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
Jane Eyre – 2017
Tasted with Jane Eyre in Bligny-lès-Beaune, 23 June 2018. Maison Jane Eyre Château de Bligny 14 Grande rue 21200 Bligny-lès-Beaune Jane Eyre (last year) on 2017: “It wasn’t so hard to get grapes in 2017. What has been hard is for a domaine in the last… Read More
the measly montrachet 2016 update – for #ChardonnayDay
Pierre Vincent of Domaine Leflaive, pictured posing with the amalgamated 2016 production of 6 owners in Le Montrachet – image from October 2017 I’m sure you all remember the story of the frost at the end of April 2016, it was particularly cruel on the Chassagne-side of Montrachet… Read More
new maps & saturday afternoon in the meursault sunshine
I love these maps – and now there are even more of them! To the right you can see the new ‘wider picture’ maps in the Beaujolais series, which now means that it’s a set of 19(!) – and they are all now in my greedy hands!… Read More
2017 harvest – 04 september
The Clos de Vougeot about 17h00 today. There’s a wave of new starters in the vines today and interestingly, a number of producers are noting that they are harvesting vineyards on exactly the same day as in 2015 – that will be a good comparison in the future. Read More
it’s (practically) here – burgundy’s 2017 harvest time – 3, 2, 1, go!
The weekend was stormy in many parts of France, some wine-growing areas had hail – Champagne for instance – fortunately none was reported in Burgundy, in fact many producers were happy to see a little rain. A few early pickers were already in the vines last week – Olivier… Read More
Some Côte d’Or & Mâconnais 2014 whites
Tasted in Beaune at the cuverie of Champy for the DIVA distributor tasting of 2014s – easily the best tasting, with the worst glasses! 23 and 24 March 2016, plus the ‘Tontons Trinqueurs’ tasting at the cuverie of Chantal Lescure in Nuits St.Georges, also on the 23rd of March. 73… Read More