Entries from 2008

on fire – not!

By billn on January 21, 2008 #asides#travel

Back! and in rude health – well I’m still saying some rude words over my continued cold (now 8 weeks) but I have some visits planned in the Côtes for the end of the month so will surely be able to taste something by then(?)

train berne alps

  Photo: The view from the train leaving Berne – Berner Alps in the background…

muerrenBack from the Inferno and frankly I’m humbled. The top runners set off in the poor visibility afforded by low cloud and blitzed the course, averaging 75kph (46.5mph) for 9.5km (6 miles) including the uphill parts. For me it was a case of too much sicherheit not enough geschwindigkeit – safe rather than fast – my average speed was less than half theirs, and in sunshine too. I felt to be going fast; maybe next year the racing suit and those 2.2 metre skis – but then of-course I’d have to work out how to turn those giant planks of composite materials – a colleague makes the simple suggestion of preparation with alcohol. The weekend is, however, a great social event, attested to by all those who were dancing on the tables and bemoaning the closure of clubs at 5am following the race – some holzkopfs still wearing their skiboots…

About 1,800 people take part in the downhill race, yet the village never seems busy – maybe it’s because they are only in the clubs or measuring the temperature of the snow for the right wax treatment.

I recommend anyone who goes to the region gets the train to their resort – the views (top) from the train on leaving Berne to your destination are fabulous.

inferno rennen parade

  Photo: The Friday evening parade through the streets of Mürren…

the inferno finish line 2008

 Photo: 10am at the Inferno Rennen finish-line (packed with sausages and beer by mid afternoon…)
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training in the cold

By billn on January 15, 2008 #asides#travel

klosters madrisa end of the run

I got back yesterday from Klosters where I was putting in a bit of ‘training’ (rather too-grand a word) for next weekend’s Inferno Rennen in Mürren. Starting just below the revolving restaurant on the Schilthorn – made famous by George Lazenby as 007 – it’s a 15km downhill ski race if enough snow permits. I did the race in 2006 and it took me 28 minutes – without a stop. The winner required only 15 minutes – but while they were all wearing spandex racing suits, my only decision was to race either with, or without my rucksack…! Actually I’m full of cold so training didn’t go all that well but I’m still confident for Saturday 😉

Talking of colds, I’m now into an unbelievable 7th week without any taste sensation due to a blocked nose, hence, the lack of notes on wines around here – I’m saving money though I suppose! Lucky it’s not my job then!!!

Anyway back to skiing; it snowed like hell last Saturday, so Sunday was picture perfect with blue sky and sunshine. Monday was unbelievable – I was almost alone on the slopes of Madrisa – the snow had that perfect creaking crunch until about 11:00am when the light became rather flat – but great piste conditions!

Anyway, if there are no more diary posts after Saturday, maybe I didn’t complete the course…

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european fine wine magazine – a critique

By billn on January 14, 2008 #books, maps, magazines, films even podcasts!#other sites

european fine wine magazine

  Photo: Blatantly stolen from the publisher’s website | Copyright, them…

Let me first say that issue number 1 of ‘European Fine Wine Magazine’ is quite a coffee-table magazine, the photography is really something – not just the composition but the saturated, slightly underexposed processing too – never-mind black and white, even in colour it looks almost Gothic! Whilst I’m far from an expert in this area, the photographer (Pekka Nuikki) seems to be carving-out his own genre. In the end though I must come clean – it’s not a magazine for me.

I am an egalitarian when it comes to wine; there was a time when even a modest pocket-book could accommodate an occasional bottle of the grandest of burgundian grand crus – Armand Rousseau’s Chambertin could be had for £60 throughout the 1996-1999 vintages – though unfortunately those times seem but a memory… Anyway back to my point; this publication has nothing to do with the egalitarian – adverts for Maybach, open-top Bentleys, yachts, power-boats, 8-page Dom Pérignon advertorials (the Pol Roger thing looks suspiciously advertorial-ish too) and €6,000 mobile phones etc., etc., accurately reflect the publisher’s target audience – this is the bling of wine-publishing. Articles covering Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Bordeaux and ‘investing in wine’ hammer in another nail despite the next issue offering me an olive-branch in the form of a piece on Louis Jadot(!) The final nail is what I consider the inaccuracies in the investing in burgundy section; interesting that 1971 and 1962 are vintages that you should primarily invest in whites, that you should look out for de Vogüé’s Bonnes-Mares, Musigny Vieilles Vignes and apparently their Musigny too and that one of Rousseau’s ‘top three’ is his Charmes-Chambertin.

At least then, they have taken time to think about their audience: As this publication is only about conspicuous consumption, they have come up with a new wine-scoring system too: in with Robert Parker’s 100 points, but out with his methodology. The wine is scored only on how it tastes today, with no reference to future potential. I assume, then, that their scores on 2005 Bordeaux will all be around 75 to accurately reflect their current drinkability. Come to think of it, they will anyway only be drinking 1928, 1945 and 1961 Bordeaux – oh and 1962 Puligny-Montrachet of-course!

I’m surprised then, that I got my complimentary copy courtesy of ‘The World of Fine Wine‘; editor Neil Beckett extolling its virtues and urging a subscription. That magazine whilst positioned firmly in the ‘up-market’ is essentially a magazine of writing. The pretty bunny (sorry, hare) does little to disguise that this is only a vehicle for positioning ‘luxury brands’ like Petrus and Mouton. I shall not be investing, despite the often evocative and haunting images. Hopefully, though, this will bring Pekka Nuikki’s work to a deserved wider audience, despite his surreal website.

I rightly consider myself to be ‘too nice’ ever to be a real critic – but sometimes it just flows…

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burgundy wine school programme

By billn on January 11, 2008 #diary dates

calendarExcept where stated otherwise, all courses take place in Beaune
Tel. +33 (0)3 80 26 35 10 – www.ecoledesvins-bourgogne.com

January 25-27: Saint-Vincent tour weekend in Saint-Romain, combining specific training and participation in the Saint-Vincent festivities.

From January 31 1 class every 2 weeks, (6 sessions): Evening class strengthening the ‘basics’ and tasting sessions.

March 1st & 2nd, March 22 & 23: Introductory weekend.

February 2 and 16, March 1st, 8, 15 and 22: ‘The basics’ lecture and tasting session. (1/2 day) and tasting day.

From February 2: ‘From Vine to Cellar’. 5 days in 2008 to learn by practising the main steps in wine-making.

March 11 – 14: Grands Jours de Bourgogne training course. This course, for wine professionals and specifiers, combines tasting sessions in the classroom and attendance at Grands Jours de Bourgogne events.

March 31 – April 2: Amateur taster’s certificate. 2 days of sensory analysis and 1 day of intense tasting.

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en-primeur 2006 – london’s awash with burgundy wine

By billn on January 08, 2008 #the market

en-primeur burgundy 2006

The hype has started – see above.

I think there are at least 7 major tastings in London this week. On the positive side it’s the perfect opportunity to get a broad-brush impression of the vintage, on the negative side there’s a trend for people to arrive early, drink all the top table wines and leave – this will require a little more ‘policing’. Plus, one word of warning – if people (read ‘critics’) present ‘definitive’ scores and notes to you on a per-wine basis – don’t believe a word. They are doing you and themselves a disservice!

Whites are typically less of an issue, but the majority of reds are; far from finished, far from being bottled, and far from consistent – if you taste the ‘same’ bottle at three different venues you will have the impression it is three different wines. Why is that? Well you don’t know which barrel was used, whether a small assemblage of young and old vines was made (or whether you’re only tasting the old vines from a new barrel), how was it preserved etc., etc., and was the same choice made for different merchant samples? That’s life. At least you can ask all these questions in the barrel cellar when you make a visit!

Coming back to the positive points – lots of gossip can be swapped, lots of old contacts met and YES a broad idea of the vintage: austere vs friendly, dense vs light, black fruit versus red, etc. But for scoring – you need informed opinion from the barrel cellar – or best of all – the finished wine in its bottle.

The first results from newly managed and owned Domaine René Engel will be on display today – when shipped I understand they will wear the label Domaine d’Eugénie – the importers are suggesting that for this estate, the big price increases will come with the 2007 vintage. I hope to catch up with the new team in charge in the next weeks.

And if you’re heading to London to taste – enjoy, but don’t take it too seriously. Below is a list of major merchants with tastings, and a link (where I can find one) to their offers:

FOOTNOTE: Prices are high. I normally buy ~10 x 6-packs during this campaign. I’ve bought only two and don’t expect to add much more from my normal UK sources. C&B’s Varoilles offer is a beacon of value I believe – with the caveat that I haven’t tasted these 06’s…

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saint vincent 2008 in saint romain

By billn on January 07, 2008 #diary dates

saint vincent in saint romainThe start of the year in Burgundy heralds, amongst other things, the Burgundy Saint Vincent festivals. Each year there is a touring one which brings together over 80 villages – this year it’s in Saint Romain on the 26th and 27th January.

From the BIVB:

“Founded on the initiative of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in 1938, the Saint Vincent tour brings together wine-growers from mutual support societies from all over Burgundy. First and foremost it is a wine-growers’ festival, which over the years has attracted a wide audience. The general public is granted access to the tasting cellars on purchase of a glass (10€) and a tasting logbook.”

Saint Romain is a relatively pretty Côte de Beaune village set on the hillside above Monthelie and Auxey, and will also be celebrating their appellation’s sixtieth anniversary. On the Saturday morning their will be a parade through the village at 7.45am and again at 11.15am. A banquet is also organised for the evening. Further information and the opportunity to book for the banquet (130€) can be found at:
www.saint-vincent-2008.com.
saint vincent in saint romain 1964

  Photo: The last Saint Vincent in Saint Romain | 1964
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outing

By billn on January 06, 2008 #asides#the market

A story I picked up on Lyle Fass’ Rocks and Fruits, Vinotas is mad too – here’s the full story on Vinography. Do we think the director of communications at wine.com is going to have an easy day in the office tomorrow?

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vintage charts – why?

By billn on January 05, 2008 #asides

An enforced moratorium on opening bottles (long-term head-cold plus recent antibiotics) gives me the chance to dust off various things I’d been working on over the last weeks, things that had just been lying around, half forgotten. Part 1:

wine tasting

DRINKING OR TASTING(?)
Whilst there is a place for both, clearly wine is for drinking – whatever the vogue for hoarding of ‘trophy Wines’. Tasting infers the appraisal of a wine or wines, either alone or with its peers. Tasting is important as a discipline and the more you do it the easier it is – particularly if you’ve a good memory for time, place, aroma and taste – e.g. like remembering next time not to have that sandwich with mustard just before the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti tasting will always be a plus! Talking of tasting and the implicit ‘ranking’ that this brings, now might be a good point to discuss the relevance of vintage charts.

vintage charts

VINTAGES & VINTAGE CHARTS
Frankly I’m not a fan, not for burgundy anyway. Burgundy defies black or white vintage generalisations; 2004 versus 2005 is only a question of which shade of grey.

People still place too much emphasis on these vintage generalisations. Versus 20 years ago the ‘usefulness’ of vintage charts is on a lower order because the average quality has increased, aided by vintage conditions, the average standard of viticulture and the winemaker’s skill. Twenty years ago there were perhaps only 20 domaines that, year-in, year-out, could be relied on to produce something good; that number would now be over 100 and many people feel comfortable enough to follow the old tradition of placing a fixed order with their favourite producer(s).

Today, there are very few vintages that we should always run from – perhaps none in the last 20 years, though already hinted at, its been something of a ‘golden age’. Great wines have been produced in most vintages, it is only when you compare the relative number of such wines in each vintage that you can say one year was, on average, better than another or more successful in once place versus another.

Don’t for a second let me paint an overly rosy picture, there is still a lot of sub-good wine to be found – particularly when it comes to names on labels that you’ve never previously encountered – but a vintage chart will not protect you from a bad producer even in the greatest vintages. Some vintage charts will cover both the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits, but none will tell you whether a producer excelled or disappointed versus the average. This average (whatever it is) seems important to some people, but without a link to the producer you are interested in – it is flawed. Also note that someone else’s vintage interpretation maybe at odds with yours; perhaps they hate 2003 and you love it! That’s an easy thing to spot, but what about their ‘take’ on 2001 versus 2002?

Lastly, some people say that vintage charts are useful for choosing in restaurants, but as noted above the vintage chart will not help you with the specific producer on the winelist.

Another subject later…

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