As the vines sleep quietly in their winter dormancy, the portent of wonderful things to come is already in the air. Listen closely to the silence, and within you can hear the gathering energy of buds that will bring fruitfulness in the coming year…
We will officially release the 2005 La Paulée and 2005 Audrey Pinots on Monday, April 2 nd. Watch your email for the release offering at that time. Futures orders were especially strong this year, so there will be a miniscule amount of the Audrey available for sale upon release. There will be a bit more La Paulée available, but as always we recommend that you act quickly to be sure to get what you want. More on the 2005 vintage in Oregon in our next report, but for now let me say that I am happier with these wines than any we’ve produced in our first eight years…
On-line ordering has returned to scottpaul.com!
Click here to access your secure order form…
Beginning with Domaine Huber-Verdereau, each month we will
profile a producer from our Scott Paul Selections Burgundy portfolio,
and explain a little bit about their village, their approach, etc. - in an effort
to continue on our mission to help you understand and explore the fascinating
region of Burgundy. We'll also offer discounted pricing on a selection of their
wines so you can explore with glass in hand.
Enjoy!
The 30-ish, dynamic and charismatic Thiébault Huber is at the forefront of the new generation’s quality revolution in Burgundy. Thiébault was born in Alsace, studied hotel & restaurant management in college, and was trained as a sommelier – in which capacity he served at a famous Michelin-starred restaurant on France’s Mediterranean coast for a number of years. As a boy he spent his summers at his grandparents’ Burgundian summer home in Volnay.
His family’s 7 acre vineyard estate in Volnay had been leased out to others for nearly 50 years, but the opportunity arose for Thiébault to take over and bring the domaine back under family control in 1994. His wines began attracting attention in France immediately, with his first releases from that 1994 vintage. Over these past few years he has been able to gain control of a few more prime vineyard parcels, and the estate now measures 14 acres.
The holdings include prime pieces of Volnay, Volnay Robardelles, Volnay Fremiets 1er Cru, Pommard, Pommard Bertins 1er Cru, and Puligny-Montrachet.
 Volnay is a tiny Burgundian village of about 350 inhabitants, surrounded on all sides by steeply sloping vineyards. Volnay sits directly next to the village of Pommard, though the wines from these two areas could not be more different. Volnay is known for wines that are gently perfumed, with intoxicating floral aromas and lively red-berry flavors wrapped up in a silky, elegant, feminine package (as opposed to the wines from neighboring Pommard, which are generally bigger, bolder, more tannic and earthy, with black fruit flavors – wines that can be more rustic than refined).
Thiébault believes strongly that the quality of the wine is determined in the vineyard, and that the healthiest, naturally-farmed vineyards produce the highest quality. He began farming his parcels of wines organically from the outset, and converted the  entire estate to the Biodynamic system of farming in 2005. Biodynamics was founded in 1924 by Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolph Steiner (also creator of the Waldorf system of education). Though known under the name of Biodynamics for less than a hundred years, it is actually a modern organization of an ancient system of agriculture – the earth has been farmed in this fashion for centuries.
The basic tenets of the system involve farming the vines in complete harmony with the forces of nature, and using no chemical additions of any kind. The vines are treated holistically, with only homeopathic doses of organic sprays (which are derived from decomposed cow manure) allowed on the plants and soils. All actions in the vineyard and winery follow the timing of the lunar calendar. The goal is to awaken the vines and soils to the energies of the universe, and to give the plants the opportunity to build up their immune systems, so they can combat pressure from pests and disease on their own, rather than through harmful chemical treatments.
 When tasting biodynamically produced wines, it is often said that they taste more “alive” than conventionally farmed wines. There is an honesty and a purity to these wines, and they are probably the most transparent expression of the terroir in which they were grown.
The wines of Domaine Huber-Verdereau are very alive indeed. Complex aromas and flavors emerge from the glass, and you get the impression that you’re drinking something of the earth, not a beverage concocted in a lab.
Great wines also often reflect the personality of the winemaker in addition to the place they were grown. Thiébault’s wines are indeed very Thiébault – exuberant, fun, lively and honest.
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Thiébault, his wife Marielle and their four children live in the Burgundian village of Pommard, a two- minute commute from the winery in Volnay. |
We’re proud to bring Thiébault’s wines to the U.S. – wines that were hailed by leading Burgundy critic Allen Meadows as “far and away my most exciting discovery” in 2006.
Thiébault is in the US next week to participate in World of Pinot Noir event – March 2 nd & 3 rd at the Cliff’s Resort at Shell Beach, and there are tastings and dinners with Thiébault planned in California and Oregon as well. See Events Section below and watch our Blog for the latest details...
Now through March 16th, all of Thiébault’s wines from the Volnay appellations are featured at special prices:
| 2004 Volnay |
$21 (Regularly $27) |
An extremely pretty nose featuring an elegant mix of berry fruit aromas and violet notes leading to delicious, rich and round flavors that possess a firmly tannic spine yet the tannins are ripe and well-integrated. This is built to age with better phenolic ripeness than many ‘04s from Volnay. Recommended – One of the Best Values of the vintage.
| 2004 Volnay Robardelles |
$22 (Regularly $28) |
A step up in overall elegance with an almost completely violet-infused nose and rich, full and completely serious flavors that are underpinned by slightly finer tannins and better overall depth. A terrific effort at this level and highly recommended.
| 2004 Volnay Fremiets 1er Cru |
$38 (Regularly $44) |
Notably ripe, dark pinot fruit aromas and rich, mouth coating and textured middle weight flavors that are unusually well-concentrated in the context of the vintage with excellent complexity and ample amounts of the hallmark minerality of a classic Frémiets. A really lovely effort and recommended.
Also, we now have a secure online order form!
Click here to easily place your order now.
Burgundy Seminars
We’re excited to announce our first series of Burgundy seminars, with classes for both beginning and advanced Burg-lovers. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about one of the world’s finest (yet most confusing) wine regions – these seminars are for you. The first three events in February, March, and April are already sold-out, but we’ll be announcing classes for May and June shortly – watch your e-mail…
World of Pinot Noir
If you’re planning a trip to central California for the annual World of Pinot Noir event in March – look for us pouring a sneak-preview of the new 2005 La Paulée, and Domaine Huber-Verdereau’s Thiébault Huber pouring his gorgeous wines from Volnay & Pommard. Details at http://www.worldofpinotnoir.com
Scott Paul 2005 Release Party
Saturday April 28th from 10-4 may be the only opportunity you'll have to try the 2005 Audrey Pinot Noir before it’s all gone! We'll also pour the 2005 La Paulée and a selection of Burgundies. If you bought futures, we'd love for you to come get them! More details to come…
Memorial Day Weekend Open House
We look forward to seeing you here for our first Memorial Day Weekend Open House in our new facilities on May 26 th & 27 th.
1st Anniversary Celebration
June 16th and 17th. Not sure what we'll do to celebrate at this point, but we'll do something special to recognize a busy and successful year in our new home in Carlton. Any excuse for a party!
Family Vacation to Burgundy!
I’ll be pretty hard to get a hold of the last week of June and the first half of July - I'll be eating escargot, jambon persillée and gigot d’agneau at Ma Cuisine in Beaune, as Martha, Pirrie and I enjoy a working vacation in Burgundy. We’ll be tasting the 2006s in barrel, working in the vineyards as the 2007 crop develops, and generally hanging out with all our producers and their families up and down the Côte d’Or. Many of our producers have children Pirrie’s age, and Domaine Violot-Guillemard has a new swimming pool – how bad can it be?!
As always, thanks for joining us on our amazing journey!
Martha & Scott Wright
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