James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

It's EP season, the time when merchants send out offers for wines which, in the main, have not yet been bottled. Prices are a little confusing to novices, priced without duty or VAT so the trick is to add £25 then divide by ten to reach the per bottle price (although an allowance should be made for onward delivery). I had thought that Bordeaux had killed off much of the EP market. The outrageous opening prices demanded by some chateaux certainly slowed things down; I know The Big Red Wine Company is not a reliable gauge, given that I work with just one Claret producer, but in 2009, pre-shipment sales of Cahors estate Chateau du Cedre were more impressive than those of Chateau Teyssier. So why should anyone buy EP? Traditionally, price and availability were the reasons. If you want a particular wine in a particular vintage at the best price, your best bet is to throw your hat in the ring at the earliest opportunity. Wine prices tend to go only in one direction and, as availabili...

Did the monks have this in mind when they walled this vineyard? Presumably so; why wouldn't they want a fabulous wine like this? After all, they had a pretty good life compared with many at that time. What is fascinating is how different this cuvee is to others in the range, all from the same Pinot clones, of similar age, and all from Givry vineyards. This wine is more Chambolle than Gevrey but actually it's a Givry so a fraction of the price of either. Its intense red fruits with violet combine in a palate that's oh so smooth and delicate but not without substance. What a mass of wonderful contradictions! Hints of underbrush and more to come but, for now, there is a silkiness coating my mouth and some perky acidity dripping from the sides of my tongue that makes me want to come back for more. I have been tasting a lot of Burgundies recently at all price points and there are many over-extracted disasters or weedy wines out there, even now. Not this one though. And it...