Last week, London played host to a number of tastings of wines from Burgundy, with growers and distributors converging on the capital to present and taste wines from the 2022 vintage. BIVB, the association that represents wine producers and négociants in the region, held a day-long tasting of wines from the Hautes Côtes de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits to showcase some of the rising stars from previously less-regarded vineyards. Anne McHale MW was on hand to share her wisdom on what is happening in the region and why we should be paying more attention to the wines from the Hautes Côtes, thanks largely to climate change. These two denominations achieved the recognition they deserved in 1961, being granted their own appellation, while acknowledging what sets them apart from their neighbouring vineyards in the Côtes de Beaune and Côtes de Nuit. In a region where climat is everything, it is notable that the altitude of plantings means temperatures are on average 5° lower in the Hautes Côtes, where additionally there is a significant diurnal range. Treatment in the vineyard is different, too, with lower density planting, greater spacing between rows and some training on lyre trellises. With a warming climate, these appellations are becoming more exciting, and this was what the tasting aimed to highlight to the distributors, journalists and educators in the room.
Now it is just a question of waiting to see how much the wines have increased in price compared to the 2021 vintage. The trajectory for burgundian wine prices is always upwards, which is more reason to look to the Hautes Côtes for value.