Visiting a vineyard
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Jacques Selosse Base Vintage, Vineyards, and more
Introduction While Jacques Selosse is renowned worldwide (and I have written a full tasting note previously, link here), yet the internet doesn’t seem to have much information regarding the base vintages and information about the villages and plots, so here is my take on it after meeting with Anselme Selosse last week. Founded in 1949 by Jacques Selosse, however the significant changes and improvements at the estate wasn’t implemented until it was handed over to Anselme Selosse on the 1st January 1974. After studying in Burgundy, Anselme went back to the family estate and started changing their viticultural approaches, learning about his vineyards and gradually reflecting his philosophies in both…
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Domaine Pierre Guillemot 2022
Vincent, 8th generation winemaker at Pierre Guillemot pouring his 2022 Corton Le Rognet in the photo. 1898 was the Domaine’s first vintage. Today brother Vincent and Philippe Guillemot are in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Domaine. Viticulture and winemaking Since 2015 their vineyards have been biodynamic, the brothers spend a lot of their time in the vineyard (Vincent arrived at the cellar at 5:30pm for the tasting after working in the vineyard the entire day). Respecting the nature and biodiversity in their vineyard is one of the few philosophies they focus on. Old school winemaking in the cellar with a touch of rusticity. Their wines are fermented in…
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Pierre-Vincent Girardin 2021
Great catching up with Pierre-Vincent Girardin in his immaculate cellar in Meursault, tasting both his 2021 and 2022. Since its inauguration in 2017 vintage, Pierre-Vincent has been making some beautifully reductive and precise Chardonnay and incredibly delicate and polished Pinot Noir. Since my last tasting at the swanky new Domaine for the 2018 vintage, his wines took another step up in quality, especially his reds, which are now even more refined. The estate has around 7 hectares of own / Domaine vines, c. 3 hectares rented and 5-7 hectares of purchased grapes vineyard. In 2021, harvest started around the 20th September for Chardonnay, and October for Pinot Noir. Winemaking Inside…
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Domaine Guffens-Heynen and Maison Verget
Belgium husband and wife duo Jean-Marie Guffens and Maine Heynen started Domaine Guffens-Heynen in the early 80s when they bought their first plot in Pierreclos, in the Mâconnais. Later in the early 90s, they ventured into the Cote d’Or and Chablis through purchased grapes via their negociant arm, Maison Verget. At Maison Verget in Sologny, winemaker Julien Desplans opened a selection of bottles from all their estates, from dry Barsac from Chateau Closiot to Marsanne / Roussanne blend from Chateau des Tourettes in the Southern Rhone, and of course Verget and Guffens-Heynen. Maison Verget makes around 22 cuvees, on average 55hl/ha yield, an average of 200,000 bottles every year. Whereas…
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Domaine Bizot 2021 & 2022
The popularity of Domaine Bizot have in the last few years risen significantly, along with their prices predictably. A bottle of Vosne Romanee village that I paid €75 would now set you back €3,500 a bottle (as of writing this article). While the estate have been slowly growing in size (see below vineyard addition), the demand is many multiples of the supply. A mere 7,000 bottles were produced in their entire production of 2021. Viticulture and Winemaking All their vineyards are organically farmed, including their recent addition of Corton Charlemagne in 2022 (affermage). While their parcels are small, they still do rigorous pruning every year. Around 5-6 “buds” for Pinot…
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Champagne Louis Roederer
Founded in 1776, and still family-owned. Known for their highly-regarded Prestige Cuveé Champagne Cristal (which was created for Alexander II, tsar of Russia) back in 1876. Interesting story behind why Cristal bottles are transparent and have flat bottom, link to FT article here. Biodynamic Viticulture Louis Roederer owns 240 hectares of vineyards, of which 80 ha goes into Cristal and 6 ha goes into Cristal Rosé. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, the chef de cave of Louis Roederer, started treating some of their vineyards organically in 2000. Since 2012, all 80 hectares of vineyards for Cristal has been cultivated organically, and in 2013 completely biodynamically. Horses are used to plow to vineyards. The…
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Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle
Grand Siècle is the Prestige Cuvee of Laurent Perrier, one of the few non-Vintage Prestige Cuvee in Champagne. Started in 1950s, Bernard de Nonancourt decided to blend 3 of the great vintages together to create a perfect cuvee that a normal a Vintage Cuvee won’t be able to match. Grapes are from Grand Cru vineyards only. Grand Siècle key characteristics: Blend of 3 top vintages Chardonnay dominant, and Pinot Noir from 11 Grand Cru villages Aged on lees for a minimum of 10 years Tasting Notes Laurent Perrier Vintage 2008 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards only in this vintage. Disgorged 6-8 months ago. Delicate nose of…
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Domaine Bruyère & Houillon
After 20 odd months into the pandemic, my first winery visit was a slightly different visit to my usual Burgundy voyage, location: Pupillin, Jura. (c. 100km east of Beaune) Domaine Bruyère & Houillon is one of the most sought-after producers in Jura, known for their elegant and pure whites and reds. Adeline Houillon and Renaud Bruyère founded the Domaine in 2011. Adeline is the sister of Emmanuel Houillon, who worked at Overnoy. Renaud started his career in wine in 2004 at Overnoy until 2007 (before that he was a chef), he then worked with Stephane Tissot for 8 years (2007-15) while starting Domaine Bruyère & Houillon in 2011. Vineyards All…
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Domaine Joseph Colin 2018
2018 is Joseph Colin’s second vintage and he is honestly in a league of his own in Saint Aubin. Incredible purity and tension in all his whites. A producer to look out for in the coming En Premier campaign. Joseph Colin owns 6 hectare of vineyards in total, 21 whites and 1 red wine. Winemaking Style Joseph focuses on picking date, he started harvest on the 28th of August and picked grapes for the whole month depending on the ripeness and acidity. Aged in 500L oak for 12 months. No batonnage. In 2018, Joseph did not filter his wines for the first time. Less than 20mg/L of sulphur added. Most…
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Domaine Y. Clerget 2018
2018 is Thibaud Clerget’s forth vintage at Domaine Y. Clerget and it is great to see him taking the reins of the family Domaine that was founded in 1268. Thibaud made some blockbuster Volnay and Pommard this year, buyers will require patience to let these wines age. Tasting Notes Meursault 2018 Harvested on the 2nd of September. 20% new oak. A generous profile of ripe stone fruits and fleshy lemons. An honest village level Meursault. (83/100) Volnay 2018 A blend of two parcels, one 65 year old and the other 45 year old. 35hl/ha. No new oak. Great concentration and density for a village Volnay. Densely packed bouquet of dark…
