Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
I finally found a copy of Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Burgundy at a reasonable price. I've like Kramer's writing since I first read Making Sense of Wine some years ago, and have been looking for a copy of this book for a while now. Kramer has a clean, fluid style, and leavens his discussion with easy-going but (usually) disciplined wit.
The book is still pretty topical in some ways. Many of the producers he highlighted are still generally admired. On the other hand, he dinged Jean Grivot for following an extended cold-maceration regime that, he judged, masked the wines' terroir-derived character, and damaged their ability to develop in bottle.
He also praises chaptilization up to 1.5% as beneficial, partly to make up for alcohol that will be lost during elevage to evaporation.
Even his capsule profiles of producers, twenty years on, are a pleasure to read.
The book is still pretty topical in some ways. Many of the producers he highlighted are still generally admired. On the other hand, he dinged Jean Grivot for following an extended cold-maceration regime that, he judged, masked the wines' terroir-derived character, and damaged their ability to develop in bottle.
He also praises chaptilization up to 1.5% as beneficial, partly to make up for alcohol that will be lost during elevage to evaporation.
Even his capsule profiles of producers, twenty years on, are a pleasure to read.