Tasted the most sublime wine yesterday. Tasted at Grivot and went through all the perfunctory ’03 barrel tastings (getting so blasé about this) then he had us taste some bottles from ’02. Then an Echezeaux (Grand Cru) from ’01 in bottle. It was everything I love about red Burgundy…so elegant, sublime, sensual, just flows beatifully [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/11/04 Moving Nicolas’ Cellar
Today was epic. We had to move all of Nicholas’ wine from his cellars here at the house in Nuits St. Georges to his home outside of Beaune. Started at 8am hauling tons of wine in incredibly heavy milk crates. Backbreaking work. We spent two hours straight loading up three vans and then unloading at [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/10/04 Alsace
Went to Alsace today. So pretty! Like something out of an alpine fairy tale. Flowers everywhere, hanging off window sills, lots of colorful homes. Met a winemaker who didn’t speak a lick of English, but we understood the word “tour”, so he led us to these super steep slopes—I had to crawl at some point [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/9/04 Mmm Sandwich and Return to Chambolle
Just had a religious experience. Walked into town for lunch and was going to sit down somewhere, but decided instead to head to the boulangerie and pick up a sandwich. Got an incredible sandwich, about a food-long baguette filled with salami, ham, sliced cornichons, and mayo. Walked back to the house in a state of [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/7/04 Lafon
Tasted with some guy in Mersault with the sommelier from Veritas in NYC and three dudes who were on a buying trip. While tasting there was this animated Frenchman who was talking about the Macon and winemaking and it turned out he was—Dominique Lafon!!! And we got to go to a tasting at his place [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/6/04 Savigny and Chambolle
Another perfect day in Burgundy. Drinking a wondeful rose from Corbieres as I write this. Should be 85 and sunny the rest of the week. Sunny is good for grapes and harvest should start around Sept 25th. This morning visited a producer in Savigny les Beaune—Ecard. He did not speak a lick of English but [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/5/04 Le Montrachet, Beef Fondue, and Lafarge
Drinking a 92 Grand Cru Chablis as I write this. Yesterday started tasting in St. Aubin, which is a very large appelation and very beautiful. Got a tour and went into the Le Montrachet vineyard, which is the most expensive Chardonnay in the world. We hopped a beautiful stone wall into a part of the [More]
The Burgundy Diaries: 9/3/04 Mersault, Return to Bouchard, and Comte Armand
Tasted over 50 wines today and my palate is destroyed. Drinking a beer now at the end of the day. Started with a producer in Mersault. Pulled up to some dudes house; you would never guess that he had a cellar with a few thousand bottles of wine. Brutal 9am tasting there. You spit it [More]
