A thoughtful and interesting post from the Wolf…
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Entries from 2026
A new report for January, Chablis, Côte d’Or & Romanée St.Vivant
The January 2026 issue of Burgundy-Report, including:
– The 2024 wines of Chablis Part 1
– More 2024 wines from the Côte d'Or
– The widest ever tasting of 1999 Romanée St.Vivant…
Image: Chablis Grenouilles April 2024
1999 Romanée St.Vivant, the owners and the producers:
1999 Romanée St.Vivant
The greatest successes of this issue (alphabetically!):
J. Moreau & Fils – 2024
Roland Lavantureux – 2024
Don't forget the big summary report of the 2024 Burgundy region vintage
Newly updated:
Vintage 2024
a(nother) weekend wine…
2021 Laurent Tribut, Chablis
A robust and sweet-smelling cork…
A generous width of aroma – of cushioned, modestly ripe citrus. In the mouth, we have good scale and a slowly melting, slightly saline accent to the rounder, more generous flavours than was the case 3 years ago. The middle to finishing flavours are wide, mineral and have a tiny note of barrel caramel. Very, classy, delicious wine – yum!
Rebuy – Yes
2021s from Chablis, in general, no-longer show the effervescent citrus energy of their youth – they have become rather classic as they age in bottle i.e. they are much less the acquired taste (citrus acidity) of their youth. I’m glad that I recommend so many of those young wines – this is really such an enjoyable Chablis vintage right now!
Burgundian corporate thuggery…
Each visit to Chablis, I like to enjoy the restaurant Le Maufoux – last week, with Didier Seguier of William Fevre.
But wait, what’s this? It’s now called Mineral.
I checked, and according to Le Bien Public, its sister restaurant in Beaune must also have a name-change (Rebond):
“The news came as a devastating blow to the team at this gastronomic establishment: Le Maufoux restaurant, open (in Beaune) since April 2019, must change its name before the beginning of January. The Beaune restaurant lost its appeal against the Prosper Maufoux brand, owned by the Piffaut family”
Le Bien Public, 15 December – my translation…
Apparently, the lawyers of Prosper Maufoux took exception to the name of the restaurant, which is so obviously in competition with the ‘maison/domaine’ (partly) of that name. PM lost the first round of the case but won on appeal. The cost to the restaurant was apparently about €20k – not an insignificant sum for a small operation – though not that expensive, if it was only for two rounds of legal fees…(?)
I note with amusement that Maufoux Beaune was/is located at the address 45 rue Maufoux in Beaune. I assume that the streetname must also be changed…
This seems like a good enough reason to avoid the Château de St.Aubin in the future – but I shall keep visiting the excellent restaurants, newly named ‘Mineral’ in Beaune & Chablis…
a weekend wine…
The old label to the left – this wine. To the right, the new label – to drink another day…
2019 Jeremy Recchione, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits
‘Only’ 13% – modest for 2019.
Deep colour with pure, silky, dark fruit aromas – apart from a little supporting smoky roundness, there’s nothing to suggest ‘no added sulfur.’ Wide, fluid, beautifully textured wine – clearly with fine concentration. Like the nose, here are dark fruited flavours – juicy and lingering on a super line of acidity. Love this energy and width of finishing flavour – different dimensions of finishing flavour. Just a small finishing grain of tannin. What a supremely fine, delicious Bourgogne!
Rebuy – Yes
A great story – 1899 RC !!
And with so many nameworthy tasters to appreciate the bottle too.
Of course, there are so many unanswered questions, my first of which is ‘How did the date survive so legibly intact, and precious little of the rest of the label(s)?’
My spider-senses are heightened after seeing so many wines at auction that just miss a (vintage) digit and are purported to be, for instance, a 1945 when they could just so easily be a 1944 – there’s quite a difference when it comes to DRC!
And wasn’t that an amazing fill? I’ve seen much worse on (still tasty!) wines from the 1950s. The wines from the 1860s in Bouchard Père’s cellars are in much better condition, but they are also topped up and recorked roughly every 30 years!!
But that’s enough of the cynic in me. So long as everyone was happy 🙂
New rules for old vines?
New rules for ‘old vines?’
There are no rules for labels – everybody says it, everybody knows it – though everyone still used the label. But, eventually changes are planned.
Not everyone was consulted from the start – which caused some ruffling of feathers at the INAO and in the Languedoc – but it seams that the limit for labeling your wine ‘VV’ will be set at 35 years. But it’s France, so will there be more consultations planned? And is it legally binding? Your guesses are as good as mine, but the current info is that 35 is the number
It’s not ideal, and whether it’s the right (best?) age also depends on the grape-variety. It will also pose questions for many labels of long standing – Musigny Vieilles-Vignes, anybody?
But finally, it may come to fruition !!
Chablis in February…
It’s business as usual in Chablis – the volumes of 2025s, whilst rarely testing the limits are providing some balsam for the pain of the 2024 volumes. But the 2024s are tasting great.
The weather is, of course, variable and borderline frost each morning. So to give you the impression that it is always sunny in Chablis:
Gateway
Oups – this time of year the use of herbicide is clear…
Moutonne
Grenouilles
Les Clos in the distance…
Jane Eyre Savigny 1er Aux Vergelesses 2022
Only one at home this weekend:
2022 Jane Eyre, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Aux Vergelesses
There’s some density to this red-fruited aroma, but it’s a compact, not-so-open style today. It sits well in the mouth, with slightly generous, cushioned red fruit – and clearly I’m drinking this too young, as, apart from some middle stony minerality, there’s a little too much creamy-caramel oak. The effect today is delicious, but I still prefer my wine to taste more of wine! I’d wait another couple of years before returning – but completely delicious, if a touch more ‘easy’ than I remember from tasting at the domaine.
Rebuy – Yes