Gary's Wine Travelogue

Gary's Trip to Burgundy and Bordeaux

I just returned from a trip to Burgundy and Bordeaux, and I have to say, it’s an exciting time for French wines. We had the opportunity to tour 16 wineries and taste 153 wines in six days…an incredible feat, if you ask me, but made all the better by the hospitality we received and the great food that was served!

We started off in Bordeaux, where the weather is currently being a bit uncooperative. The chilly rain is making everyone there a little nervous about mold on the 2007 vintage that’s still a few months away from harvest. Hopefully some careful vineyard management will save the crop.

We spent our time in Bordeaux tasting a smorgasbord of vintages, but I was most interested in sampling the 2006 vintage. They were still in the barrel, so they can’t be completely judged, yet they didn’t seem to have the same elegance of 2005 Bordeaux. That said, they were very pretty wines, and it will be interesting to see how they develop.

Next we went on to Burgundy, where the 2006 vintage really impressed me. We’ve been reading about the quality and collectability of the 2005 vintage for a year now, but 2006 is proving just spectacular. There was a great deal of ripeness and fruit, so even out of the barrel we could see that these were bright wines that will drink well young.

What made Burgundy even more special was the warm, enthusiastic welcome we received. I’m always impressed by the hospitality there, despite how little wine is actually produced. The fact that they’ll open the doors and taste us on everything they can, not just the current vintage, is really refreshing.

All around, it was a great trip. We’re really excited about the 2006 vintage coming in, and we’re eager to return to see how the 2007 crop turns out. Who knows … it could be another great year for both regions!

To read more about Gary’s June trip to Burgundy and Bordeaux, visit our new blog, GarysWineBlog.com!