Vintage 2016

big buds, birthdays and sad losses…

By billn on March 30, 2016 #vintage 2016

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Picture (crop) ex-Faiveley…

Since last Easter Friday we have seen all aspects of ‘life’ in Burgundy:

DSC09456First, something to celebrate! Today was the 80th birthday of one of Volnay’s great characters – Regis Rossignol (right), who I visited in February; he’s still going strong, indeed, as far as I can tell, he’s actually still making the wine. He loves nothing more than disappearing into the cellar find yet another ‘older’ bottle to discuss!

On the other side of the same coin we lost Bernard Dubreuil of Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine in Pernand-Vergelesses on Friday. He’d been unwell for a while but was seemingly in remission, that changed all too quickly. My thoughts are with his daughter Christine. Here is a fine image of Bernard from Jon Wyand.

Lastly, for today, pictures of the first vines with swelling buds were put out by Faiveley yesterday, from their vines in Mercurey. Actually I checked the chardonnay up and down the Côte de Beaune today, and many of the sheltered vines are in a similar state the picture (at the top), many bagettes are showing at least 2-3 buds swelling up. The chardonnay is much more ‘precocious’ so the pinot noir usually needs 3 to 4 weeks more, so don’t hold your breath for those!

all the seasons…

By billn on March 07, 2016 #vintage 2016

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Okay, perhaps not all the seasons – the amount of sun was a little more limited – but there was a little in Beaune today!

It seems bizarre that we have had 10-12°C for most of the winter, and then in the last days, flurries of snow – only a flurry this morning in Beaune and nothing remains. In the Côte de Nuits it was a little more than a flurry and all was white!

This time last year, it was more like 20°C…

Burgundy Report

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