Anson on Thursday
Winds of change
[Jane Anson] Given the usual clichés of Chinese purchases in Bordeaux, the aim with Chinese-owned Vignobles des Quatre Vents is to expand rather than contract the previous distribution model.
Genie in a bottle
[Jane Anson] Many of us just don’t realise the basic fact that decanting is really all about chemistry, and instead see decanting as a way to honour a wine.
Breakfast at Krug
[Jane Anson] I spent one of the most perfect mornings of the year, out in the vines, helping to bring in a tiny proportion of grapes for the 2014 harvest at this most legendary of Champagne houses.
Can the 2014 vintage save en primeur?
[Jane Anson] En primeur remains the most visible methods of selling, and if chateaux get it wrong again next year, it will be the whole of Bordeaux that suffers.
The 300-year union that shaped the wine we drink
[Jane Anson] There’s very little of the medieval city of Bordeaux left around here, but for those of us that are looking, though, there are still a few traces.
Is Latour changing its strategy?
[Jane Anson] While it’s unarguable that Bordeaux needs to reassess how to talk to consumers, being the canary in the goldmine – as Latour is right now – is never a comfortable place to be.
Bordeaux Legends
[Jane Anson] Just one week in to this September harvest season, and there have been funerals held in the Médoc for two legendary figures.
Grand Cru envy
[Jane Anson] Even after all of this dedication, this sheer bloody toil, the price in bottle of a Saint Joseph, whether grown on the hills or on flat land, will be largely comparable.
The No Spray Vineyard
[Jane Anson] Is it possible to grow vines naturally resistant to the Big Three diseases of mildew, oidium and botrytis (rot), and therefore avoid spraying altogether?
The rosé squeeze
[Jane Anson] For a traditional red wine region such as Bordeaux, it is in theory super easy to make the switch to rosé production.