Senior Fine Wine Sales Executive

 4 minutes read

The first thing that struck me was when you arrive, you are whisked down to their cellars… And they’ve got a very full cellar of the ‘22 and the ‘23 [vintages], which they’ve only just finished putting into barrel. And it’s full. It’s full. With a grin from ear to ear. There’s a lot of excitement about it.

On the back of C&B Team’s visits to Burgundy to scope out the exciting 2022 vintage, Tiffany Vernon caught up with Graham Moss, Senior Fine Wine Sales Executive, to hear his views on how he felt the wines were shaping up…

What were you most impressed by with the Burgundy 2022 wines?

How easy they were to taste. If you do a Bordeaux en primeur [tasting], they are young, tannic wines in the barrel and exceptionally hard to taste. [Whereas] a lot of these, you could sit down with them right now; they were very open.

[For example,] Château de la Tour, historically, well up until the last few vintages… the wines are so closed, and they don’t give anything away at all. [but now] they are very very pretty, [they] have become more approachable in their youth, which is a good thing. I think [that] doesn’t mean the drinking window is any less, it just becomes wider, so you can start drinking earlier [but] they will still reward patience handsomely.

During your visit, did you come across any hidden gems?

Domaine du Couvent. The father, Phillipe, and his son Paul, who will take over the reins soonish I’m sure, is definitely one to watch. Especially Paul, who probably has a few more modern ideas about how he will go about it. I’m very excited about their entire range… They used to have Gevrey-Chambertin, about three or four in fact, but now they have Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigy, this is all quite recent…I’m thoroughly looking forward to working with these guys going forward… But yeah, I’m going to be singing from the rooftops about that one. That is one to watch.

Domaine Georges Glantenay. *Slaps desk!* Another star. Another star to watch! And a lovely range. The Volnays and the Pommard were absolutely beautiful. And it’s when you have seen so many Volnays and Pommards side by side, it just paints a picture, a good picture. But this is another one to watch. Domaine Georges Glantenay is on the up.

Has Burgundy changed over the years since you have been visiting the region?

I think it probably [has] in the vineyards, with some of the trellising that’s going on. I think this is how they’re coping with some of the hot seasons we’ve had and how they’re retaining all that freshness in the wines. If you go back 20 years, if you had a hot vintage like this, the wine would just scream heat at you, but [now] they retain this freshness… the tannins are ripe and they’re soft and velvety, they come through beautifully. So yeah, they’re getting very smart, but I think that expertise happens in the vineyard in coping with [the heat] and [the] practice of having quite a few hot years. They’ve probably got a few more to come. It’s been quite a steep learning curve for them.

 

What were your impressions of the 2022 vintage overall?

…I was expecting great things from the reds, but it was the whites that exceeded my expectations as well, so I’m going to be sat on the fence as to if it’s a red or a white vintage.

Why should people buy the 2022 wines?

There’s good quantities of it, so if you missed out on 2021, which was devastated by frost and there was so little about, now is the time to stock up again.

Excellent wines, good drinking window, approachable in their youth, you don’t have to wait forever to start enjoying them. And they will exceed expectations. They’re lovely, lovely wines.

 

ABOUT: Graham Moss 

Always excited to have the opportunity to visit Burgundy, Graham likes to focus on the people and the characters behind the wines we love, along with seeking out those great value bottles.

What is your favourite Burgundian subregion?

Places that are off the beaten track, such as Marsanny – the poor man’s Gevrey-Chambertin! Or Saint-Romain and Saint-Aubin, which have higher altitudes than most of Burgundy, providing GREAT value.

What has been a trip highlight during the 2022 en primeur visit?

Visiting some great up-and-coming producers such as Domaine du Couvent – Paul is definitely a winemaker in the making to follow! Also, Domaine Georges Glantenay makes a wonderful range at sensible prices.

 

 

For further information visit our Burgundy Hub for more information about our producers and 2022 vintage releases.