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Christmas Wine II

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That's a bummer, I was going to open a bottle of Morey St.Denis 1er Cru that someone gave me this evening. It (and the duck) will have to wait until tomorrow.

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Burgundy, 1993.

Yeah,I might switch to the Sandrone nebbiolo.
 
Sitting in a bar we have been to several times over the last couple of years and ordered the usual Pieropan La Rocca. Turned out to be their last so asked:
"Will you be getting some more ?"
"Well maybe , maybe not, it would cost more if we do."
It is the most expensive white wine on their list and one of the best Italian whites. We must have drunk nearly a dozen ourselves.
Just can't give some people money...
Maybe we were the only ones who drank it...
 
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Yeah,I might switch to the Sandrone nebbiolo.

Not too harsh a choice. Cannubi Boschis?

A couple of lamentably bad snaps that I took of Luciano Sandrone in the cramped garage that served as his cuverie, and in his modest flat above it, where I stayed with him and his wife in 1990. He was, as you can see in the second photo, a rather diffident, shy man, albeit a genius.

The colour ones below are of his current cuverie, taken sadly sans Sandrone (he was away) in 2018. I can think of no more dramatic a transformation. In the event, it was his charming daughter who received us. The last time I had seen her, she was a little girl.

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Not too harsh a choice. Cannubi Boschis?

A couple of lamentably bad snaps that I took of Luciano Sandrone in the cramped garage that served as his cuverie, and in his modest flat above it, where I stayed with him and his wife in 1990. He was, as you can see in the second photo, a rather diffident, shy man, albeit a genius.

The colour ones below are of his current cuverie, taken sadly sans Sandrone (he was away) in 2018. I can think of no more dramatic a transformation. In the event, it was his charming daughter who received us. The last time I had seen her, she was a little girl.

zTxyxb.jpg


8QQUhI.jpg



630JGR.jpg



7ZijoR.jpg


nX7FP4.jpg


PbMXhB.jpg

Brilliant.Valmaggiore.
I think I had a @Marchbanks moment in the cellar and retrieved this .



As you know there's nothing quite like Burgundy PN however modest.

 
I think I had a @Marchbanks moment in the cellar...
Which one? There are many different kinds of Marchbanks moments. Did you forget where you were, or why you were there? Did you look down at your hand and wonder why you were holding a paint brush? Did you forget the candle and waders? Or were you caught short and in your desperation to get out broke the bottom six rungs on the ladder again?
 
^^ shows how much more money is being made in wine than 30+ years ago.

No, it shows how much money is being made in some wine.

30 years ago, there wasn't much money in Barolo/Barbaresco, but it had started. I was lucky enough to see it just before the fire had really got a hold, in fact I first went there with the guy who was fanning the flames, an Italian/American wine broker called Marc de Grazia. He was behind some of the names that now rank amongst Piedmont's superstar producers, and was instrumental in the then very controversial shift away from traditional semi-oxidative winemaking to contemporary techniques - temperature controlled fermentations, French barriques and so on.

He wasn't involved with Sandrone, but somebody got behind him for sure. His wines remain brilliant, but I would venture to suggest that something very precious might have been lost in the transition from quiet genius to international winemaking superstar.
 
No, it shows how much money is being made in some wine.

30 years ago, there wasn't much money in Barolo/Barbaresco, but it had started. I was lucky enough to see it just before the fire had really got a hold, in fact I first went there with the guy who was fanning the flames, an Italian/American wine broker called Marc de Grazia. He was behind some of the names that now rank amongst Piedmont's superstar producers, and was instrumental in the then very controversial shift away from traditional semi-oxidative winemaking to contemporary techniques - temperature controlled fermentations, French barriques and so on.

He wasn't involved with Sandrone, but somebody got behind him for sure. His wines remain brilliant, but I would venture to suggest that something very precious might have been lost in the transition from quiet genius to international winemaking superstar.
I think this is probably explains why I tend to shy away from areas where flames have been fanned and from producers who have been ‘got behind’!
 
I think this is probably explains why I tend to shy away from areas where flames have been fanned and from producers who have been ‘got behind’!

Yes, I tend to travel in the opposite direction to the money too. I don't know whether that's connected to the fact that the money tends to travel in the opposite direction to me, but I'm beginning to suspect it might be.
 
^ I think most Italian wine is still reasonable value; at least compared to Bdx and Burgundy.
I know someone who only buys Bdx and has over 1,000 bottles: so narrow minded. Not sure he should buy any more at age 73 !
That ^ very nice Pieropan white in a well located bar, admittedly in Italy, worked out at £6.75 a glass.
Even Piedmont has the Produttori for Barbaresco, and Barbera/Dolcetto options.
I want to dislike Gaja for their pricing but on the few occasions I have drunk some must admit I liked them, a lot.
Wish I had bought a lot more wine 20 years ago...
 
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Yes, I tend to travel in the opposite direction to the money too. I don't know whether that's connected to the fact that the money tends to travel in the opposite direction to me, but I'm beginning to suspect it might be.
Nothing gets my back up more than flyers that push “the exciting new style coming from [fill in territory of your choice]”, “the great buzz surrounding [ditto producer]” or “this year it’s all about [ditto grape variety]”. Well, that’s not true - virtually everything gets my back up, but you take my point. I just mutter something that is unprintable here then make a mental note to try this stuff when A Client has got bored with it in a couple of years’ time, and is desperate to dump his remaining bottles so he can move on to the Next Big Thing.
 
^^ hygiene standards in the winery have been raised, particularly in France, and that can cost a lot of money.
I guess the options now are either stay small or get big, probably not easy to be medium sized unless you have a big name.
Wine is a global business now.
 
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No 5. Jacky Blot is obviously a genius. He can do red, white and fizz and they are all wonderful. This is his middle-ranking Bourgeuil, 100% CF (as they all are.) I would have guessed a pretty classy right bank claret - although the CF is obvious there’s a sweet fragrance that would have made me think it was a merlot blend. Really excellent, I’d have no hesitation recommending it.

Calais Vins (a Blot stockist) have spotted my upcoming birthday and have offered me 7% off everything until the beginning of July. I’ll be stocking up there at the weekend. More Blot offerings to follow very soon...

Tonight this is being paired with Paul McCartney’s Run Devil Run - a belated tribute to him on his 80th. I’ve been banging on about my 66th non-stop, but his is obviously 14 louder. RDR is probably the only record of his that I have enjoyed in the last 30 years - although I admit I haven’t bothered listening out for many. It’s terrific - a great band (Gilmour, Mick Green, Ian Paice) and Macca sings the old R’n’R numbers as if his life depended on it. Thanks for everything, Paul!

This is, IMO, a roast chicken wine. I mean, a roast chicken eaten outside on a sunny day with friends. That's what I did with it yesterday and so I know it works. There was enough for a glass just now and it was nice, maybe nicer, so it keeps for a day at least, and probably benefits from time open.

Fruit is definitely present in the taste -- first some minerality and then the fruit. C'est du vin salé sucré. That's maybe one of the reasons it works for outside in the sun with simple food like a roast chicken.

I think it's a real artisanal wine, we're far away from international flavours. It's got tons of personality.
 
^^ hygiene standards in the winery have been raised, particularly in France, and that can cost a lot of money.
I guess the options now are either stay small or get big, probably not easy to be medium sized unless you have a big name.
Wine is a global business now.

I once travelled through Burgundy with a Californian winemaker who couldn't contain his excitement about what he referred to as 'dirty winemaking'. He loved it. I wish I could remember who it was. It might have been Jim Clendenen, but I'm drawing a blank. There's still, thankfully, plenty of 'dirty winemaking' in France and elsewhere, though I think I'll be pushed to see another Raymond Trollat, with his black, mouldy cave beneath a tin shed on the top of a hill above St.Joseph, and the clear, bright ruby liquid that he drew from his ancient barrels.

Then again, we have the 'natural wine' brigade, who apparently positively revel in making wine that's so dirty that it actually tastes of cider rather than wine due to the bacteria gleefully partying in the bottle.

The real issue is between cleanliness and theatre. In the case of Barolo, as with Bordeaux, there's an expectation of the latter. It might well be to do with the extensive American clientele that they both enjoy.

The first time I went to Barolo, in (I think, 88 or 89) we visited a brilliant young grower called Claudio Alario. He was still mixed farming, and he was out somewhere on his tractor when we got there, so his mother locked us in a shed full of beef cattle until he got back. When we were released we went down to his little cave at the back of the house. It was full of ancient chestnut botte, with just a single, small stainless steel fermentation vessel in the corner, the digital temperature reading silently winking. The floor was earth and concrete. I was standing by the door and a few chickens wandered past. I caught one of them, and his delighted mother motioned me, with a twist of her wrist, to wring its neck! As politely as I could, I declined.

Even Alario now has a fairly fabulous cuverie, with a fine barrel cellar beneath it, where the old cave used to be. And the cows and the chickens are long gone.
 
I think it's a real artisanal wine, we're far away from international flavours. It's got tons of personality.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think it is wonderful stuff. It's a shame Waitrose don't stock Jacky's reds or fizz in addition to his Clos de Mosny. A periodic top-up of those at 25% off would be very welcome.
 
I once travelled through Burgundy with a Californian winemaker who couldn't contain his excitement about what he referred to as 'dirty winemaking'. He loved it. I wish I could remember who it was. It might have been Jim Clendenen, but I'm drawing a blank. There's still, thankfully, plenty of 'dirty winemaking' in France and elsewhere, though I think I'll be pushed to see another Raymond Trollat, with his black, mouldy cave beneath a tin shed on the top of a hill above St.Joseph, and the clear, bright ruby liquid that he drew from his ancient barrels.

Then again, we have the 'natural wine' brigade, who apparently positively revel in making wine that's so dirty that it actually tastes of cider rather than wine due to the bacteria gleefully partying in the bottle.

The real issue is between cleanliness and theatre. In the case of Barolo, as with Bordeaux, there's an expectation of the latter. It might well be to do with the extensive American clientele that they both enjoy.

The first time I went to Barolo, in (I think, 88 or 89) we visited a brilliant young grower called Claudio Alario. He was still mixed farming, and he was out somewhere on his tractor when we got there, so his mother locked us in a shed full of beef cattle until he got back. When we were released we went down to his little cave at the back of the house. It was full of ancient chestnut botte, with just a single, small stainless steel fermentation vessel in the corner, the digital temperature reading silently winking. The floor was earth and concrete. I was standing by the door and a few chickens wandered past. I caught one of them, and his delighted mother motioned me, with a twist of her wrist, to wring its neck! As politely as I could, I declined.

Even Alario now has a fairly fabulous cuverie, with a fine barrel cellar beneath it, where the old cave used to be. And the cows and the chickens are long gone.

Are there many more cow sheds out there,or are the days of the scouting trips over?
 
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