offer of the day – william fevre 2015

By billn on March 31, 2017 #the market

Interestingly my last comparison with this merchant is 2008 (in brackets) I think – all the wines are cheaper now!

CHABLIS WILLIAM FEVRE CHABLIS 2015
CHABLIS Village 75cl 19.00 (24.00) Swiss Francs
PREMIERS CRUS – DOMAINE
CHABLIS Montée de Tonnerre 75cl 38.00 (39.50)
GRANDS CRUS – DOMAINE
CHABLIS Preuses 75cl 65.00 (69.00)
CHABLIS Bougros Côtes de Bouquerots 75cl 65.00 (69.00)
CHABLIS Les Clos 75cl 75.00 (79.00)

So these prices are lower than 2008, which itself was lower than 2007 – in Swiss Francs – though the euro is much weaker since then…
These are good prices, and whilst I still have some concern about Les Clos, I would have confidence with the others, all DIAM sealed…

viré-clessé celebrates its 19th spring ‘open-doors’

By billn on March 31, 2017 #degustation#events

If you find yourself with nothing to do over the Easter weekend – and are in easy traveling distance of Viré-Clessé – why not?

Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th April 2017, from 10h00 to 19h00, visitors can taste the wines of producers in Viré-Clessé in 29 cellars spread over the villages of Viré and Clessé. ‘Entry’ is €7 with the usual free tasting glass for the event plus a draw to win €1,250 worth of wine.

Enjoy!

strong prices @ hospices de nuits

By billn on March 29, 2017 #the market

Not to forget, just a few days ago we had the 56th auction of the wines of the Hospices de Nuits St.Georges – held this year at the Château du Clos de Vougeot.

Maître Daniel Herry, auctioneers from Beaune, were responsible for a sale that raised 1.157 million Euros, much of which will go toward the cost of refurbishment of the hospital in Nuits St.Georges. Given the frost of 2016, there were only 90.5 228 litre barrels in the sale – versus 120 barrels of 2015 auctioned in 2016 – also a low volume vintage. The average price, per barrel, increased by 14%, so proceeds passed the €1 million mark for only the second time and the total sum achieved was only €150,000 away from the record total for this sale.

beaujolais 2015 & the current market for bj…

By billn on March 29, 2017 #beaujolais#the market

My February 2017 report is now online, and it’s a 2015 Beaujolais-fest. 51 domaines and 355 wines – it’s also a great vintage!

In 2016, only 3 French regions experienced an increase in both their wine sales volumes and values; Beaujolais, Burgundy and Corsica. The crus of Beaujolais had 42% of their region’s sales volume and 54% in value. Beaujolais Villages (not nouveau) posted 6% of volume and 6% value growth, whereas Beaujolais (not nouveau) represented 11% of sales volume and 7% in value.

Whilst not my favourite appellation, even the Beaujolais Blanc and Beaujolais Villages Blanc continued to grow their volume and the Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages rosés – which I rate highly – increased by 7.2%. And then there’s Beaujolais Nouveau – whose sales volume is only a little less than that of the crus – even that label managed to grow its sales volume in 2016, albeit by only 0.1%.

At first sight this is a success story for Beaujolais but, unlike Burgundy, much of this growth has been bought – prices are really too low. Among the producers there’s a lot of fear about pricing, and dropping their prices in the face of buyers seems just a reflex action – whilst at the same time many producers see the cave cooperatives to be almost price-dumping. There are some price increases in the works for the brilliant 2015s, but often it amounts to 20-30 centimes per bottle – and the labels, corks, packaging and bottles have probably increased by more than that.

Having visited the magnificent ‘factory shop’ of Georges Duboeuf I have some sympathy with the price-dumping argument – how can a region ever drag itself from penury when it’s possible to buy a 2009 Fleurie off the shelf for €9? And Duboeuf is a long way from the worst offender!

le vins, le weekend, week 12 2017 

By billn on March 28, 2017 #degustation

1990 Penley Estate, Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
I thought that I’d broken the cork – it came out so easily – but no. The end of the cork, almost black and heavy with cassis – this wine seemed in good shape despite the cork. In the glass it wasn’t to be – the colour was relatively pale, and the nose was very spirity – I would have guessed an older, unsuccessful port. In the mouth even more so – yet without any overt oxidation! Such a strange wine, but with other options available, not one for drinking…
Rebuy – No

2014 Poulleau Père et Fils, Volnay 1er Chanlin
Medium, medium-plus colour. A nice freshness to this nose over a depth of cherry-stone fruit, slowly a  very pretty floral is visible too – good! Really wide in the mouth, like the nose fresh, with a growing intensity of direct flavour. The flavour is also redolent of the cherry-stones with a little oak accompaniment. Pretty finish. Not the most profound 1er but it tastes great…
Rebuy – Yes

2015 Selection des Vignerons, Moulin à Vent
The label: “Union des Viticulteurs du Cru Moulin à Vent, Caveau Moulin à Vent, in Romanèche-Thorins. “Picked from a 100 blind-tasted samples, this wine is made from manually harvested graoes. Fermented in full clusters and aged 11 months in stainless steel… A wine to age.” Sent to me as a sample by the Union des Viticulteurs de Moulin-à-Vent
Ooh – that’s dark. Domestic management had black nail varnish – the wine looks a similar colour – swirl and a dark colour adheres to the side of the glass. The label says 13.5% – wink, wink! The nose is deep and dark – not particularly fruity – perhaps a trace of sulfur. In the mouth this has not bad freshness and really a cassis style – very dark and mouth-watering fruit. This is as delicious as it is well balanced, with a super length of finish and it typifies the problem with very many wines from this vintage – it is a super vin de garde, but it is so delicious already that I’m not so sure that many will be guarded!
Rebuy – Yes

a lesson in pruning musigny…

By billn on March 23, 2017 #travels in burgundy 2017#vineyard pestilence

Eric Bourgogne of de Vogüé graciously gave me a lesson in pruning in Musigny today – it’s impressive the attention to detail that Eric has; quickly removing spare buds and generally tidying the ‘pieds’ and spotting the camouflaged caterpillars. I think it was probably a good idea that he never actually handed me the secateurs!

Two things to note as they come to the end of their pruning; despite the cold snap in January, -10°C doesn’t seem to have dissuaded the caterpillars (pictured) that eat the buds of the vine – in some plots Eric has rarely seen so many. Also I could easily see the difficulties of both pruning and training the vines due to last spring’s frost – not all, but close to one in 10, of the cordon trained vines (one baguette) are very difficult to train in the required directions. It seems much easier in the vines which have the double cordons – which is about two thirds of de Vogüés plantings…
 

a quick jog around town

By billn on March 22, 2017 #travels in burgundy 2017

One or two buds are pushing, but nothing close to bud-burst at the bottom of the Beaune 1er Crus…
 

Burgundy Report

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