Burgundy sees earliest harvest in 500 years
Burgundy is seeing its earliest harvest in nearly 500 years, it has been revealed, with Domaine Leflaive confirming it began picking its parcel in Grand Cru Le Montrachet on Thursday, 13 August.
This early start beats the incredibly long-standing record for Burgundy, which was set in 1556 – when historic records show picking began on 15 August. It also represents a marked shift from the region’s traditional early-to-mid September start.
Domaine Leflaive’s estate manager Brice de La Morandière announced the harvest on Instagram, noting that clearly this was “extremely early”, but that the repeated heatwaves of the 2026 season had prompted the decision.
He added that the grapes were very healthy, and although the sugars are high “the acidity is still very good so that will give us good balance.”
“Aromatically, it’s what we’re after so it should give us some very nice Montrachet,” he wrote.
It follows the start of the Crémant harvest in the area ten days ago.
According to historian Thomas Labbe, years with very high temperatures occurred roughly every 17 years between 1354 and 1719, however, since 1988, there has “clearly” been a shift, with four of the ten warmest years since 1354 having occurred in the 21st century – 2003, 2018, 2020 and 2025.
Sunburn
However, despite the fears from heat and, potentially more importantly, the lack of water, vigneron Paul Carillon of Domaine Carillon in told the drinks business that concerns that the grapes would have been burnt by the sun turned out to be largely unfounded.
“Thanks to timely canopy management, the grapes were in better condition than we had initially anticipated,” he told the drinks business. “The heat accelerated ripening and put some stress on the vines, particularly on the hillside plots, but overall, the vineyards held up well and the quality of the fruit looks very promising.
Carillon, who farms in Puligny-Montrachet, has not yet started the harvest although they expect to begin this week.
“We’re currently expecting an early harvest—though it may not be as early as we initially feared. We’ll begin on Thursday (20 August); we had feared we’d have to start around August 15. Yields are expected to be slightly below average, but the quality looks quite good.”
Information from The Drinks Business
