Broking News

Our magnificent summer cellar is making waves in all our major markets - well how often do we see private cellars of this size (in excess of one million pounds!). The Thursday scramble will continue for a few more weeks yet...

In terms of the wider market, we are seeing some fairly bullish buying. This is backed up by the London based wine exchange, Liv-ex. The Liv-ex 100 had its best month for more than two years in August, gaining 4.6% to 225.5 and it’s the fifth monthly rise in succession. This is led by the Lafite stable. Insatiable demand in the Far East has pushed most vintages of Carruades towards the 2K mark, making it more expensive than many vintages of rival First Growths Mouton, Margaux and Haut Brion. The Grand Vin is enjoying similar success; we defy anyone to find a vintage of Lafite that starts with a two. Top vintages such as '82, '96 and '00 are reaching new highs and we think it won't be long before the '05 is back at 8K+ a case. Is this a bubble waiting to burst or is this just the start? Who knows? China is a huge market and maybe we are only scratching the surface…

Pomerol's 2009 Harvest (continued)

Just a quick note after a few days of harvest:

It is now Thursday 17th of September, and we have been harvesting various parcels of young(er) vines and gravelly soils for four days now. We picked Providence on Tuesday, Wednesday and today, and all that are left to do are the old blocks planted in 1945 and 1985.

The result, in the tanks before fermentation, is stunning. The potential alcohol is fairly high, there is nice structure and a freshness which is crucial for the balance of the future wine.

The weather forecast over the weekend is not fantastic so the few days ripeness we have gained through a massive amount of work pampering the vines over the summer has allowed us to have important parcels picked dry and under a shinning sun. The remaining ones that need more hanging time due to cooler soils or higher age will then be ready mid to late next week when we are supposed to have very nice weather again. Saint-Emilion will probably be ready around this time also.

Vicomte Liger-Belair joins the J&B blog

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair is a great and historic Vosne-Romanée domaine rejuvenated at the beginning of 2000 by the young Vicomte Liger-Belair, Louis Michel, an agricultural engineer and oenologist.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that our newest guest blogger, Vicomte Liger-Belair himself. Look out for his first blog tomorrow. The grapes have been harvested and everything is now in the cuverie. By the sounds of things, 2009 looks to have produced some truly excellent fruit.

Follow the action in the winery over the coming weeks as the grapes make their transformation into some of Burgundy's finest wines.

A Harvest with Elio Altare:

We started picking dolcetto about 10 days ago and last weekend, after only two and a half days of fermentation we pressed the first three rotary fermentors.

I always wonder why it is that we always have to press on Saturdays or Sundays...I suppose it's just bad luck, and harvest simply doesn't have free days or hours, it's continous non stop work! It also happened that during the weekend that Elio was in London for the J&B tasting, but we did a good job, or at least he didn't call me a million times to check on the work!!

The first dolcetto that we pressed looks very dark and already shows some soft delicate tannins. In just a couple of day in a temperature controlled fermentation tank it turned dry, so no more fun drinking dolcetto grape juice until next year; it's already a serious wine.

On Wednesday we started picking barbera from the Larigi vineyard (where the photos are taken - I hope readers notice the "young" pickers we have. The old couple are 80 years old!!). The grapes have 23-24 brix of sugar, and look a bit dry, but that's fine. It will give us a very concentrated barbera. We are a bit worried about nebbiolo though, the sugar levels are already quite high but the colour is very weak and the pips (when you crunch them) are still very very dry and unripe. We need some colder nights and more temperature variation, to give the grapes freshness.

This year my cellar team is composed of a Japanese, a Romanian and an Aussie guy, quite an interesting mix, especially when you have to talk or explain things. Luckily I'm Italian, so I know how to shake my hands and explain :-)))

The vineyard team has been the same for as long as I remember. The older they get the faster they are, and the better at selecting the grapes they become. It's incredible, the experience really helps out. And of course Elio supervising on everything and everyone - he is the big boss!!

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: The Grand Crus of Vosne

The Grand Crus of Vosne we tasted in three flights. The first flight consisted soley of Echezeaux. This was followed by a flight of Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux. And finally those Grand Crus from around the village, namely Richebourg, Romanee St Vivant, La Grande Rue and La Romanee. No DRC wines were included as Aubert de Villaine does not provide samples for comparative tastings.

Not unnaturally many of these grand wines were dense, closed and presented themselves in a typically adolescent and ungiving style. Certainly they showed higher density, alcohol and Grand cru structure, but they will have suffered from palate fatigue and a build up of tannin on my palate after three days of tasting.

The star performer and highest points for the Echezeaux's was Jean-Marc Millot's beautifully pure yet broodingly complex dark fruited example. Only a point behind was Louis Michel Liger-Belair's which I noted for its energy and supreme fruit of blueberry and damson and its aristocratic terroir. Also at the top of the flight was the lovely Cecile Trembley's - refined, elegant and understated.

Of the short flight of Grands Echezeaux, the Lamarche 06 showed how wine making at this estate has improved dramatically over recent years. Superb 'Musigny' style with power and lingering intensity. The Drouhin GE is always dark dense and brooding and so the 06 proved; it has great potential.

The final flight of the tasting included Richebourg, Romanee St Vivant, La Grande Rue and La Romanee. On the day two wines stood out and showed themselves in all their glory .Others had great potential and were more reticant. There were no disappointments amongst this elete group.

Both the Richebourg from Grivot and the La Grande Rue from Lamarche I noted as being beautifully polished and sensual, packed with sensational fruit and complex minerality. The former having a glorious haunting delicacy the latter layers of dark rich fruits. The two most backward wines of the flight, La Romanée from Comte Liger Belair and Domaine Leroy's Richebourg have perhaps the greatest potential to evolve into great bottles. The La Romanee has aromas of oriental opulence but is firm and ungiving on the palate for the moment. The Richbourg from Leroy was somewhat reduced and needed time in the glass to evolve. Strawberry, tobacco and complex spices become evident with time.

Not to be outdone and only a point behind my top two was Romanée St Vivant by Follin Arbelet. Big in structure yet with tremendous energy and busting with rich complex fruit it has the potential to improve dramatically.

To put the 2006 pinot noirs of Burgundy in perpective at this stage when tasting 300 wines over three days without food is tough on both taster and wines. The wines of Beaune and south of the town are for the most part middle weights yet have the vitue of clear vineyard definition and purity of fruit that makes them food friendly. They can and should be enjoyed over the next two to four years.

The wines of Aloxe and Corton have more structure and consistancy. There will be some good suprises here. The best have the substance and charm to evolve over the next three to five years.

Without doubt the village of Nuits St George has more exciting wines than any other in 2006. Gevrey too has done well. I would think that the best of the Cotes de Nuits 1er and Grand Crus will only show their real potential over the next five to ten years.

Pomerol's 2009 Harvest

To sum up the situation as of today. We are planning on harvesting on Monday, starting with a young parcel of La Fleur-Pétrus planted on deep gravels and therefore faster maturing. On Tuesday, we plan on picking the first parcel of Providence. We walked through it this morning and it was almost ready, so with the extremely sunny weekend we will no doubt have, it will probably gain the last bit of maturity needed. But these are only projections of course. I will keep you posted on the evolution throughout the week.

Weather-wise, we have been very lucky so far, with a warm summer since mid-June, and just enough rain to keep the vines healthy. We are optimistic, but as we say in French, lets not put the plough before the ox!

Just Landed

Customers who purchased Domaine du Colombier 2007's, Weinbach 2007's, August Kesseler's 2008 Rieslings or delightful 2005 Spatburgunders and Robert Chevillon's 2007 Nuits St Georges, will see them appearing in their cellars shortly.

All have landed in our warehouse this week.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Vosne Romanée

Following on from the Clos Vougeot flight came seven flights of Vosne, four 1er Crus and three Grand Crus. I consider the 2006 Vosne 1er cru flights to be only second in quality to those of neighbouring Nuits st Georges.

Indeed, there are some fabulous wines amonst these 2006's with only a few over extracted and over worked. The best have vivid deep purple colours, pure ripe fruit aromas and silky textured concentrated structures.

Out of the first two flights the Chaumes from Meo Camuzet and Orveau from Sylvain Cathiard took top placings closely followed by Jean Grivot's Brulées and a backward Cros Paratoux from Meo Camuzet.

Flights three and four were made up of Suchots and Malconsorts. Lamarche and Cathiard came first equal with their Malconsorts followed by de Montille Malconsorts. They quality of terroirs is truely exposed in these three wines. Aromas of "fruits du Bois " abound, cool and classy with grand crus texture and weight.

My next and final installment will feature the grand crus of Vosne.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Clos Vougeot

Clos Vougeot at its best is masculine, powerful and brooding with fabulous potential.
Inevitably there are less good examples, mostly from the lower slopes of this large 125 acre Clos. Dozens of owners and complex plot ownership add to the minefield of selection for the unwary buyer.
Out of two flights and a total of 19 wines, two clos Vougeots from the extended Gros family were my best marked followed by a firm but well put together Jean-Marc Millot example. Overall there will always be variation in quality given the nature of the vineyard ownership but with no winemaking faults amongst the samples this was a good flight with future potential.

Edouard Moueix signs up to contribute to the Buyers Blog

Our newest guest blogger is none other than Edouard Moueix from the famed
Jean-Pierre Moueix Estate.

Edouard has agreed to give us an insight into a right bank Bordelais harvest. Getting the early news from one of the most significant and prominent families in Pomerol and St Emilion should be a fascinating addition to our blog and we feel honoured to have Eduoard on board.

Expect to hear the latest news from the harvest at Providence in Pomerol, as well as news from Bélair-Monange and a host of other Moeuix properties.

A five minute chat with Edouard this morning gives us further indications that 2009 is shaping up as a vintage of great potential. Thus far the summer of 2009 has been one of five hottest in the past 50 years. Only 2003, 1976, 1989 and 1990 surpass it. A recent smattering of rain arrived as if bidden. As we approach the vendage these are exciting signs. Follow the harvest as it happens right here on our blog.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Chambolle-Musigny

The Chambolle 06's were tasted in three flights, two of 1er Cru and one
of Bonnes Mares and Musigny .

The first included wines from eight crus and proved dissappointing as group. Winemaking faults showed up in 25 pc and there was a general lack of precision with many being big black fruited wnes with little energy. A Ghislaine Barthod trio including a lovely Fuees are brighter and more vital.

The second flight made up of Charmes and Amoureuses were solid but I expected more. Maybe they are going through a closed period as excitement is not there.

The Grand Cru flight of Bonnes Mares and Musigny were of more interest showing the weight, structure and power that they should. However at this early stage in their lives they are rather blockish and any refinement is covered up. The most impressive are Freddy Mugnier's Musigny amd Christophe Roumier's Bonnes Mares.

Ruwer's 09 Rieslings looking good so far

I was talking to Carl Von Schubert, owner of the Ruwer's Maximin Grunhauser estate, on Friday - fingers crossed but the growing season seems to be progressing nicely in Germany's Ruwer wine region, he commented : "The Riesling grapes in the vineyard are looking great this year. We expect a moderate yield (ca. 45 hl / ha) and there is much optimism for an outstanding quality! Almost every day I go jogging in the vineyards and my little dog and I think that the grapes already taste very aromatic. Luckily there are enough acorns and beech-nuts in the neighbouring forests so I hope that the wild boars won’t concentrate too much on the grapes!

Burgundy 2006 from bottle: Morey-St-Denis

Two flights of Morey St Denis are relatively small for a top Côtes de Nuits village: eight 1er crus and six Grand Crus.

As a group they lack a single style that is enjoyed and recognised in other villages. This is born out by the the wildly different styles in both flights. The 1er crus are a mixture of green unripe styles and rich ripe structed wines. The Forges de Tart and Clos de la Boussiere from Roumier take the honours, both showing deep dark berry fruits and explosive ripe tannin structure.

My first experience of Clos de la Boussier was a defining moment in opening my eyes to Burgundy. The 1967 drank beatifully in september 1976 during a stay in northern Scotland. I have not looked back since.

The Grand Crus in the second flight show more consistancy of quality and ripeness. Clos de Tart just edging half a point ahead of the Clos de la Roche of Louis Remy and Clos de Lambray. These top wines are very good but the rest are patchy.

A word with Melanie Tesseron

`Just off the phone to Melanie Tesseron (daughter of Alfred Tesseron/Chateau Pontet Canet). She was very upbeat about the 2009s. August was `very hot and dry`. She is currently studying at Chateau Senejac, where the Merlot analysis showed good acidities and already show good alcohols. Pessac Leognan have started to harvest some whites, while the Medoc have an anxious few weeks before their vendage starts. No-one's counting their chickens yet, everyone just hopes that the fine weather continues.`

Burgundy 2006 from bottle : Nuits-St-Georges

From Beaune the step up to the Côtes de Nuits is a big one. The quality jumps by an average of two points in twenty per wine on my scale.

The five flights of Nuits St Georges - forty five 1er crus in total - are of a uniform high quality and not a single dog amongst them. They have a gloss and silky concentration to add to big structures and fine tannins.

Flight one are the most southerly ( Premeaux ). All are Clos. I gave first equal place to Freddie Mugnier's Clos de La Marechale. It was packed with rich dark fruits, a wonderful complex middle palate and sumptous tannins

Flight two, and the first of the northerly Vosne-side Nuits. The top four in this group, which included Robert Chevillon's Chaignots, have an extra dimension. Herbs, minerals even floral violet notes and complete structures.

Flight three; more of the same but from the heavy weight Domaines of Vosne. The Nuits St Georges Aux Boudots of Domaine Leroy and the Nuits St Georges Cras of Lamarche take the honours closely followed by Nuits Boudots of Grivot and Nuits Cras of Comte Liger Belair. These are beautifully poised and polished wines of exceptional quality.

Flights four and five from the central Nuits vineyards lying just south of the town centred on the big three 1er crus: Cailles, Vaucrains and Les St Georges. As a group they have more richness and succulence than any other with dark berry fruits that explode on the palate. The Roncieres of Grivot and the Les St Georges of Chevillon being amongst the stars.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle - Day 2: Aloxe-Corton and Corton

Moving north of the Beaune / Paris motorway into the vineyards of Aloxe Corton proved to be a pleasant suprise. The wines in this flight were textured and structured and brimming with ripe black fruits. My marks are up with the best of the Côtes de Beaune. Tollot Beaut's Aloxe Corton Les Fournières took pole just ahead their Les Vercots and the Aloxe Clos de Chapitre of Follin Arbelet.


Two flights of Corton followed and were on the whole much more exciting than expected. These 06's have substance, acidity and grip and are still of youthful colour and nature. The charm and release of fruit will come with maturity in 3-6 years time. The first flight included all but the Grand Crus of Bressandes and Clos du Roi. Top marks went to the Corton of Follin Arbelet; pinot noir planted on limestone soil, most usually planted with Chardonnay. The result is an 06 of rare elegance dark ripe fruits and fine ripe tannins The second flight served to showcase just how good Corton is in this vintage, the Bressandes of Tollot Beaut being up with the best.

Rioja, the next big thing!

An absolutely wonderful bottle of 1999 San Vicente Rioja over dinner last night

convinced me even more, after my initial trip out to Rioja in June, that this is a region of great potential. This may sound strange given Rioja's huge popularity already, but there is definitely more to come from here. There are some very talented "modern" Rioja winemakers now who, rather like the top estates in Burgundy or Barolo, bottle up the produce of their finest single vineyards, each of which have their own climate and soil types, after careful hand tending and ageing in barrel with minimum intervention. Unlike traditionalists who uniformly age their best wines in barrel until the wine is ready to drink, the modernist does what any other top winemaker in the world would do and thats make a wine to be aged in bottle, allowing the subtleties of the wine to blossom as gently as possible. Coming back to the 1999, it was in remarkably good shape at 10 years old plenty of fruit, spice, bittersweetness, with great finesse and balance, I even felt that there was still a bit more to come from it. It was a sort of claret-cum-Burgundy-cum Barolo, a very interesting drop.

Barolo 2005

The release of 2005 Barolo is shortly upon us. I was so impressed by what I tasted way back in March, its a vintage that will appeal to both Barolo admirers and lovers of any fine, aromatic, sophisticated red wine. The quality of 2005 Barolo is excellent, when it comes from the quality producers. It is not a homogenous vintage like 2004, an easy year when anyone who did not make good wine should have considered hanging up their shears, it was a more challenging vintage that sorted out good producer from bad. So you can't just buy 2005s from any old producer but there are plenty of outstanding wines from the growers who traditionally make good wine, they display a vivid fresh red fruit profile, together with a richness, generosity and structure. They will drink well young and even if they have not quite got the density of 2004 they are definitely serious and intense enough to age very well in the medium to long term. Producers liken it to a mix of 2000 and 2001 or 1998. Some growers even surpassed their 2004s, Renato Corino is a clear example of this - stunning wines.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle - Day 2: Beaune, Volnay and Pommard.

Saturday morning started with two flights of Beaune followed by two of Volnay and a single flight of Pommard.

When tasting the 06's in November 07 it became clear that those Côtes de Beaune vineyards south of the Paris / Beaune motorway had received substantial rainfall pre-harvest. This was confirmed at this most recent tasting in that the wines of the southern Côtes de Beaune are of a different structure to those in the north.

The flights of Beaune showed elegance, charm and will make for relatively early drinking - now and over the next three years. Pinot Noir purity, sweet ripe fruit and a uniformity in quality was more evident in the second flight which included Beaune Greves and Beaune Clos du Roi. Tollot Beaut's Clos du Roi was in my top three followed by the Beaune Greves of de Montille.

The two flights of Volnay showed wines of greater variance in style and quality of wine making. Some nicely structured, others showing green and dilute qualities. The run away winner was the Santenots du Milieu from Dominique Lafon. Last year his 2005 was a close second. 'Not bad for a little Meursault grower ' was his reaction. His 06 success will no doubt be equally modestly acknowleged.

The Pommard Rugien's filled the top two places in my scores with Etienne de Montille's 06 showing power and brooding dark ripe fruits; one for the long term.

Burgundy 2006 from bottle - Day 1: Gevrey

Seven flights of Gevrey from 30 different sources. 64 wines in total.

Gevrey experienced exceedingly dry weather conditions prior to harvest so no dilution was to be found in these flights; three of 1er Crus and 4 of Grand Crus. Indeed there was remarkable consistancy of pure, well structured balanced 06's. Plenty of ripe dark fruits and good vineyard definition. Amongst the best of the lower lying vineyards was the Drouhin Laroze 1er Cru.

The second flight of steeper 1er crus included blacker coloured wines with high tannic extraction that blurs the vinyard definition and Pinot delicacy. Why Gevrey has this new wave group of growers persisting in making this style that in my experince does not age well or give any pleasure is a mystery and a shame.

Flight three includes my favourate two vineyards after the grand crus of Clos de Beze and Chambertin itself, namely Cazeties and Clos St Jacques. This flight really did in my book outperform the grand crus that lie below the Route des grandes vin . I awarded the Cazeties of Rousseau and the Clos st Jacques of Bruno Clair top marks.

Of the four flights of grand crus that followed the Latricieres showed real energy, mineral complexity and ripe red fruit qualities. Wines that will improve while being drunk after decanting. I scored the Drouin-Laroze just ahead of Louis Remy.

Flight seven showed why Clos de Beze and Chambertin are a cut above all other Gevrey Grand Crus. The 06's were fabulous with rich textures and packed with energy, beautiful fruit and structed tannins. My top mark went to the sumptuous Bruno Clair example with Rousseau and Louis Remy not far behind.

All in all serious wines that have clear vineyard definition, ripeness and purity of fruit - and the structure to age well over the next 6-12 years.