Recent content by Claude Kolm

I'd much sooner have an 11.5% natural chaptalized to 13% or even 13.5% (2% used to be the legal limit, but I have in the back of my mind that a producer told me a few years ago that it had been reduced to 1.5%) than a 14% or above unchaptalized.

For anyone who has access to Richard Olney's Yquem (first published in France in 1985, in the US in 1986), he has an extensive chapter on "Yquem and the Table".

An interesting comment given that many great estates such as Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Dujac habitually chaptalize a half a degree or so specifically for the purpose of prolonging fermentation.

I think of Sauternes as mawkish and unrefreshing, but on the relatively few occasions that I open a bottle, they're not (my tastes and thus my cellar run to the Barsac side -- Climens, Coutet, although I do have some true Sauternes). But the truth is, I don't think of starting with them with...

I think you can tell fairly easily the difference between over-chaptalized and not over-chaptalized. I really can't imagine that you can tell the difference between chaptalized (a little) and not. If chaptalization affects the color, please enlighten me.

I'm not aware of any real issues with 2022. There was heat, but the vines managed to handle it and the wines retained freshness. 2023 is somewhat more diverse and to make a gross generalization, less to my stylistic preference than 2022, although there are plenty of really good wines. 2024...

Actually, I've enjoyed a number Southern Rhône and Languedoc whites in recent years that do have Viognier in them. The biggest problem used to be Condrieu in the North. The few experiences I have with them in recent years indicates that they have toned down, too, but I'd rather drink a good...

The Viognier I've been getting in France (usually blended) is of a very different character from that I used to get several years ago. It is much more restrained and subtle.

Exactly, to make it more salable, they put the Piesporter designation on it; now that option is threatened. In the same way, some producers take wines from unattractive Côte de Beaune red wine appellations such as Meursault and relabel them Côte de Beaune-Villages.

If I'm not mistaken, they've been able to call it Drohner Goldtröpfchen if they wanted to in the past. Again, this causes big problems for someone who has holdings in both Drohn and Piesport.

But â has magically appeared.

Including UK, if it was a British writer. It's often served in places there that feature local and traditional ingredients.

Except that La Crau is not a political jurisdiction. In fact, it sits in three different political jurisdictions: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bédiardes, and Courthézon. Beaucastel is all or mostly in Courthézon, not Orange. So Beaucastel and La Crau are in part in the same political jurisdiction...

But this isn't a question of vineyard names, it's a question of village name. It's the opposite of combining diverse vineyards based (more or less) on separate terroirs into one large grouping, which is what the 1971 law did. Instead, it's dividing a (more or less) unified terroir along...

From Stephan Reinhardt: https://substack.com/@weinwunder/note/c-219945502