Old vines in Burgundy

Each year, we offer anywhere between 800 and 1,000 new wines as part of our Burgundy En Primeur offer. I often find myself using the age of the vines when describing these wines, but I realise that I don’t always articulate what benefits old vines may confer.

It might come as a surprise that the term “Vieilles Vignes” (“old vines”) has no legal definition. In theory, any wine can be labelled as such; not even the EU has managed to legislate in this field. In some cases, the term is used as a cynical marketing tool by unscrupulous producers who want their wine to stand out on the shelf. None of the growers we work with fall into this category, it should be said.

When discussing the matter of old vines with our growers in Burgundy, definitions vary as to what constitutes an old vine. Most growers would class any vine that is 40-50 years of age and beyond as “old”. Lots of growers steadfastly refuse to include the term on their labels, believing that doing so can risk denigrating other wines in their range. This can make it difficult to identify those wines that are made from old vines – though we do try to include vine age within our tasting notes.

Why do old vines matter?

For our quality-driven growers, old vines are perhaps the holy grail. When seeking out new suppliers, good holdings of old vines are often among my key criteria. Indeed, Pierre Vincent highlights the high average age of vines as a key reason behind buying his own domaine . Old vines have reduced vigour, which naturally limits the yield, giving concentrated flavours in the fruit and imparting a natural balance in the wine regardless of the vintage conditions.

It’s useful to think of the life of a vine as like that of a human. When first planted, the vine needs lots of care and attention to establish itself, and its output can be unbalanced. Quality-focused Burgundians will often declassify young-vine fruit from village vineyards or higher and blend them into their generic Bourgogne-level wine. Domaine de la Vougeraie has been known to do so in the first years of production for replanted parcels of Grands Crus.

In youth and adolescence – between 10-25 years – vines are typically very vigorous and productive. Their grapes often give fruity, simple wines and yields must be carefully managed to obtain concentrated fruit. By the time vines reach “adulthood”, between 25-40 years, they produce well without excess. Then, as vines enter old age, their production will fall.

Finding balance with old vines

Not all old vines are equal; it’s important that they have been looked after and cared for during their lifetime. While concentration may be desirable, old vines can suffer from diseases that drastically reduce yields. And there is a point at which production will become so low as to be uneconomical, and the excessive concentration in grapes from an ancient vine can be undesirable. A mix of younger and older vines can therefore be helpful, combining the energy of the young with the weight of the old, as is the case with Comte Armand ’s Bourgogne Aligoté.

Old vines are perhaps most sought after for their ability to resist extreme weather conditions. A vine will typically develop deeper root systems as it ages, allowing it to access water and nutrients from further down in the soil, thus resisting excesses of heat and drought. Indeed, in the hot and dry vintages recently seen in Burgundy, there has been a clear difference: old vines have tended to weather the conditions, giving more balanced wines. Younger plants often struggled, producing wines with higher alcohol and lower acidity.

However, old vines can be harder to work. Their large, fragile trunks and extensive root systems can be damaged when ploughing the soil between the rows. Weeds can grow in the vine’s nooks and crannies; these need to be manually removed, a backbreaking and labour-intensive process. The twisted, gnarled old vines may look impressive, but pruning and training such plants can be challenging compared to a young vine that grows uniformly.

For me, though, wines made from old vines have something special that I simply cannot put my finger on or easily define scientifically. It is perhaps that they truly articulate the terroir , the place they come from, rather than the grape variety. In the best old-vine Pinot Noir from Burgundy, I always find a silky texture, often a haunting floral perfume and a deftness and elegance that is rare in wines from younger vines.

The effect is less noticeable in Chardonnay, I find, but old-vine examples can have a textural richness, greater depth and harmony. In Aligoté, however, old vines can truly elevate the quality of a wine. Indeed, many growers will insist that only truly ancient vines can make first-class Aligoté.

Age isn’t everything

For all the positive attributes of old vines, age isn’t everything. For many growers, it’s the specific selection of the grape variety that is key. This is especially so in Burgundy, which saw a move in the 1960s from massal selection Pinot Fin (also known as Pinot Tordu) to clonal selections known as Pinot Droit. The former is prized for its low production of high-quality fruit and can be recognised by its twisted trunk. The latter is the result of scientific development to selectively breed vines that could better resist disease and produce more generous yields of larger bunches.

This view is borne out where high-quality massal selections are planted. Domaine Denis Carré ’s St Romain, Le Jarron was planted with these and has produced wonderful wine since its first vintage in 2022, despite the warm and dry conditions. Olivier Merlin ’s Bourgogne Rouge, Les Cras was planted with cuttings of old vines from the Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard. The wine always possesses wonderful balance, silky tannins and a haunting perfume, despite the youth of the plants.

Clones were also mainly derided for their excess vigour, something which can be managed by training methods or naturally as the vines age and production falls. Eleni and Edouard Vocoret have a mix of old, pre-clonal Chardonnay and more recent plantings from the 1970s and 1980s. They like the combination of both, pointing to the energetic and juicy character derived from the younger clones; and the concentration and power of older massal selections.

For some growers, even when they indicate “Vieilles Vignes” on the label, vine age is not the defining factor. For example, Jean-Philippe Fichet makes two Bourgogne wines: one “Vieilles Vignes” and the other without the age indication. The oldest vines in the supposedly young-vine wine are around 50 years old. And while Fichet’s Vieilles Vignes are a little older, the difference between the two cuvées is the location of the vineyards. The story is the same with Sylvie Esmonin, who splits her Vieilles Vignes and young-vine cuvées more by location than age: the former being on sloping limestone soils; the latter on flatter clay and gravel.

Old vines clearly offer significant advantages to those who want to make great wine. But an old vine alone doesn’t guarantee quality. I’ve often been to wine fairs where a winemaker will proudly conclude a lineup of well-made wines with an overly extracted, oak-smothered cuvée of old vines. Winemaking and terroir also play a significant part.