A few articles of reasonable to great worth that I’ve assembled over the last week or two:

• revealed-why-your-pinot-noir-is-actually-a-pinot-blanc-or-was-that-a-pinot-gris
  Something to get your teeth into – but not too long…
• trouble-with-cellaring-wine
  Nicely observed!
• Tim_Atkin_MW:_Its_heating_up_in_Burgundy
  Given it’s short length, this can only be described as a hit and run piece, but that doesn’t make it any less thought-provoking. I’m reminded that Guillaume d’Angerville recently told me “Since 1905 I’ve made the 7 most precocious harvests of the domaine – all were in the last 15 years…“
• what-a-nyc-somm-learned-working-harvest-in-burgundy
  A great read – working at an equally great domaine!
• hthe-complete-guide-to-carbonic-maceration
  And why wouldn’t you find that useful?!

From a week where the first clouds are appearing (literally, not metaphorically) in Burgundy since, for like, weeks! Above, Chassagne village yesterday afternoon…

• the-glorious-burgundies-of-olivier-bernstein
  Olivier is always good value – though his wine prices are another question 😉 At least here you get some insight into why his prices are what they are…
• botrytis-control-gets-a-shake-up
  Shake it like a Polaroid picture! Hey ya!
• Minerality?
• chablis-has-best-vintage-in-twenty-years
  Of-course – they are talking about volume…
• chablis-2017-vintage-report
  Potentially interesting, as Tim seems to have a good handle on Chablis in general – his strength for Burgundy – but somewhat disappointing that there are only 81 notes available if you pay €85 for an annual membership, or more obviously pay €11 for one month if you want to get it all in one hit. Perhaps the paucity of notes reflects the early timing of such a visit? Or maybe the rest are all on Tim’s personal site…
• jane-macquitty-white-burgundy-without-the-price-tag
  For Jane McQuitty’s view of the 2017 vintage in the Mâconnais you fill find a free trial option…
• White-wines-of-Burgundy-collecting-guide
  Full of generalisms but also very nice pictures!

Looking over Volnay Caillerets today…

I’ve been collecting and saving these up over the last couple of weeks – I’ve lost a few too – I’ll take more care next time!

• examining-the-science-of-wineglass-shapes
  Of-course Jancis gets a star billing – I think I already have too many glasses to research further – I don’t break them often enough – that’s my main problem!
• montrose-owners-buy-into-burgundian-estate
  One has to hope that the new (part) owners will get direct input into the running of the estate – it’s a property with massive potential – despite the good intentions of the sons, the father is seemingly (to me) still quite dominant and seems set in his ways – let’s see!
• the-science-behind-decanting-wine
  An oldie but a goodie. I wouldn’t dream of decanting old wines – though sometimes make an exception for a reductive 30 year-old white – yes, that used to be a thing! But young wines of both colours, often bottled with too much CO₂ gas, plus sometimes a reduction will benefit no end…
• tastevinage-102e-edition
  The winning wines from the last Tastevinage blind tasting – I should have been there but had guests, so…
• chablis-the-purest-chardonnay
  A simple abc of Chablis…
• montys-2018-organic-biodynamic-audit
  I like this piece very much – another level vs the linked article on Chablis as there is detail, there are statistics and there is much to mull over – excellent!
• The effect of root exudates on rhizosphere water dynamics
  Actually, far more interesting than it looks at first glance – It’s not every day you get to reference Jethro Tull!⁽¹⁾
• foulee-des-vendanges
  I’m considering it – because it seems I have to drink Bouzeron rather than take on the Beaune Half-Marathon!
• global-warming-has-moved-burgundys-top-sites-uphill
  Well, one assumes that there has to be some effect – notably in the earlier ripening vintages, Hautes Côtes and other higher vines do very, very well – I’m still waiting for Romanée St.Vivant to best Romanée-Conti though – I think it may be a long wait for that one…

I note that this week the Henri Boillot 2017s offer has once-more winged into my inbox – almost one month after its first circulation. At first it looks the same – but then it’s interesting to note that the most expensive stuff is now all gone; no more Chevalier-Montrachet, Montrachet or Chambertin – the others are hanging on. From some very limited perspectives – the market remains strong – shame that’s only 0.1% of production…

¹ Tull J. 1762 Horse-hoeing husbandry: or, an essay on the principles of vegetation and tillage. London, UK: printed for A. Millar.
Google Scholar

https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/slander-by-one-of-your-bloggers/

Dear Ray,
I like that you engaged with me on the wordpress site – because it’s permanent – so 24-48 hours later you can’t delete everything, as has been your penchant on twitter or facebook for the last couple of years. I think the average ‘wordpress-smith’ couldn’t care less, but other audiences maybe more-so…

Your narrative seems to have evolved to the extent that everyone who criticises you, or your (previous) actions is a racist. So… I ask myself, and you:

• Was I racist when I gave my site to you (your fledgling business) as a platform? (e.g. here*)
  *You can find all Ray’s posts here.
• Or was I racist when I wrote a short, and positive, profile of your domaine and your wines following my first visit to taste, here?
• Or was I racist when I sent you, before publication, my article on the end of Maison Ilan? In which your interview comments are quoted in full – to which you never responded until, obliquely, now, 23 months later, that it was slanderous and racist…
• Or was I just a racist when I pointed to the long list of people who had parted with money but didn’t get the wine they ordered – by the way, in most countries that’s classed as fraud – or the long list of creditors, or the lack of rent payments, or the seizing of your wines, or the ensuing court case that you lost? – Is that when I became racist?

I will still refrain from name calling, or the discussion of any future ventures that you may be involved in, because maybe you have learned lessons(?) You can certainly take up your “that you incorrectly cited as not having a business rental agreement with Maison Ilan” with the Gouges family. It’s a quote from them – if they tell me different, I will change it.

You are right that, as described by you, Casey comes across as dealing with you in a highly unethical manner, I can’t comment of the legality of his actions. But your (very many) creditors will likely only see a small shark being eaten by a larger shark. That the larger shark got indigestion and came out of the process, seemingly, with nothing, probably only means that (with hindsight) like all your other creditors, Casey probably regrets having become involved with you during this period. Please, though, don’t blame Casey for customers never getting 2011s and 2012s (I won’t criticise you over delaying the 2010 Corbeaux) – after-all, his mythical million came in 2015 – your 2011 and 2012 customers should have had those wines delivered long before…

David Rossignol of Rossignol-Trapet, in his Gevrey 1er Combottes vines in May this year…

In case you missed it – because I did!

On June 20, 2018 the use of anti-hail nets was allowed by the INAO for vines producing AOC / AOP wines – but the word only started to drip out into the press this week.

The decision concerns “vertical single-row” nets that are placed on both sides of the vines. Such an approach was not just (previously) prohibited for wines of appellation, it was also criticized for its visual aspect or ‘lack of authenticity’ – there’s no denying the latter – but to have some grapes is better than to have none!

Following multiple vintages of heavy hail, the Confederation of Appellations and Winemakers of Burgundy (CAVB) obtained authorization in 2015 from the INAO to make a three-year study of anti-hail nets on thirty hectares of vines, dotted around Burgundy. The study of the INAO concluded that a net has “only a very limited influence on the mesoclimate of the vine and does not artificially or substantially modify the fundamental characteristics of the natural environment concerned – this type of equipment is therefore compatible with production in AOC.” There is one caveat; “the presence of the nets must be limited in time, so as to limit the effect of shading.”

“The results of this study showed that such nets did not affect the maturity of the grapes, the stages of development of the vine or the quality of the wines“, said Christine Monamy, of the Technical Bureau of the BIVB, which has participated in the experiment with the chambers of agriculture of the region.

The study done in Burgundy is valid for all appellations in France – so whilst each appellation can now use nets, each of the appellations must first apply to use nets – very French! Apparently some modifications to the nets have been requested by the INAO so it will take a little more time before you see a wider deployment.