Random ruminations…
October 2003 The last report for this year and I’ve just a little time available for reflection. I started the year with the intention of doing a quarterly report, but halfway between issue 1 & 2 a sense of realism set in and I went for 3… Read More
Oaky Wine & En Primeur
Just in case you didn’t know, there’s a big problem with en-primeur tastings; Back in January 2002 the 2000 Grand Cru of Clos des Lambrays really stood out for me at a tasting organised by the UK merchant Howard Ripley. The problem is that the wines are sometimes… Read More
The 2024 Burgundy vintage & its wines…
It started cold: Right, Chablis Les Pargues January 2024…The greatest wines of this tasting campaign… The Podium, roughly alphabetically… Bachelet-Monnot – 2024 Etienne Sauzet – 2024 Perrot-Minot – 2024 Other Podium Contenders: Buisson-Charles – 2024 Boris Champy – 2024 de Montille – 2024 de Vogüé – 2024 Georges Noëllat –… Read More
The return of the Mark – Vosne 2024 – part 4
Domaine Michel Gros Vendange 2024 – Day 3, Monday 23rd Sept No more rain overnight with a dry, if grey and cloudy, day promised. Usual c6.30 start for breakfast – for me banana, dried apricots and a breakfast bar – all brought from the UK. Black coffee to wash down;… Read More
Mont Bessay – 2022
Tasted in Juliénas with Benjamin Rousset & Guillaume Marko, 21 February 2024 Domaine Mont Bessay 1405 Route de Bessay 69840 Juliénas Domaine Instagram The Domaine Mont Bessay is beautifully situated atop one of the highest hills of Juliénas – the Côte de Besset – with a wonderful view towards Mont… Read More
this week’s wines, including ‘Who is the new Domaine René Engel?’
Dinner with friends in Pommard and some lovely, eclectic, wines. The first bottle was a lovely 2011 Comtes Champagne – with some lovely menthol aromatic complexity. Then came the: 2012 Fontaine-Gagnard, Le Montrachet Deeper colour and the first nose was more monolithic – some sulfur-reduction hardening things… Read More
2000 Burgundy – en primeur tasting
Yes, you read that right – 2000 – only my second diary ‘post’ on this website – 20 years ago today (near-enough) with cameos from Jancis and Joanna Simon. I was happy with the wines that I decided to buy that year – if only three from… Read More
The 1998 Burgundy Vintage – 20 years on…
I have been so looking forward to tasting these 1998s. I cut my teeth of the wines of 1993-1995 and the 1996s were the first en-primeur wines that I bought. I tasted some 1996 and 1997s in Burgundy but only started to regularly taste from cask from the 2000 vintage… Read More
chästeilet, weekend wines (week 40 2018) and some happy producers…
#2017burgundyreport week 1 After my first full week of 2017 visits – see the happy, smiling, faces of the producers above – I returned home for a little relaxation: First there was my 10km Saturday morning jog from Lauterbrunnen up to Mürren with 960… Read More