By billn on June 23, 2012
I’m typing this during my last few hours in Beaune, whilst in the background the traditional lament of the ‘pipes of pan do Abba’ waft from that Saturday market. I’ve had a nice couple of days tasting at some new addresses, and also some car-related issues while I’ve been here. I’ll give you a laugh about the car later… But, to the vines, and what an incredibly challenging year! What began as an early starting, and very dry year, has morphed into a very wet one – so far – and the potential for an August harvest has long-since evaporated – actually a little breeze and evaporation would figure in most vignerons’ dreams. Unfortunately a lot of the wet weather arrived during flowering so things [....]
Posted in Harvests, Vintage 2011, Vintage 2012 |
By billn on September 24, 2011
A vintage summary and some nice pics from Nicolas Rossignol: Many pictures and stories ! A tricky vintage in all the world , a winemaker from NZ came to work with me and he told me hard vintage in NZ this year, see the best and the worst ! As in france ! I spent time with Olivier Lamy, Thomas Bouley and Davis Croix in the vineyard before harvest, to taste our grappes, to decide when to start, and we saw the grapes of some neighbours …. not the same vintage for everybody, for people how worked hard in the vineyard vintage will be easy, beautifull small grappes, small berries, black and blue, ripe ( even with a low level of sugar, 11.5 12 % [....]
Posted in Harvests, Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 23, 2011
Just to show what an egalitarian I am Here are some pictures from ‘Emmental’ an occasional commenter here – he picked his own pinot noir on the 15th September (only about 90 miles from my house) in Vully. Vully is in the Swiss Canton of Fribourg, close to lake Neuchâtel. Emmental in his comment here notes that the physical characteristics of his grapes were similar to those of the Côte d’Or this year, and he notes a yield of 600 grams per square metre – I’m sure he will correct me, but I roughly calculate that to be the equivalent of 2.43 tones per acre, or (not surprisingly!) exactly 6 tonnes per hectare. Now according to wikipedia, one hectolitre of red wine needs 130 kg [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 21, 2011
Courtesy The New York Times:
Posted in Harvests, Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 17, 2011
More for fun than info: Laurent Ponsot: “Today’s our last harvest day (Friday 16th!) and for sure I’m quite busy… I’m working one month per year and it’s now!!! More to come in a while on that subject…” Yves Confuron (de Courcel): “I’m up to my neck in it, we finish today” (that’s Saturday 17th!)
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 16, 2011
Très vite alors, nous n’avons pas eu de pluie, ce qui a été presque miraculeux . Nous avons commencé les vendanges le 1er septembre et terminé le 7 . Avec une bonne équipe d’habitués . L’ambiance était très bonne . Nous avons triés deux parcelles plus abîmées sur la table, sinon, les vendangeurs ont bien trié et ensuite d’autres triaient sur les caisses . Les degrés ne ont pas très élevés mais correctes . La vendanges en rouge est peu abondante mais au final de bonne qualité, il y a plus de volume en blanc . Pour les rouges, nous pensons que le vin sera très fruité et souple avec une belle couleur . C’est un peu tôt, mais il semble que 2011 est plutôt [....]
Posted in Harvests, Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 10, 2011
No more reports from the home domaine this year. A treasured team member and friend was lost on Thursday night whilst heading home to Santenay; hit by a drunk driver near Meursault. The last fruit is coming in today, even the Hautes Côtes which was in theory going to wait another week – it’s time to close the door on 2011 at the domaine. So sad.
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 8, 2011
Tuesday was a relatively quiet day at the home domaine, lucky considering the loss of a team-member, so I chose to roll it into Wednesday’s report. Incredibly given that every day for that last 10 was forecast to rain (two days out) the team remain warm and dry – only the short shower of Sunday morning remains in the memory. There is still rain forecast, but most are now ignoring those forecasts. Tuesday: Pinot from Ladoix was the only delivery of the day; a very nice plot that’s 100% biodynamically farmed – maybe that’s why about 12% was eventually discarded for a combination of sins – rot or just clumsy bunches of grapes with questionable ripeness. It’s worth pointing out that (including those vines that [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 7, 2011
It’s become a bit of an ‘in-joke’ but let me introduce you to the concept of the Facebook Bunches. Many producers have cottoned onto the fact that they can keep-up a stream of contact with people interested in their wines; past visitors to the domaine or enthusiasts, etcetera. It also seems that this is good for business – though let’s be clear, they need to have a good product in the first place! I think it started in an understated way with the 2008 vintage; pictures of happy vignerons clutching a basket of perfect grapes or giving updates on the progress of their own vintage trials – initially it was for a close circle of friends but it’s expanded every year since then. Of-course we [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 6, 2011
Domaine Grivot’s 2011 Richebourg Talk about rain gods – they must have benevolent eyes for the Côte d’Or – so-far anyway. Despite driving through two hours of rain on my way home on Sunday, the Côtes stayed dry – amazing. Monday at the home domaine was a tough one, but not because of the grapes but because the home team were suffering; the boss has angina and another of the team broke his wrist (away from the domaine I think!) and is now ‘out’ for 6 weeks. The Monday grapes were pretty good; I already mentioned the scruffy Santenay which had been picked on Sunday, but after triage the grapes that went to the tanks looked very good indeed – small berried clusters that optically [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 5, 2011
No glue was used in the making of this image! Sunday was a day of rest – almost – so time to take stock of the first week. The grander reds still wait in the vineyards, though a majority of the whites are now gathered. The lead image (above) gives you a stylised and sanitised example of what the early-picked pinots have looked like so-far. Temperatures were high in week 1 – approaching 30°C. Triaged grapes in only a few hours had an acetic waft about them, so housekeeping, keeping the grapes cool after picking (refrigerated vans) then cooling them in their fermentation tanks were the highest priorities to avoid subsequent faulty wines. Very low levels of rot in the pinot; better than 2006, perhaps [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
By billn on September 4, 2011
Lunch was a stunner, duck salad, beef bouguignone, and though I dodged the cheese-course it meant there was room for the tarte tartin Wine? 2009 Beaune Les Avaux and 2006 Chapelle-Chambertin Returning to the oldest vines part of the Vosne villages, the call was made – ‘okay, let’s remove the destemmer‘ Sixty percent went through this way, last year it was 100% but this year some of the bunches were big, fat and heavy. The remaining younger vines were destemmed. You can see the lovely bunches in the red-grey bin picture below – only one ladybird hiding in there. Afterwards we had grapes from Pommard, Clos des Vergers; just like the Gevrey and the Vosne, the level of rot was very, very low – not [....]
Posted in Vintage 2011 |
