End of harvest

The harvest in the Côte d’Or is now pretty much over and the growers are happier than expected. Though the weather forecasts indicated that there would be rain at any moment during the fortnight of the harvest, in fact it stayed dry until some storms passed through on Sunday 11th, by which time virtually everything […]

The Eve of the Harvest

Halfway through the season we knew it would be an early harvest, almost certainly kicking off in August, but the character of the year was yet to be defined with the beautiful spring weather tailing off somewhat as June replaced May. However the sun came back with a vengeance at the end of June, flirting […]

2001 Vintage 10 Years On

Of all vintages in my 30 years of experience with Burgundy, 2001 is the year I have found the most difficult to pin down. The growing season was a touch anonymous with good weather in late May, late August and thankfully during the harvest in late September, but otherwise too many cool, grey and somewhat […]

Midsummer report from Burgundy

A moderately severe winter, though without the deep freeze of the previous year, ended early and a fine spring was ushered in from the middle of March. The wind patterns were unusual, blowing mainly from the north (the benchmark wind on Palm Sunday), cool and dry, or veering right round to the south, warm and […]