Prices higher and higher in Burgundy reflected in record sales figures at the 2013 Hospices de Beaune auction. Wines tasted at the press conference above, where journalists heard that in 2014, it any Burgundy under €10/$10/£10 in its respective market will “no longer exist” – so said Louis-Fabrice Latour, president of the union of Burgundy […]

By Panos Kakaviatos Sorry for the flippant title. But after I heard that prices for the lowly Bourgogne Passetousgrains will likely increase by about 25% on average in 2012… And that the more prestigious appellations will have wallet shattering price tags, I felt rather blasé about tasting scores of Gevrey Chambertins from this fine vintage. […]

By Panos Kakaviatos Using stems is not necessary in winemaking and those who think that a Burgundian wine made with stems is necessarily good are wrong, remarked Philippe Prost, director for Bouchard Pere & Fils in Beaune, as we tasted through 12 2012s today, 13 November. 2012 was more a red vintage he said. And […]

By Panos Kakaviatos Well, now, I have finally found some time to continue with wines I had tasted way back in … June this year during Vinexpo. Not too worried about this posting because it is about Chablis. One of the most underrated wines in the world. And versatile. You can enjoy Chablis anytime of […]

By Panos Kakaviatos Thanks to Alex Gambal, here an update on my previous posting Wednesday (see below) about two storms that collided over the Côte de Beaune causing much damage in vineyards there. A former Washingtonian, Alex Gambal left the world of real estate to explore Burgundy. I first met Alex on Nantucket Island almost 10 […]

By Panos Kakaviatos As I finalize this post, I have just returned from Vinexpo in Bordeaux where I attended the annual Fete de la Fleur, a big party meant to celebrate the flowering cycle of the vineyard. But the French word for shattering is coulure and, given the constant rainfall in this crucial flowering period, […]

2010 combines some of the richness of 2009 with the precision of 2008 Spring is near and as good a time as any for the refined pleasure of Burgundy. The sun is shining in France, as I take another sip of an affordable Monthelie 2009, by well-known producer Bouchard Père & Fils. Highly acclaimed by […]

My Burgundian Odyssey in mid November 2012: update with notes from Nuits St Georges   Tasting 2012 from barrel for the Hospices de Beaune, filming Carla Bruni Sarkozy, tasting a series of superb Nuits St George monopole vineyards, dining with Bouchard Pere & Fils’s director Philippe Prost over vintages ending in “2” including a sublime Volnay from […]

Over 40 years ago, when Jacques Lardiere was just in his second year with the venerable domain of Louis Jadot in Burgundy, he proved his skills in a vintage that challenged everyone. In some years, France encounters an extreme heat wave known as la canicule and so it was in 1971. “It was even hotter […]

Domaine Vincent Girardin Saint Aubin Premier Cru En Remilly 2007. I gave this not only a bold, but a bold and red. Why? The price alone gives it an extra dimension of appeal. At just about 20 euros in most of Europe, probably about $25-30 in the US, this wine shows zero signs of premature […]