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 Vintage Viewpoint (2003, 2004, 2005…)
2005 The question is not ‘good or bad?’, the question is ‘how good?’. Shortly after harvest the growers and winemakers were invoking many superlatives; 1999 but better, 1990 etc., etc. That some measure of indecision and revisionism was noted in recent weeks seems a little odd, that is… 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
The Class of 2002
The Class of 2002 – Grand Crus White and red, the 2002 vintage was very well-received on release; the wines were judged accessible but not facile, a high average quality was generated – and not only by our usual friends at the better producers. Never being afraid to grasp the… Read More
Profile: Domaine de l’Arlot (Premeaux)
What’s in a name? The l’Arlot is a small stream. It runs mainly underground, sourced from the hills above Premeaux-Prissey. The hills of this area were a prime source of stone for the region’s construction. Some quarries are still very much in operation, producing not just building stone but also… 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
09. A-Z: Burgundy appellations
Some describe the Burgundy region as the most difficult to understand. Could that be due to the mix of red, white, pink and fizzy wines and almost 700 appellations if you include their sub-appellations? Aloxe-Corton Auxey-Duresses Bâtard-Montrachet Beaujolais (& Nouveau) Beaujolais… Read More
05. Burgundy in context…
France accounts for approximately 11% of the world’s vineyards. Within France, Bordeaux is the king with just over 20% of the vines, second place is a close run thing between Cognac, the Rhône and the Loire, each having 12-13% of the total. In the next place is ‘Greater Burgundy’ with… Read More
02. History: The Long View
The history of ‘Burgundy’ is not just about the people who decided where to clear the land and what they should plant, it is equally about why the land should be so suited to the product of their labours. Hence, we can subdivide our history of Burgundy into two categories;… Read More