Olivier Merlin – 2021
Tasted with Corinne Merlin, 06 February 2023. Domaine Merlin 106 Chemin du Lavoir 71960 La Roche-Vineuse Tel: +33 3 85 36 62 09 merlin-vins.com More reports on Domaine Merlin I’ve tasted the wines of this domaine many times, but this was the first time that I actually visited their domaine… Read More
Becky Wasserman Hone 1937-2021
On Friday evening, on the US forum wineberserkers, I saw the notice of Becky’s departure from this place. I checked in on another UK forum that I visit and there was no mention. I started to type the news but having known her for over 20 years,… Read More
basking in the sun part 2… the 2021 frost…
Basking in the sun… Part 1 It’s still much too early to properly take stock* other than to say that the frost of April 2021 – a month not yet over – was both a rare and a severely yield-limiting event. You will have to go back… Read More
this week’s, pre-lockdown, 2019 inquisition…
A memento of some lovely visits and wines, pre-lockdown. My thanks for all the patience of these producers… (Report coming soon) Alphabetically (not pictorially): Bachelet-Monnot Chevrot Sylvain Dussort Albert Grivault Patrick Javillier Comtes Lafon Dominique Lafon Olivier Leflaive… Read More
Profile: Christophe Jolivet
Tasted in Bligny with Christophe Jolivet, 27 September 2018. SAS Christophe Jolivet 14 Grande rue Le Chateau 21200 Bligny-lès-Beaune Tél: +33 6 64 02 81 30 From the blind tastings I did earlier in 2019, there were some great wines from names that I didn’t… Read More
Harvesting the 2019s
Vendanges alert! So we can say that we are underway… It’s the whites that are being harvested first this year, as is probably the case in 19 out of 20 years. First, there were some very early pickers in the middle of last week, then the Hospices were picking some… Read More
The 2018 Burgundy vintage weather
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s not just about the harvest, there are many factors that can influence a harvest, going right back to the growing season and harvest from the previous year: October 2017 Many days in October exceeded the temperature of the second… Read More
The 2018 Burgundy Vintage – what we know in 2018 – and a few pointers…
Grand Cru Chablis – harvested later that day. This was my 15th consecutive harvest in Burgundy – triaging the grapes of multiple villages. I believe that this, together with questioning the winemakers, is the best balance of first-hand and third-party input required to comment on the vintage. Read More
home harvest day -1
Back to Beaune, and it’s a lot warmer here than it was in Bern! There has been a little rain in both the Côte d’Or and Chablis over the weekend, which will help with grape maturity. Over the weekend, and today, there were more producers jumping into the vines… Read More