Join Climens (Grand Cru Classé, Barsac) through their 2016 Harvest

Here is the recount of this excellent sweet wine year of 2016 direct from Château Climens  itself, my favorite Barsac, 100% Sémillon and biodynamic! Can visit and taste too (20€pp), for tasting of 4 vintages (60€pp) or a food and wine partnered lunch (180€pp, 6 to 14 people Michelin restaurant Darroze).  http://www.chateau-climens.fr  #climens Spring 2016 : …

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Fancy a lunch in one of Bordeaux’s Wine Chateaux?

When visiting the vineyards of Bordeaux, forget the busy restaurants for lunch, choose one of its wine châteaux to have lunch cooked for you in style amidst nature overlooking the vineyards! Here are my top choices in each of Bordeaux's vineyard regions. Near to St Emilion Château Siaurac http://www.chateausiauracandco.com Beautiful light fresh seasonal meal enjoyed in the beautiful relaxed 15 hectare …

Rotten Luck: Sauterne’s Noble Rot explained

What is Noble Rot and how does it create such concentration and complexity of aromas? Botrytis cinerea or noble rot is a parasite that 'digests' the skin of the grapes. It enables the water to evaporate and for the sugar and the acidity in the grapes to become super-concentrated. In addition the grape reacts and …

2013 Bordeaux Harvest – Nature enforced earlier than hoped

Everyone had their ideal date this year to harvest. For most it was 14th October. Nature had another idea in mind! Most started at least one week to ten days before their optimum. The actual start was Monday 30th September enforced by nature (some even the weekend before) to get as much of the Merlots in before the …

Beautiful Botrytis by the Bunch for Bordeaux’s Sweet wine producers in 2013

2013 Lucky for some! Everyone is happy in Sauternes as the alternating of wet and hot sunny conditions is perfect for the onset of 'noble rot' botrytis cinerea. There is so much uniform botrytis that whole bunches are able to be picked instead this year of the painstaking berry by Berry (last happened in 2005). 2013 …

No 2012 Yquem! announces director Pierre Lurton reports AFP

standing to lose 25 million euro but can afford it being owned by the groupe LVMH. What about the smaller producers who cannot afford to foresake a vintage? Harvesting late they got the worst of the rainy weather. AFP article below. Visited Sauternes at the beginning of November and took these photos at Yquem. 15 …

A Case of ‘Rotten Luck’ for the sweet wine producers of Bordeaux?

Château d'Yquem Bordeaux produces the unique sweet wines made by the noble rot. Due to the precarities of this elusive fungus, it is rarely found elsewhere. These wines are unique and are amongst the world's longest living wines. The fungus is very fickle and only arrives with particular climatic conditions late into the Autumn, it …

Sauternes 2012; still hanging in there

With the delay of the onset of botrytis, which did not arrive until mid October at the same time as the wet autumnal weather inevitably, many smaller producers produced non-botrytised sweet generic Sauternes and dry wines this year. When the botrytis finally arrived its development has often been stopped by many rain showers which also encouraged the …

Bordeaux Liquoreux 2012: You brave producers

In between the rain falls which washed away any prescence of the magical, ephemeral botrytis, you gallant producers who on a good day get to harvest a glass-full of the precious nectar. Who have to combat the weather at the most precarious time of year, who have to pay astronomically to teams of pickers to …

Wine Grower Portrait; Françoise Sirot-Soizeau, Château Closiot, Barsac Sauternes

“Open door” in the world’s most famous sweet wine region First published in the Gilbert & Gaillard International Magazine An open sign hangs on the wide blue gates of Château Closiot. “When we are at home, we are always ready to receive visitors even at harvest-time” says Françoise Sirot-Soizeau, third generation owner of this four …