Podcast - The Northern Rhône with Mannie Berk & Rajat Parr

by Raj Vaidya
June 30, 2022

I’ve had the Northern Rhône on my mind of late, partly because of some special time spent there in April and also because i’m getting excited about hosting our next Sommelier Scholarship Fund trip back to the region in a few weeks, where i’ll have the pleasure of introducing the region to 4 scholars who will travel with me to learn the nuances of the region. I took this current infatuation as an excuse to tap into two of the great minds and palates I know of when it comes to the region, Mannie Berk, the proprietor of the Rare Wine Company and Rajat Parr, former sommelier turned vigneron in California. We had a lovely chat about the various red wine appellations which i’ve split up into digestible segments for you to listen to at your leisure. Hope you enjoy listening in, they are truly some of the most knowledgable and experienced minds in the business.

1980'S BURGUNDY VINTAGE PODCAST

 0:16: 1980

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d’Or
Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles
Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tâche Grand Cru
Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru
Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

2:13: 1981

Maison Drouhin Montrachet Grand Cru Marquis de Laguiche
Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault
Henri Jayer Echezeaux Grand Cru

4:54: 1982

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine de la Romanée Conti Montrachet Grand Cru
Henri Jayer Richebourg Grand Cru
Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds

8:22: 1983

Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses
Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs
Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

13:03: 1984

No highlighted wines.

14:25: 1985

Henri Jayer
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 
Domaine Francois Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots
Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault Tesson Clos de Mon Plaisir
Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Perrières
Domaine Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches
Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tâche Grand Cru
Henri Jayer Richebourg Grand Cru 

18:43: 1986

Domaine Francois Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos
Domaine Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Coche Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Domaine Georges Roumier Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru
Domaine de la Romanée Conti Richebourg Grand Cru

22:13: 1987

Domaine Louis Michel Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos l’Arlot
Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Domaine René Engel Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Domaine de l’Arlot Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Porrets Saint Georges

25:06: 1988

Domaine François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur
Domaine Blain Gagnard Bâtard-Montrachet  Grand Cru
Domaine Coche Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières
Domaine René Engel Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
Domaine Henri Jayer Echezeaux Grand Cru
Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint Jacques

28:05: 1989

Domaine Guy Roulot Meursault Les Luchets
Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières
Pierre Morey Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine Simon Bize Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Guettes
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées
Domaine Dujac Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

News from the Vineyard - a devastating frost hammers much of France

by Max Goldberg Liu
Wednesday April 14, 2021

It has been a rough couple of weeks for vignerons throughout France - not just in regions where frost is not uncommon like Champagne and Burgundy, but also in the Loire, Bordeaux, the Northern Rhône, and even parts of the Southern Rhône.

In Burgundy, the problem was exacerbated by the warm and sunny weather the previous week, which meant more advanced - and vulnerable - buds on the vines. Also, some growers even saw the more dangerous “gelée noir” or “Black Frost” that is different from the more common hoarfrost. Black frost is not technically frost at all, but rather a situation when it is so cold that the plant tissue itself freezes and dies (hence the black necrotic vegetation…). Indeed, it was so cold in many parts of Burgundy and elsewhere that the candles that growers had painstakingly stocked (there was a major shortage across the country) were sometimes completely ineffective in raising the temperatures in certain vineyards above freezing.

As the Côte de Beaune is usually a week or so more advanced than the Côte de Nuits, the damage seems to be greater there, but perhaps not by much.

It is still early to confirm the extent of the damage, and there is always hope that the vines will rebound with a secondary bud-break, although that will also mean a much more complicated growing season - frost-damaged vines often have a tough time with flowering and secondary buds are often more susceptible to funguses and other diseases.

Other winegrowing regions were not spared - Guillaume Clusel in Côte-Rôtie estimates 60% of his Côte-Rôtie vines’ buds are damaged, and 40% in the Coteaux du Lyonnais. In Sancerre, Franck Bailly of Domaine Bailly-Reverdy says that all the villages saw some frost and that he estimates that he lost at least 50% of his crop.

This is clearly the worst frost in recent memory - certainly worse than 2016, with many growers having to ask their parents to comb the distant past for a comparison. Apparently some older winemakers in Burgundy remember 1956 as one such year…

The situation in the Côte de Beaune and Chalonnaise is very grave. And I don’t know if it’s much better in the Côte de Nuits. In sum, it’s much worse than 2016.

- Jean Soubeyrand, Maison Olivier Leflaive

We have indeed been severely affected, particularly with the whites. We spent multiple nights in a row fighting with candles but they were only very slightly effective…

- Jacques Devauges, Domaine des Lambrays

Still, the vigneron spirit will triumph, and so many growers have responded with a positive attitude. They have gone through tough times before and emerged stronger.

This will be tough to get through, but rest assured that we will never give up and that we will do everything we can to make a GREAT but small 2021 vintage.

- Benjamin Leroux

Complicated years happen, but we will continue our work.

- Nathalie Tollot, Domaine Tollot-Beaut

These three freezing nights were indeed a violent ordeal. We fought, but the conditions were too extreme. Even if it is too early to make a realistic assessment, the losses can be quantified from 50 to 100% depending on the sector.

But the vine will endure… and life is beautiful!

- Aubert de Villaine, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

WHAT'S PRESSOIR DRINKING? DOMAINE CLAIR-DAÜ, BONNES-MARES GRAND CRU 1980

by Max Goldberg Liu
June 25, 2020

This wine was a real treat to taste towards the end of the Gala Dinner at La Paulée de New York 2020. It was fully mature and showed the dark and intense side of Bonnes Mares but with enough fruit to keep things pleasurable. The wine was also a portal into the history of a now-defunct domaine, as Clair-Daü would be sold just five years later, mostly to Jadot.

Founded in 1919 in Marsannay by Joseph Clair and Marguerite Daü, this was one of the greatest estates in Burgundy by the 1970’s with holdings from Clos Vougeot to Bonnes Mares to Clos Saint Jacques. Disputes among the five children, however, caused the domaine to be divided up, with many parcels going to Jadot and the rest being locked into long-term leases with other producers.

Nevertheless, there is a happy ending to the story. Bruno Clair, a grandson of Joseph and Marguerite, was determined to follow in Clair-Daü’s illustrious viticultural footsteps and started his own domaine with his immediate family’s plots in Marsannay and a few other villages. As other family parcels have come out of their long-term leases, he has added them to his now 23 hectare domaine through which the Clair name lives on.

This bottle exhibited the glory of Clair-Daü at the top of its game before it was torn apart, a recurring Burgundian story we see in the histories of so many great estates.