The May issue is online for subscribers. Lots of new faces in this issue – and some old ones ;-)…
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sober, sombre reflection…
To take stock, it’s always better to take a step back – emotions can be raw in the first minutes / hours after such an attack.
My experience of the hail on Saturday was in the Place Carnot in Beaune. It started at 17h10 with heavy rain – then for 3-4 minutes there was hail too – big enough pellets to hurt, but modestly sized – say 1+cm in diameter. Of-course, it turned-out that was only the first wave. Fifteen minutes later it hit again, but this time the first notice was the hail, not rain, and this time the projectiles were the size of a 2 Euro coin – they can also damage your body as you can see below – the clusters on many vines had no chance.
It was a broad and prolonged attack – this year from Chagny all the way to Gevrey-Chambertin – but, once-more, it was that area from Meursault to Savigny that was most cruelly affected. The much vaunted ‘hail defence’ system was lit in Volnay 3 hours prior to the well-forecast storm-front, it was no defence in this case. To-date, the Mâconnais, Chalonnaise and Chablis rest largely untouched.
I received the following email from a grower, in Volnay, yesterday evening:
I found my email written July 23, 2013: Today, I can make a “copy and paste” because yesterday, June 28 2014, was once-more devastated by hail:
Just a little word of collective thanks for all the many people who bring us comfort by email or phone. And yes, this is the shit, we were again hit by hail on Saturday 28 June at 17:00. The most damaged vines are those of Pommard: Epenots, Rugiens, Clos Micault between 50 and 80%, Pézerolles 80-100%. In Volnay we are damaged between 40 and 80% – that’s my current estimate.
It is hard to take because we had this situation in 2001, 2004, 2012 and 2013. It is all the more disheartening because we had worked well, the vines were beautiful and indicated a normal harvest. All the green work was completed and the team was ready for the holidays.
We will reign-in all investments and business travel – everything that is not strictly necessary for our Domaine. As I am “an old fart” (a joke between my dad and me), I have no debt to repay or more cumbersome investments. So the goal is to preserve the financial equilibrium of the operation and eventually the dynamism.
Thank you all for your moral support and the awareness that we are surrounded by family, friends and clients.
Indeed, until the weather-front made its attack, the vines and clusters looked picture-perfect. Some growers were openly opining on the maximum that they would be allowed to declare at harvest – roughly 50 hl/ha for villages – very few will now need to make the calculations. The southern part of the Côte de Beaune was a little less damaged, likewise the Côte de Nuits – but there were also hailstones of 2-4cm diameter in Vosne-Romanée – the Clos de Vougeot and Romanée St.Vivant lost up to 25%, maybe more in Echézeaux. Much of the rest of Vosne lost more like 15%. We also shouldn’t forget; the hail hit in June, July AND August in 2012…
Three hours after the hail hit, was the ‘Elegance de Volnay’ dinner and celebration of the appellation. It began in subdued fashion, but in the end, the vignerons began pouring their bottles saying “Drink now – we might not have any wine in a couple of years…”
Another view from Scott Paul and Amanda Regan.
With thanks to Thomas Bouley, Vincent Latour, Anne Parent and Nicolas Rossignol for the following images:
Saturday morning…
Hail Defence?
how far are you going?
Santiago de Compostela.
Beaune still really is the crossroads of Europe it seems. In the hotel today I met a couple who were clearly on a walking tour – today they were walking ~4 hours to Chagny. But actually their final destination was a good deal further away – the Santiago de Compostela – in Spain!
Oh, and that’s not the closest part of Spain either!
Historically, Beaune was an important stopping-off point in many a pilgrimage and it seems that for some people, little has changed. The owner of my hotel has a special stamp for these people’s notebooks/routebooks to register that they were in Beaune. People start from as far away as Bonn or Strasbourg, she says. But normally they don’t do it in a single journey – they often choose to do three weeks per year, re-starting where they left-off the previous year. She did mention one man who left Beaune and was back 6 months later – he had been there and back in that time – but he still had a long way to go, in order to get home!
all change at l’arlot…
This was in the ‘post’ today. Lots of speculation about Jacques’ destination – some say Morey St.Denis 😉
Change of Technical Director at Domaine de l’Arlot: a smooth transition
After three very successful years at Domaine de l’Arlot during which he has contributed a great deal to the life of the property, Jacques Devauges has received a proposition to take charge of a another major vineyard in Burgundy which he felt he could not refuse. He will take up his new responsibilities in January 2015.
We are happy to announce the arrival of our new Technical Director, Géraldine Godot, who will be joining us at the beginning of September. This means that there will be a very smooth transition between Jacques and Géraldine as they will be able to work together until the end of the year, including the crucial harvesting and vinification period.
Géraldine Godot is originally from Burgundy, where she was educated and has spent much of her career. She graduated from Institut Jules Guyot in Dijon with a Master’s degree in Cellular Biology and Oenology and currently occupies the position of Manager and Oenologist with the Alex Gambal estate in Beaune. She has also had the opportunity to practice her English and Spanish during a stay in Chile at the Bodega Las Niñas. In addition to her technical missions, Géraldine will act as the Domaine’s representative in France and abroad as well as on site at the property.
“Jacques participated fully with me and Daniel LLose in the search and recruitment of his successor and I am happy to report that we were all unanimous in our decision that Géraldine Godot was the right person to take on the management of Domaine de l’Arlot. I particularly appreciate the fact that Jacques insisted on staying with us to the end of the year in order to ensure a smooth handover. I thank him for all he has done for us and wish him every success in his future career”, says Christian Seely, Managing Director of AXA Millésimes, owner of Domaine de l’Arlot since 1987.
Domaine de l’Arlot, situated in the Côte de Nuits winegrowing area, comprises notably two Nuits Saint-Georges 1er cru Monopoles vineyards: Clos de l’Arlot and Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges. Overall the vineyard covers 15 hectares of which 1.9 hectares are planted to Chardonnay, producing an exceptional white wine (Clos de l’Arlot) and 2.1 hectares planted to Pinot Noir. Clos des Forêts Saint-Georges covers 7.2 hectares planted entirely to Pinot Noir. Domaine de l’Arlot also owns 0.25 hectares of Romanée Saint-Vivant Grand Cru and 0.85 hectares of Vosne-Romanée, 1er Cru Les Suchots.
24 June 2014
weekend wine / monday weather
Some lovely wines at the weekend. Collet’s (Chablis) first vintage of Crémant is super and for a mere €8.40 from the domaine too! Gambal’s Dents du Chien is, you already know, a long-time favourite of mine. The 2011 is firmly in that traditiion – yum! Then, two from 2006, and they were super. The Morey is the most impressive aromatically with iron, mineral and cherry, the Vosne takes over in the concentrated sweet palate. A really super pair – 2006s seem in quite a good place right now – if these are anything to go by!
Today, I was early in the car, heading t the Côtes. Warm and sunny at 07h00 in Switzerland, it was sullen and cooler in Chassagne when I arrived – thunder-storms were forecast for today – the rain began about 10h15. Quite a lot of rain too – just what the dry vineyards would like – but it’s brought cool temperatures too, so hopefully less risk from storms later in the day.
Chassagne, looking to Puligny
Puligny, looking to Meursault
1962 chambolle-musigny
There were three of these in the auction lot I bought last year, the first had good colour, and a nice balance, but far too much oxidation to make a second pour. On Saturday night this, however, was different.
1962 Selection Banderole Grise (Caves Mövenpick, Suisse), Chambolle-Musigny
Again, very good colour – certainly nothing hinting at brown. The nose starts with a bit of funk, but 2 minutes later I’m in raptures – that almost sweetly textured old Burgundy note, a hint of truffle and fresh iron – you have to take a sip. That sip is not disappointing either; lovely freshness and good weight – there’s the merest suggestion of something oxidised but it’s on a very, very low-level. Slowly, over about 1 hour the nose becomes less sweet – there are raisins a little soy and slowly but surely more oxidation – but I’m pleased to say, never enough to stop me taking the next sip. There’s clearly a hint of volatility burning the inside of my nose – but hey, this is over 50 years old. Yum!
Rebuy – No Chance
mugneret-gibourg 2007 bourgogne
Well, didn’t I catch this on a good day!
2007 Mugneret-Gibourg, Bourgogne
Medium-plus colour. The nose – hmm – round, almost with a textured depth, it is redolent of Vosne – lovely stuff. In the mouth it’s also round, and with a comforting texture too. It seems far too concentrated for the label, show-casing ripe, tuffly, spicy fruit that might have you thinking ‘2009’ before you see the label, but there’s adequate acidity in this amazingly hedonistic glass. A super wine in any vintage. Excellent!
Rebuy – Yes
ever upwards…
I’m guessing that it’s not a good idea to hold your breath whilst waiting for lower prices 😉
At grand cru level, land sold for between $2.7m and $12.9m a hectare (2.47 acres) in 2013, the ministry wrote. The average per-hectare price rose from $5.2m in 2012. It has been rising steadily since 1996, when a hectare was selling for a relatively paltry $1.66m.
Source: Winesearcher
jon wyand’s window on burgundian complexity…
The complexity of Burgundy in just one picture – thanks to Jon Wyand. JNG, mentioned on the left of this image, is Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard.
