. While it received an exceptional maximum of 52 mm of rain in early May (centered around Meursault), subsequent weeks dried out rapidly.

During the mid-July heatwaves, the Côte de Beaune recorded extreme daytime highs frequently touching 38°C to 40°C. This sustained thermal ‘attack’ led to a rapid degradation of malic acid in the grapes. However, total acidity remained structurally stable because the lack of rain prevented potassium uptake, preserving high tartaric acid levels.

Côte de Nuits: Severe Localized Storms and Hail Damage
The Côte de Nuits experienced a volatile meteorological pattern during the peak summer weeks. The northern sector entered July as the driest zone in the region (recording only 23 mm to 24 mm in late spring/early summer). A drought was that broken broken between July 15 and July 18 by intense, localised storms, e.g. A major storm tracked through Premeaux, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, and Vougeot on July 15th, quickly dropping 25 to 30mm of water. In the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Meuilley even recorded 53 mm of rain.

Across both regions, the extra heat has degraded nearly all the malic acid. Of course, the producers are monitoring individual parcels closely…