Wein und Sein-Wine News

France, Burgundy: 2015 - The Merciful Vintage
31 December 2014. God is walking through the vines in Gevrey-Chambertin, attired in flowing diaphanous robes with large looped sleeves, hair coiffured into a Trump comb-over as He thinks it makes him look more... presidential. Mother Nature walks by his side, sparrows still twittering and circling around her tousled locks, sporting a cardigan knitted by Rudy Kurniawan as part of a prisoner rehabilitation program. It was sold as 100% wool but she is sure it’s polyester. He stops and turns to Mother Nature; takes a deep breath and makes an announcement.

"We've got to give these Burgundians a break."
This had been anticipated. The only time God requests her to walk with Him is when she is in trouble, for example, after inflicting a catastrophic hurricane or prolonged drought or purple rain. She’s been making hay with Burgundy winemakers since the 2011 vintage: a random devastating hailstorm here, an uncontrollable outbreak of rot there and then her pièce de résistence, the suzukii fruit fly that won her the award for “Best New Pest of 2014”. She was quite proud of that novel infestation, though God has already vetoed them for 2015, the spoilsport.
“Every year they pray for a clement growing season and then look what happens. It’s tarnishing my reputation. I’m supposed to be omnipotent. I am supposed to make the rules, apportion the fortune and misfortune. I’m being made to look as if I’ve lost control of life, the universe and everything..."
Mother Nature knows the answer and bites her lip.
“It’s not that bad,” she answers. “I mean, look what you did to Sodom and Gomorrah and all they were doing was having a good time...”
“Don’t get Old Testament on me,” He retorts, bottom lip trembling, comb-over blowing up in the breeze. “It is enough. We agree here and now that 2015 is going to be a vintage that the winemakers will look back on and smile. I want singing in the vineyards at harvest; bright blue skies, warmth and sunshine. I want cellars brimful of barrels. I want wines that get over 95-points in The Wine Advocate.”
“You can’t have it all,” Mother Nature replies. “Mankind had their chance for utopia back with Adam and Eve. She picked that forbidden apple. Had Eve left that apple alone, every Burgundy vintage would be a 1985 or a 2005, every wine would be 100-points.”
“That cannot be denied. But I implore you Mother Nature. Have mercy on the vignerons in 2015 and let’s agree that henceforth all those meteorological mishaps, the hailstorms and deluges and grey rot will be minimal.”
Mother Nature turns and smiles. Remaining tight-lipped she simply holds out her Henna-tattooed hand for God to shake...
Later that evening it is Heaven’s New Year office party. As usual, God fell asleep after half a pint of ginger beer, His snoring audible from under a pile of coats dumped in reception. Buddha has already called him an “Uber” to take him home. Party poppers arc across a dance-floor packed with inebriated saints dancing to Tavares’s disco classic “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel,” which is actually true since Gabriel went AWOL with Gadreel some time ago. Satan is sitting on the photocopier printing copies of his backside. He plans to send one copy per day to Jesus to wind him up.
The upstairs office, where the universe has been run since the dawn of time, had closed down earlier in the day. All is silent as snow begins to fall outside. In the darkness, a black-clad figure tiptoes between desks, like a winged ninja with sparrows silently encircling their head. They open a terminal and enter a stolen passcode to access an Excel spreadsheet that organizes mankind’s misfortune for the next 12 months. Bugger – 2015 has been locked, so they try 2016. Bingo! They find the Burgundy growing season spreadsheet and tick “hailstorm” where it had been left blank, ticks it again for a double dose.
Frost?
Ain’t seen that since 1981. Tick.
Widespread grey rot? A large tick.

And so for the next few minutes, with power and malevolence roiling in their head, the 2016 growing season is rendered so stressful that any winemaker who survives until September is going to wish they could skip the next year. Now getting carried away, they open another file and randomly tick numerous beloved celebrities and national treasures, now marked for “death”: Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen and countless more. That’ll keep the Grim Reaper busy. Then as a joke, they switch the Brexit result and for a laugh, type “Donald Trump” in the black space reserved for the winner of the next US election. They close down the computer leaving no trace of their meddling and with sparrows now re-tweeting, rejoins the partygoers ironically dancing to “Heroes.” They’ll be a few less of those by this time next year.

The Growing Season
Compared to the stürm und drang of recent vintages, the 2015 growing season was relatively benign and certainly far less stressful than those seasons mercilessly machine-gunned by hail, bogged down by rain or plagued by rot. Only those winemakers whose vines reply to the word “Chardonnay” and not “Pinot Noir” might have suffered some anxiety in 2015, as they contemplated how they could obtain sufficient acidity during such dry and warm conditions. The red winemakers felt relief that they got through the growing season unscathed, especially those in Volnay and Pommard who have suffered their unfair share of woe. So let us examine the 2015 growing season in detail. Here, you will find a global overview, but of course, nearly all the producer profiles included within this report offer individual perspectives.
If 2015 is going to be remembered as a dry growing season, then firstly we must look at the winter months to gauge how well subterranean reserves were replenished. Analyzing the figures of Météo France, precipitation was just about average in January, but dropped to below average in February and March, in particular the latter. The crucial month was April when just over 60 millimeters fell, not a huge amount but thereafter average rainfall would be well below the mean. Another factor to consider early in the season was that it was never particularly cold. I visited a couple of times in those months and I cannot remember visits where my fingers began suffering frostbite. Winemakers seek cold snaps during some period of winter in order to kill off the bugs and viruses that can infest the vineyard when warmer climes arrive. It never really became sufficiently cold for this to happen and so had 2016 been a wet growing season, this might have led to problems down the line. The vegetative cycle got a kick-start from a sudden increase in temperature on 5 April, so that mi-débourrement or mid-budding occurred in the middle of the month, the same as in 2009. May was warm, especially the first half of the month. There were localized hailstorms the 20th around Saint-Aubin, Blagny, Marsannay and up in the Hautes Côtes, although it was too early in the season to cause any significant damage unlike in 2016. The beginning of June was also warm and flowering was quite rapid, mi-floraison (when 50% of the flowers are open) recorded on 4 June in the Côte de Nuits, three of four days earlier than the 1994-2014 mean. Basically, winemakers were being set up for an early harvest and indeed, many that I spoke to circled a late-August date on the calendar for picking. This came to pass for some white winemakers and a handful of red. Fortunately June passed without the devastating hailstorms that had ripped through the region in previous years, although I remember many being on tenterhooks at the time, as I think they will be for many years. Also, consider that some vines have been so traumatized in successive growing seasons that they are not operating at full potential. Their convalescing may take time.
What happened in 2015 was something quite different to unannounced devastating hail: a sustained period of warm and dry weather interrupted by occasional showers. To put some figures on that, June, July and August were 1.8° C, 2.5° C and 1.2° C higher than normal in the Côte d’Or, while the number of days when the mercury rose above 30° C was 2.5 times the average. Average sunshine hours were some 13% above normal between January and September and indeed, the city of Dijon experienced its driest July since 1890. What makes this different to 2003 is that there were no heat spikes in 2015 that would have accelerated the berry maturation. This constant, what you might call “simmering” heat enabled growers to stay on top of things, relieved that the dry conditions maintained healthy sanitary environments in the vineyard with just two things to worry about.
Firstly, there was widespread pressure from oïdium or powdery mildew. This was more acute among old vines and sensitive sites, and figures show that the pressure was recorded in around 34% of parcels at the end of June. As Cyrielle Rousseau at Domaine Rousseau pertinently reminded me, she would rather have oïdium than grey rot caused by wet conditions, because at least oïdium is treatable by use of SO2 in the vineyard. However, as two or three growers mentioned, the timing of application is important because at temperatures above 30° C, it is less efficient and can actually burn the grapes if used excessively. The final result was that while it was a threat, it mostly remained just that—and by harvest it only affected small pockets of vine. Secondly, there was grillure or sunburn. Vines do not have sunglasses to protect them, although they do have foliage, so managing the canopy carefully could be important in affording bunches some shade. Growers seemed divided. Some admitted that grillure was a problem and was the only thing that really needed to be sorted during harvest. Since it only affects one side of the bunch, it is fairly easy to snip off a few shriveled berries. It was not a huge deal in 2015, though it was much more important in 2016.
More important, this long and dry period was broken by brief rainfall. The main one was on 12-13 August. You could view this as almost saving the vintage, because many growers reported signs of vines suffering hydric stress—a few leaves turning brown and blocked maturation. This downpour unblocked the retarded maturity cycle, gave the vines a much-needed shot in the arm, ensuring that they had just enough reserves to see them through to harvest. Of course, this means that terroir comes into play. Clayey soils would be able to hold that moisture better than sandier or more gravelly soils; also, the orientation of the vines would come into play in terms of evaporation. You must factor in those that use cover crops in between vine rows. Gregory Gouges at Domaine Henri Gouges explained how this was to their disadvantage in 2015 as those wild grasses diverted moisture away from the vines. He consequently lost 10-15% of his potential harvest. You start to see some divergence between one vineyard and another, rendering the 2015 season more complex and less uniform than you might presuppose. Thirdly, vine age will also determine how well they coped, since the older will have deeper roots to eke out moisture further underground.

The Harvest
So harvest beckons and here we reach perhaps the most crucial point, the pivot upon which growers’ fortunes rested. When to pick? Most winemakers confessed that choosing the right day caused them sleepless nights. Some predicting a late August picking went into the vines for a last minute inspection and found that the berries had not reached phenolic ripeness. There was no option but to delay the harvest for another few days, though not too long, because it remained hot and dry. Sugar levels would shoot up and most recognized the danger of picking even a couple of days too late (subject to each individual parcel). It’s not often spoken about, but it complicates the logistics. Persuading pickers to curtail their August vacation and arrive at the vineyard early, then postponing the harvest means that they will simply look for work elsewhere and hey, presto, you have lost your team. You will find exact picking dates for nearly every grower included in the report and they make for fascinating reading. It was almost a case of three different harvests according to when you fired the start gun. While these dates are very important in terms of understanding the vintage, don’t treat them as gospel. Remember that they are complicated by the diversity of vineyard husbandry, terroir and grape varieties, so if you own a bunch of warm vineyard sites you are wise to get out there earlier than cooler sites—i.e those at higher altitudes such as Saint-Aubin and Meursault-Blagny, and in valleys where there is descending air, such as Lavaux Saint-Jacques or perhaps Les Evocelles in Gevrey.
(Pictured left - I snapped a few images of bunches just before the 2015 harvest at the end of August. Sunshine - check. Healthy bunches - check. Deep colour - check. Dry conditions - check.)

Lights, camera, action! I snapped this when Christophe Roumier's picking team was interrupted by a baguette that I was munching away on the wall overlooking Chambolle Les Amoureuses. Christophe is in the centre of the shot in the maroon-coloured t-shirt.

One small statistic that I gleaned and perhaps one that might be overlooked... It is easy to assume that the warm conditions would inevitably lead to a continuous loss in acidity levels, in particular malic acid and a rapid accumulation of sugar. Fair enough. That’s Nature. Records show that malic acid average only 3 grams per liter by the end of August, while head winemaker Frédéric Barnier reported figures as low as between 1-1.5 grams per liter at Louis Jadot and François Millet one gram per liter at de Vogüé. However, I did notice that total acidity levels in Chardonnay seemed to stop decreasing around 30 August and actually increased slightly. This corresponds to a leveling off of sugar levels at the same time within the Côte de Beaune, whereas others in the Côte de Nuits continued to increase. It might be that towards the end of the cycle, the conversion had just naturally run its course. It could be these last few days are the factor that rendered some Chardonnays better than anticipated.
The harvest took place in idyllic conditions and I know that because I was there at the time. On one blissful, hot afternoon I decided to eat my baguette (jambon buerre – 95 points) on the wall overlooking Chambolle Les Amoureuses. There was not a cloud in the sky. I was in a t-shirt and shorts. All of a sudden the tranquility was rudely interrupted when a troop of young men and women pulled up in their minibus and streamed into the vines with buckets on their back. Who the hell was ruining my peaceful lunch? It was l’equipe Christophe Roumier. I could have offered to assist, but my baguette was too delicious. I am relating this story because at the time, I noticed how the pickers were in such high spirits. Again, it is a subject not often touched upon, but they can easily become dispirited when they have to conduct their backbreaking work under inclement conditions and of course, it will affect the quality of fruit that ends up in the vat. In 2015, especially in the first ten days of September, everyone had smiles on their faces, which meant they were working efficiently and effectively. And that’s important, because there was a storm on the horizon.
The fly in the ointment (not literally, those drosophile suzukii took a year off) was the rainfall. I have to thank Cécile Tremblay for her exact timing: 12 September at 4pm, apparently 30 minutes later than the forecasters had predicted. The heavens opened—this was a heavy downpour, not a refreshing shower, 80 millimeters or thereabouts. Now, the growers that picked before the rain went: “Phew, glad I picked before the rain.” Those that had not finished picking went: “Meh, it was no big deal.” Those that hadn’t picked at all went: “Hmm, better wait a bit.” There is one theory that after such a dry period, the parched vines slurped up all that water quickly, which risked inflating berries and diluting the sugar. But hold on a moment. Some were complaining that the sugar levels were excessive anyway, so maybe they could be beneficial? Christophe Perrot-Minot is one who felt that rain rebalanced his vines and its fruit. Nicole Lamarche at Domaine Lamarche had read in one of her mother’s old winemaking books that rain could reduce acidity (to be honest, not sure how that works, though I could understand why it might enhance the perception of acidity). So you can see how this rainfall split the vintage intro fractals and created more divergence apropos picking dates. You have your early birds at the end of August, intent upon preserving acidity. You have your mid-range pickers in the first ten days of September who saw no reason to wait too long, but didn’t want to rush. You had you late-risers that felt that the hang time needed to be extended in order to achieve full ripeness.

The Vinification
Once you had decided when to pick, I guess the next question was that famous Shakespearean line: “to de-stem, or not to de-stem.” Given such healthy fruit, you will find that quite a few growers opted to increase the amount of whole bunch, because: a) it’s cool; b) the stems had fully lignified in the warm conditions; c) the fruit was healthy; d) it can add complexity to wine; and e) Domaine de la Romanée-Conti does it. (Pictured - Bertrand de Villaine with archangel Gabrielle who organises my 100+ Burgundy visits). Even growers such at Tollot-Beaut, who historically de-stem tout, chucked a few stems into the vat in 2015. The stems could lend freshness to the wine, which was necessary in warmer sites, although you had to watch that they did not increase pH levels. They had to be managed carefully and I will commend Burgundian winemakers, because in 2015 I thought nearly all of them considered carefully about when and how much to add. Alcoholic fermentation passed normally, although there were adjustments with regard to the maceration, many growers reducing pigeage and preferring remontage, since it is gentler. There was no need to force extraction because the color, aromas, tannins and flavors were leeched so easily. Sylvie Esmonin remembered how her hands were dyed violet when she crushed berries in her hands, as if permanently stained. Some preferred to go as gently as possible and if necessary, extend cuvaison, such as Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, while others conducted a shorter cuvaison. You had to be very careful. One common feature of 2015 was a very low juice to skin ratio, which made it tempting for some to add more pressure to eke out precious juice. These decisions made critical differences in the wines. Some growers seemed to over-extract and render their wines unnecessarily hard—it is one pitfall of the vintage.

The élevages seemed to pass normally, , the sanitary conditions of the grapes meant that a few growers felt that they could reduce SO2 levels, for example David Croix at Domaine de Croix (pictured squatting in front of the soil profiles that occupy his vineyard) and Michel Mallard at Domaine d’Eugenie to name but two. That’s not to say that they are signing up wholesale to the natural wine movement, rather dabbling with some of their tenets...just to see. Most have been pleasantly surprised by the results. David also mentioned another curious but beneficial aspect: during malolactic fermentation the pH levels normally change as malic converts to lactic acid, however there appeared to be very little movement, partly because of decent levels of tartaric acid. There are some growers that decided to intervene anyway and blocked the malolactic fermentation or add tartaric acid, an anathema to some and a perfectly natural practice for others.
The final decision is when to bottle and again, here there is a divergence of opinion. Some wanted to capture the freshness and felt that they would not lose anything by bottling before the 2016 harvest. Others insisted upon a long élevage, because many argue that the complexity really comes during the second winter in barrel—a view that personally I am inclined to agree with, though it’s not passim. This applies to both whites and reds. Of course, there is a higher proportion of white winemakers that saw no benefit in keeping the wines in barrel after the following August/September, though on reflection I feel that most decided to wait a few months and allow some resting in stainless steel vat before bottling. Finally: closures. There is a growing trend towards alternative closures and especially the white wines that have suffered premature oxidation. I reported during my tastings how Domaine Leflaive have bottled all their 2014s under DIAM and all vintage henceforth, likewise Domaine des Comtes-Lafon. With such high profile growers accepting alternatives to natural cork, it serves to reduce the stigma attached to them, so it wouldn't surprise me if more producers, especially those with low value, entry-level whites, also adopt the practice. At that level, they certainly have my support.

How The Tastings Were Conducted
My simple rule is that all barrel samples must be tasted at the domaine. This means I forego the annual round of Burgundy tastings in London every January. Although I support them in terms of allowing consumers to taste the wines first-hand, a majority of winemakers admit that adding SO2 to samples, transporting them to another country and then serving them in often noisy, crowded venues renders them different to how they show at the domaine. At least there you can take your time, discuss the crucial context with the winemaker, go back and re-taste from another barrel in quiet, peaceful conditions.

If you want to author a proper report then I am afraid there is no comfy tasting room whereupon Aubert de Villaine says a cheery “Bonjour!” before dropping off his samples of La Tâche with a back-up just in case. It’s not going to happen. If you want to review Burgundy then don a pair of warm gloves, get used to plonking your laptop on an upturned empty barrel, get ready to breath in spores of white mould and get ready to work from dawn to dusk. All that effort is worth it. It’s the one report where the winemakers’ commentary is fundamental in what remains a complex, parochial, capricious wine region. So please spend time reading the producer introductions because you’ll hopefully find a lot of useful information that gives vital context to the tasting notes and attendant scores.
For the past two years I have devoted 5 weeks tasting in Burgundy. Thankfully, my Burgundy assistant, the archangel Gabrielle (pictured above chatting to Aubert's nephew, Bertrand de Villaine) arranges over 100 visits to growers and this report would not have been possible without her help. Even investing that amount of time, curtailed since I had to attend the Matter of Taste even in the Far East in early November, there are still 20-odd growers that I have to visit in early 2017, including regulars such as Jean Tardy, Remoissenet and Antoine Jobard that fell foul of there being just 24 hours in a day. In addition, some winemakers such as Pierre-Yves Colin, Jean-Marc Roulot and Lalou Bize-Leroy specifically requested for me to come next year. In any case, I always spread the tasting across pre- and post-New Year and it is the same for this vintage. So expect more notes in February or March.

The Wines
I will present my conclusions in bullet point format:
1)   Make no mistake, 2015 Burgundy is a great vintage, although quality firmly resides with the red wines instead of the white. This is because while Pinot Noir profited from such a benevolent growing season, the warmth deprived much of Chardonnay with the nervosité and crystalline quality that made the 2014 whites so outstanding.
2)   However, it is true that despite melodramatic warnings of negligible malic acid levels, some whites have much better acidity than expected for reasons explained in my growing season summary.
3)   The best white wines come from favoured sites at high altitude, such as Saint-Aubin and Meursault-Blagny, or those lying on limestone soils. I did notice that growers dedicated to Chardonnay tended to be more consistent than larger growers or négoçiants managing large portfolios of white and red. In particular, Saint Aubin is blessed with some outstanding growers such as Olivier Lamy, Damien and Joseph Colin (Domaine Marc Colin) and Benîot and Baptiste Bachelet (Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet), not forgetting Domaine Bachelet-Monnot down in Maranges (the brothers pictured with their father). These three producers offer some of the best white 2015 Burgundies.

4)   The reds are generally very good in quality, exceptional in some instances, although it is not a uniform vintage. The fruit is both red and black depending on picking date. The later you picked, the blacker the fruit and less Pinoté you might find. Much of the fruit is quite precocious due to the warmth of the growing season, often counterbalanced by good levels of acidity and freshness. There are instances of over-ripeness and excessive alcohol, although not to the extent that I anticipated. Most growers seemed to pick at the optimal time, largely because the high sanitary conditions of incoming fruit meant that they were not slowed down by having to sort incoming bunches. Alcohol levels are above average, however, unlike in 2003, there is less blowsiness, unwanted warmth or volatility in the 2015s
5)   In the Côte de Nuits, the wines in Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanée tend to be more comfortable with a warmer vintage, since stylistically they tend to be more rounded and opulent. Musigny, Bonnes-Mares and Chambolle les Amoureuses are quite brilliant in 2015, ditto Romanée-Saint-Vivant and among the Vosne Premier Crus—Les Suchots. Both Domaine Jean Grivot (Etienne and Mathilde pictured on the new rooftop terrace overlooking the village) and Domaine Sylvain Cathiard knocked the ball out of the park with a stream of stunning 2015s. Nuits Saint-Georges is one of those appellations where I think growers are crucial, so head for Robert Chevillon if you seek succulent fruit and body, Henri Gouges if you prefer your NSG more austere and structured, Domaine d’Arlot for nervous energy. Gevrey-Chambertin is very fine, partly because there are so many top-performing growers and as I have said, particularly in Ruchottes-Chambertin, Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze and higher village/premier crus, such as Les Evocelles. Morey-Saint-Denis was a little more inconsistent as it tends to be more masculine and structured, and this occasionally jarred against the type of wines that the growing season dictated. While I have not been alone in my criticisms of those in Clos de Vougeot content to churn out average wines that trade on the name and reputation, in 2015 I was pleased to discover exceptionally strong wines, some of the best that I have encountered in recent years. Of course, I do not have access to the dozens of Clos de Vougeot produced, but those that I did taste made a strong and positive impression.
6)   Now to the Côte de Beaune. The rise of Corton continues! The wines here are far superior than ten years ago and many growers are finally producing wines with more fruit purity, terroir expression and finesse. Since the wines do not have the cache as other grand crus further north, they do not carry such a high premium and could be well worth investigating once prices are released. Astute buyers will be opening the wallets in this direction. Some wines tended to be a little more affected by the warmth lower down the incline in Aloxe-Corton, Savigny-lès-Beaune and Chorey-lès-Beaune, though the best growers overcame that and produced some gorgeous, succulent, fruit-driven wines that still express their terroirs. Pernand-Vergelesses also produced a raft of very fine 2015s and those remain great value. Similarly, this is a great year for the appellation of Beaune, which tends to be overlooked by cognoscenti, partly because it does not quite have the same definable identity and partly because of a lack of superstar growers. However, there is great terroir overlooking the namesake town and Beaune provided a strong area for many négoçiants with larger portfolios to with which to contend. Head for well-known premier crus such as Les Grèves and Clos des Mouches.

7) All hail Pommard! No...no...no...that’s not the appropriate expression. What I mean to say is that after being plagued by hail in recent vintages, it was such a pleasure to be reminded of the greatness of Pommard and one of two sages commented how these wines represent what Côte de Beaune should be. You could see smiles on winemakers’ faces when they told me that they could release a Pommard, in many instances for the first time since 2011. The 2015 vintage is one to remind yourself of why Pommard stands tall and this year, the structure and backbone perfectly complemented the warmth of the growing season. Check out Anne Parent, Domaine Joseph Voillot, Domaine Comte Armand et al. Conversely, while I am a huge fan of Volnay, there were times when its intrinsic voluptuousness and fruité served to tip the wines over into over-maturity, and occasionally I did find some slightly volatile and alcoholic wines. That should not detract from some brilliant 2015s from its best growers, such as Marquis d’Angerville and Michel Lafarge, the latter producing a raft of spellbinding wines that could become benchmarks for this multi-generational family. Also a nod to Thomas Bouley, pictured in his new winery, who is making exciting wines and also, according to my female friends, is a bit of a "looker".
8) In 2015, the Burgundy hierarchy of generic, village, premier and grand crus is not necessarily followed to the letter. For example, some cooler village cru sites had an advantage and so keep you eyes peeled for growers’ Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles. Similarly, terroir comes into play. Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice might lie on the “wrong” side of the RN74 however, it’s limestone soils gave the wines better pH levels. Perhaps I was expecting a little more from generic red Burgundy wines although several upped their game and sit comfortably at village cru quality (though I found too many Bourgogne Blanc too tropical and missing sufficient energy and tension.)

The Market
Prices for 2015 are going to go up. It’s just a question of how much...
It is not an exaggeration to describe the Burgundy market as “crazy”, to wit, a miniscule and (unless you're Rudy) finite supply that doesn't have a hope in hell of slaking ever-increasing global demand. It is the type of demand that makes Burgundy different from any other region. The clamour for wines perched at the summit of the Burgundy pyramid is frenzied, fuelled not only by quality, but by dint of rarity and reputation. Wealth does not guarantee you a Musigny from Christophe Roumier or a Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury – it’s connections. The result is insatiable demand for the top six of seven names and then it gradually peters away as you expand the number of growers. Ironically, it is an inverse reflection of a region whereby more and more growers are improving. I hope that eventually interest in Burgundy will been more evenly spread across both appellations and growers. The Far East has certainly got the bit between its teeth when it comes to Burgundy, and thankfully cognoscenti that I meet myself have astonishing understanding about the region, notwithstanding that they appreciate the noble ritual and common sense of allowing them to achieve bottle age. The question that I am constantly asked... “What is the next big thing? What should I be buying?” In the last couple of years growers such as Pierre Duroché and Amélie Berthaut have suddenly come to prominence and demand has shot up almost overnight – and here, yes, mea culpa, the publication has played its part - totally justified given the quality of wine.
What it means is that Burgundy is no longer the region where growers become renowned over time, there’s no slow-burn or accruing of kudos. Growers, particularly young growers, can be thrust into the limelight with a couple of good reviews and almost by word-of-mouth, acclaim and demand spreads. On the one hand, we can speculate the eventually there will sufficient numbers of feted winemakers to democratize demand, pluralize names on shopping lists. The trouble is that quantities are so small, vintages so depleted by hail or poor flowering etc. that personally I cannot see exactly when that could happen. Somebody asked me whether Burgundy might one day return to the days when it was regarded as wine for those who cannot afford Bordeaux? Without hesitation, I replied “No.”
What does that mean? It means that the stratospheric price for Burgundy is here to stay and as much as it disquiets winemakers, they had better get used to it. Following depleted and sometimes negligible quantities in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, the relative abundance in 2015 come as some relief. However, it arrives in the shadow of horrendously diminished quantities for 2016 and inevitably prices for 2015 will have to increase not only to cover the historic shortfall, but the future one (even if several informed me privately that they would cap any increases to 10%). By "future" I do not refer only to 2016. The loss of confidence in future production induced by a succession of traumatic growing seasons means that this loss of confidence with respect to yields and income stretches far beyond next year. More often than not, this is not a case of a winemakers ruing that they cannot afford a new Mercedes or second home this year. Fact is that some smaller winemakers are facing serious liquidity issues. The have huge capital in terms of expensive land yet little cash jangling in their pockets. Some grand crus have reportedly sold for around Euro 5 million per hectare, an eye-watering figure that did not prevent recent land transactions in Bonnes-Mares and from what I hear, Echézeaux. Yet some cash-strapped growers cannot afford enough new barrels. Some have had to lay off workers. More worryingly, I heard on several occasions about a hardening of attitude from banks that have supported them in recent years. Basically, enough is enough. They could be on the verge of withdrawing credit and if so, then families will have no option but to sell up. There are plenty of millionaires with the cash to snap up a domaine with propitious holdings, yet don’t kid yourself that the spirit of Burgundy would remain the same. Something would inevitably perish.
So what with currency fluctuations and huge global demand, expect to see price rises in 2015 that might cause heart palpitations, anything from 20% to 50% depending on grower and cru. Who knows? We'll soon find out. Remember that whilst traditional buyers might balk at paying such amounts, there is probably a queue of buyers elsewhere in the world who will fork out for a piece of the Burgundy action without pause for thought. How many official agents flip their allocations for easy-money in the Far East instead of spending their time ensuring it is distributed in their domestic market? Depends upon how scrupulous the agent is. In many conversations, Burgundians have expressed concerns whether those that can now afford Burgundy are the kind of people that appreciate the fruit of their labours (literally) or whether their wine is debased and used as a gesture to flaunt one’s wealth? In my experience, it is both, no different in the Far East to any other country. The fact of the matter is that growers cannot control markets. They can apportion stocks as they see fit around the word but thereafter it is time-consuming and difficult, unless you are like Ponsot or Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with anti-fraud measures such as Prooftag and/or numeric traceability (even though when speaking to Laurent Ponsot, he has lost faith in measures such as Prooftag and is adopting his own more rigorous system). You would be surprised how many growers do take measures. Simply shine an ultra-violet light on some of your favourite bottles and you will be surprised what appears.
Final Thoughts
This report is not written for speculators or investors to corner markets. The intention is to write for people just like myself that love Burgundy, its wine, its land, its spirit and its people from tip to toe. Like other writers, I would like to see more democratic, evenly spread interest that embraces less fashionable winemakers and appellations or even vintages. There is as much pleasure discovering a new name as reacquainting yourself with an old one and I hope that is the case with 2015, because there is so much drinking pleasure to be found...if you know where to look.
So before departing, let's summarize it like this. Growers like Jean Grivot and Sylvain Cathiard produced benchmark wines that are likely to be on the more expensive side, but they'll still be worth it. Opt for say, Domaine Claude Dugat if you want to witness a refreshing change in style. For the classicism: Domaine Duroché, Taupenot-Merme, Lamarche and Dujac. More fruit-driven wines: Hudelot-Baillet, Domaine de l'Arlot or Tollot-Beaut. For leaders in their village appellation: Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet in Fixin, Domaine Pavelot in Savigny-lès-Beaune and Domaine Michel Mallard in Ladoix. You want Vosne-Romanée but cannot afford the top names? Gérard Mugneret and keep an eye on Domaine Michel Noëllat. Same for Chambolle-Musigny? Domaine Felettig or Ghislaine-Barthod, or her husband, Louis Boillot. Uncool but what's in the bottle counts? Go for a decent premier cru in the Beaune appellation either from stalwarts like Drouhin or Jadot, or relative newcomers like David Croix. Rekindle your love for "proper" Pinot Noir with a great Pommard from Anne Parent or Domaine Joseph Voillot. The epitome of Volnay? No question: Michel Lafarge, but don't overlook Domaine de Montille or Thomas Bouley. You couldn't get enough 2014 white and want to stock up on 2015 whites? Not as consistent, but Domaine de Chérisey in Blagny or growers in Saint Aubin (Marc Colin, Jean-Claude Bachelet and Olivier Lamy) get my nod, ditto Bachelet-Monnot in Maranges—and though it is more inconsistent in 2015, Domaine Bernard Moreau still delivered in Chassagnes.
And after saying all that, after reviewing over 1,800 wines, there's probably still some of you that demand Christophe Roumier's Musigny or La Tâche and nothing else. That means I could have reduced this report by 1,806 wines to just two but then, where's the fun in that?

von **Roman** » Sonntag 27. August 2017, 20:23

http://theburgundybriefing.com/burgundy-tastings/
2008 White Burgundy
Time to Mature tasting
http://theburgundybriefing.com/2008whitetimetomature/

von **Roman** » Freitag 16. Februar 2018, 11:10

2000 & 2001 red Burgundy
‘Time to Mature Tasting’
http://theburgundybriefing.com/time-mature-20002001/

von **Roman** » Sonntag 11. März 2018, 09:52

Domaine Leroy: The 2015s From Bottle
http://vinous.com/articles/domaine-lero ... e-mar-2018

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