Entries from 2020

it’s warming up nicely!

By billn on July 07, 2020 #travels in burgundy 2020#vintage 2020

Just a few pictures, taken today, from between Montrachet and Folatières in the commune of Puligny-Montrachet.

At 8 am I was happy to be wearing a sweatshirt – no-longer at 9 am. Almost 30° today and a couple of degrees warmer is possible in the next days…

week 27 2020 in Burgundy

By billn on July 03, 2020 #travels in burgundy 2020

visits week 27 2020
My thanks to the vigneron(ne)s who hosted me this week – all of whom will be in the next Burgundy Report…

At this stage of the growing season, the growers are generally happy with their lot. They have had enough rain and the disease ‘pressure’ remains quite low. There seems plenty of crop – probably less than in 2018 as the number of grape-clusters per vine is more variable – but still plenty. This seems to be the consistent theme all the way from Chablis to Beaujolais.

In terms of the forthcoming (early!) harvest, most don’t seem to have a problem recruiting pickers – but with covid in mind, they are unsure how they will approach the lodging of, and their communal eating with, their harvest helpers…

And a few captioned images from the last 3 days – more next week:

the summit of sotheby’s?

By billn on July 01, 2020 #the market

1942 DRCI guess probably not!

It’s kind of ironic that the pdf for this sale is too large for me to upload to this site – rather like the size of many of the bottles that it features.

Rudy Kurniawan may be getting an early release from his 10-year prison sentence, this month, but Sotheby’s seem to be keeping their wine-ship straight with decently involved checking of provenance behind all their sales. That said, I’d want to have a lot more information about those pristine (almost new looking – right) 1942 DRCs…

We can complain about the pricing bubble of today – what else would we have to talk about if not(?!) But, from a certain perspective, great wine has never been easier to source. What do I mean by that?:

For a long time in Burgundy, those with access to the best took what they could and ‘that was that!‘ – the wines overwhelmingly disappeared, presumably largely drunk as their makers intended. It’s a different world now; many of those with access to the best see the wines more as investment vehicles than as something to consume – less the enthusiasts, more the collectors – why else so many jeroboams and larger? – Oops! Said the man with ‘too many’ magnums in his cellar 🙂

But what did I mean by a certain perspective? Well, of-course I mean money – the resources to buy these wines. There’s no getting away from the financial aspect of this, but if money is a trivial discussion point for you, you have never had it so good in terms of the opportunities to buy great burgundy. Sales like this are now every year, perhaps 2-3 times per year, and they offer wines that you couldn’t dream of acquiring 20 years ago – by practically any route!

It’s a great new world for the players – times have never been so egalitarian for the millionaires…

a few pics from the côte de nuits today….

By billn on June 30, 2020 #travels in burgundy 2020

some weekend wines – week 26 2020

By billn on June 29, 2020 #degustation

weekend wines week 26-2020

Ignoring the corked Vosne that came before the crumbly-corked Savigny, a super selection of wines here – lots of personality and deliciousness too!

2018 Marcel Couturier, Pouilly-Fuissé Les Scellés
Cork-sealed – no branding on the cork.
A lovely and energetic nose that mixes some floral perfume and a suggestion of minerality – that’s a lovely invitation to take a sip. The merest suggestion of gas on the palate and an energy that matches that of the nose. Sweetly mineral – and delicious too – bursting with extra finishing flavour. A delicious treat
Rebuy – Yes

Boisset 2005 Jarrons cork2005 JC Boisset, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Hautes Jarrons
What an awful cork – simply crumbling through the middle. Thankfully without adding insult to injury – it hadn’t tainted the wine.
Plenty of colour. Here’s a nose of depth, of complexity – even a little blood to bind with the forest floor of dried leaves – this has a suggestion of hardness too, but there’s no lacking of attractive complexity. The entry is a little modest for a 2005 but here is a wine that expands wider and wider over the palate, taking its time to show that the intrinsic concentration is good. Balanced, complex and entertaining, but for my taste still a little young today – certainly drink their 06 Monts Luisants (below) in preference to this today – and I hope you get a better cork than mine.
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Clavelier, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Les Acacias
A DIAM-sealed wine.
A floral nose – auto-suggestion acacia! There’s a little oak too – contributing not just to the aromas but perhaps to the silky texture too. Not just silky, there is a fine level of both minerality and energy here – I like the line of this wine, but would wait for the oak to fade – or perhaps decant half an hour before drinking. This is super 2018 – highly recommended so-long that you are not too oak-averse.
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Sébastien Dampt, Chablis 1er Les Beugnons
Another wine that’s sealed with DIAM – a little black wax to top the bottle too.
A deep nose, quite mineral too – almost in a reductive register. Like the nose, there’s lots of depth to this mineral flavoured wine, a wine that slowly expands to fill all the space that it can find. Super, and a rare 2018 Chablis that will obviously benefit from extra cellar time.
Rebuy – Yes

2006 JC Boisset, Morey St.Denis 1er Monts Luisants
This time the cork stayed intact
Not much more than medium colour, but what a beautiful, floral, perfumed nose – reminding of whole-cluster perfume – it’s a beauty! The perfume on the nose is a strong part of the flavour profile too. Fine balance, lovely acidity – a certain sweetness of fruit too – and whilst this wine really doesn’t lack concentration, it has a wonderfully ethereal quality. Just a brilliant wine – bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

corks – as always

By billn on June 28, 2020 #seals (not the furry kind)

corked and not corked

Having opened the wine of the Comtesse (de Vazeilles) at the end of last week, I thought why not take in the wine of the Comte (Liger-Belair) to start my weekend(?) – You can see that it is the small things that amuse me!

Clearly one of these producers had paid quite a bit more for their seal – but to no avail – the 2013 Vosne was corked. Not strongly corked, but a little more than liégeux as the French would describe ‘faintly detectably corked.‘ I’d rather be talking about the wine – which for the record was a little reductive – but in this case (comparison) it was the cheaper seal that did the job…

When in doubt, Beaujolais…

By billn on June 25, 2020 #degustation

Bachelards Fleurie

It was a saying that I picked up on yesterday, and thought ‘why not?!

2014 Château des Bachelards, Fleurie
DIAM5 sealed.
Still a young colour – with hints of purple. The nose – now that’s super – very fine cherry-style fruit but there’s more, a graphite-style of minerality too that sometimes hints of cigar tobacco – very pure and not the faintest suggestion of the development that I’m seeing in many 15s, 16s and even some 2017s already! Not a wine of big impact but certainly one with width to the flavour and a growing intensity to that flavour too. Oh – did I mention that it’s a delicious flavour? And growing a little of that graphite complexity in the floral-accented finish too. A pure but complex baby wine – you can keep it for years – even the nose seems to become more perfumed in the glass. Great Fleurie – yes it does exist!
Rebuy – Yes

offer of the day – clos de tart 2018

By billn on June 24, 2020 #the market

WP_20141101_011

I never did see an offer for the 2015s. Today, here are the 2018s and you can compare to the 2017 & 2016 prices which are in the brackets. The new owners are never going to get their €300 million back with only a 50 francs per bottle price increase, are they(?)! 🙂

Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2018 75cl 498.00, (498.00, 448.00)* Swiss francs
Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2018 150cl 1,050.00 (1,026.00, 926.00)
Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2018 300cl 2,300 (2,2042, 2,042.00)
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2018 75cl 189.00 (169.00, 188.00)

Additionally, there are some ‘library releases’:
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 1996 75cl 498.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 1996 150cl 1’198.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2002 75cl 558.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2005 150cl 1,450.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2006 75cl 448.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2006 150cl 926.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2009 75cl 598.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2007 75cl 148.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2011 75cl 135.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2014 75cl 169.00

* Including delivery, but not including Swiss purchase tax of 7.7%

20 years of wine in the last days…

By billn on June 23, 2020 #degustation

Two wines, 20 years apart…

2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune Clos des Godeaux
Diam5-sealed.
A wine with a tight-ish, quite modest, yet inviting nose. This moves well over the palate with both citrus and mineral – then the impression of a little oak flavour in the finish – I’d probably wait another 6-12 months so that it fades more into the background. It has a super finish though. Excellent.
Rebuy – Yes

1998 Hudelot-Noellat, Vosne-Romanée 1er Les Suchots
The cork comes out in one piece – wine-saturated through about 40% of its length.
Oh-yes! Now that’s a very attractive nose indeed – wide, complex, very Vosne and such a great invitation. Clean, wide, deliciously flavoured – not even a suggestion of the terrible young tannins of the vintage. Graceful wine, without lacking depth or energy and clearly beautifully made – a quarter of the bottle was left in the fridge, only to be rescued 4 days later – and not a hint of brett, oxidation or other unwelcome guests – less precise for sure but still completely drinkable. Bravo!
Rebuy – Yes

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