The 2022-2023 wine campaign in Bourgogne marked a slight return to normality, with the generous 2022 vintage allowing for partial replenishment of stocks, according to BIVB. However, the marketing results for the year were influenced by the significant changes and uncertainties of the past two years.
The 2022 harvest yielded around 1.75 million hectoliters, translating to just over 233 million bottles. This has helped in partially replenishing stocks, even though the average harvest over the past five years remains below 1.5 million hectoliters. Despite this, stocks at the estates by the end of July 2023 were still below the five-year average.
Export sales continued their upward trajectory. Although the volumes exported saw a slight dip after a robust 2022, they remained higher than the pre-Covid period of 2019, showing an increase of 5.3% in volume for the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019.
The 2022 vintage played a significant role in boosting shipments from the estates, with sales increasing by 24% compared to the 2021-2022 campaign. This surge was primarily driven by intra-regional transactions within Bourgogne, which saw a remarkable 59% increase compared to the previous year.
Several appellations performed notably well in the first half of 2023:
- Régionale AOC Mâcon white: Saw a 10.8% increase in volume, benefiting from an upmarket shift, especially through the Mâcon plus geographical denomination, which rose by 18.3%.
- Chablis and Petit Chablis AOCs: Remained stable with a 0.2% increase in volume, resulting in sales of over €80 million.
- Crémant de Bourgogne: Experienced a 6% volume increase, with sales reaching €25.5 million.
Bourgogne’s primary markets, known as the “Famous Five” (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Belgium), which have been importing an average of almost two-thirds of the volumes for about a decade, saw a slowdown in their purchases in 2022. However, other countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and several Asian countries like China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, have been compensating for this decline.
The “Famous Five” continued their declining trend in the first half of 2023, but there was a slight resurgence in the second quarter, especially in Belgium (13% increase), Japan (10.4% increase), and the UK (5.3% increase).
