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
Round-up of all wines tasted…
No slurping or spitting! This is a compendium of wines that were drunk with food, friends and family, between July 2004 and the end of October 2004. Corkwatch: 5 from 83 = 6.0% Regional Wines (8) Villages Wines (24) Premier Cru Wines (27) Grand Cru… Read More
A Vintage Viewpoint
2004 Producer, producer, producer. You hear it often enough but it will be crucial in 2004 – at least for the reds – here the vintage was much more challenging and is likely to be anything but homogeneous. The grapes had excellent acidity and ripeness but triage was the… Read More
If at first … etc. trie, trie & trie again
Just back from 3 days at the triage table, and it was great, good and oh my god in terms of the grapes. Where there was hail and rot we were discarding as much as 25% of what was brought in – and remember that there was already a rough… Read More
Profile: Maison Camille Giroud (Beaune)
UPDATE: November 2004 Maison Camille Giroud was founded in 1865 by the man of that name. Succeded by his son Lucien a reputation was built on wines that aged for years and years. The sons of Lucien; Bernard and Francois perpetuated this tradition, mainly buying in wines after their… Read More