ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1010
 | | 02/12/2003 5:24 AM |
| One more question to throw into the mix. I have been lead to believe that the inheritance laws in Burgundy require vineyards to be split equally among the heirs of the deceased leading to smaller and smaller plots actually being owned by one person.
If that's true, it seems to me that quality could suffer and this whole thing could become even more confusing.
Any truth to this? How about opinions. | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 02/12/2003 5:33 AM |
| | "[A]ny wine that reaches the minimum 11.5% alcohol level within the appellation of Montagny can be called Premier Cru" (Robert Parker, "Burgundy" page 613.) | | | |
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Jeremy Matthew
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2067
| | 02/12/2003 6:01 AM |
| GA,
From what I've read you are correct, however the common sense of many of the inheritant's has ensured in the last fifty years that this process has slowed considerably- that and the fact people are tending to have smaller families.
More often than not inheritants are keeping the estates in the family name ensuring that the parcels of land aren't divided. ie sharing the work load and the fortunes amongst their other siblings. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 02/12/2003 1:48 PM |
| I am not sure but I think this is correct, too. I think there are some vineyards where a person owns a single row of vines, or even just 'x' number of plants. Bizarre.
BUT, European inheritance laws always mystified me. My grandmother passed away a year and a half ago. My cousin, well, she is a not so nice person. She is entitled to a certain percentage of her estate just because she is the sole survivor of her father who was the son of my grandmother (my mother's younger brother). German law dictates this, even if the person who died vehemently opposes this. The key here is for the person who is going to die should give away as much of their estate as possible while still living. Stupid, isn't it? | |
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DukeRiley
McMinnville, OR
Barrel Racker
Posts:1952
| | 02/12/2003 1:50 PM |
| It's interesting how the authorities in Burgundy were more generous with the Premier Cru designation in some appellations than in others.
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Heater Allen Brewing
www.heaterallen.com | |
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TCK
Barrel Filler
Posts:1279
| | 02/12/2003 2:05 PM |
| GA,
This was true during the Napoleonic era in France. That is what splintered the region. Bordeaux was not considered as important at that time (and had a large English influence) by the government and was saved from the practice.
I do not believe that his is the current practice in France.
TCK | | | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 02/12/2003 2:42 PM |
| | The appellation controlee laws were first and foremost a creation of the polity. The reason why there are no Grand Crus in Nuits St Georges and Pommard has less to do with the quality of certain vineyards (Les St Georges and Epenots for example) and more about tax and control concerns. | | | |
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jaimetown
DC area
Wine Bottler
Posts:3370
| | 02/12/2003 3:00 PM |
| A book I highly recommend in getting a quick overview of Burgundy and Bordeaux is Hugh Johnson/Janis Robinson's World Atlas of Wine. It's colorful maps and up-to-date information was very helpful to me. For Burgundy, the maps are fantastic and extremely helpful.
Oh, the book covers other parts of the world too. If you don't have this book Brent, it is a must-buy! | | | |
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Seek
Upstate NY
Wine Thief
Posts:2772
| | 02/12/2003 3:11 PM |
| | I have the World Atlas of Wine and find it very useful. It has a wealth of info in a very compact package (for each region) It is very well done with great presentation. | | | |
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GATC
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2420
| | 02/25/2003 1:08 AM |
| | jaimetown, good suggestion. When I first got interested in wines, I read a lot of books and a lot of this information has not changed much in years. When I first got interested in Bordeaux, I decided to memorize all the estates classified in 1855. The market value is still fairly correlated with the rankings after all of these years (with exceptions like Lynch Bages, which has moved up significantly) so this was a useful exercise. | | | |
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TCK
Barrel Filler
Posts:1279
| | 02/25/2003 3:53 PM |
| To update the topic of Montagney Premier Crus:
Jones' point is legally true of course, however according to Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine There are now specific vinyards in Montagney that carry the premier cru designation. I read this to say that any wine that carries the proper alcholic weight can be designated as premier cru's, but wines from the specific vineyards can be called premier cru's regardless of their alcohol content.
TCK | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 01/07/2005 6:50 PM |
| Quote:
They mean different things in those areas. In St. Emilion for example they have Grand Cru Classe wines. They then have other designations like Premier Grand Cru Classe A which is the best in St. Emilion (Ausone and Cheval Blanc). Despite these differences the appelation controlee system still applies in Bordeaux much like Burgundy. The importent difference is that vineyards are not shared like in Burgundy (Burgundy has over a 100 producers of the Grand Cru Clos de Vougeot while there is only one Lafite Rothschild). However there are these similarities:
Appelation Bordeaux controle is the same as appelation Bourgogne controlee.
Appelation Pauillac in Bordeaux (Pauilliac is called a commune in Bordeaux rather than a village is Burgundy) is legally the same as appelation Gevry Chambertin in Burgundy. Mouton Rothschild is a Grand Vin and is located within the commune of Pauilliac (Lafite and Latour are as well)
Bordeaux also has other qualitative classifications. The aforementioned st. Emilion system and the 1855 classification (that is where the term first growth, second growth down to fifth growth flow from). Pomerol is not classified past AOC status.
All areas of France follow the appelation controlle system (this applies to areas that have been granted a AOC - some areas have not been designated as such so therefore they can only be designated as vin de table or even lower vin ordinaire)
*bump*
So Jones, is there a logical heircrchy of 'Cru' designations at all for Bordeaux like you specified (in general) for Burgundy? | |
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JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 01/07/2005 7:14 PM |
| | Not really. The same kind of logic is applied in St. Emilion's system (and even the Cru Bourgeois/Cru Bourgeois Exceptionale) but it is not directly analagous to Burgundy. As a result, Burgundy is much more specific/pure terroir driven than Bordeaux. People forget Chateaus have added to their properties over the years (and many Chateau properties are not one single contiguous block) but the wine produced from the expanded holdings still has the same designation (assuming the added land is not located in Cote Rotie for example). | | | |
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