November 14, 2005
Just a quick note before I head off to Burgundy the day after tomorrow…. Malo-lactic fermentation has just begun in some of the 2005s. Kelley and I will monitor each barrel closely to make sure they all go through cleanly and completely… Just tasted through the 2004s in bottle the other night. The Cuvée Martha Pirrie is really stunning right now – lush and lovely, probably the best version of this yet. The 04 La Paulée is developing some nice aromatics, though it seems to be closing down a bit right now. Seems like it should come out of its shell by the April/May release. Same goes for the 04 Audrey, which is even more closed-up at the moment, but the purity and elegance is very much in evidence. I recall the 02s and 03s going through pretty much the same thing pre-release…
Hallelujah – construction on the new winery starts tomorrow! I can’t believe it is finally happening, and can’t wait to see it take shape. I’ll post photos from the construction phase here from time to time…
Scrambling now to get last-minute stuff together for the trip. really looking forward to all the meetings and events, and hoping that the Melatonin rescues me from the worst of the jet-lag. I’ll only be in Burgundy 5 full days, and don’t want to be a zombie the whole time!
I intend to post again on Nov. 23rd – I return late on the 22nd, and will try to shake out the cobwebs and relate all the news the next day – or at least the salient highlights. Until then, Santé, Bonheur! À bientôt…
