Revue Vigneron No. 43, those who make the wine (French edition) Winter 2021

The first magazine exclusively dedicated to the best winemakers of France and beyond, the Revue Vigneron is a prestigious quarterly publication aimed at both connoisseurs and enthusiasts as well as professionals in the wine industry. Composed of extensive reports produced by our teams on-site, in the vineyards, Vigneron gathers some of the best writers from the wine world and beyond – authors, the Best Sommelier in the world, tasters, historians, intellectuals… – and talented photographers in a unique and powerful editorial and visual concept. Because wine, a reflection of a certain French art of living, is much more than a "drink": it is heritage, culture, geography. It makes more sense than ever in a time when everyone seeks to anchor themselves, to root themselves, in a land, a terroir, a History.

Contents:

NECESSITY MAKES LAW - ORIANNE NOUAILHAC

We live in glorious times where politicians advancing under false pretenses explain what is vital or not to our existence. An incredible "Big Brother" dictatorship in which bookstores are not labeled essential. It is true that at a time when social media seems quick to kill debate and impoverish minds, one has little use for books, those inanimate objects that force us to think, doubt, imagine… There remains, however, a freely accessible remedy to gloom, an authorized adjunct, a wine that sets the whole world buzzing, copied everywhere, equaled nowhere, a breath of fresh air, a concentrate of energy, life, minerality, savoriness: Champagne wine. Considering, in a strange Pavlovian reflex, that Champagne should not be drunk…

CHAMPAGNE BILLECART-SALMON: OF WOOD AND BUBBLES - ORIANNE NOUAILHAC

Like any wine, Champagne can also experience contact with wood during its aging. In Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the Billecart-Salmon house has even made it one of its distinctive features. Report in its new foudre cellar.
It is not the least of the specificities of this family house: aging in wood – dosed with moderation – is even one of its signatures. In 2018, during the celebrations of its bicentenary, it inaugurated a new foudre cellar that drew quite a bit of ink. A jewel of technology, precision, and even design, it is somewhat the baby of Denis Blée, the director of vineyards and wines, who followed its conception step by step after literally selecting his woods at the foot of the tree: "The choice of foudriers was essential to remain faithful to the style of our wines. We had to avoid spices or the taste of toasted wood; we are looking for managed oxidation rather than woodiness. We selected oaks…

THE PALACE OF TASTERS THE MUSICAL WINE CELLAR OF ÉRIC ROUYER - LÉA DELPONT

Music, exceptional wines, gastronomy, and philosophy: such is the menu of the Palace of Tasters, the universe of a unique wine merchant. Éric Rouyer invited us exclusively to one of his evenings.
Pierre-Henry Gagey, from the Louis Jadot house, Georges Puig, from the Puig-Parahÿ estate, and Aubert de Villaine, who needs no introduction, have a permanent place at the dinners of the Palace of Tasters. Éric Rouyer, the orchestrator of these evenings, is a former wine merchant who maintains a list of enlightened buyers and illustrious estates: Raveneau, Rousseau, Ganevat, Pibarnon, Gonon... Also a music lover, he launched a record label in 2015 "dedicated to neglected French music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries" and to the lesser-known works of great composers. He records at the Jacobin Convent in Beaune and at the Goillotte house in Vosne-Romanée, a former winery of the Prince of Conti "where the mental presence of musicians is transfigured by the magic of the places." About twenty CDs...

LA MAISON DELAMAIN IN THE PLÉIADE - JEAN-CHARLES CHAPUZET

In this mythical Cognac house where eaux-de-vie are (also) a matter of heritage and culture, a new trilogy is born that goes by the name of Pléiade...
Many things are happening in 2020 in the Jarnac abode, from which emanate indefinable notes of rancio, enticing aromas of quince and dried apricot. Guided by these scents, descending into the darkness of the Delamain house cellars, one can discern candles casting shadows on walls blackened by the angel's share. Here, they celebrate the 100 years of XO Pale & Dry, created by Jacques and Robert Delamain. Let's recall that the Delamain brothers were both Cognac makers and men of culture. The first was also an ornithologist and publisher, buying – with notably his brother-in-law Chardonne – the Stock house. The second was a writer and historian. Consequently, the Delamain brothers, aware that beauty will save the...

CORTON BONNEAU DU MARTRAY 1961 - FRANÇOIS AUDOUZE

Moved by this 1961, our collaborator loves the corton from the Bonneau du Martray house so much that he is also capable of drinking it in its youth...
The Bonneau du Martray estate is known for its dazzling corton-charlemagne, but its little red brother, the corton, is much more confidential. It was only in 2004 that I discovered it through the 1999 vintage: this wine with 13.5° alcohol content boasts a powerful nose, with a color of rare density. On the palate, it offers everything that wines made with modern techniques provide but with extreme precision. Where other countries produce wines that are too direct and simplified, this corton shines with a magnificent accuracy of tone and elegance. It shows that twenty more years will make it dazzling, because despite its silkiness and smoothness, it is still really a young child. It is a promise of extreme sensuality. I have since tasted it several times...

CHAMPAGNE CORNER - ORIANNE NOUAILHAC

Checkers "Our wines must flatter the palate and the eye": Mrs. Clicquot was, once again, ahead of her time. What could be more natural than bringing together two great ladies: the one who expertly led the house and the artist Yayoi Kusama who dresses the bottle and box of this Grande Dame 2012 cuvée. The famous yellow of Clicquot is complemented by the artist's famous dots, not to mention the flower that encircles and magnifies the cuvée in magnum version (100 numbered copies). For a great vintage, the excellent 2012, a great lady was needed. Here are two together (190 euros).
Grand Siècle or great vintage After the rosé with its zebra dress, it is the turn of the elite cuvée of the Laurent-Perrier house, Grand Siècle, to be adorned with a...

THE RIBEAUVILLÉ CELLAR 1895-2020: 125 YEARS OF A WINEMAKING THOUGHT - JEAN-LUC BARDE

It all started with a cry of rebellion, a will to survive. Then it became a model of winemaking excellence. The oldest cooperative cellar in France is also one of the most exemplary. It honors Alsace and celebrates its 125th anniversary.
Captain Alfred Dreyfus was quite alone. He had just been demoted and sent to the penal colony of Devil's Island in French Guiana. Félix Faure was elected President of the Republic, Gauguin left for Tahiti never to return, and Mucha had drawn the poster for Gismonda, the play where Sarah Bernhardt triumphed. The Lumière brothers filed the patent for the cinematograph and projected their first test clip in Paris at the Grand Café. Jean Jaurès supported the strike of the miners and glassmakers of Carmaux and Aloïse Baltenweck proclaimed in Alsatian one evening in Ribeauvillé: "Besser as starwa, met'nander schaffa!" ("Rather than die, let's unite!"). On October 6, 1895, while Alsace was still German, the first French cooperative wine cellar was born. Today, it is Yves Baltenweck, great-great-grandson of the founder, who...

HYBRIDIZATION: THE NEW MAGIC FORMULA? - JÉRÉMY CUKIERMAN MW

While the diversity and identity of our vineyards could be threatened, do we really "need" hybrid grape varieties to resist fungal diseases?
Announcements keep coming to present us with the new magic formula: hybridization. Translation: producing resistant grape varieties or interspecific grape varieties through crossings between Vitis vinifera varieties and others demonstrating proven resistance to fungal diseases. To be precise, the principle is to use a very high proportion of Vitis vinifera and only a few percent of other varieties, in order to preserve identity and quality, while avoiding recurring viticultural problems. The process would thus give birth to new grape varieties, or hybrids, that would resist fungal diseases, among others. Some of these new creations from research already exist and tests are underway before their commercialization is validated. However, this process raises many questions. Firstly, should we continue this race to...

A GIGONDAS ALL IN LACE - LÉA DELPONT

Something is happening at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail: there, the Santa Duc estate is crafting wines from Gigondas that are the opposite of their (former) reputation for tannic rusticity. Here's why.

in brief
TRANSFER OF POWER AT PERRIER-JOUËT Séverine Frerson has replaced Hervé Deschamps as the cellar master of the Perrier-Jouët house. She received from her predecessor the key to the Eden, which houses the rarest vintage cuvées of Perrier-Jouët and the cellar books of the memory of the cellar masters for two centuries. The handover was celebrated in the Belle Époque house to the rhythm of the vintage bubbles Belle Époque 2013, 1999, 1985, Belle Époque Blanc de Blancs 2006, and Belle Époque Rosé 2012 with the cuisine of Pierre Gagnaire.
THE CALL OF PROVENCE Our collaborator, the M.O.F. Antoine Pétrus, is leaving Taillevent to take the lead of the group Maisons et Vignobles de Provence. Objective: to create prestigious places in the world of wine, hospitality, and…

THE PASSING OF BARON VELGE - J.L. B.

The hunting horns echoed in the courtyard of the Pringy castle in honor of Maurice Velge, the baron who long led the hunt in pursuit of the stag, which in those moments held its feeling in the depths of the Valois forests. On October 9, 2020, the horses stayed in the stable, and the crew members attended the moving prayer ceremony officiated by Don Ludovic in the pale light of early autumn that Maurice loved. He passed away on October 4, having ridden just a few days prior with the joy and enthusiasm of a great rider who led men in his wake during the long hours of riding in the woods crossed by the pack of dogs with their resonant barking whose echo spread…

THE KEEPER OF THE TEMPLE - JACQUES CHEVALIER

After 70 years of good and loyal performances on tracks around the world, the 4x4 icon adopts a city outfit.
Neat and presentable, the all-new Defender carries a heavy legacy. Succeeding the adventurer's favorite tool is no small feat, and after a very long gestation, this big baby (5.02 m long, 1.97 m high, 2.4 tons) is finally here. With obvious family traits, it technically breaks from its predecessor, borrowing from the Discovery a modern unibody structure instead of the ladder frame, an air suspension that adjusts ground clearance (from -4 cm to +7 cm), and an interior mixing cozy aspects, rubber protection mats, and fixtures fastened with visible BTR screws. The functional aspects are present but give way to design, which becomes more alluring and friendly around a central screen allowing for…

Article Features

• Format: Paperback
• EAN13: 2000000350264
• Publisher: Vigneron Magazine
• Publication Date: 2021
• Dimensions: 23 x 30 x 1 cm
• Language: French