Voyage.

Ciao everyone,
here are 5 things I thought were worth sharing this month:

UPCOMING EVENTS
26th February: 2022 Bolgheri Anteprima (only for trade and 67 Pall Mall members - if you are part of the UK wine trade send me a DM on Instagram @nelsonpari)
17th February: 2021 Barolo with Jamie Goode at Ungrafted, San Francisco (trade only, email marnie@winecouncil.org for tickets)
18th February: 2021 Barolo at Tommy’s Event Space with Jamie Goode, Los Angeles (trade only, email marnie@winecouncil.org for tickets)
10th and 11th May: WSET Level 2 at Corinthia Hotel (4 places left)

1. Burgundy prices for the 2023 En Primeur didn’t go up, but they didn’t go down either. I wasn’t planning to buy anything— in fact, I didn’t attend any tastings at all this year. But then I listened to Jasper Morris MW talking about how Coffinet-Duvernay blew him away. I’ve served and drunk the wines for ages and never thought much of them, so I called up my good friends at Flint Wines and got some (thanks Tamer!).

2. I told you so! Even though deep down I’m still a Bordeaux lover, it’s great to see Tuscany getting some well-deserved press. And it’s not about the investment aspect per se—if you know me, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of it—but rather about seeing Tuscan wines recognized alongside the French big dawgs.

3. I still haven’t wrapped my head around CellarTracker, but I really want to. I love the community, and some of the notes are more insightful than many critics' scores out there. Meanwhile, their yearly insights are always fascinating. People really love Pontet-Canet on there, huh?

4. It's February and John Atkinson MW has already put out what might be the greatest wine writing piece of 2024. A rollercoaster of thoughts that raises more questions than answers about things many wine lovers take as absolute. Especially in the great Burgundy vs. Bordeaux debate.

5. Thanks to everyone who read our 2021 Barolo del Comune report. Our take was so different from everybody else’s that, for the first time, I didn’t enjoy reading other reports as much. That said, I liked Victoria Mason MW’s report. Her enthusiasm helped drive one of the biggest Barolo En Primeur campaigns ever seen in the UK. She’s done more than anyone else this year to promote the region. Kudos to Vix!

This month on One Bottle Three Questions Andrea Polidoro, head winemaker at Cupano and owner of Contrada Contro, discusses restoring old vines attached to trees, his approach to planting new ones, and his vision for restoring an agroforestry system in his vineyards.

PS. You might know Stan Getz for his iconic warm and soft sax solo on The Girl from Ipanema. I remember seeing him shredding when, at Trinity, they showed me a video of him playing Kenny Barron’s Voyage. And for some mysterious reason, YouTube only showed me that video eight years later.

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