FRANCE: Red Burgundy
2016 Gold: 3 Silver: 1 Bronze: 1 Commended: 1
2015 Gold: 1 Silver: 4 Bronze: 3 Commended: 6
Red Burgundy is often the troublesome rouge-bedecked sibling to its better-behaved pale-faced counterpart in this competition. And so it was again this year.
In the early stages, it’s fair to say our tasters did not feel universal love for what they were seeing – comments like ‘dilute’ and ‘overpriced’ hinted at a string of years that have clearly been more difficult for Pinot Noir than Chardonnay, and plenty of wines left in disgrace with no awards at all.
Yet at the medal-giving stages it was a rather different story. Three Golds was red Burgundy’s joint best performance in this competition and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, it achieved it with wines that were affordable and relatively youthful.
Congratulations, incidentally, to Henri de Villamont, who added to its Gold in the White Burgundy section, with a Gold and a Silver here, and to Louis Jadot, who picked up a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze in the same two categories.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Many of the flight tasted dilute and lacking in charm. Some of the noses showed promise, but the palates were watery and consistently so all the way through the flight.’ Jade Koch, team leader
‘I’m not that interested in selling Burgundy. I think it’s overpriced. It can be great, but I would often rather sell something else.’ Georgi Mihov, Bohemia Bar and Restaurant
‘I understand that they have to make the wines even in a bad year. But I do question the prices.’ Mya Brown, The Ledbury