Alsace 2009 : An in depth harvest report from Domaine Weinbach

On his recent visit, Giles kindly inquired about our 2009 harvest at Domaine Weinbach and I am happy to share our impressions with you.

The potential of the new vintage is very high across our range of terroirs and grape varieties, with very healthy, beautifully ripe grapes and extremely pure aromas. The second half of August was hot and September was warm, both contributing to excellent maturities after the very mild weather conditions we had in April and May and despite a very damp July. August weather brought fears that total acidities would be too low but they are equivalent in most cases to the ones we experienced in 2005 and 2007 and the impression derived from the tastings is very fine. The maturities are optimal, both in sugar richness and in taste (phenolic) knowing that the grape skins were thicker than usual because of the lack of rain at the end of the season. In addition to their richness, the wines show freshness, juiciness and beautiful aromatic profiles. Because of the thick skins and dry conditions, botrytis (noble rot) was scarce and took time to develop in the most favorable terroirs. In return, it stayed incredibly pure and fresh. Due to its small proportion, ” tries ” (selections) needed to be extremely severe to produce tiny volumes of very high quality Sélections de Grains Nobles. Beautiful Vendanges Tardives, in of course much lesser quantities than 2005, were harvested showing great elegance of constitution.

The weather during harvest was a dream. We started on September 14 with our Pinot Noir: incredible colour, fruit and richness. We then paused for 10 days before picking Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Sylvaner. On September 29, we harvested our first Riesling and Gewurztraminer (both Cuvée Théo). This started the “heart” of our harvest and until October 7, we picked all our remaining Pinot Gris (including Vendanges Tardives, Sélections de Grains Nobles and Quintessence de Grains Nobles), all our Rieslings (including a beautiful Sélection de Grains Nobles in the Schlossberg) except a plot in the Altenbourg and all our Gewurztraminer except Altenbourg, Grands Crus Furstentum and Mambourg. The night of October 7 saw the first (moderate: 7 mm) rain in almost two months. The temperatures all along harvest had stayed between 18°C and 27°C with not even a hint of morning dew which can sometimes have the same "diluting" effect as light rain. Then, a week and just a couple of more mm rain later, on October 14 and 15, Gewurztraminer Altenbourg (“regular” as well as Vendanges Tardives Trie Spéciale and Quintessence de Grains Nobles), Gewurztraminer Furstentum regular and Vendanges Tardives. On October 20, a rich Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Mambourg Vendanges Tardives and to conclude on October 28, a beautiful first Riesling Altenbourg Vendanges Tardives.

To conclude I would like to say that we have been blessed with a series of excellent vintages: our brand new 2009 but also 2007 and 2008.

Let us wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, a joyful holiday Season and all very good things in the New Year to come.

Laurence Faller,

Domaine Weinbach

J&B takes to the airwaves

We always said he had a perfect face for radio, and last night our very own Julian Campbell was the voice of authority, fount of all knowledge and general know it all on the Chris Evans Drive Time Show.

Chris wasn’t reviving `Freak or Unique` or `Fat lookalikes` as we had thought, he was having a very informed discussion about the merits of Cognac and Armagnac. If anyone would like to listen to the interview, please follow the link to the BBC iplayer. Julian’s slot starts about 1 hour, 12 minutes and 50 seconds into the show.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p6tjx/Chris_Evans_08_12_2009/

Movers and Sheikhers

The Liv-ex 100 finished November up just 0.4% at 235.13; 14.7% up for the year. A modest gain after some really impressive months, but a gain none-the-less. So, what’s been trading at J&B in November? Well, we make no apologies; it’s been the usual suspects. Lafite and Carruades march on and Mouton continues to gather pace, but still remains several furlongs behind Lafite. There is still insatiable demand for 2007 Chateauneufs; whilst old and rare vintages from Burgundy get snapped up tout de suite.

The big question is - how will major economies respond to the Dubai crisis? Hopefully this won’t be the double-dip we all fear, but if it is, bargain-hunters will probably be disappointed; it’s unlikely that there will be a glut of distressed sellers emerging from the Middle East!

Familia Cassone Malbec moves to screwcaps

Lovers of Finca La Florencia Malbec, and there are a few of you out there, will be delighted to hear that the next shipment is arriving in January. Undoubtedly one of our very best value reds, now bottled entirely in screwcaps. Making life just that little bit easier!

The festivities are just around the corner.

Our Christmas list has hit doorsteps now so if you haven't received yours please feel free to call us on 0207 484 6467 and we will happily send you a copy. Proving particularly popular are a new addition to the list, our four mixed dozens, each comprising three bottles of some of our most popular current drinking gems.

Chateauneuf's overlooked vintages

Tasting with the affable Vincent Avril today was fascinating.

The final blend of 2008 Clos des Papes red looks very smart, silky pure and refreshing. He likens it to the 1999 which we tasted, too, this was drinking well - elegant moreish, and very fresh after 10 years so this bodes well for the 2008 which he thinks is better. The 04 Clos des Papes red is still very young but offers such vitality, ripeness and polish, a wonderful wine from this shamefully overlooked Chateauneuf vintage.

Julien Barrot at Barroche has made a lovely "signature" cuvee in 2008 rich velvety but fresh with almost Pinot like aromas, a real beauty. There will be no fiancee or pure in 2008 so all the goodness from those pure 100 year old grenache vines has gone into the signature blend, making it all the more special.

Barolo Vigna Giachini, Giovanni Corino 1998

Two bottles served with the most delicious oxtail stew demonstrated with considerable aplomb what fine Barolo Giovanni Corino makes, and how refined and rewarding Barolo from La Morra vineyards such as Giachini can become given patience. It was aromatic, hightoned and elegant with tannins that are just beginning to melt effortlessly into the hedgerow scented, bittersweet Nebbiolo fruit. Anyone with 98 Corinos in their cellar might like to consider having some out now. You won’t be disappointed.

Burgundy 2008 Part Deux - Days 4 & 5

Visits with Roumier and Mugnier reinforced the findings of our earlier tastings with Drouhin, Meo-Camuzet and Ghislaine Barthod, where we discovered many very fine Chambolles. Clos de Marechale deserves a mention, Mugnier's great vineyard work here(pictured) seems to get increasingly evident each year, the 2008 rivals Nuit's best. Musigny seems to be a Grand Cru that has excelled in 2008, examples from Roumier and Mugnier were glorious and that of Leroy outshone, on the day, their other vineyards Richebourg and Chambertin. Vosne, too, seems to have had its fair share of highs in 2008, Cathiard's wines were fabulous. His and Leroy's stunning Romanee St Vivants have mirrored the success of Frank Follin's earlier in the week. At Clos de Tart we had our usual, fascinating, tasting of the four components of the Clos de Tart blend. Embryonic they may have been, but the potential to be one of the vintage's most powerful wines is certainly there. Cecile Tremblay followed, a young grower who is already starting to excel. 2008 is clearly an excellent vintage for her and a step up from her 2007s. Chambolle Feusselottes and Chapelle really impressed but most surprising of all was, perhaps, the high quality of the two villages wines Nuits and Vosne. The final tasting of our two week long Burgundian visits was with Domaine d'Eugenie, and what a way to finish. Even more than Tremblay, this is a Domaine that has made enormous strides between the 2007 and 2008 vintages. With their brand new cuverie in place and the winemaking team finding their feet, they have managed to produce superb results, each wine/ terroir is very clearly defined and the expression of Pinot Noir bittersweetness comes through very strongly.

So the trip draws to a close. It has not been too tiring a journey, which says alot for the vintage. At their best the red wines are fresh and light in tannic structure rather like 2004 in their light tannic structure but much more elegant and with a totally different, considerably riper, fruit profile. The wines are not massive like 2006 or 2005, but they are so well balanced that they should age gracefully. Burgundy lovers will adore them for their purity and Pinot juiciness. The whites are flamboyant, exotic yet racy and will give great pleasure straightaway, Chablis, in particular, is a great success. It is a small vintage for red and white wine in terms of quantity, though there are one or two exceptions many Pinot producers made even less 2008 than the already rather small 2007 vintage.

Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

We've always said the wines from Voyager Estate were superb. Continued investment in time and energy by the dynamic winemaking team only means they are getting better and better. Old bottles seem to develop a Bordelais sense of gentle, handsome refinement, whilst in their youth the wines are crammed full of sensual fruit and well managed tannins.

And Neil Martin agrees with us. The following tasting notes, published on erobertparker.com, come from a Margaret River expo earlier in the year.

"2004 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 92
This is a great wine. A lovely, well-defined, sensuous bouquet with black plum, black pepper and a touch of antique snuff box coming through. Then mulberry developing with aeration. Ripe blackberry and plum on the palate laced with dried herbs, very Bordeaux-like with admirable harmony and focus. Elegant finish. Superb. Drink now-2018. Tasted May 2009."

"2001 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 92
Another great wine from Voyager. A ripe nose with mint and camphor, a touch of sous-bois and cigar box. Very Bordeaux-like once again. The palate is full-bodied, firm tannins, quite masculine and tannic with an austere, almost aloof finish that seems to laugh in your face that you remain so loyal to the Left Bank. Excellent. Drink now-2014. Tasted May 2009."

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 3

The french love affair with bank holidays means that it is always a battle to make appointments in November, particularly on Armistice day, fortunately however there was minimal interruption today - our winegrowers are made of sterner stuff, their strong work ethic seems to apply even to the beloved "jours ferriers." As a result we get to swan around the finest Crus of Chambolle Morey and Gevrey with a little interlude to Jean Marc Millot in Nuits St Georges. Each terroir /wine is so clearly defined and identifiable in 2008, this was more evident in the cellars of the charming Ghislaine Barthod than anywhere else. The villages was enormously impressive, as for the crus normally the Fuees is the outsanding example for me and it is extremely good but it is a close run thing with Charmes this year, the warm microclimate of the lower Charmes must have been well suited to the cooler conditions of 2008. Louis Remy's wines were excellent too, my strict jesuit education normally means I have a preference for the austere but profound Latricieres,though I have to admit this year to being seduced by Clos de la Roche, another warm micro climate thas has performed particularly well in 2008. As for Bruno Clair at the end of the day, well his wines left us pretty speechless. Clos St Jacques tastes like a Grand Cru, Clos de Beze is totally seductive and Bonnes Mares is arguably the best yet has Bruno finds his feet in this vineyard since it came back into the fold in 2006, it has been very pretty these last few vintages but the 2008 has more strength and depth than its predecessors whilst retaining the purity and definition of the vintage. Bravo Bruno!

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 2

The Remi Rollin 2008s performed admirably well at 8.30am in the morning, they have the mineral streak that are so beloved of Pernand's wines with a hint more generosity and exoticism than the 2007s. The Sous Fretille is one of Burgundy's best kept white secrets and the 08 version will not disappoint its loyal followers. On to Burgundy's holy grail, Vosne Romanee. It may have been a bleary-eyed start to the day, but one can hardly complain with the rest of the day's schedule that includes Lamarche, Comte Liger-Belair, Etienne Grivot and Meo Camuzet. In 2008 Lamarche have gone up another gear from their very promising 2007s, Nicole is clearly making great strides with the winemaking since taking over fully from her father in 2007. Richebourg from Grivot was a stand out wine, great energy and finesse for this vineyard which can so often be explosive but rather cumbersome in its youth, however the piece de resistance for me, unsurprisingly I guess, was La Romanee from Comte Liger Belair. Tasting in the cellars under the Chateau de Vosne Romanee is always a treat but this was something else. The 2008 La Romanee is more expressive and open than any other I can remember at this stage whilst retaining its classic subtley and guile. Fine, floral, juicy and sophisiticated with a breathakingly long finish. 08 has really started shaping up nicely, it says alot for the vintage that there have been little or no disappointments but many high points. As with any vintage troubled by awkward weather during the growing season this won't be a vintage to buy any old where, but importantly for Burgundy lovers the growers who usually make good wine have done sowith some style this year.

2008 Burgundy Part Deux - Day 1

The balmy 19 degrees of two weeks ago seem like a long time ago. Burgundy is firmly back in line with the seasons, its cold, wet and windy. The weather does not stop this place being beautiful, though, its still a real treat to be here. Before decamping to the Cotes de Nuits we finish off the remaining Cotes de Beaune cellars that we did not manage to visit last time round. The day started with Follin and some thoroughly attractive 2008s, Romanee St Vivant was a real stand out and promises much for our visit to Vosne Romanee tomorrow. His even more seductive 07s followed, topped off by an excellent 2006 Chapitre (a vintage Frank considers to be up there with his best,surpassing 2005.)Frank has really proved himself an enormously consistent and talented winemaker over the last 5-10 years. We then briefly switched Cotes to Flagey-Echezeaux and Emmanuel Rouget, who for once had remembered his appointment and was at home rather than in a field somewhere shooting game as is so often his want. Some 2008 wines of great potential here, however the Cros Parantoux had barely started malo and was difficult to see into. The 2007s eclipsed the 08s, though. It reminded me what a great success Emannuel's wines were in 07, definitely up there among the vintage's creme de la creme. Some good wines have been made chez the short-clad Eric de Suremain, Rully Preaux was a beauty and the Clou de Chene would not look out of place in a flight of top Volnays, and ditto some excellent whites at Martelet de Cherisey, but Vincent Dancer (pictured) was the showpiece of the day for both Hew and I, even at villages level the wines have a depth, intensity and above all finesse that I think will be hard to rival. Vosne here we come.

Rhone 2007

The interest in Rhone 2007 shows no sign of abating. Our most recent offering of Vieux Donjon 2007 sold out within the day. Indeed, such as been the level of interest we have decided to re-offer many 2007's with our 2008 Rhone release on the 16th November. If you haven't already signed up to receive our mailers, you can do it now here, it takes a matter moments and is a sure fire way to ensure you receive all our emailed updates and releases.

More signs of recovery

One of the key barometers for the health of the wine market is the strength of auction sales. We have become accustomed to lofty figures being returned from the auction rooms in Hong Kong, however, New York and London results over the past twelve months have not provided a great deal of cheer.

However, yesterday’s sale at Christie's posted some very respectable figures. The total value of the sale exceeded £600,000, with almost 92% of lots sold. Highlights included an exceptionally rare case of Henri Jayer’s Vosne Romanee Cros Parantoux 1978, which achieved £36,800 and a case of Latour 1961, which reached £21,850. Both items sold to UK trade. A case of 1982 Lafite Rothschild topped £20,000 and unsurprisingly went to and Asian client. How many of these wines will actually be consumed in the UK, well, we can only guess. Many of the lots will inevitably end up with Asian collectors, but we should not make pejorative comments about the state of our own market – things are looking up!

Up up and away

The Liv-ex 100 recorded its seventh consecutive monthly rise, leaving the index at 234.25, up 1.9% for the month and 14.3% up for the year. Lafite continues to lead the way, but there seems to be renewed interest in Mouton. Could it be the Rothschild link? Who knows, but rumours that this is the new brand to follow in the influential Chinese market are rife. There also seems to be strong demand for La Mission Haut Brion 2005 after its 100 point showing at the Executive Wine Seminars blind tasting in New York.

Outside the Liv-ex 100, there has been some astonishing trading. One case of Clos des Papes 2007 sold for £1150, although whoever bought it must have felt pretty foolish as a case was offered soon after at £1000! Since Robert Parker's remarks about 2007 Southern Rhone, there has been a sharp upturn in demand. Well done to those who bought 2007s en primeur; wines from this red-hot vintage are becoming quite scarce and increasingly expensive to find…

Burgundy 2008 Tastings - Days 4 & 5

Our final taste of the Cote de Beaune, for this week at least, was with Patrick Javillier, Tollot Beaut and Drouhin. A pleasant end to the Cote, stand out wines were the Meursault Tete de Murger, Corton Bressandes from Tollot, and a beautiful flight of Chambolles from Joseph Drouhin. We leave Chorey Les Beaune for Chablis in the north where we visit Moreau Naudet, Vincent Dauvissat, Laurent Tribut and Brocard. The 2008s here are a little behind schedule, like those of the Cote de Beaune, because of slow malolactic fermentations, however they showed extremely well. It is quite simply an excellent Chablis vintage, they have a similar intensity, ripeness and exuberance to the 2008s further south but perhaps even greater concentration and certainly more finesse. Hew told Vincent Dauvissat he thought it was one of the best vintages he has tasted in his 25 years in buying Chablis, high praise indeed! Moreau Naudet has,thankfully, produced a Montee de Tonnerre this year and has produced a stunning range. Laurent Tribut has made his finest wines yet.

This year's Burgundy marathon is broken up by a week in the London office, next week Hew and I head back out to Burgundy, where we will be pitching our tents mainly in the Cote de Nuits.

Burgundy 2008 tastings- Day 3

Apparently down in Biarritz they were basking in sunshine and swimming in the sea yesterday, well its not quite as hot as that here but it has been another fine day in Burgundy, clear skies beautiful colours and a balmy 19 degrees. The picture shows the view through the gates of Bachelet-Monnot's fine Boutiere 1er Cru vineyard in Maranges.

It was a mammoth day that started at 8.45am and finished at 8pm, tough but then again tasting with coche dury into the night is not such a hardship.

We tasted mostly white wine, it is clear the vintage is a very good one for whites, riper and more exotic than 2007 though not always as fine but with similarly racy acidities.Quantities are much smaller however because of the north wind concentrating the grapes.

Difficult to pick a highlight as there were so many great whites, coche dury was excellent but to be expected, there were superb ranges from Sauzet and Pierre Morey too, but forced into a corner it was tasting with the bachelet monnot brothers, they are young but already making top flight wines, we expected good wine but nothing as great as their 2008s. The Batard was the best we tasted. Jobard was not far behind, Francois' son Antoine is making the wine here now and has clearly taken the wines to another level.

Burgundy 2008 tastings - Day 2

On the evidence of today these 2008 reds have really turned out rather well. Many have an exciting freshness that the best Pinots display with an acidity that is high but ripe, the tannins seem very fine too. Malolactic fermentations have been very slow in 2008, often this is a process done and dusted by the following year's harvest but many have still not finished and some have only just started,however this has made for some very pure, bright and deeply coloured wines. This was the case at our first tasting, the young Arnaud Mortet is further perfecting the fine style of Burgundy that differs so greatly from that of his father. Here many wines were still mid malo and backward but we did get a fair glimpse of what's to come, a very tasteable Gevrey 1er Cru and Gevrey Champeaux that had finished their second fermentation were totally seductive. The harvest will be a tiny one, though.

Contrary to Mortet, at Drouhin Laroze there is a relatively healthy size of crop, Philippe's vines were less affected by oidium that was so prevalent in some sectors of the Cote de Nuits. Some very drinkable, fine and really quite moreish wines here. Chambertin Clos de Beze, so often the surly one of Philippe's vast Grand Cru brood, was actually incredibly showy and had real "wow" factor. Next and we cruised gently up the hill to Rousseau. Eric Rousseau has been making less wine over the last 5 years but has raised the qualitative bar accross the whole portfolio of wines, Clos de la Roche impressed, Chambertin was majesterial. What a treat this tasting was.

On to Nuits St Georges and Robert Chevillon's uniformly delicious set of 2008s, Vaucrains was a highlight and on today's evidence just pips Les St Georges. Our new grower in Nuits as of last year is Gouges. With a brand new cellar and the accession of Christian's nephew, Gregory, to winemaking duties quality has improved greatly as of 2007, the style being much less tannic in its youth, more finesse. I was delighted to see 2007 was no fluke, Gregory's 2008s are even better, they were utterly spellbinding!

All in all a really good day, some surprisingly good Pinots. Burgundy owe the north wind that arrived in September 2008 alot of gratitude, this is when things turned for the better. "A miracle" as Eric Rousseau calls it "morale at the end of August was as low as my socks, but look how good the wines are now!!"

Burgundy 2008 tastings -Day 1

Standing in Jean-Noel Gagnard's cellars at 8.45am this morning seems like a long time ago. A long but rewarding day has passed.

Often intense but distinctly 'adolescent' when tasted from barrel, Caroline Lestime's white wines are serious, often backward and always take a couple of years in bottle to blossom. The 2008s, though, are a really impressive range that already show tremendously well, offering a great balance between "gras" and freshness, the Bâtard was sublime. A tour of the Marquis d'Angerville vineyards followed. Guillaume d'Angerville's commute to and from his vines is enviable, within minutes we were admiring the view from the sun-kissed Champans vineyard, followed shorty afterwards by a trip to the even higher, stonier Taillepieds, all the while the steep tilt of Clos des Ducs to the north stayed in sight. All were within minutes of each other yet so different, this is the essence of Burgundy. The difference between the terroirs was amplified further during our tasting of 2008s, each wine was very clearly defined. On the day Champans was the stand out, so seductively Volnay - Guillaume's accession to duties at Domaine the d'Angerville has definitely coincided with the big qualitative resurgence of this classic Volnay vineyard. Dominique Lafon was next and did not disappoint, he is such an enthusiast and perfectionist. 2008 is a small crop here for reds and whites alike (the smallest ever that Dominique can recall for his Volnay.) Exciting wines from top bottom, the Macons were quite possibly his best yet, the Meursaults and Montrachet were as smart as usual, the pick of the cellar,though, went to Perrières. Finally we braved the back streets of Beaune in search of the Hospices de Beaune cellars. Confronted by a vast chai like room of new wooden barrels of seriously embryonic wine, we picked our way through an interesting but not necessarily homogenous 2009 crop. The best red wines are powerful yet already highly flattering to taste at this very early stage. Tomorrow sees a change of Cotes as we head for Gevrey and Nuits.

The Mosel 2009: "Wonderfully Healthy and Golden Yellow in Colour"

We have been busy harvesting for two weeks now. Although we had a few rain showers last week, we are now experiencing a really golden October. It is quite frosty in the mornings but then wonderfully warm and sunny in the afternoons.

Thanks to a very selective harvest, we gain a fantastic quality every day, ranging from Qba through the finest Grand Crus to the Gold Capsule selection.

We have a little less quantity this year however qualitatively this harvest will turn out to be an excellent one.The grapes are wonderful healthy and golden yellow in colour.

We think that it will take us another week to finish a successful harvest.