Articles by Jozef Schildermans
Anjou producer faces jail for protest labels
Olivier Cousin, a small biodynamic wine producer in the AOC Anjou in the French Loire area, faces a sentence of two years because he labeled one of his wines incorrectly out of protest. Cousin left the AOC in 2005 and his wines have since been released as Vin de Table (VDT). He left the AOC in protest because the rules are too lax and for example allowed producers in the warm 2003 vintage to both acidify and chaptalize (add sugar to) their wines. But > Read more …
Belgium third largest market for Bordeaux
Belgium is the third largest importer of Bordeaux wines in the world by volume, after China and Germany. According to figures from the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) Belgium imported two percent more Bordeaux from July 2010 to July 2011, compared with the same period last year. Calculated by value, Belgium is the fifth largest market for Bordeaux > Read more …
2009 Acústic Cellar Montsant Braó Vinyes Velles
2009 Acústic Cellar Montsant Braó Vinyes Velles – Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant (8/6/2011) Sweet, exotic spices, ripe black fruit (blueberries, blackberries, cherries), searing cherry-like acidity, a hint of milk chocolate, slightly dusty tannins and well-integrated alcohol. Difficult to say if it will get even better with a bit of age age (the acidity is a bit much now, but this > Read more …
2004 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva Coleccion 125
2004 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva Coleccion 125 – Spain, Navarra (8/3/2011) Barnyardy nose with hints of exotic spices. Ripe black fruit on the palate, refreshed by serious acidity; the wood is just slightly too much. Not my style, but certainly a good wine. Better on the second day. (90 points)
Forty-three Beaujolais communes ejected from Burgundy AOC
INAO, the French government agency which regulates the appellations d’origine, has rearranged the geographic vineyard areas in Burgundy after a regulating process that took three years to complete. From vintage 2011 onwards, 43 municipalities in Beaujolais lose the right to sell wines under the Burgundy appellation which they had since 1937. Henceforth, 43 municipalities in Beaujolais are no longer allowed > Read more …
2008 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Mauro
2008 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Mauro – Spain, Castilla y León, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León (8/3/2011) Ripe black fruits, refreshing and balancing acidity, in a suave and balanced package, where all the elements are just right … a wine to drink. Delicious. Better than in warmer years?? (91 points)
American bishop bans wine from communion
There’s a big change for Sunday service at Catholic churches in Phoenix. Wine will no longer be used for communion. Read more
151th Hospice de Beaune auction on 20th November
Every year on the third Sunday of November the wine auction at the Hospice de Beaune in France takes place. This year’s the 151st auction will be held on Sunday, November 20th. Like last year, it will led by the famous British auction house Christie’s. Last year on November 21 during the 150th auction 543 barrels of red and 100 barrels of white Burgundy wines werd sold to the highest bidder for a total of 5,000,000 euros. Each barrel contains 228 liters. 400,000 euros was payed for the “pièce du President”, a barrel of 500 liters of Beaune Premier Cru Cuvée Nicolas Rolin, sold > Read more …