The town of Beaune itself is built on and from the stone of the surrounding hillsides, many ancient quarries are still visible as you walk through the Beaune hillsides. The name Beaune possibly comes from Belen, the Celtic god or Belena, the small river that traverses the city. Read More

In March during the Grands Jours de Bourgogne I tasted a 2008 Beaune 1er from Domaine Pierre Labet and it struck me as one of the more interesting bottles, sufficiently so that I took the time to check a few texts when I got home. Only one had much to… Read More

From the Grands Jours in Burgundy at the end of March and organised by the association of négociants (Fédération des Négociants Eleveurs de Grande Bourgogne – FNEB) was a blind tasting of predominantly 2008 grand crus in the Château du Clos de Vougeot. For some reason a handful of… Read More

From the Grands Jours in Burgundy at the end of March, one of my favourite tastings. In the grand rooms of the Château du Pommard the local growers presented their young wines – as always there wasn’t time for me to get around the whole thing, but I think there’s… Read More

Some say Lavaut, some say Lavaux, both are allowed. I prefer the latter, and it also seems the most common form. At just a shade over 9.53 hectares and with well over 30 owners, it is not really surprising that Lavaux St.Jacques, the biggest of the Gevrey 1er… Read More

August 2012: The owner of the Château de Gevrey-Chambertin, Elisabeth Masson-Mitéran, died in November 2011 and her heirs subsequently decidide to sell. It is now ‘official‘ that the Château has been sold to Chinese investors. Ordinarily this might cause a few mutterings, but the temperature has been raised… Read More

I visited Domaine Comte Liger-Belair a little later in the year than has been my ‘tradition’, but this gave me the opportunity see the stunning ‘extension’ to the cuverie that has seen a crane dominate the Vosne sky-line for over 1 year. When you or I talk of an extension,… Read More