Some of Nicolas Champagneux’s earliest memories are of life in the vines – of the hubbub of harvest with his grandparents. It’s not the hard work that he recalls, it’s “des bons moments de famille” he tells me – the convivial spirit that infused the air. He grew up in the heart of Côte-Rôtie, spending weekends and holidays in his family’s vineyard – a swathe of Les Grandes Places, a prized site in the commune of Verenay, where his great-grandfather planted vines at the start of the 20th century.  Les Grandes Places is an extraordinary site – with the most famous producer arguably Jean-Michel Gérin. In the north of the Côte Brune, in a southwest-facing amphitheatre, this steep site has crumbly mica schist soils, which allow the vines’ roots to drive deep into the bedrock. It’s home to some very old vines – such as the centenarian plantings that Champagneux farms – and produces wines that are beautifully elegant yet with dark, fleshy power. Champagneux has almost two hectares here, having the largest holdings. Nicolas’s uncle André took over running the vineyard after his grandparents, while his father Gérard went to work in a factory. There wasn’t enough money for both brothers to join the family business back then, with Côte-Rôtie not nearly as sought-after as it is today. Other than a couple of barrels for personal consumption, the family didn’t make wine, farming the site and selling almost all the fruit to Guigal, one of the Northern Rhône’s most famous names.  Indeed, beyond the family vineyard, Nicolas spent a lot of time at Guigal – after his father Gérard left life on the factory floor to head up their viticulture team. From 16, Nicolas would work there in his holidays to earn some money. When Champagneux turned 18, he needed to find a job: he was determined not to work in an office and loved being outside, so he ended up becoming a high-wire electrician – working with huge currents of 20,000 volts. “You were never in the same place, each day was different, each task was different – so there was no monotony,” he says. He often finished his day early, and – a farmer born and bred, unaccustomed to the concept of relaxing – would go help in the family vineyard.  When his uncle passed away, there was no one else to take over the domaine – so he stepped up to the plate, keen to ensure his family’s heritage was preserved. He decided to start keeping the fruit and making wine under the family name, wanting to see the year’s efforts captured. He knew how to work the vines but had never dreamt of being a winemaker – but, never one to be put off by a challenge, he learnt on the job. That was 2014, and the wines have rapidly earned him a reputation in the region. The family cellar had the essentials, but the first few vintages were made with the bare minimum – with a new cellar built in 2016 (Yves Cuilleron advised on the project).  Almost a decade after he left the world of pylons, transformers and conductors behind, life might follow an annual cycle, but it’s as un-monotonous as it was before. Nicolas works as a one-man band and values the independence that brings – managing his own time and being his own boss. “There is still a lot to do and each year is different,” he tells me. He hopes his son will join him at some point – he was born in 2009, and his uncle put away a stash of wine from the vintage, some of which is set to be released for its 20th anniversary in 2029.   Climate change is at the forefront of his mind, with harvests now early September and even August versus October under his uncle. Where they used to struggle to get 13% potential alcohol, his wines often sit at 14-14.5%. He’s now working with grass cover, deleafing less and using a little whole bunch in warmer years to preserve freshness in the wines. Otherwise, little has changed in the decade since he started – he continues to work as simply as possible, looking to translate the vines he grew up amongst into wine. And that’s just what he does: the wines are elegant expressions of Les Grandes Places, perfumed and suave, with a fine grip of tannins and an underlying savoury salinity, ageing beautifully – as a mini-vertical of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 vintages showed recently.   The Nicolas Champagneux wines  From his four hectares of vines, Nicolas Champagneux makes three wines: an IGP Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes La Rémise and two Côte-Rôties, Les Grandes Places and La Dédicace, all made with 100% Syrah.   La Dédicace comes from the younger vines in Les Grandes Places, with a “mere” 40-60 years behind them on average. Around 6,000-7,000 bottles are produced of this “baby” Grandes Places.   Les Grandes Places comes from his oldest vines, averaging a little over 100 years in age, with some planted in 1910. Just 1,500 bottles or so are made of this wine each vintage.  Both the Côte-Rôtie wines are made in exactly the same way, mostly de-stemmed with  little whole-bunch added in warmer vintages and fermented with indigenous yeast, reaching a maximum 28-30°C, and spending around three weeks on skins. The wine then spends 20-24 months in old oak before bottling.  Nicolas Champagneux Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: a vertical tasting  2022 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: This is packed with spicy intensity – clove and cardamom along with a hit of Szechuan pepper. The palate offers a juicy lushness, layered with deep, concentrated dark cherry fruit and a twist of black tapenade, with mouth-coating tannins and all refreshed by a line of vibrant acidity. A baby now, best approached from 2030.  2021 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: A really impressive 2021, poised and powerful, Champagneux’s Les Grandes Places needs air but gradually reveals pepper spice and more delicate, lifted, violet florals. There is, however, power and weight to the palate – more than you might expect from the pretty nose, with a savoury firmness, supple but structured tannins and juicy acidity. It’s dark and brooding, gothic with its haunting florals, with a long, mouth-watering, saline finish. Approach from 2027.  2017 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: The 2017 Les Grandes Places combines delicate florals with a bloody, iron note on the nose, leading on to a palate layered with bramble fruit. The tannins are round, supple and soft-textured, with tangy acidity that cuts through the concentrated fruit, while the long finish is scented with white pepper and parma violets.  2016 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: This 2016 is in a gorgeous place. Heady incense combines with sweet cherry fruit and a touch of smoke on the nose, leading onto a palate that you sink into – the wine soft and supple, with waves of sweet fruit, yet all cut by an intensely saline, savoury edge. Fresh and flawlessly balanced, decant and enjoy now and over a good decade to come.   2015 Côte-Rôtie Les Grandes Places: The sternest of the trio of 2015, 2016 and 2017, this is a powerful and impressive vintage of Les Grandes Places – with all the best characteristics of the year. The wine is dark and broody, compact and amazingly primary still, with black cherry fruit and blackberry filling the nose. On the palate, however, it has amazing purity and intensity, with a crystalline quality to the fruit, plenty of acidity to complement its concentration and the firm tannins. Smoky, saline notes linger in the mouth, with a dusting of petal florals on the finish. Decant if opening now, but this will be even better if you can resist for another few years.  Explore all current listings from Nicolas Champagneux including a range of back-vintages or read more about the Rhône 

It’s almost a decade since Nicolas Champagneux took over his family’s vines and started making wine under his own name – the first generation to do so. We sat down with the vigneron to find out more about his heritage and the journey so far 

How the talented young vigneron in Cote-Rotie has taken his family’s legacy and created a new domaine that is one of the Rhone’s most exciting 

Nicolas Champagneux – building on his birthright 

Nicolas Champagneux: building on his birthright 

Xavier Vignon could best be described as a maverick winemaker whose inquisitive mind and extraordinary experiments have taken him on journeys all around the world, working on some of the must cutting-edge developments in today’s burgeoning wine scene. Initiated into oenology from a scientific background he has always had the benefit of operating free from the shackles of tradition yet now in his 40th year as a winemaker, his wealth of experience has seen him integrate his science with sensibility, developing an appreciation of producing wine in its most natural form.  We spoke to an initially noticeably weary Xavier Vignon, who is still recovering from a fairly serious bout of COVID-19. However, as soon as he starts to talk about his current projects he becomes distinctly more animated as he begins to describe all the fascinating projects he is currently working on.  This is a vigneron who clearly cannot stay still for long and has a huge drive and enthusiasm for his work. In fact, in his early days as a vigneron he was on the move all over the world working in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, California for half of the year whilst returning to his native France to work through the harvest in the northern hemisphere. He carried out 40 harvests in 20 years.  His winemaking career started in Champagne before exploring the other wine regions of France, working in Alsace and Bordeaux among others. Coming from a family of stonemasons whose philosophy was to travel when young, he was encouraged to explore the world before settling down. These travels and the variety of experiences working in oenology from one country and climate to the next are surely a vital part of the puzzle for Xavier’s success as a winemaker. It was the Rhône Valley that finally stopped him in his tracks. Admitting he had never really
been interested in the wines of the Southern Rhône, hence the reason he arrived there later in his career, only to find that it had everything he was looking for. A huge variety of terroirs, varying altitudes, an array of grape varieties. This meant lots of freedom in blending (reminding him of his work in Champagne) lots of work on tannins (harking back to Bordeaux) and working in warmer climates of the new world. He was well-prepped to take on the region, setting up his own laboratory and consultancy practice initially advising for 20 – 25 winemakers before it expanded to over 500 in the region. Minerality, water and wine Xavier’s technical skills certainly helped many traditional vignerons to develop their wine
for global export but it also gave Xavier a tremendous opportunity to explore the multitude of wines throughout the region. Xavier became fascinated with things that were clearly evident in tasting so many wines of the region, which his scientific background couldn’t always explain. “Minerality” for example, is a term bandied around wine circles everywhere you go. We all know it exists but science cannot tell us what it is. It is not clear that we even all think it is the same thing, Xavier claims.  He was part of an extensive global research paper exploring what consumers and wine professionals identify as “minerality”. The study interviewed 5,000 consumers and 5,000 professionals resulting in no clear evidence that people were talking about the same thing. The only clear answer was that Chablis had minerality! Half the study thought more about smell, 50% thought about flavour. There is no definition still states Xavier. But this began his fascination with water and for him the key to understanding the secrets of minerality – despite him knowingly accepting he had no scientific data to prove it. This was his first step towards trusting his sensibilities over scientific analysis. For him you need to look to water to understand minerality. 85% of wine is water, water is
a huge proportion of what we taste, he states. Xavier looks to mineral water companies, even beer and whisky companies who have invested much more analysis on the affects of water, than the wine industry, largely because they have more money to do so, but also because water plays a much bigger role in their taste profile (in beer water is 90-95% water compared to wine which technically is 100% grape juice).  In their analysis of mineral salt, bottled mineral waters from different parts of the world have distinctly different levels of each mineral affecting the flavour of the water. Beer companies have also accepted that their beers made in different factories around the world taste different depending on where they are made because of the composition of the water. Whisky famously is obsessed by the quality of its water in regard to the final flavour profile of each distillery.  "So why not wine too?", asks Xavier. In different parts of the Rhône he identifies how high levels of silica in a wine makes the wine taste more acidic. How different chloride minerals provide a flavour of salinity in the wine, magnesium creates bitterness and so on. Scientific analysis doesn’t register the difference, but the difference is extraordinarily apparent when tasting. The effect of water is intrinsic, Xavier believes, to the strong mineral flavours of the Southern Rhône. The wines of the region could never taste like they do elsewhere because of the effect of the mistral. The mistral wind in places (particularly Châteauneuf-du-Pape) is so strong that it evaporates water from the berries, heightening the concentrations of mineral salts the grapes have absorbed in the water from the ground whilst the water evaporates from the berries. Xavier believes Gigondas, where the vines tend to be more protected from the mistral due to the protection of the hills, is less mineral for that reason. Xavier’s fascination with the effects of water on wine was a big reason why he began his
Arcane series, a set of one-off wines that are produced with minimal manipulation. He looks back at some regions he has worked in, stating parts of California and Australia require one to one and a half tonnes of irrigated water just to produce one bottle of wine. This is crazy! Whilst we have the science and technology for this to work, it doesn’t make sense. The Arcane Series of wines by Xavier The first wine made from the Arcane series was called “Le Diable” – translates as “the devil”. It came about when one of the vignerons he was advising took him to a high altitude Mourvèdre vineyard. The winemaker now in his eighties had struggled his whole life to get the Mourvèdre this high up to ripen, never achieving the results to use in his final wine. Xavier convinced the vigneron not to harvest the grapes with the rest of his crop, to leave the grapes on the vine and to see what happens.  It was 2015, a very late harvest already Xavier recalls but this extended Indian summer caused something in the vineyard they couldn’t believe. As the grapes continued to ripen and sugars increase, the acidity also started to go up as well! They had never seen anything like it. Xavier convinced the grower to sell him the grapes and produced the wine made just from these grapes. Xavier took the wine back to the elderly grower, who on tasting the wine began to cry. In his lifetime he had never been able to produce a wine from the vineyard, particularly not a 100% Mourvèdre!  Xavier named it Le Diable, the nickname of the Mourvèdre in the Southern Rhône because it was so difficult to ripen. Xavier knew that what happened in 2015 was unlikely to be repeated. This was a wine that made itself. It was vines in the perfect place at the perfect time and this is what he wanted the Arcane series to represent. Ever since, the Arcane series (now in its 6th and 7th cuvee to be released in the next few weeks) are complete one offs never to be repeated. The story behind the Arcane series informed Xavier’s winemaking philosophy ever since. Whilst he believes we can use science and technology to manipulate wines, he wanted to move away from this, preferring nature to tell him where and when he should make the wine. That hasn’t stopped him experimenting however and there are plenty of other cuvées that
show off Xavier’s inquisitive scientific brain operating at full speed. He is currently working with a winery in Turkey that wants to produce a wine free of any manipulation. Not only organically and biodynamically grown, natural yeasts etc but they even want the fermentation and maturation vessel to have no impact on the wine – he came up with the “vinarium” – a dark glass tank for fermentation and maturation – a natural product that does not infuse any flavour in the wine.  His next experiment is to get rid of closures altogether by extending the neck of the bottle and melting the glass at the top to seal the wine without any other material such as cork to affect the flavour. He eventually wants to create individual wines from individual vines!  He is experimenting with ageing wines both in the ocean and with his own invention of submerging a tank of wine within another bigger tank of wine. He does this with his Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Ange, comparing the process to a baby in a womb, completely protected from the outside world.  He believes you can age wine like this for 50 years without any need for sulphides or racking because there is 100% humidity and an even atmospheric pressure on the wine all the time. It’s an expensive operation and for the moment not possible for all his wines. But the level of experimentation and inquisitiveness gives you a good impression the sort of lengths Xavier will go to to push the boundaries of modern winemaking. He has no problem blending a Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a Côtes du Rhône village cuvee to make it a better wine only for it to be downgraded to a Vin de France because a Châteauneuf-du-Pape cannot be included in a blend and be titled Côtes du Rhône Villages. His interest lies in how it tastes, accentuating the multifaceted variety and complexity that exists in the Southern Rhône, rather than the traditional restraints of the appellation system. This is a maverick whose wines today are some of the most exciting in the Southern Rhône. Discover all Xavier Vignon listings or read more Editorial

Based in the Southern Rhône for the last 25 years, Xavier Vignon has amassed a huge following from critics and consumers alike, with his wines often scoring in the high nineties, yet remaining extraordinary value. We caught up with him to find out the secrets to his success

Southern Rhône winemaker maverick Xavier Vignon on the secrets to his success and high-scoring wines

Xavier Vignon, a Rhône wine innovator

Xavier Vignon: A Rhône radical

Each November, the wine world looks to Burgundy for the Hospices de Beaune auction. We dive into the history of this philanthropic institution, the domaine and the wines it produces

Explore the history of Burgundy’s Hotel-Dieu and Hospices de Beaune, its wine estate and the famous annual auction, the Vente des Vins

Your guide to the wines of the Hospices de Beaune

Everything you need to know about the Hospices de Beaune

Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a long history, becoming the new home for the Pope in the 14th century, but its prestige as a wine region is comparatively short. Although it is France’s oldest appellation (the first to be officially classified in 1923), the wines only really gained notoriety in the second half of the 20th century. More recently, its full-bodied, fruity style found appeal among American critics – namely Robert Parker, who helped increase its following across the Atlantic. But, despite the success of estates such as Ch. Rayas, there is little fanfare around the region. Isabel Ferrando’s dynamism, therefore, is a refreshing change. Her story is one of revolution rather than evolution. With every step in her career, she has made bold decisions – decisions that have brought significant attention, praise and a legion of fans. For her, such an approach aligns neatly with the philosophy of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. “The only limit is to respect the appellation. That is the only limit,” says Ferrando. With 13 permitted varieties (or 22 if you count both white and red grapes) and five very different, distinct soils, countless expressions of the appellation are possible – and, for her, this is why it’s a very modern appellation. Everyone is given the freedom to “paint their picture”. Although the region might be famous for its galets roulés (large round pebbles that reflect heat and add to ripeness), this is just one of its terroirs. “There are five different soils in Châteauneuf – chalk, limestone, clay, sand, galet stones that each have a strong influence on the appellation,” she explains. “There is one singularity,” she admits, “and that is a lot of fruit.” She feels that Châteauneuf is united by its “fruity but serious” profile – however, beyond that, there is incredible variety – from more floral to darker, more savoury styles. “The vines on clay produce a fatness in the wine. The sandy soils bring a silky texture and tenderness to the tannins. The chalk gives a sensation of powder,” she says, highlighting how each soil type contributes to the final wine – providing a palette for any winemaker to produce a wine that fits their sensibility. This freedom made the region a perfect fit for Ferrando – who decided to give up her job in banking to become a winemaker 20 years ago. Then a new mother, she initially thought that being her own boss would allow her to spend more time with her family. That didn’t actually happen, she admits, “But when you become a mother or father, you become someone else – you look at life differently. I wanted to go back to nature,” she says. “I didn’t want to raise my daughter in a city. I was born in the countryside, and I needed that for my daughter.” After training for a year in Gigondas under Dominique Ay (at Domaine Raspail-Ay) she found a domaine for sale in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and jumped at the opportunity. She might have been new to the region, a woman in a male-dominated industry with no background in winemaking, but that wasn’t going to put her off. Fortunately, she made some good friends – most notably the late legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer Henri Bonneau who was instrumental in the establishment of Domaine Saint-Préfert. When she arrived, the vineyards were not in good shape, with many vines diseased and in need of replanting. Traditionally, producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend plots together to capture the complexities of the different soils and varieties etc. But, if she was to make a wine of quality, this was not possible for Ferrando. So she identified the best plots and bottled those separately (as her Réserve Auguste Favier and Collection Charles Giraud cuvées), while she set about replanting the rest of the vineyards. The young fruit from her new vines was dedicated to her Cuvée Classique Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Single-vineyard bottlings were quite a radical move in the appellation – but such was the quality of these low-production, old-vine bottlings that Ferrando’s wines rapidly earned recognition. She went further to challenge convention in the region, crafting three varietal wines in a region that was built on blends. These cuvées – a Clairette (Cuvée Spéciale Vieilles Clairettes), Cinsault (Cuvée F601) and Grenache (Cuvée Colombis) bottling – are remarkable wines. There is no other 100% Cinsault produced in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.“The Cinsault is absolutely perfect in Saint-Préfert,”, says Ferrando. “Nowhere else in Châteauneuf-du-Pape do you get these floral aromas.” She describes the grape as the Pinot Noir of the Rhône. Production is tiny – limited to just 800 bottles a year – and it is not cheap at £500 a bottle. But, for those lucky enough to taste it, it is beguiling. The Wine Advocate’s Joe Czerwinski rated it as his top discovery of 2020. Her 100% Clairette is another oddity for Châteauneuf-du-Pape and almost as rare. Only bottled in magnums (800 a year) – this is a wine that Ferrando believes can age 50 years or more. “Clairette is my vision of white wine in the Southern Rhône.” She wants to counter the claim that white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is fat and fruity. “With Clairette, you can produce very fresh and deep wines,” she says, “it gives a lot of freshness, tension and salinity to the whites.” The wine was inspired by her mentor Henri Bonneau, who convinced Ferrando to bottle these 80-year-old vines separately. In the early days of Saint-Préfert, Ferrando invited Bonneau to a feast of tête de veau – and Bonneau arrived with a magnum of an unlabelled white wine. During the meal, Bonneau started to cry – he told Ferrando that the wine was the last bottle from the cellar made by his father – a 1947 100% Clairette – showing how well good Clairette could age. “It was a very special moment,” notes Ferrando. The wine was incredibly fresh and in perfect condition. He asked Ferrando again to create another 100% Clairette – like his father’s. The first vintage was 2009. Once the wine was picked and fermented Bonneau would come to the winery, taste the wine and insist she not bottle the wine yet. It was not ready. “It was risky,” says Ferrando, “but he insisted.” After 18 months she could hold off no longer and bottled it. Tasting the wine, she was amazed by its tension. It was special. The first magnum of every vintage was given to Bonneau as a thank you. After 20 years in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Ferrando is one of the appellation’s brightest stars. But she hasn’t stopped challenging the status quo. After building one of the most celebrated brands in the appellation, Ferrando overhauled her range in 2020 – discontinuing many wines and changing the estate’s name to Famille Isabel Ferrando. Few people would have the guts to take such a chance, but a meditative period over Covid-19, the death of her husband and the evolution of her vineyards all prompted her next radical change. “The resistance of people to change is apparent, it is comfortable to stay the same,” she admits. But, for Ferrando, she had to change. Over 20 years, she’d nurtured her vineyards back to health, her young vines had reached maturity and her biodynamic farming had brought biodiversity back into her vineyards. “The vineyards changed and so the wines had to change too,” she explains. Ferrando now had the quality of fruit to be able to produce a single, flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée – a wine that represented her terroir and her winemaking style. While she still produces her Vieilles Clairettes, F601 Cinsault and Colombis cuvées, she has sacrificed her top-scoring Auguste Favier and Charles Giraud reds to produce what she feels is a true representation of her estate and sensibility. The wine captures her obsession with freshness, balanced with concentration – playing with the different textural qualities of her soils and varieties. With this refreshed focus from the 2020 vintage, Ferrando decided to bottle the wines under Famille Isabel Ferrando – trusting that her customers will follow the wines under this new name. Ferrando’s daughter seems to have inherited her mother’s revolutionary approach. At 22, she decided to abandon her business studies to tackle a degree in viticulture in Beaune – to the complete shock of her mother. While currently her daughter is learning about winemaking at some of the best estates around the world (including at the likes of Domaine Roulot, Eisele Vineyard, Mullineux and more), she has already had an influence at Saint-Préfert. It was under her guidance that Ferrando hired a young agronomist engineer who has been planting trees and cereal crops in the vineyards to improve biodiversity. Ferrando is clearly excited– still spurred on by change, despite her success. Tasting the new wines from Famille Isabel Ferrando is a wonderful experience. We were among the first to taste the 2021 vintage. The white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is divine – offering such beautiful freshness, salinity and depth, with a finesse that I can’t remember tasting from the region. And the reds, even at such a young age, already taste so balanced, pure and refined. Ferrando might be a radical and modern vigneron, but her wines are timeless. Browse all Famille Isabel Ferrando listings or read more Editorial

Isabel Ferrando is one of the stars of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. As she once more tears up the rulebook to relaunch her wines under Famille Isabel Ferrando, we discuss her journey so far, and why she believes Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the most exciting wine regions in the world today.

Over 20 years, Isabel Ferrando has been challenging convention in Chateauneuf-du-Pape – she explains why it’s so essential to never stop evolving

Talking to Chateauneuf-du-Pape’s Isabel Ferrando

The challenge to change: Isabel Ferrando

“C’est quoi, traditionnel, aujourd’hui?” Marion Raphet half-jokes as we talk about the 2019 vintage, tasting her family’s bottlings at Domaine Gérard Raphet. Since 2011, it feels like Burgundy’s vignerons have been on a rollercoaster: with hail (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016), heatwaves (2018, 2012), frost (2016 and 2017 for Chablis) and even the influx of Drosophila suzukii – an Asian fruit fly – after a particularly mild winter (2014). While global warming is nothing new to farmers – in Burgundy or elsewhere, 2019 feels like it marks a shift, with the threat of climate change suddenly all the more tangible. The year was full of extremes, from an unusual hard frost in April to a hot, dry season that really challenged vines – and growers. But in a region where tradition reigns supreme, where the way in which producers farm their vines and make their wines is passed down from generation to generation, evolution is now imperative – and, as Mickaël Haratyk of Domaine Joblot lamented, “Some producers don’t change.”  Harvest dates have gradually been creeping back, and – as Frédéric Weber at Bouchard explained – “It’s more and more difficult to pick a good date.” In 2020, Burgundy saw some of the earliest harvest dates on record – often extremely similar to those of 2003. Joseph Colin pointed out, however, that August harvests aren’t new – in 1553 producers started picking in Meursault on 14th August. He argues that the region has always had periods of warm weather that lasted 20 to 30 years; it’s a cycle. The question, however, is how long the cycle lasts – and whether growers or the vines can make great wine with fruit that is picked on 1st August. Haratyk echoed this sentiment, noting that harvests today are a month earlier than 25 years ago; with that pace of climate change, it’s hard to imagine what things will be like in another 25 years’ time.  The focus for growers used to be on getting enough sugar ripeness, with chaptalisation almost rote in decades of yore, but now it’s about retaining balance in the wines. The decision of when to pick is driven by acidity levels, to retain the essential freshness and elegance that defines fine Burgundy as we know it. At Joblot, there was a time when 11.5% potential alcohol equated to fruit that was ready for picking; now it is naturally never less than 14%. They know they’ll have the necessary sugars and maturity (with phenolic ripeness achieved easily), the challenge is to make sure nature’s generosity is off-set by the requisite acidity. But what else are the region’s vignerons doing to adapt to a new, warmer Burgundy? In the vineyard, producers can look at how they manage between the rows: ploughing is increasingly avoided, as it releases valuable moisture from the soils. The use of cover crops is another consideration; while they can help avoid erosion and preserve top soil on slopes, they also present a rival for precious nutrients and water. Growers can delay pruning, which in turn can delay budburst, helping to limit the impact of frost on the vines. Something that many producers emphasise is the importance of a thicker, taller and leafier canopy. While once vines would have been trimmed neatly, and leaves stripped to allow the sun to reach the grapes and aid ripening, today producers are limiting this work, wanting to shield grapes from the heat and limit their exposure. Charles van Canneyt, for example, still trims his vines, but lets them grow higher than he used to, and doesn’t leaf-strip at all. At Joblot, they work with a thicker canopy these days, and let the lateral shoots – that previously they’d have trimmed – grow freely. However, a thicker canopy brings its own potential problems, as Philippe Jouan noted, explaining that oidium (powdery mildew) is now the biggest issue in the vineyard. A thicker canopy means less airflow, creating a more humid environment within the canopy and therefore disease pressure. Many producers believe that mature vines are key – their deeper root systems able to reach water reserves, and with age are thought to gain a natural stability, enabling them to withstand more extreme temperatures. Marion Raphet (Domaine Gérard Raphet) explained how her old vines were so much more resistant to the rising temperatures; noting that even in a year as hot as 2020, the old vines were still green when we visited in mid-October. But some producers have seen old vines struggle in the dry conditions of 2019 and 2020. Benoît Stelhy at Georges Lignier, a proud proponent of permanent grass grown between his vines, saw his old vines seriously impacted by water stress, with the resulting yields so unviably low that they have made him seriously question the way he is working. He is now wondering if perhaps having intra-row grass cover is more important in young vineyards, where their natural vigour needs to be countered by competition. In the winery, there are plenty of benefits to the riper fruit: there’s no need for chaptalisation, and it is in general easier to extract colour, tannin and flavour. However, that same ripeness and the associated lower acidity levels, can pose problems. As Chantal Tortochot explained this year, above 13% alcohol, natural yeasts can struggle – meaning that we may see more commercial yeast (which can guarantee wines ferment to dryness) in use.  The higher pH of these musts also increases the risks of bacterial spoilage, hence producers need to be particularly careful handling them – with hygiene, temperature control and/or the careful use of sulphur of increasing importance. Benoît Stelhy described how he is trying to recreate the cold of yesteryear’s winters; he cools his wines before putting them into barrel, therefore delaying the onset of malolactic fermentation (as the region’s cool temperatures would naturally have done after an October harvest). By doing so, he can avoid adding sulphites at this stage, feeling the wines can therefore benefit more from micro-oxygenation in barrel, before malolactic fermentation takes place when the wines naturally warm up in the spring. But these measures will only work in the short-term; as the region warms further, producers need to start looking further ahead. Re-planting vineyards with rootstocks better suited to today’s climate is likely to be necessary (not to mention considering other issues posed by current rootstock selections). “The vines that are in their prime today,” William Kelley explains, “were planted with a view to early ripening in a marginal climate; in much warmer conditions, the choices of rootstock and vine genetics made in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s – even by producers aspiring to high quality – are close to the opposite of what’s required today.” Such a shift, of course, takes time – with the need to leave vineyards fallow between re-planting for several years, and a minimum three-year wait for vines to produce fruit, or longer for fruit of serious quality. Experimental plantings of Syrah and Malbec in the region feel a little ahead of the curve, but there will certainly be a need to adapt clonal selections. The rise in the popularity of Aligoté – frost-resistant, early-ripening and high-acid – is no coincidence, and some suggest that it could be a solution for retaining freshness in the region’s whites. Small percentages of Aligoté and Pinot Blanc were once planted amongst the Chardonnay in even the grandest of Crus, and it’s something William Kelley would like to see make a comeback, feeling it “would help white Burgundies retain the tension and acidity we prize so highly”. As the mercury rises, we’re already seeing a shift in the sites that thrive. Until now, many of the sites considered the “best” are mid-slope with good exposure and drainage, basking in the sun, often with relatively little topsoil; increasingly this simply isn’t what is needed in the climate. “The big winners are places such as the Hautes-Côtes,” Kelley explains, “which are today enjoying a climate that’s very similar to what the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits experienced in the 1990s.” Gros Frère & Soeur has even planted a plot of Pinot Noir at the very top of the Côte, beyond the limits of the Burgundy appellation, at altitudes that would once have been impossible.  Plots that were once unviable now are, and sites previously deemed “lesser” for their cool, marginal temperatures are being favoured. Similarly, sites with deeper, more clay-rich soils, with greater waterholding capacity, are becoming more desirable with drier conditions. As Benoît Stelhy noted in 2019 and 2020, Clos Saint-Denis with its poor soils struggled more than, say, Clos de la Roche. Alvina Pernot noted that two of her parcels either on the edge of or in the middle of forested areas (Meursault Premier Cru La Pièce sous le Bois and Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Garenne) are shielded from the sun, preserving acidity and freshness in the wines. The long-term viability of some sites, however, is hanging in the balance. Producers are increasingly aware of the threat that climate change poses. As Charles van Canneyt explained, at the moment they are only seeing the benefits – with riper fruit and more concentrated musts – but they’ll need to learn how to handle, and battle, the negatives too. While the future might be uncertain, producers are slowly but surely adapting. As Benoît Stelhy noted when discussing the benefits of organics, it’ll do for now – but does it give an answer for tomorrow? “We have to go further,” he said, a sense of urgency in his voice. It’s a call to arms, and one that producers will have to follow. For now at least, the wines are arguably better than ever; let’s hope that will long be the case.  Browse all Burgundy or explore more Editorial 

The 2020 vintage was the third in a trio of hot years for Burgundy, the region’s producers fast becoming used to what is the new norm. Here Sophie Thorpe looks at how global warming is impacting the Côte d ’Or and what the region’s vignerons are doing to cope with their shifting climate

Exploring how global warming is impacting Burgundian winemaking in Côte d ’Or and what the region’s vignerons are doing to cope with their shifting climate

Dealing with climate change in Burgundy vineyards

Adapt or die: dealing with climate change in Burgundy

Purity is often pretty high up on the list of desirable attributes when it comes to fine wine. But this intent is sometimes at odds with the process of winemaking. A process which involves plenty of influence beyond just the grapes. Even in low intervention wines (those that eschew additives, commercial yeasts etc), oak, concrete tanks, stainless steel, glass and cork – are all typically used. Wine is a hugely volatile liquid and much of this equipment’s influence is necessary in order to protect it from spoilage and oxidation. But each material brings its own texture and flavour. For vignerons obsessed with terroir expression, and therefore wines without affectation, how can winemakers reduce the impact of their tools, while preserving wine’s purity? The use of stainless steel tanks in winemaking was first introduced in the early 1960s and marked a new chapter in bringing greater fruit purity to wine. Bordeaux legend Émile Peynaud was a key advocate of their adoption. Stainless steel was soon endorsed throughout the winemaking world, bringing a new level of clarity and precision to wine. Its lack of porosity meant that the fruit flavour was less compromised. The introduction of temperature-controlled tanks could also keep fermentations cool, avoiding the loss of the grapes’ aromatics and preserving the vibrancy of the fruit. It is also very effective in protecting the wine against oxidation. But, despite stainless steel’s seeming neutrality, many winemakers have turned their back on it, favouring concrete and oak vessels, and now even tanks made from glass instead. The issue with stainless steel is particularly noticeable in places like the Southern Rhône, where the Mistral wind plays havoc with wines in steel tanks. Quite how an annual wind that blows through the valley can have such an effect, might seem a mystery to many, but winemakers have realised that this wind causes strong variations in air pressure – resulting in huge amounts of static electricity being stored in vessels that conduct it. A steel tank is much more conductive than a concrete one or the inert oak barrel. It turns out the huge build-up of static electricity can considerably alter the texture of a wine, particularly when it comes to a red wine, rich in tannins. For Xavier Vignon – one of the Southern Rhône’s most celebrated winemakers, consultants and all-round alchemists – this became even clearer under the dark cloud of Covid. Vignon caught Coronavirus early on in the outbreak, and like many, he lost his ability to smell and taste for a number of months. Professionally, this is potentially disastrous for a wine consultant whose artform is blending. But losing his smell and taste, at least for a time, allowed him to concentrate on other factors when it came to the blend. When I spoke to Vignon, he made a point that fortunately he was sick between March and May – a time when, commercially, he wasn’t required to blend. This however, allowed him to experiment with things beyond flavour. “Without taste you start to concentrate on texture,” he says, “the composition, the balance. This started to dictate my blending and my winemaking.” Vignon believes the static electricity in stainless steel tanks has a number of negative effects on the texture of the wine. “It destroys the roundness of the wine, it destroys the sweetness. The softer tannins are reduced, whilst the harder tannins stay in the wine.” Static electricity is everywhere. Vignon tells me how a petrol tanker travelling down a motorway can generate so much static electricity that, if not earthed, touching it would be fatal. For wine, Vignon says, “The electricity from the top to the bottom of the tank can be as much as 50 volts; 9,000 hectolitres can produce 600 volts of static electricity!” While the return to concrete tanks and large old wooden casks is preferable for most in the Southern Rhône, Vignon still believes this is a compromise. “Even in concrete tanks there is iron in the composite, which creates static electricity in the blend,” he explains. The clay amphora – a trendy maturation alternative – also brings its own distinct chalk-like texture, so for him is not a solution. Inert oak is a successful counter to the problems of static electricity, but it is not a neutral vessel. While oak has an affinity to certain grape varieties – many perceive its ability to accentuate certain fruit and spice characteristics – if on a quest for purity, the use of oak will always be a trade-off. It is not only oak’s flavour, but its porosity that has the biggest effect on compromising a wine’s purity, particularly with smaller barriques. “The difficulty for small volumes of wine is that it is exposed to lots of oxygen – since the tank is smaller and it is easily affected by atmospheric temperatures as well as humidity, this causes lots of evaporation,” says Vignon. “To protect the barrel from oxidation you therefore need to keep topping up the barrel. Every time you top up, you are adding oxygen to the wine. Therefore, you have to keep adding more SO2 also.” This, Vignon feels, masks purity. This led him to experiment with ageing wines in the ocean – an experiment that worked to great effect. Wines aged in barrels in the sea saw no change in temperature, no variation in pressure, and no static electricity build-up. This meant there was no evaporation. Therefore, there was no need to top up the barrels and removed the need to continually add more SO2. His experiments resulted in Vignon’s “vinarium technique”, where he suspends barrels of wine in larger tanks of wine – enabling him to age the wines for long periods of time without having to expose them to oxygen. While this might solve oak’s issues of oxidation, limiting SO2 inputs and avoiding the textural alterations caused by static – it still doesn’t avoid the compromise of oak’s flavour impact. There is one material in winemaking, however, that eliminates this and is starting to make inroads across the fine wine regions of the world: glass. Many top winemakers in Bordeaux, Burgundy and beyond are already experimenting with it – although many are not yet willing to go on record just yet. It is not that they are unhappy with the results, but they feel it is too early to be completely sure. These include the very finest châteaux and domaines around the world. Glass, unlike stainless steel is inert so there are no issues with static electricity. Glass, unlike oak, is non-porous and therefore does not impart any flavour to the wine. With these qualities combined, could it become the material of choice for the vignerons desperate to produce wines of absolute purity? WineGlobe is a French company that has started to produce giant spherical glass containers of different sizes to ferment and mature wine. Designed by Michael Paetzold, an oenologist by training, a scientist and a vigneron – he claims they are the first glass vats in winemaking history. After three years of trialling the vessels, the result amongst winemakers around the world has been impressive. David Suire, celebrated Bordeaux wine consultant and winemaker at Ch. Laroque, believes that the making and maturing of wines in glass globes produce wines that “are surprisingly whole, with their flesh... mouthfeel and a radiance of unique purity.” For Vignon, glass is the logical solution from his own experimentation – so much so, he is in the process of building a winery made completely of glass. Grapes, and the resultant wine will have no contact with any porous or static material in his quest for purity. It has seen him embrace this material with great excitement and it is revolutionising his approach to winemaking. His next hurdle, is how to avoid the cork. The cork is another porous material that can potentially influence the flavour of the wine. While cork taint has been greatly reduced, it is the cork’s porosity – even as a composite – that is the issue. It is one step away from producing a wine completely unaffected by its materials. Vignon does not have a solution yet, but is experimenting with melting the glass at the top of the bottle neck – therefore avoiding the need for a closure at all. How this works practically and commercially is still yet to be seen. While it remains too early to say, glass has the potential to become a much more prominent material in winemaking. At the moment, it remains an expensive option – therefore limited to fine wine for now, and even then, there are few, if any, cuvées made entirely by glass. But if the technology allows for it and it continues to find favour in the winemaker’s experiments, it could go some way to solving vignerons’ quest for purity. Browse all wines or read more Editorial 

Producing a wine free of affectation is the goal for many winemakers. We explore the different approaches vignerons are experimenting with in a bid to produce wines of greater purity

Exploring the different approaches vignerons are experimenting with in a bid to produce wines of greater purity

Finding purity through new winemaking approaches

In search of purity

Over two trips to the region, our team delved into the 2022 vintage – visiting, tasting with and talking to a range of producers up and down the Côte d’Or. Here we break down the year by producer, from north to south, with a summary of how each fared and our favourite wines from the tasting table

A run-down of the Burgundy 2022 vintage wines en primeur by producer: from Fourrier to Lamy via Bernstein, Lamarche, Lambrays, Duroche and Hudelot-Noellat

Burgundy 2022 – the vintage by producer

Burgundy 2022: by producer

2001 Château la Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux “A couple of weeks ago, in an attempt to try and cheer up ‘Lockdown 2.0’, I decided to order a fancy takeaway from a favourite local restaurant. It was a classic French menu – pâté to start, boeuf bourguignon for the main course, all topped off with a tarte tatin. To further brighten up the evening, I wanted to open something special from my collection, and landed on a bottle of 2001 La Mission Haut-Brion (it really had to be something French to go with  that menu!). It was the ideal accompaniment, perfectly in its drinking window. It was full of dark red fruit, and – while being absolutely strong enough to stand up to the strew – was also wonderfully elegant. Everything was exactly as it should be, this is a stupendous wine, wonderfully balanced, perfectly pure and just downright delicious.” Rose Saunders, Senior Sales Manager 2015 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Blanc, Pays d’Hérault “Perhaps my favourite quality of a truly great wine is its power to make any occasion special. That being said, many of my most memorable wine experiences are those which aren’t planned – as was exactly the case with this bottle of 2015 Grange des Pères Blanc. During a weekend break in Cornwall last month, I managed to bag a last-minute booking at Outlaw’s New Road, and on opening the wine list this line immediately caught my eye – a rare find at fine wine merchants, let alone on restaurant lists. I asked the waiter, who to my great disappointment told me the last bottle had sold earlier that day. However, Outlaw has a second restaurant down the road, and having confirmed they had one bottle left, he promptly jogged down a very steep hill, and back, to fetch it. “The wine itself is simply unlike anything else: 90% Roussanne with a little Chardonnay and Marsanne, made by a man who trained under François Coche-Dury, G’erard Chave and Eloi Dürrbach. The 2015 is still very young, a behemoth of aroma, flavour, structure and texture.
 Decanted and enjoyed over five hours, it was almost overpowering to begin with – with rich tropical fruit, spice, garrigue herbs, candied lemon and intense minerality. Continually softening and evolving with time, exhibiting an extraordinary array of nuances, this is a masterclass of how to balance raw power with freshness and finesse. One of the best bottles I’ve had this year, thank you to the brilliant team at Outlaw’s New Road for going the extra mile.” Simon Brewster, Senior Sales Manager Sennachie, 40-year-old, Cask #83/254-3, Blended Scotch Malt Whisky “Five undisclosed Speyside and Highland whiskies distilled in 1975, married in 1983 at the age of eight years, and thereafter aged at Springbank Distillery Campbeltown: this is the intriguing make-up of Sennachie’s 40-year-old Cask #83/254-3, a release of 195 bottles and one of the most fascinating whiskies I’ve had the pleasure of drinking. There are five single malt components to pick out, although it’s debatable whether it actually matters. They are in perfect harmony from the outset, with a delightful nose of honey, oranges, shortbread and sweet cinnamon spice. The palate is balanced with red apples, white chocolate and salted caramel. It’s complex and immensely drinkable. The only downside is the spirit’s unique nature; this combination of whiskies and events cannot be repeated, so it’s worth enjoying it while you can.” David Walters, Head of Spirits 2000 Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru, Domaine Leroy “I had the privilege this autumn to taste one of the latest releases from Burgundy’s legendary Domaine Leroy, the 2000 Clos de Vougeot, in a restaurant setting – a rarity for 2020 – making the event perhaps even more special. Big, boisterous, but charming too, this perfect-condition bottle displayed epic concentration and a staggering purity of fruit, something Lalou notes of her 2000s. There was a tautness to everything, like a snake coiled and ready to pounce. Still youthful and gleaming, the perfumed nose was compelling and seemed to fill the entire room! A wine that stops you in your tracks and reminds you why Burgundy continues to run the world.” Tony Cody, Senior Sales Manager 2010 Gaia, Grosset, Clare Valley, Australia “It’s relatively rare for me not to drink French – but at my first post-lockdown meal at the Harwood Arms, this caught my eye on the list. I’ve long been a fan of the Grosset wines, and while Polish Hill may be the wine that gets the most press, they’ve clearly been putting effort into Gaia – a Cabernet that now stands up there with the world’s best. This, now a decade old, was still deeply coloured with an expressive nose of dark fruit (ripe blackberries, plums) with underlying tertiary notes. On the palate, the acidity lifted the overall ripe fruit profile from this warm vintage in South Australia. Concentrated and structured, with polished tannins, dried herb notes added complexity to the long finish. Caught at just the right moment, this was drinking beautifully – perhaps all the more so with the sweet taste of freedom.” Corentin Margier, Head of Buying Browse more Editorial 

Each month, we ask a handful of our team to pick a wine or spirit they’ve tasted recently – a bottle that surprised, delighted or merely lived up to high expectations. Here’s what they chose

Each month, we ask a handful of our team to pick a wine or spirit they’ve tasted recently. Here’s what they chose

Our team names their top bottlings

In the glass: what our team is drinking

Xavier Gerard

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