The 2024 growing season in Burgundy began with the kind of anxiety that has become familiar to vignerons across the Côte d'Or. A mild winter gave way to an unpredictable spring—late frosts in April threatened early-budding parcels in Chablis and parts of the Côte de Beaune, while uneven flowering in June prompted early concerns about yields. By July, however, the season turned. Warm, dry conditions settled across the region with remarkable consistency, and a slow, even ripening period through August and September produced fruit of notable concentration and balance.
The harvest, which began in mid-September for most domaines, was broadly optimistic. Pinot Noir showed deep colour and ripe tannin structures reminiscent of 2019 and 2020, while Chardonnay retained the acidity that had been under threat during the warmer months. Early barrel samples from producers across Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, and Volnay suggest wines of considerable depth—though, as always in Burgundy, the range between merely good and genuinely exceptional is defined by the decisions made in the vineyard, not the weather alone.
The allocation question
For collectors, the more pressing matter is not quality but access. The structural scarcity that has defined Burgundy for the past decade has only intensified. Domaine Leroy, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Coche-Dury, Roulot—these names barely need mentioning, but the reality is that even second- and third-tier domaines now operate with waiting lists that stretch years. The 2024 vintage, arriving on the back of two consecutive short-yield years (2021's frost devastation and 2023's mildew pressure), will do nothing to ease this.
We are already seeing négociant pricing for 2024 village-level Burgundy that would have been unthinkable for Premier Cru wines five years ago. Gevrey-Chambertin Villages from a reputable but not elite domaine now commands $50–75 per bottle on release. Puligny-Montrachet from established names starts north of $65. Whether these prices represent the new reality or an unsustainable peak depends entirely on your time horizon.
What the secondary market is not yet telling you
The auction market for mature Burgundy remains extraordinarily strong. Bottles from the 2005, 2010, and 2015 vintages continue to appreciate, and anything from the canonical domaines in great years has become essentially a currency. But there are pockets of relative value that the market has not yet fully corrected for.
The 2017 vintage, broadly dismissed on release as a lighter year, is drinking beautifully now and remains underpriced relative to its quality. Village-level wines from Chambolle-Musigny and Savigny-lès-Beaune from this vintage offer exceptional near-term drinking at prices that still reflect the vintage's lukewarm critical reception. For collectors building cellars with an eye toward both pleasure and prudence, 2017 represents one of the last opportunities for genuine value in Burgundy.
Similarly, the white Burgundies of 2014—a vintage that delivered extraordinary precision and energy—are beginning to enter their optimal drinking window. Chablis Grand Cru, Meursault Premier Cru, and the better Chassagne-Montrachets from this year are showing the kind of complexity that only comes with a decade of patience. They remain, for now, available at prices that reflect the market's persistent bias toward red.
Our counsel
We would advise against chasing the 2024 vintage at any cost. The wines will, by most accounts, be very good—perhaps excellent. But Burgundy has always rewarded those willing to be unfashionable for a decade. The collectors who quietly accumulated 2008s and 2012s while the market chased 2009 and 2010 have been handsomely rewarded. The same discipline applies now.
Secure your allocations where you have them. Be selective where you don't. And remember that the greatest cellars are not built in a single vintage, but across many, with the understanding that patience is not passive—it is the most active form of conviction.