Our allocations of the 2020 Burgundies all follow the same trend: prices up, quantities down. A tiny crop (and even smaller 2021 vintage next in the pipeline) has forced winemakers to raise their prices, and truthfully we can hardly blame them – the wine has never been better, demand has never been stronger, and it costs about the same to…
We like to talk about wines that are just off the beaten path. Particularly in Burgundy, the best values can be lesser known wines just a few meters from the famous vineyards. But in most instances, famous vineyards are famous for a reason.
In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin called “Combottes.” It’s classified Premier Cru but surrounded on all sides by five famous Grand Crus, including Charmes, Latricières, Mazoyères, and Clos de la Roche.
In the last decade, red Burgundy winemakers have produced a remarkable string of terrific vintages. But even amid these successes – some hard won, others blessedly simple – the 2019 vintage stands out. William Kelley calls it “thrilling… simultaneously serious and immensely charming.” Neal Martin writes, “It is remarkable, almost irrational, how the finest 2019s maintain detail, clarity and tension…
Like other Old World winemaking cultures, Burgundians mix a healthy dose of superstition and wisdom in with their more modern winemaking practice. One oft-heard saying is that the best vintages end in “9” -- and while there’s little statistical basis behind this, the last century has produced a nearly unbroken series of “années neuves.”
The 2017 vintage in red Burgundy continues to impress. No one considers it a “great vintage” (stay tuned for 2019), but its accessibility and seductive texture makes it delightful early. The tannins are appealingly soft and the acidities relatively low -- it’s an approachable, early-drinking vintage that’s providing much enjoyment already. Or as Burghound puts it: “user-friendly.”
Earlier this week we tasted through Pierre Amiot’s lineup of 2018s. The new vintage is excellent -- full, ripe, and lush, but with bold foundation and plenty of material. The Amiots sent along bottles of 2017 to taste side by side, and the comparison was fascinating.
We’ve gathered the Ansonia team in Maine this week to taste through nearly 100 wines for the next two Futures issues. (We know, we know -- someone’s gotta do it.) By this point in the year we usually have a good feel for the vintage, having spent a week tasting in Burgundy -- but our cancelled trip means we’ve had…
Morey-St-Denis is a tiny Burgundian town, home to a mere 680 people. Forever ceding the spotlight to its two famous neighbors -- Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south -- Morey-St-Denis is nonetheless a source for exquisite red Burgundy.
The Clos de Tart is one of Burgundy’s greatest properties. The vineyard has had only four owners since the 12th century, and, unusually for Burgundy, has never been subdivided. Today the wines from this 7.5 hectare monopole start around $500 per bottle.
These days cellaring wine has become a rarity. Not all wines are meant to age, and indeed the wine world’s style continues to shift toward early maturity. But for wine that rewards patience, the transformation of bottle aging is nothing short of magic.
Jean-Louis and Chantal Amiot are a charming couple. Together with Jean-Louis’s brother Didier, they make wine in the tiny town of Morey-St-Denis, in the heart of Burgundy. They’re kind, warm, and welcoming; and they happen to be exceptional winemakers.
In a fast-paced world, cellaring wine has become a rarity. Not all wines are meant to age, and indeed the wine world’s style continues to shift toward early maturity. But for wine that rewards patience, the transformation of bottle aging is nothing short of magic.
Even by Burgundy standards, the town of Morey-St-Denis is small. With only 110 hectares of vines (0.4 square miles), it less than a quarter the size of neighboring Gevrey-Chambertin. Neither as elegant as Chambolle, nor as masucline as Gevrey, Morey is perhaps the prototypical Burgundy -- a melange of earth, fruit, wood, stones, forest and silk.
In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin called “Combottes.” It’s classified Premier Cru but surrounded on all sides by five famous Grand Crus, including Latricières, Mazoyères, and Clos de la Roche.