Mighty Neighborly
We’re just in the door from six weeks of tours in the Veneto. It’s always good to be home, to get back to Burgundy. But our long absence means that a huge pile of mail and a long to-do list await our return. So we usually allow a few days to regroup before we announce to the world that... Continue »
Nov 3, 2014 at 2:44 PM
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Burgundy 2013
Burgundy 2013 was yet another small crop. The fourth in as many years. Some of it will be very good, in both red and white. But for some producers it was a disaster. As we always do, let’s start with a run-down of the weather conditions over the growing season (what the locals tellingly call ‘th... Continue »
Aug 1, 2014 at 3:03 PM
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Burgundy 2014: Early July
They always say not to count your chickens. And last week the aphorism hung heavy in the air. The violent hail storms that once again ravaged Burgundy, and pulverized (for the third consecutive year) the vines of Pommard and Volnay, broke the spirit of the region. Until then, a mood of optimism had Continue »
Jul 1, 2014 at 3:13 PM
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Burgundy Vicariously
I'm back in Burgundy after a great (albeit snowy) week in New England and a very fulfilling Boston Wine Expo. As we have been telling you for the past few weeks, we conducted a Burgundy seminar at the BWE. And it went off to great acclaim for a sold out room. The wines were drinking well and the mes... Continue »
Mar 1, 2014 at 2:58 PM
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Scarce, But In No Way Lacking
The 2014 Chablis Concours The 28th Chablis Concours took place last week (yes I am late in reporting on this…), as always at the BIVB headquarters in the Petit Pontigny in Chablis. This event has grown in competence and stature over the years, and is today one of the events in ... Continue »
Feb 3, 2014 at 2:46 PM
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Our Barrel from the Hospices
Nearly 2 months after the excitement of the annual wine auction at the Hospices de Beaune, we went to the Hospices’ cuverie to pick up our prized barrel. It’s a Volnay 1er Cru ‘Santenots’ Cuvee Gauvin (could you have missed our earlier posts?) and we’re as excited today as we were at the e... Continue »
Jan 21, 2014 at 2:56 PM
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Exceptional in Every Way
The 153rd Wine Auction at the Hospices de Beaune It’s always a wild ride. But 2013 was a white-knuckle experience. And Elden was there.... Continue »
Dec 21, 2013 at 2:40 PM
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From the Vine to the Vat
I was down in the Cote d’Or yesterday to see how the harvest finished and to smell that first whiff of fermentation. These past few weeks we have been hearing all sorts of reports from all over Burgundy.... Continue »
Oct 11, 2013 at 2:42 PM
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The New Phylloxera?
This post was scheduled to appear last month, but in light of the recent legal actions taken against Burgundy wine grower, Emmanuel Giboulot, we decided to wait to see how the case would develop. A recent NY Times op-ed piece about the situation and various support groups for Emmanuel Giboulot have ... Continue »
Aug 1, 2013 at 2:43 PM
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What a Surprise – Vintage 2012
Here in Burgundy last year at this time, the mood was dour. We were in the middle of a four month period of rain and miserable cold. Hail storms had machine-gunned huge swaths of the Côte de Beaune. And the threat of rot dangled over the vineyards.... Continue »
Jul 1, 2013 at 3:16 PM
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Much Ado
That was one nerve-wracking month of May! While we were down in the Veneto with our tours, Burgundy was deluged with a-foot-and-a-half of rain, turning the vineyards to mud pits. We watched from a distance as our winemaker friends tried to cope with conditions that teetered on disastrous.... Continue »
Jun 17, 2013 at 2:55 PM
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Easter Monday with the Borgeots
Lundi de Paques Those of you who have followed these posts in their various guises over the years know that Easter Monday at our house means that the Borgeots are coming. It’s become such a tradition that we don’t even have to 'invite' them anymore; they just turn up! Pascal ... Continue »
May 1, 2013 at 2:57 PM
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