A lost year: How the pandemic affected an Irish winemaker in Burgundy

Róisín Curley leads an interesting double life – part pharmacist in Ballyhaunis, part winemaker in Burgundy. “Covid has been challenging, as it has been for everyone. My wine business is dependent on travelling to and from France and my pharmacy job is busy. It has been nice to be a pharmacist and be able to help when needed,” she says.

In 2018 she moved to a larger winery in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, but due to the pandemic she was unable to travel to France and so was forced to pull out of the 2020 vintage. “The 2019s were slow with everything and are actually doing really well with the extra time. I have a friend, a retired cellar hand, who does the topping-up and the analysis every month. But for that, I would have been a nervous wreck. He is as fussy as me – a straight, hard-working person. So it has been a long, peaceful élevage for the 2019 vintage, but I really hope to get over there in the next few months.”

She has five wines from the 2018 vintage on sale in Ireland, including two new wines, a Côte de Nuits-Villages “Les Retraits” (€45) and the Beaune 1er Cru “Les Blanches Fleurs” (€68), along with the new vintages of the 2018 Nuits-St-Georges “Les Longecourts”, the Beaune Les Prévoles and the St-Romain “Le Jarron”. She says “2018 was one of the hottest vintages since 2003. The wines are deep in colour, plush and supple, with very ripe tannins. It worked out well for me, but you had to be careful.”

Curley started out producing 2,000 bottles and has now grown her output to 9,000 bottles. The wines have sold very well despite the pandemic. “We are small and a little spoiled in Burgundy; there is always a demand. I love living and working in Ballyhaunis, but I want to get back to France as soon as I can.”