Climate change and bottled wine

The wine industry is now having a finger pointed at it over carbon emissions. There is now criticism coming in from many directions about the carbon footprint of transporting wine in bottles and by road. Some winemakers are bottling their wine in lighter bottles to reduce the carbon footprint of transporting wine.

I am all in favour of innovation regarding the production and use of lighter wine bottles. But some environmentalists want the wine industry to go further to transport wine in bulk and "bottle" the wine in boxes and cans.

I already use "bag in the bottle" wine for drinking at home with a meal. I had a glass last night with my wife. But, at the weekend my wife and I enjoyed a bottle of Bersan Irancy Red; bottled in 2012 and left on its side to mature for 8 years. The bottle lasted us two evenings as we don't drink that much. The wine was fantastic and improved in the bottle.The bottle cost us about 8 Eur in a French supermarket. If we suddenly change "bottling" techniques so that all reasonably priced wine is sold in bulk in "bag in the box" containers filled locally, then we will lose the opportunity to buy and store wine for it to improve in the bottle.

The market for "glass bottled" wine will be reserved exclusively for the top priced brands. Wines which are reasonably priced and which have been produced and bottled on the wine estate will probably disappear.

Hopefully, I will be long dead before climate change fundamentalists kill off the majority of estate bottle wines.Only the very rich will be able to enjoy a rib of beef with a bottle of Bordeaux. Climate change must be controlled but wine producers are not the biggest generators of CO2.

Wine lovers, in the main, are fully aware of the problems associated with climate change. Climate change could easily destroy wine production and this is why we approve of innovation to reduce the carbon footprint of wine production and consumption. We are all prepared to make our contribution to reduce carbon emissions from all our activities.  However, please do not deprive wine lovers of their estate bottled wine and the wholesome food which goes with it.

https://harpers.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/25501/Trade_should_stop_bottling_it_on_carbon_emissions.html

Baronne du Chatelard Beaujolais Blanc AOP 2011

Who has ever heard of Beaujolais Blanc, well I have because I have studied wine? However, up until two weeks ago I had never tasted it. I visit France regularly and we have family in the Champagne region and in Burgundy and no one has ever opened a bottle of Beaujolais Blanc.

Beaujolais is of course in Burgundy but to all intents and purposes, and from a wine point of view, it is a separate wine region which produces enormous quantities of  wine, 98% of which is red wine from the Gamay grape. Beaujolais Blanc is produced mainly from the Chardonnay grape with small quantities of Aligoté.

Beaujolais Blanc is produced from grapes grown in a mixture of limestone, schist and granite soils in contrast to Bourgogne (Burgundy) Blanc which produced  from entirely limestone based soil. The climate is warmer in Beaujolais so this affects the growth of the grapes. The terroir in Beaujolais is different and you can taste this difference.

Many people recommend that you should drink Beaujolais within 3 to 4 years of its production. Our wine was 9 years old and it was still going strong. The wine won a gold medal at the 2012 "Concours des Grands Vins" in Macon. The Baronne du Chatelard produce their wine from limestone which has chalky white stones embedded in the soil. Soil, which is perfect for growing Chardonnay grapes, nothing it seems is simple in the wine growing world. We drank our wine with a roast chicken dish and it is wine to be savoured rather than slugging back.

Our bottle of wine was superb and had all the qualities of excellent dry white wine, it was finely balanced for acidity and fruitiness. I fancied that it was of fuller body than its Burgundian cousins from further north and especially when compared to Chablis. It was full of fruit flavour but it was not jammy. For me, it had a flavour of bananas, but my wife thought I was imagining it. I can still taste the wine in that imagination.

The next time I am in France I shall be searching out  Beaujolais Blanc; I have never seen it on the shelves in the UK. You can buy Baronne du Chatelard Beaujolais Blanc AOP on the internet for about £19 a bottle. A little expensive perhaps but I bet it is worth every penny.

https://www.chateauduchatelard.com/en/bar

https://www.99wines.co.uk/wines/Baronne_du_Chatelard__Pouilly-fuiss_.html#SID=200

Dry January

Trend-setters are trying to convince wine drinkers not to drink alcohol for the whole of January. I shall not be doing this.

No alcohol passed my lips on New Year's eve or New Year's day.This was not out of any desire "to go on the wagon". I simply did not feel like drinking even though my wife had prepared some excellent food. Usually, I enjoy a glass of wine with good food and I shall continue to do so.

If ever I felt the need to give up alcohol for a month because I was drinking too much then I would give up permanently. I like a glass of wine with my food so much that I shall ensure that alcohol will never damage my health. This means that for 2 or 3 days a week I drink no alcohol at all and for the remaining 4 days I moderate my drinking. Yesterday, at a birthday party I went a bit over the top for a change but I woke up with a clear head and conscience and no feelings of guilt as I was not drunk.

I shall ignore trend-setters and well being experts and the blandishments of the National Health Service. I shall make may own decisions about how much I drink.

I do not need multi-juices to clear my system; a couple of glasses of water will do the trick and it's much cheaper.

Jean Louis Bersan 2012 Bourgogne Epineuil Red

We bought half a dozen bottles  of 2012 Bersan 2012 Bourgogne Epineuil red in the Leclerc supermarket in Troyes donkey's years ago. It said on the back of the bottle that you could keep it for seven years. We opened the last bottle a couple of weeks ago and drank it with some roast chicken.  We weren't disappointed as the wine had matured well on its side and in the cool. The wine was fantastic.

Epineuil is one of my favourite Burgundy wines. It is difficult to find in the UK and we always buy it in France either from the vineyard itself or from a local off licence or supermarket.

I seem to remember that this particular wine was bought for under 10 EUR a bottle. You won't find it at this price anymore.

This wine is typical of the appellation. It is made from Pinot Noir grapes.  It tasted of red and black fruits, it was of light to medium body and the tannin had softened. It was well balanced for acidity and sweetness and was dry on the palate and the taste remained for a long time. It had all the hallmarks of a very good wine which was excellent value for money.

The Epineuil appellation is very close to the town of Tonnerre, which is in the far north west of Burgundy and close to the Champagne border. The soil here is kimmeridgian and  limestone. The wine has the goût de terroir of the region. It is one of the few red wines that my wife and I  can identify easily -"blind", because we have drunk so much of it over the years, and because some of my wife's family come from the area. No other wine in the world has its distinctive taste and character. No one is able to copy it either in France or elsewhere. The climate, soil and vineyard combination cannot be copied

The Kings of France used to drink this wine  and no wonder. You need to search this appellation out as it represents exceptional value for money. Tonnerre and it surrounding area is also worth locating and visiting.

https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/our-wines-our-terroir/the-bourgogne-winegrowing-region-and-its-appellations/bourgogne-epineuil,2458,9253.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0yMjc4JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RmljaGUmaWQ9MjQ0Jnw%3D

https://www.google.com/search?q=kimmeridgian+soil+map&oq=kimmeridgian+&aqs=chrome.2.0j69i57j0l6.20781j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Restaurant Le Saint Père in Tonnerre

Last week we went to Tonnerre to buy some of my favorite red wine -Epineuil. Before buying our wine we had lunch in the Restaurant Le Saint Père in the Rue Georges Pompidou. We entered  the restaurant which was a little dark inside to be greeted by tables occupied by local people. The restaurant was full and we got the one remaining table for two left.  We had a chat to two gentlemen dining beside us. The food they were eating looked gorgeous. We decided on two menus and shared the starter and dessert. The starter of Terrine of smoked beef was one of the best we have ever tasted. We followed up with Bavette steak and chips The steak was really well seasoned and the chips were great. We shared a Vacherin for dessert and this was another fabulous dish. Vacherin is a meringue based dessert but it should not be confused with the cheese of the same name. The starter and dessert were home made by the chef. The restaurant and service was unpretentious and just as we like it . The presentation of the food was not Michelin starred but the taste and quality of the food was; if not better. We washed the food down with half a bottle of 2016 Dampt Freres Epineuil rouge. We had a great meal and wine in a friendly environment for 63,20 Eur. This was tremendous value for money. I highly recommend the restaurant and it is worth going to Tonnerre just to eat here.

https://www.google.com/search?q=restaurant+saint+pere+a+tonnerre&oq=restaurant+saint+pere+a+tonnerre&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l6.10309j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Hidden Bordeaux

My wife was rummaging through our wine stocks the other day and found a wooden box with a sliding lid sitting on its side. The box had been lying there in the dark for many years and we had completely forgotten about it. Imagine our surprise when we discovered two wines when we slid the lid off.  The first was a bottle of 2000 Château Carbonnieux Grand Cru red from Pessac-Leognan produced by the Famille Perrin. The second was a bottle of Château Ducru Beaucaillou 2001 2ème Cru Classé Saint Julien. The latter is one of my favourite Bordeaux wines which at the moment fetches over £100 a bottle.

My wife and I are very lucky; we can remember which member of the family bought the wines for us, many moons ago, but we cannot remember when. Luckily the wines were stored on their side.

We decided to drink the 2000 Château Carbonnieux with some friends who were visiting for Australia. After we had decanted the wine and let it rest for a while, we drank it with duck accompanied by a rich orange sauce. The wine was just past its best, but it was a superb example of the Pessac-Leognan apellation. The wine was concentrated and complex and was long on the palate. It was warming to drink and was still full of black currant, tobacco box and plum flavours. The tannin had softened. The wine went perfectly with the duck and its rich sauce.

Our friends were impressed and so was I. It pays to keep your Bordeaux hidden away, as long it is lain flat  in the dark.

Jancis Robinson describes the wine exactly on the following web site and I couldn't agree more.

https://www.millesima.co.uk/chateau-carbonnieux-2000.html.

You can still buy 2000 Château Carbonnieux for around £40 pounds a bottle but hurry up and drink it immediately.

I can't wait to open my second hidden bottle but I should wait a little longer for the right occasion. The Château Ducru Beaucaillou is most certainly a top wine; its world class. It's better to be born lucky rather than rich.

Ancient Celts and Wine

There have been reports recently that suggest that the Ancient Celts were partial to a tipple of wine. Archaeologists in Northern Burgundy have identified drinking vessels from 500 BC, and discovered the remains of Greek wine. There is no doubt that the Celts enjoyed a pot of wine with their game pie. I wonder if the wine tasted like ancient retsina.

The Celts also drank beer and mead. They had no idea of the natural process of fermentation; mankind had to wait until the 19th century until Louis Pasteur discovered how the process of fermentation worked. This means that for over 2,000 years the Celts remained ignorant of how their favourite drinks were produced, and that any improvement was the result of trial and error or fortuitous accident rather than scientific discovery.

I wonder what the Ancient Celts must have thought when they slugged back a goblet of red with their roast boar while they sat around the camp fire. They must have smelt their wine and tasted that it was good, and quaffed it back while they sang folk songs. The ancient stories must have become more exaggerated as they drank more and more. Some would have got quite drunk if they could afford it and some would have become alcoholics.

The ancient Celts would not have cared less about the nose of the wine or its bouquet. They weren't interested to assess its sugar content and whether the alcohol was well integrated into the wine. They might have perceived the complexity and concentration of its taste. The idea of a caudalie or a grand cru was far away from their thinking. They were just interested in whether the wine tasted good or not. The alcoholics would not have cared about the quality of the wine.

None of the mental or physical paraphernalia associated with sophisticated modern wine tasting and drinking would have existed. No doubt, the profit motive would have been going strong and some wise guy or other would have been trying to corner the wine market. 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2206989-ancient-celts-were-partial-to-beer-mead-and-imported-greek-wines/