Vineyards - Reputation past and present.

It is rightly said that there are no new discoveries in Burgundian vineyards.  You will not uncover a vineyard whose fine quality no one has noticed before. Yet part of the joy of Burgundy is to develop preferences among the hundreds of vineyards and in this one can, in my view, latch on early to some vineyard whose reputation may be on the rise - especially in the less heralded villages. Vineyards rise and fall in reputation.  Taste preferences change. Climate changes. Through some stimulus or other a particular vineyard may rise in esteem - which of course influences price.  

Since in Burgundy it is the land that is rated not the grower, it is inevitable that, other things being equal,  a vineyard’s present reputation is very influenced by the quality of the growers who currently farm it. This is no less true in Barolo or anywhere else where vineyard designation is important. The true central part of Cannubi for example - as distinct from the adjacent vineyards of Cannubi Boschis or Cannubi Valletta (each also entitled to the singular “Cannubi” designation) - has to my mind no grower making single vineyard designated Cannubi of a style and quality I most appreciate.  Some commentators have come to question the true merit of this historically revered  vineyard.  Examples in Burgundy abound - both of apparently lesser vineyards over performing in reputation because of the quality of growers who farm it (perhaps Gevrey Les Corbeaux or St Aubin En Remilly) and historically more prestigious vineyards that do not today fulfill their apparent potential.  Chambolle Les Charmes for example seems to me to have been long regarded as the finest Premier cru level vineyard in Chambolle after Amoureuses, but it appears of late relatively to have lost this standing in favor of Fuees and Cras as these two previously rather cool sites have benefitted from climate change. The arrival of a single dedicated grower can quickly restore the reputation of an under performing vineyard, which in turn attracts others to it and raises prices.

There are several examples of vineyards whose reputations have much improved of late. .

Vosne Malconsorts, for example, has of course forever been known to be a great site, but absent Cathiard’s wine, there was little actual evidence of this in recent bottles. So it did not make the ‘short list” of the great Premier crus of Burgundy. Now however, due to the buying into the vineyard principally of Dujac and De Montille the fine reputation of the vineyard as a whole has been largely restored. And the prices all the growers can obtain rises to reflect this. Now Malconsorts is rightfully on everyone’s list of Burgundy’s very best Premier Crus. 

Latriciere Chambertin now perhaps has a higher reputation than it ever has by virtue of a mighty prestigious list of growers.  Bize Leroy may have been led the way but many have followed. The very particular qualities of the vineyard have since been brought into clear focus so the vineyard now merits its Grand Cru status.  Perhaps the trend to more elegantly styled wines has also helped the uptick in Latriciere’s reputation.

Vosne Petits Monts is another example.  Veronique Drouhin has always been there making fine wine, but this vineyard has surely risen on the coat tails of the heightened visibility of Vosne Reignots, since Comte Liger Belair took back their land in 2002. Liger Belair also have a plot in Petits Monts since 2006 but now we also have Domaine Georges Noellat and Domaine Berthaut Gerbet to join the roster of quality growers in Petits Monts. DRC of course have a piece also. The vineyard just seems to be getting more attention than before. And prices have gone up accordingly.  

So is Meursault Poruzots - a long a “forgotten” vineyard thought to produce wines in the richer style, now farmed by growers of the highest repute making wines of more restraint and tension, demonstrating only now the quality of which the vineyard was evidently always capable. The same is true of Meursault Bouchiere after Jean Marc Roulot recently acquired a parcel.

Gevrey’s Lavaux St Jacques is another vineyard whose reputation is clearly rising. We have Duroche and Benjamin Leroux’s recent examples plus newcomers Marchant Tawse and Amelie Berthaut. Rousseau now more consistently bottles his parcel separately. Allen Meadows has endorsed the quality of the vineyard, so this cat is out of the bag. 

Beaune Greves is a large vineyard but the locals appreciate its majestic quality. They universally recognize it as the best site in Beaune.  So its quality is hardly a secret. But the wider public will soon latch on to what the locals have long known as the roster of people making Greves grows to include some prestigious and highly competent names. We have for a while had some fine growers in Greves - including Frederick Lafarge and Bouchard, from whose holding in the central part of the vineyard increasingly good wine is being produced. And now we also have David Croix, Etienne de Montille and Dominique Lafon. The future looks bright.

So what vineyards are next to rise in reputation ?

As prices broadly have risen, consumers have looked at villages previously thought to be in the second category and, on inspection , found that some of these vineyards perhaps are not second grade at all. Particularly if one is drinking white burgundy younger (meaning inside the first ten years) so ageability is not intrinsically so much a constituent of quality as before, some vineyards which show earlier appeal have become very popular - St Aubin En Remilly for example. Perhaps the higher parts of Chassagne Morgeots will benefit. Quality growers don’t normally waste their time making wine from suboptimal sites. Unless they inherited them. Here especially the negotiant names have a benefit since they can pick their terroirs. I have always felt that at the Grand Cru level it surely unlikely the negotiants (other than those who own the land) get the best fruit but at lower levels they can pick only sites that really are of interest. The best example of this freedom being exercised perhaps is Benjamin Leroux - almost everything produced illustrates the quality of lesser known sites - his Meursault Blagny for example, or his Premier cru Vougeot.

Some village level sites of course are in the process of seeking higher official designation to Premier Cru.  It is no surprise that these are rising in reputation by having been singled out as candidates even if the process of formal elevation were not to be successful.  These sites may fetch slightly higher prices today - so there is really no “discovery” with regard to these. But as a consumer these are still sites that are not priced quite where they may be - especially of course if the application for promotion is successful.  Among these seeking elevation we have several in Marsannay - including Longerois and Clos Du Roi for example - in Gevrey Evocelles and in Vosne Champ Perdrix as I understand it. I am interested where the prices of these vines go if granted Premier Cru status - especially the many vineyards in Marsannay that have made the application. 

Historically in many locations the most highly regarded vineyards were those where the snow melted first. Global warming has undeniably played a role in reformulating the perceived quality hierarchy of vineyards. There can be little doubt of the reality of this, given today’s preference for more restrained wines.  Sites with higher elevation or in the path of a combe or, in relation to Barolo especially, vineyards facing other than directly due south, have risen in regard as the summers get warmer. In Barolo a full south exposition more or less guaranteed a high reputation, even in the days before there was an official hierarchy. A look at the three dimensional map makes this abundantly clear. The historically most famous vineyards face due south. The grapes from these sites fetched higher prices. Today however, Brunate for example is without question still an astounding site in which one would enthusiastically wish to have vines - but its growers are surely having to compensate in viticulture for its fully southerly exposure in the warmer years. Another example is Villero, which although it has a south west aspect is a naturally warm site.  Growers with vines there perform more canopy management than previously to compensate for increasing temperatures. By contrast, the vineyards of Verduno - and especially Monvigliero- with cooler expositions- are gaining in completeness and desirability. There are countless examples. But while acknowledging global warming is very relevant it is not the only factor. If warmer summers alone can diminish a vineyards reputation, you surely need quality farming to elevate an as yet less heralded site. Examples in Burgundy of vineyards that have surely benefited from recent warmer temperatures should include the two mentioned above - Chambolle Les Fuees and Les Cras plus perhaps Lavaux Saint Jacques in Gevrey.

No doubt better farming techniques have lifted the quality of harvested fruit from all vineyards. This is quite a recent development - really the last fifteen years or so. The need for phenolic ripeness is better understood. The raw material is better, allowing lighter extractions.  Unquestionably some vineyards that previously struggled for ripeness are now - by virtue of these farming improvements - elevating themselves to the highest ranks.  Global warming alone is not responsible for the improvements we enjoy.

It is very reassuring that the direction is exclusively towards adding to the list of sites that are performing at new found higher potential. The historically warmer sites are being skillfully managed with all the viticultural tools available to compensate for their increased warmth - so retaining their reputation. Sites previously marginally too cool are benefiting from greater warmth and better viticulture - so raising the standing of previously less heralded sites. All good for the consumer. 

Predicting which vineyard is next to rise in the popular rankings is a purely intellectual indulgence - a conversation only for the most entrenched wine geeks.  I have some sympathy for Nuits St George Aux Thorey.  There are many vineyards of high repute on the Vosne side of Nuits, but at present Thorey is not among those often mentioned. There has been some turnover in the vineyard - but now Cathiard is back and so is De Montille and Benjamin Leroux. The slope has similar exposition to Clos St Jacques. Others whose views I respect have a great appreciation for Nuits Saint Georges Les Perrierres. Perhaps Beaune Greves ? Meursault Blagny ?