burgundy

Posted: September 19, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

Joe Dressner, founder of the wine importing company Louis Dressner Selections, died this past weekend. He was 60 years old.

Dressner was an original that always shot from the hip and was never afraid to speak his mind. He and his wife, Denyse, started Louis Dressner Selections with the philosophy of importing wines from small family estates that worked organically, with indigenous yeasts, no filtration and minimal intervention. They were ahead of the "natural wine" curve from the beginning.

Blogs : Bruce Sanderson Decanted

In Burgundy, Head South for Both Quality and Value

A group of growers is raising the quality bar in the Mâconnais

Posted: September 16, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

One of the best sources of white Burgundy values is the Mâconnais. In the past 10 or so years, it has been a hotbed of activity, with an upsurge in quality from young growers and merchants. In addition, producers from the Côte d'Or—notably Dominique Lafon, Domaine Leflaive and Louis Jadot—have invested there.

I spent a day earlier this year with a group of growers called Les Artisans Vignerons de Bourgogne du Sud. The 21 members grow grapes throughout the Mâconnais from a mix of different terroirs. They share a common goal of exploiting their vineyards in a way that best transmits an expression of place. As a group, they have old vines and farm for low yields. Some, but not all are certified organic or biodynamic.

News & Features : News

Burgundy's Domaine de l'Arlot Promotes New Winemaker

Jacques Devauges replaces Olivier Leriche just before harvest

Posted: August 26, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

News & Features : What We're Drinking Now

A French White for a Southern Feast

Thierry & Pascale Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2008

Posted: August 8, 2011 By Thomas Matthews

June 15, 2011 Issue : Tasting Reports

A Sleeper Vintage in Burgundy

Late season sun and wind result in elegant, vibrant and fruity reds in 2008

Posted: June 15, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

June 15, 2011 Issue : Alphabetical Listing

Red Burgundy Alphabetical Listing

Posted: June 15, 2011

News & Features : News

Burgundy's Maison Champy Gains Control of Volnay Winery

The négociant partners with two investors to buy 3 acres from Louis Boillot

Posted: June 9, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

News & Features : Wine in History

The First Wine Competition?

At the 13th century “Battle of the Wines,” wine tasting and trash talking went hand in hand

Posted: May 31, 2011 By Ben O'Donnell

May 31, 2011 Issue : News

Business Briefs

Posted: May 31, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson, Robert Taylor

News & Features : Tasting Reports

2009 Red and White Burgundy Preview

A near-perfect summer resulted in ripe, charming Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays

Posted: April 26, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

News & Features : Tasting Highlights

2008 Red and White Burgundy

11 new reviews of Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from a vintage proving to be better than expected

Posted: April 1, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

News & Features : News

American Buys Parcels of Burgundy's Bâtard-Montrachet

Négociant Alex Gambal is the first foreigner to own part of the grand cru vineyard

Posted: March 8, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

News & Features : Unfiltered

Will Donald Trump Rescue a Virginia Winery?

Plus, Annika Sorenstam returns to television—as a wine lover, and Burgundy’s Labouré-Roi aims to plant 100,000 more trees

Posted: February 24, 2011

Blogs : Bruce Sanderson Decanted

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Unveils its 2008s

Precision and purity are the hallmarks of the famed domaine's Pinot Noirs, and Montrachet is another world

Posted: February 17, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson

In some years, like 2009, 2005, 1999 and 1990, nature looks kindly on growers in Burgundy, delivering benevolent weather and abundant quantity. Then there are years like 2008, when every possible obstacle rears its ugly head, forcing growers to be vigilant and proactive to harvest the best possible grapes. Yet it’s in exactly those challenging vintages like 2008, when the vigneron prevails over nature, that Burgundy produces its most typical reds. These are light, fresh, translucent Pinot Noirs, with balance and vibrant profiles.

The range of 2008s from the renowned Domaine de la Romanée-Conti provides an ideal example of the expression of Pinot Noir from the individual grands crus climats. Aubert de Villaine, co-director of the domaine, was in New York last week to lead two exclusive tastings, the only preview of DRC's newest releases. My notes on the wines follow.

Blogs : Oz Clarke's Adventures

Puzzling Over Burgundy

First impressions can change with time

Posted: January 25, 2011 By Oz Clarke

You can get a very strong and not always accurate view of a vintage by turning up on the wrong day. I turned up for the end of the 2010 vintage in Burgundy under sodden late-September skies; lines of rain-coated pickers were spread across the slopes looking like marauding beetles. Could the wines possibly be any good?

But then you can also get a surprisingly warped view of a vintage even if you wait for 15 months, until the tasting season starts. Usually the Burgundy specialists offer their wine for tasting in the January that falls about 15 months after harvest. In January 2010, I had a good look at the 2008 Burgundies and decided that they were in the main thin, hollow and unappealing.

What I didn’t know at the time was that most of them had still not undergone their malolactic fermentation. Retasting the wines in September 2010, I found that thinness has now transformed into elegance.

News & Features : What We're Drinking Now