Here, Peter shares anecdotes, advice and controversial ideas, with the hope of inspiring you. We touch upon commonly known as well as taboo topics, especially “the elephant in the room”, the subject everyone thinks about but no one dares talking about when discussing wine: L’ivresse.
“For me, wine opens my mind and inspires me to think more freely and creatively and I would like it to do the same for other wine lovers.”
Challenge your way of thinking about wine !
The simplicity of great wines
I have my own vision of what a Great Wine is. For me it is a wine made at the optimum of what the grapes and the terroir can give for a certain vintage. A Great Wine can just as easily be produced on a communal terroir as on that of a Grand Cru. The key for me is not the terroir but the person who must be a sensitive being, without ego, who is in permanent symbiosis with his vine. This artist will follow his intuition to help the fruit of his vine become a Great Wine.
A Great Wine can therefore be either a Gevrey Chambertin village or a Chambertin Clos de Bèze.
To give you an example, yesterday I tasted a 2020 Hudelot baillet Chambolle Musigny Vieilles Vignes. dancing effortlessly in my mouth. This energy of wine and its subtle intoxication inspired me and helped me think about a subject that has been bothering me for years.
A Great Wine has the potential to inspire you and help you discover something new with every sip. Not only in terms of taste and taste and sensory experience, but also giving you a new perspective on questions and dilemmas that are unique to you. This Great Wine will go so far as to instill great calm and harmonious concentration in those who have the chance to taste it.
After 45 years and 50,000 tastings, I recently realized what a Great Wine is for me.
Two humble giants of Burgundy taste together: Bernard Noblet and Emmanuel Rouget.
A few months ago, I organized the reunion of two giants of Burgundy, Emmanuel Rouget from the Domaine Emmanuel Rouget and Bernard Noblet from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti who knew each other but had lost touch and had not spoken in many years. My wife and I had the chance to join them at Domaine Rouget for a tasting of the 2019 vintage in barrels. Imagine this scenery : tasting incredible wines with two geniuses. In my opinion, the 2019 vintage is the best that Emmanuel has ever made and when I told him, I felt we were in complete agreement. I can still taste the fragrance of Vosne Romanée Cros Parentoux 2019 on my palate today. Tasting with the two masters was fascinating considering they have two completely different methods when they vinify. Rouget destems 100%, putting only the grapes into the vats, while the Domaine La Romanée Conti most often does not, they vinify in “Vendanges Entieres”, using the stems as well as the grapes. So it gives completely different wines. You will feel it the next time you stumble upon a bottle of Romanée Conti or Cros Parentoux of Rouget. After the vatting begins the work in the cellar, which is really the work of a good father : raising the wine so it realizes its potential. The tasting in this simple and authentic cellar was exceptional. It was fascinating to feel the humility of these two shy and sensitive geniuses and the respect they have for each other.
I will always remember this day.
Drink wine to stay young ?
Yes.
In 1993, the highly respected magazine The Lancet published research that stated that moderate consumption of wine reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. And then again in 1995, new research by the University of Tokyo confirmed that wine is good for health. Resveratrol, a substance found in grape skin, and therefore in wine, was found to prolong the life of animals in testing conditions. So, it is really simple, to stay young, drink wine ! Science thinks this is news, but already 2700 years ago the Romans knew that not only does wine bring pleasure, it also makes you healthier and live longer. And on top of this wine makes you happy, and when you are happy you live longer. After 40 years of intensively testing these hypotheses living in France, I came to the same conclusions. So far I’ve only gotten to 69 years old, but I really feel great, so for me, it works wonders ! Luckily for you, these two studies have proven that this is the way to live, and not only for me but also for every taster with a love for wine. Now my friend, the next time you enjoy a glass of wine you will know: you are also improving your health. Wine makes you live longer. In fact, as you may know, this is not news as we have been saying “ I drink for your health” for centuries Today, science has finally caught up.
Here is the research by The Lancet magazine: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(92)91277-F/fulltext And here is the link to the University of Tokyo’s research about Resveratrol: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20086316/
Don’t taste wine with friends, the virtue of drinking alone.
When I first came to Paris in 1979, they told me that wine should be tasted in good company, never alone. For me, this is an unfortunate misconception that you should taste great wines with great friends. A great wine should be tasted alone, in front of a cosy fire, with a little bit of simple food so that you can give the wine the full attention it deserves. You want to follow its evolution in the glass, be able to write down your ideas, and thoughts that the wine’s soul ignites in your brain, and grasp the essence of the wine’s message. Great wines are artwork and are worth discovering. I didn’t realise this until 1990, (years later) when I tasted a Cheval Blanc 1964. I organise wine tastings, this is my job, and I do this professionally, for friends or even just for my own private enjoyment. This is how I found out that great wines should be tasted alone… I particularly remember a 1964 Cheval Blanc that I tasted in July 1990 with two friends in paris. I had a wonderful time, we enjoyed and talked about the wine which was the main subject of the dinner. I then tasted the same wine, in Septembre of the same year, alone in my apartment in Paris where I made a long inspired tasting note describing the wine and my emotions in detail. Today, I can still remember the tasting I did alone and almost still feel the wine trickling down my throat. However, when it comes to the tasting with my friends, I can hardly distinguish between my personal tasting experience and the discussion of the wine with my dinner companions. I just remember that the wine was delicious and that I spent a delightful moment with my two great friends. So yes if you wanna have a good time with friends doing this with a great wine is always a success. However if you really want to taste the wine and remember it, this is a solo experience.
White wines that are red: Romanée Conti Montrachet 2003.
I’m really a red wine person and the reason is that white wines seldom have the complexity and the balance of an old red wine. With red wines, it’s all about fruit, balance and tannins, but with the white wines you rather enjoy freshness and acidity. But occasionally, a white wine can really surprise me. They are what I call, Red White Wines. Let me tell you about a bottle of Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée Conti 2003 that I tasted in the beginning of September 2007. It was the end of a successful week, a warm Autumn evening, I was celebrating in Burgundy, tasting this wine for the first time in my life. It was incredibly complexe, balanced and full of ripe fruit. If I had tasted it blind I would have been clueless. Is it red or white ? I’m also astonished that still today, I feel the wine as if it was yesterday. The brain works wonders when it comes to the important things in life.
2019, the Marilyn Monroe vintage.
Bored of staring at four walls given the restrictions during Covid-19, I descended to Burgundy. I was dreaming about tasting the 2019 vintage in its last moments in the barrel. I knew for sure that this was going to be a great vintage.I had four tastings on my agenda, and I was really excited and happy that the vintners would host me, despite the current times. The wines were beautiful, seducing, full of fruit, with amazing length, but with the third tasting, my palate was getting tired of this high alcohol and sweetness. After the fourth tasting, for dinner, I just wanted to drink tannic Bordeaux to compensate for all these Marilyn Monroe wines. The 2003 vintage was a little like this, nobody thought the wines would last, but today, to everybody’s surprise and joy, the 2003 top wines have grown closer to classical Burgundy Pinot Noir.
So…maybe, this will also be the destiny of the 2019 vintage, who knows, it’s early days.
More on the 2019 vintages why great vintages are useless.
Unfortunately in 2020, I couldn’t taste the 2019 vintage Bordeaux but luckily several domaines in Burgundy opened I was really happy I could taste in their cellars, directly from the barrel. I tasted wines at 6 different domaines and found round delicious sweet fruit and concentration, already drinkable, finishing with very beautiful, onctuous tannins. This is what is called an exceptional vintage.There is however a difference in quality between the different domains depending on the vintner’s intuition and skill to time the harvest. The yields were low, sometimes very low, depending on the geographical situation and the harvest date, but the quality was generally very high. 2019 may be one of the “best” vintages in 25 years. We are talking about what the french call a “solar vintage”, the sun being more of a menace than a help because the vines stop growing when they don’t have enough water. Nevertheless, I think that it will be a vintage for people who want concentrated, mouth filling, very ripe and onctuous burgundies, with length and heaps of pleasure. Personally, I loathe this kind of vintage. Great vintages are uninteresting. Young, they don’t reflect the delicate yet intense and seducing french Pinot Noir, nor the fantastic unique soil of Burgundy. Instead of enjoying the complexity and greatness of a Burgundy Grand Cru you could think you are tasting a sun drenched wine from California or Australia. So if you like these kinds of wines, and want to drink them now, then my advice is to buy from these two countries (as you will pay a 10th of the price). Only if you can wait for another 20 years, does the purchase of a solar Grand Cru Burgundy make sense as this is when it’s soil and character will finally show it’s face. My preference in Burgundy goes to “smaller” vintages like 2006 or 2012, vintages with less concentration, that give more room for the refinement of the Pinot Noir and for the expression of the unic soil of these wonderful burgundies that we love.
2020, The perfect vintage.
On November 19 2021, I went to Burgundy to taste the 2020 vintage in barrels, the wines are often ready to bottle and the tasting I did at Domaine de la Romanée Conti amazed me. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the yields were very low, sometimes less than 60%, which makes wines that are very concentrated, but balanced, and already attractive … normally in barrels / the young wines have so much tannins that it is impossible to enjoy them fully. For 2020, this is different. I tasted their Echezeaux, Romanée Saint Vivant and La Tâche at in 2020 and the wines have everything one could dream of: balance, ripe fruit, ideal concentration and an endless finish. A dream. The problem with the 2019 and the 2020 is however that given the quality as well as the feeble quantity of wine produced, there will be a severe shortage. I prefer not to think about the prices at which we will find them!
Tastings of 2020 and 2019 vintages in vineyards
I went to Burgundy in March 2021, with my son Timothée to taste the 2019 and 2020 vintage. I was first captivated by the 2019, I found it extraordinary, seductive and with great aging potential. But after tasting the 2020, even though still young, I found it even better than the 2019! it is more refined than seductive and with potential that is even greater. Hard to believe but exciting! However, it is still very early to make a final judgment. The competition is still ongoing, who will be the winner, 2019 or 2020? The goal of the trip was to find great quality but at more reasonable prices, so I tasted wine from 4 different domaines, personally my favorites.
Hudelot-Baillet, I love his wine, authentic, complex and full of pleasure, and a passionate man.
Thierry Mortet is a great winemaker who often succeeds in making his villages and premier crus wines of Grand crus quality.
Domaine Marc Roy, the talented daughter Alexandrine now at the helm, produces seductive and concentrated wines.
Philippe Gavignet a discovery for me, wines of pleasure and faithful to the terroir.
When I asked each of the 4 winemakers how they ranked the 2019, their faces took on a solemn look, an angel passed by. I felt that for them, the 2019 was their best vintage ever. Personally, I was more fascinated by the 2020, to be continued…
The taste of wines varies over the seasons: Sleeping beauty.
It was the summer of 1984, I was in the wine bar l’Ecluse in Paris, and as usual I ordered wine after wine to make new discoveries. I stopped at a white wine from Bordeaux that I had never tasted before. The wine was full of flowers, and fruit, but with class and a feeling of the soil which was new to me. Chateaux Margaux, Pavillon Blanc, 1980. I was completely seduced and bought a case for my own consumption. In my mind it was 10 euros a bottle. I happily took the 12 bottle case back home. Winter came, I have some friends over, and I wanted them to taste one of the most beautiful whites that I had tasted in that year. It was a terrible disappointment. There was nothing in the bottle. A very lean fruit and no length. I doubted my tasting skills, but then forgot about my case. My friends forgave me for this impairment. April the year after, I mentioned this to Drew Harre, a dear friend, and he told me that wine changes with the season. Like a flower it opens up in spring and closes down in the winter. And he was right, after this experience, Pavillon Blanc 1980 became my french summer sweetheart, infusing me with her charm as the swedish summers went by.
So, don’t wake up your wine during the winter, it’s hibernating, wait for the spring !
Dont’ scream at your wine ! How the energy between people changes the tasting experience.
Years ago….
Christian Moueix, from the Petrus family, told me a story that I will never forget. The scene took place in a renowned restaurant in Bordeaux where two couples were having dinner in two neighboring rooms. One joyful honeymoon couple and one quarrelling divorcing couple. The young couple wanted a wine from their birth year, and the other couple a wine from their wedding year, which happened to be the same year, 1973. The sommelier found a magnificent magnum in the cellar, Trotanoy 1973. He prepared the magnum into two decanters and put the decanters onto each table while each couple was enjoying a glass of champagne waiting for their half of the magnum to open up. The sommelier then went into the honeymoon room and tasted the wine. Magnificent ! The sommelier then walked over to the divorce room to proceed with the same ritual. But when tasting the wine, which came from the exact same bottle as the opposite room, it was the opposite. Undrinkable ! Wine is a living thing, and 85% water. According to Masuru Emoto’s research, the japanese scientist, water is influenced by its surroundings, and it is possible that also the taste of wine changes with the room’s energy.
This story is the perfect illustration of this surprising phenomena !
How to prepare yourself to have the best tasting experience.
I often travel, organising tastings of old wines all around the world, mainly in France, Sweden and Japan. It’s simple, a rested body makes for a vibrant tasting, my mantra is Sauna Shiatsu and Wine ! Let’s take the example of Japan, How do I beat the 6 hour jet lag and the 12 hour flight ? This is my secret: I prepare myself with a massage and a sauna followed by a good sleep. The perfect cure to be able to enjoy the third part of my mantra: Old Wine. The discovery of this cure came to me when I prepared for my very first tasting in Japan years ago. I went down to the hotel gym, and after a short training session, I jumped into the purifying sauna, and concluded with a one hour healing japanese Shiatsu massage. Then I was in perfect shape for the evening tasting. A Happy body makes for happy tasting ! When I finally arrived at the restaurant, our private room was filled with tindering eyes. I then sat down at the table with my guests, and as we started tasting these magical old wines, I was surprised. The wines tasted even better than when I tasted them last ! They were simply astounding. I believe this was the consequence of my preparation. During this tasting, my energy and their joy was contagious, and it had a rippling effect from me to the guests, from all of us towards the wine, and the wine returned the sparkle to us by tasting even better. A full sequence of happiness. The success of this evening can be attributed to following the mantra but evidently to the old wines that always give us energy and wisdom.
