What is Phenolic ripeness? And is climate change effecting grapes ripening?
Bella Wines
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4y ago
There are certain words that pop up in my day to day work and I always assume that I know what they mean. Sometimes these words are rather specific to the wine world. One such expression is 'phenolic ripeness'. A phenol is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula C6H5OH. According to the Drugbank website:  'Phenol is an antiseptic and disinfectant. It is active against a wide range of micro-organisms including some fungi and viruses, but is only slowly effective against spores. Phenol has been used to disinfect skin and to relieve itching. Phenol is also used as an oral analg ..read more
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Treasury Wine Estates buys Chateau Cambon la Pelouse in Bordeaux
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
Penfolds buys a Chateau! Treasury Wine Estates(TWE) announced yesterday that they have just bought Chateau Cambon la Pelouse in the Medoc region of Bordeaux.This is the first acquisition in France for one of the largest premium wine producers in Australia, New Zealand and America. Chateau Cambon la Pelouse Jean-Pierre Marie who bought the Chateau in 1996 and sold it yesterday to Treasury Wine Estates. The well stocked cellar at the Chateau in the Medoc. TWE used to be the wine division of Foster's beer. Beringer Blass, Southcorp and Penfolds are all in the TWE stable.  TWE was spun off from ..read more
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What does Grand Cru mean in Champagne?
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
We have already explored what the term 'Grand Cru' means in Bordeaux and Burgundy. But what does 'Grand Cru' mean in Champagne? The term 'Grand Cru' is totally different in Champagne, as it refers to the village rather than the specific vineyard (like Burgundy) or the specific estate name (like Bordeaux). There are currently 17 villages in Champagne that are authorised to use the term 'Grand Cru'. These villages are: Ambonnay, Avize, Ay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Chouilly, Cramant, Louvois, Mailly Champagne, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry, Puisieulx, Sillery, Tours-Sur-Marne, Verzenay, Verzy ..read more
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What does Grand Cru mean in Burgundy?
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
The small vineyard of Romanée Conti behind the village of Vosne-Romanée. The term ‘Grand Cru’ used in Burgundy refers to the top 33 recognised vineyards. These 33 vineyards cover 550 hectares of vines, which is approximately 2% of the total Burgundy area.(29000 hectares). Grand Cru can refer to red wine (356 hectares) or white wine (194 hectares). The original Grand Cru vineyards were mapped out by the Cistercian monks who enclosed many of the vineyards with walls to mark the limit and also to protect from wind. The word 'Clos' is often used in Burgundy to describe a vineyard. The etymology of ..read more
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What does Grand Cru mean in Bordeaux?
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
Some delicious wines, but are they all 'Grand Cru'?The words 'Grand Cru' have various meanings in the Bordeaux area. Essentially there are three different interpretaions: 1. Grand Cru Classe de Graves means that the Chateau was classified in 1953 and then revised in 1959. There are no changes to the classification since then.The Chateaux were classified for red and white wines. There were originally 16 Chateaux in this classification which was drawn up by the INAO.....Institut National d'Appelation d'Origine. Now there are 14 Chateaux in this classification as Chateau Laville Haut Brion and La ..read more
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2009 Bordeaux, 10 years On....Was Robert Parker right to give 19 Chateaux 100 points?
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
Last week I spent two fascinating days in London tasting and reviewing the top Bordeaux wines from the 2009 vintage. This was the '10 years on' tasting at Farr Vintners in their excellent tasting room in Battersea. With a similar format to the 2015 Bordeaux tastings we tasted the wines in flights of 11 or 12, without knowing what was in the bottle.....a blind tasting. We spent about 30 minutes assessing each flight of wines and then collated the scores. My fellow tasters included a plethora of MWs, the buyers for some of the top UK wine merchants, Justerini & Brooks, Berry Bros & Rudd ..read more
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2015 Bordeaux.....The 'Southwold' Tasting
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
Last week I had the pleasure of tasting over 260 Bordeaux wines from the 2015 vintage. The 'Southwold' tasting was hosted at Farr Vintners at their excellent, bright, naturally lit, spacious tasting room in Battersea, London. The cold and brown hued River Thames ebbed and flowed outside the windows, whilst we kept warm and concentrated on the task in hand. Two and a half days of serious tasting and evaluation. I have been involved in this tasting group for the last few years, although the group has been running for 30 years. My main role, along with my colleague Bill Blatch, is to visit all ..read more
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20 things that I learned in 2018.........
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
1. I respect politicians even less. 2. Petrus is worth over €1 billion (for 11 hectares/ 28.2acres). 3. The 2016 vintage from Bordeaux,which has just been bottled will be sensational. 4. The 2018 vintage from Bordeaux, which has just been harvested will be even more sensational. 5. The growers in Burgundy are (finally) happy with quantity as well as quality for the 2018 harvest. 6. Champagne is a beautiful countryside area and the small villages are charming. 7. Reims Cathedral is still my favourite architechtural building in the World. 8. Gevrey Chambertin is vying with Volnay for my f ..read more
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Visit Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne in 2019
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
We regularly visit and taste at the beautiful Chateau Pichon Baron in Pauillac. Great people and delicious wines.Chateau d'Yquem in Sauternes produces sensational sweet wines as well as a beautiful dry white. The gardens are beautiful too.Chateau Latour has a tower!! Even in winter the vineyards have character.We normally taste Chateau Lafite Rothschild in the cellars uner candlelight. A wonderful experience.We also can organise accomodation at sensational Chateaux such as this one above. We are planning many more wine tours in Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne at the moment. Some of the ..read more
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Visiting Burgundy
Bella Wines
by
5y ago
The famous vineyard of Romanee Conti covers 1.63 hectares (4 acres). Production is +-3500 bottles per year. The wine sells for +- €20,000 per bottle. A monopole vineyard (ie one owner) The Grand Cru vineyard of Chevalier Montrachet covers 7.47 hectares (18.5 acres) and produces approximately 40,000 bottles. Just above the village of Puligny Montrachet in the Cote de Beaune. One of my favourite areas of Burgundy is the area around Gevrey Chambertin in the Cote de Nuits. Fascinating map of the very precise vineyards of Gevrey Chambertin. Village, Premier and Grand Cru sites. Domaine Jacques Pr ..read more
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