2017 Burgundy Vintage: A Follow-Up
Jeff did this great, early review of the vintage, which now seems prescient. Today and tomorrow only, the New York store is having an online sale on 2017 Burgundies, here.
A Natural Expression of Chablis
It’s really good! Open it and right away it’s absolutely and obviously delicious, with lots of fruit (even a vague hint of something verging on tropical), a touch of florality, crystal clear Chablis minerality, and bright acidity. All the elements of spot-on Chablis.
Top Five Wine Trends of 2020
We're breaking down the top five wine trends of 2020. From the coasts of Sicily and Greece to a top Burgundy vintage, from the west coast to the stellar Brunello 2016s--here's what we learned and what to look out for.
Burgundy Quality Levels: A Guided Tasting, at Home
Back in November, as a part of Flatiron Wines’ educational series, I hosted a class entitled ‘Burgundy: On The Level’. In it we discussed the levels of complexity and detail to Burgundy and its Crus.
To Burgundy and Back Again: 2018 Hospices de Beaune
Last year, on the third Sunday of November, the 158th annual wine auction was held at the Hospices de Beaune. People from all over the world meet in the historic walled city of Beaune, the "wine capital of Burgundy." It is a treasure trove of medieval and renaissance architecture. There are still ramparts and a moat and battlements, fortresses and castles of the Dukes of Burgundy and the royal fortress of the Chateau de Beaune built in the 15th century for King Louis XI.
Top Ten Burgundy Producers (That you can actually buy…)
I was recently looking for some guidance on what Burgundy producers to collect and I came across a Top Ten list online. It had some names I had heard of, like Leroy, DRC, Rousseau, Leflaive, Liger-Belair and the like. Great, I thought, I’ll just start filling my cellar with those wines!
Just kidding. Maybe one in a thousand of you out there have enough time and money to put together an all-star Burg collection like that. But the lesson for me is that we need a real top ten list.
2017 Burgundy: A First Look at the Vintage
What’s the big picture on the 2017 vintage? What’s the one thing I need to know?
At this point, most commentators are saying that they like the vintage very much. We’ll break that down for you in further detail below. It’s also a very abundant vintage. After nearly a decade of below-average yielding vintages, the Burgundians will actually have some wine to sell — the most since 2009.
Dispatches from Burgundy: June 2018
A new generation is shaking up Burgundy. Mathilde Grivot, Amelie Berthaut, Charles Lachaux, Charles Van Canneyt have all reinvigorated their family domaines. Then, there are a handful of new producers like Nicolas Faure, Armand Heitz of Heitz-Lochardet and Maxime Cheurlin of Domaine Georges Noellat. It's hard to believe that another incredibly talented class from the Lycee Viticole de Beaune are now seasoned veterans with many vintages behind them.
Don't miss out on the 2014 Red Burgundy Vintage!
2014 was one of those rare vintages in Burgundy that was equally good for red and white wines. Most of the hyperbole was directed to the fantastic quality of the white wines. Indeed it is true that from Macon, through the Cote Chalonnaise and in the great growths of the Cote de Beaune - even all the way up to Chablis - the 2014 white Burgundies were hailed by everybody as the greatest vintage since 1992 and so on and on. They are undeniably marvelous.
Pure Burgundies from New Star Chantereves
Chantereves is an absolutely brilliant tiny negociant in Savigny-les-Beaune. The Chantereves team is the very outgoing and charming – Tomoko Kuriyama and her shyer and more reticent husband, Guillaume Bott. Tomoko went to wine school in Geisenhem and became the estate manager at Freiderich Altenkirch in the Rheingau.
A Week In Burgundy With John Truax (Part 6)
Tuesday, November 17
I had to great fortune to be invited back to Becky and Russell’s house in Bouilland for another gala luncheon and a vertical tasting of Grivot Richebourg. Thanks to a generous Burgundy collector we able to taste every single vintage of Richebourg that Etienne Grivot has made. We had 20+ vintages on the table that day.
A Week In Burgundy With John Truax (Part 5)
MONDAY, November 16
I got up, made coffee, bought a croissant at the bakery across the street and I walked across Beaune. A gray morning, the clouds were low in the sky. Going to taste with the super talented Benjamin Leroux and two representatives of his NY importer. Ben was the winemaker at the great Pommard producer Comte Armand. Pascal Marchand was the regisseur, Ben was his assistant and then took over at the domaine. For several years Benjamin worked at Comte Armand in addition to running his micro-negociant. Last year he resigned from Comte Armand to work full time at his own business. He rents a fairly large winemaking facility not far from Bichot, Champy, Camille Giroud, Domaine des Croix, all in the center of Beaune.