Puligny-Montrachet: Village Profile
At the core of the white-wine-centric Côte de Beaune are Meursault & Puligny-Montrachet. Sadly for Chassagne-Montrachet and St.Aubin, and despite the quality of their wines – the former’s grand crus included – those two villages are often relegated to the afterthoughts of consumers. Meursault was, for generations, the most sought-after… Read More
a mix of 2004’s, late 2003’s and a hint of 2005’s
If I take a random selection of wines from good producers, then compare 2003 with 2004 then nine times out of ten, I prefer the 2004’s – and the more 2004’s I taste the more my impression is of a similarity to 2001 (for the sophistication of the tannins) but… Read More
Round-up of wines tasted
No slurping or spitting! No slurping and spitting; these wines were (in the main) really drunk, and mostly at home with food and friends between July 2005 and October 2005. … Corkwatch: 4 from 104 = 3.8% for ‘corked’ – best result for a while, apart from 2 being… Read More
12. Drinking the stuff…
If you are sufficiently interested, there is a significant body of blah, blah that you could read in order to augment your knowledge of the region and perhaps oil the process of buying of Burgundy. In the end, however, it all comes down to you, your glass and a bottle… Read More
08. The hierarchy of wines
Let us concentrate on the Côte d’Or: There are 4 potential ‘levels’ of wine which you can find in Burgundy, and one other that is interesting to discuss. Those levels are : Grand Cru Premier Cru Villages Regional An interesting topic to add, that I will finish with, is the… Read More
13. A technical glossary
11. The label…
How much information is locked-up in a label? Mise en Bouteille means ‘put in bottle…(by)’. We usually have plenty of additional information too – au domaine – means that in this case it was bottled by the owners of the vines.Variations on this theme could be: “recolte, eleve… Read More
04. How grapes get into a glass
In the Côte d’Or it all starts with the “ban de vendanges”… Actually that was until 2006 when the ‘ban de vendanges’ was discontinued. Since at least the 1400s, the ‘ban’ was the legal starting date of the harvest, specific to each appellation – you could wait to harvest, but… Read More
03. The grapes of Burgundy
Ex-BIVB, 2018 – it doesn’t include Beaujolais, but it’s a pretty image! The truth is out – Burgundy wine is not just red, it can be white or rosé, it can even be fizzy. Principally in ‘northern Burgundy’ it is about pinot noir and… Read More