Sur Le Zinc

No Compromises

An article by Bruce Sanderson from the June 30, 2015 issue of Wine Spectator. Isolated but undaunted, Lalou Bize-Leroy makes some of Burgundy’s finest wines Disaster loomed in Burgundy’s 1993 vintage. A wet spring led to severe attacks of mildew. To save their grape crops, growers had to spray twice as much fungicide as in… READ MORE

2004, The Unpredictable Harvest

At the end of August, the outlook was grim. Following the flowering, the cool nights of June led to oidium (powdery mildew). July was wet. August was overcast and cool, which meant no luminosity—so necessary for the ripening of the grapes. Then, two major hail storms unfurled over Pommard and Volnay, all the way to… READ MORE

Memorable 2003 Burgundy Harvest

I arrived in Mâcon on August 25th, anticipating that the harvest would start on September 1st –already at least two to three weeks earlier than customary.  The hot weather began in mid-June and was still in the mid-nineties when I arrived. There were no green meadows on the Beaujolais and Mâconnais hillsides, just burnt trees… READ MORE