Cellar Favorite: 1991 Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2018
Without a shadow of doubt, the 1991 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru will be one of the white wines of the year, epitomising everything wondrous about mature white Burgundy.
Priceless: Roumier Bonnes-Mares 1945 - 2015
France: Burgundy, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Sep 2018
Christophe Roumier is one of the most revered winemakers in Burgundy. His wines are coveted across the world. This article examines the history of Domaine Georges Roumier, Christophe’s techniques and focuses upon his flagship cru, Bonnes-Mares. Spanning no less than eight decades and over 30 vintages, this vertical tasting constitutes one of the most comprehensive overviews ever conducted, one that might never be repeated.
2017 White Burgundy: Quantity, Quality and Great Charm
France: Burgundy, featured
, Sep 2018
The largest white Burgundy crop since 2009 has yielded pliant, elegant, pure wines with considerable aromatic appeal and early accessibility, along with the balance and stuffing for at least mid-term aging.
Burgundy Northern Satellites: Irancy & Saint-Bris
France: Burgundy, featured
, Aug 2018
Irancy and for that matter, Saint-Bris, are like satellite appellations in a stationary orbit around Chablis. It takes little more than 10 or 15 minutes to drive from the centre of Chablis to either village, yet few make the journey or endeavor to taste the wines. But as prices in the Côte d’Or become increasingly prohibitive, alternatives such as Irancy and Saint-Bris become increasingly worth investigating.
Mirror Image: 2016 & 2017 Chablis
France: Burgundy, featured
, Aug 2018
Chablis has born the brunt of frost and hail in recent vintages and yet it remains one of Burgundy’s most exciting regions. With the spotlight on 2016 and 2017, how did growers cope with the hurdles that Mother Nature threw in their way and how is Chablis changing as a region?
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2018
Recently, my friend Dan Keeling, co-owner of “Noble Rot” restaurant in London, called to ask whether he should take a punt on a bottle of Rousseau’s 1985 Gevrey-Chambertin that had been perfectly stored since release. He told me the price. No denying it was extortion for a village wine...but not insulting. In the back of mind, I contemplated how well some of those villages performed at Tour d’Argent back in January. Why not give it a go? A few weeks later I met up with Dan and he generously popped open that very bottle. Thankfully it confirmed my view that grower and in particular, provenance, can transcend vineyard site and thereby save you a lot of wallet heartache. It was so divine that we both agreed that it cast doubt on the benefits of trading up to a Premier or Grand Cru.
Burgundy Under the Radar
France: Burgundy, featured
, Jul 2018
Aware that some Burgundy lovers might point out that they have known some of the growers included in this report since they produced their first vintage back in 1903, nevertheless, Burgundy remains a vast ocean of growers beyond the most famous names. Nothing gives me more pleasure than foraging for winemakers unknown to myself, or those that I have never visited. There are innumerable “under-the-radar” growers in Burgundy, and I use that term knowing that some oenophile’s radars are better than others. There is always one more grower that you have to visit around the corner. When it comes to Burgundy there is no full stop.
Plundering Burgundy Past
France, France: Burgundy, featured
, Jul 2018
Question: What do you get if you cross the best wine list in the world, mature Burgundy of perfect provenance, a party of Burgundy-obsessed hedonistic wine-lovers from the Far East, one patient sommelier, one Vinous scribe and four days in Paris? Answer: A journey through Burgundy at its finest and a reminder that humble bottles can turn out to be the most memorable.
Cellar Favorite: 1961 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grand Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jun 2018
I rarely encounter mature bottles of the most deified Burgundy on the planet. It took 15 years as a professional before I could claim to have imbibed Romanée-Conti that was not either prenatal in barrel or just bottled.
Mugneret-Gibourg: Ruchottes-Chambertin 1945 – 2014
France: Burgundy, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jun 2018
This magnificent vertical tasting of Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg’s Ruchottes-Chambertin - a remarkable and virtually unrepeatable retrospective - not only spanned almost the entirety of Mugneret/Mugneret-Gibourg’s tenure of the Grand Cru, but ventured further back to the Thomas-Bassot era.