Latest news from JMIB: tasting the 2023 vintage and an announcement in the works
As usual at this time of year there is so much going on, and so little time left to write about it. I am now three-quarters of the way through tasting the 2023 vintage across more than 200 domaines in the Cote d’Or and will have my nose to the grindstone throughout December, fine-tuning the notes to bring them to you before the end of the year.
It is a very good vintage in white, and sometimes a great one, while the reds are juicily attractive – with some spectacular wines where yields were controlled and the choice of picking date was spot on.
I squeezed a couple of days away from the coalface to head to Madrid for the Golden Vines Awards. It was a great occasion with the opportunity to drink some wonderful wines courtesy of producers such as Krug, Dom Perignon, Trimbach, Egon Muller, Vega Sicilia and Taylor’s Port. However, the reason for going was even more special for me- as I was inducted into the Golden Vines Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of Aubert de Villaine, Istvan Szepsy and Jancis Robinson MW. What an honour to be in that company!
Since last I wrote, the 2024 vintage has been brought into cellars. Not many grapes alas, especially in Chablis and the Côte de Nuits, though the whites from the Côte de Beaune came through with less damage. Though issues with mildew have been widely broadcast, the principal danger was bad weather at the time of flowering.
Usually I am on site during the harvest period, darting around from one vineyard or cellar to another, but this year I spent the last two weeks of September in New Zealand. I was invited to speak at a conference on Chardonnay, a refreshing change from all the events devoted to Pinot noir. I did however find time to take a few days rest in the South Island as well as attend a vertical tasting at the Mills’ family’s superb Rippon Vineyards. A report on that, and a round-up of my Hawkes Bay Chardonnay experiences, will follow in the New Year.
Normally, at this time of year, I am heavily involved with the Hospices de Beaune, and indeed I have been writing some of this piece while it was in action. The big difference this year is that I have relinquished my role as Consultant for the sale, so I am feeling a great deal more relaxed. The event went off very well despite the much smaller number of barrels, earning in total just under €14 million for the Hospices.
There are always many fascinating events and tastings around the weekend of the Hospices de Beaune and I was fortunate to be able to attend several of them – a fascinating dive into the cellars of Bouchard Père & Fils, already reported on, a vertical tasting of Frédéric Mugnier’s Musigny vineyard with vintages back to 1993, a dinner accompanied by Christophe Roumier’s 1995 vintage, in which he excelled, and perhaps most exciting of all, a horizontal tasting of some stupendous 1er and Grand cru wines from the 1978 vintage. So much for me to write about, as soon as I have completed the 2023 tour of duty.
And now, perhaps the most important news of all! The new-look website is raring to go. Cabin crew are just doing the last safety checks and then we will be able to take off. It looks lovely, with additional features, much faster speeds and we believe the whole experience will be more user friendly. JMIB is still a young business – November 2024 marks our 6th anniversary – but we are growing up!
Enjoy the upcoming Christmas holidays. We shall be bringing you much more content in the coming days to whet your Burgundy appetite.
With best wishes from a (briefly) snowy Burgundy
Jasper
