Burgundy expert Jasper Morris MW has had his finger on the region’s wine pulse for several decades. Especially for FONDATA, he profiles eight domaines to watch, producers that are bringing vital energy and fresh winemaking talent to the celebrated wine region 

Jasper Morris MW on eight of Burgundy’s most exciting domaines – including Eleni & Edouard Vocoret, Chantereves, Alvina Pernot and more 

The new Burgundians – Jasper Morris MW 

The new Burgundians

Think of the Golden State and you imagine sunshine, orange trees and top-tier surf. But this past week, I’ve seen crazy winds, dramatic (and welcome) rainstorms, below-zero temperatures and more snow than anyone in Napa has seen for 50 years. In a similar way, it’s all too easy to shoehorn the region’s wines. Big Cabernet. Buttery Chardonnay. Those, like the sunshine and surf, are the clichés. But there’s much more than cliché to California, an area as large as many countries, and the wines made here. Over 1,000 miles from north to south, with vineyards sitting at altitudes of 50 to over 2,000 feet, cooling influences from the Pacific and San Pablo Bay, complex ancient soils (up to 140 million years old)… California is far from simple. And you’ll find everything from Arneis to Pinot, Grüner Veltliner to Schioppettino. This week, we’ve been on the road, exploring Napa and Sonoma, talking to just a handful of the producers that have made California such a special place for wine-lovers. The scale of this landscape is grander, with a sense of space to breathe, the parcels of vines tucked in amongst hills and mountains, with the expanse of coastline just a short drive away. You can see why it was – and is – a land of promise.
 While Napa and Sonoma are firmly established as fine wine regions today, their history is comparatively short. George Yount (who gives his name to Yountville) is thought to be the first person to plant grapes for wine in Napa in the 19th century, while Charles Krug was the valley’s first commercial winery, founded in 1861 – closely followed by names such as Schramsberg, Beringer and Inglenook. By 1889 there were over 140 wineries in the area. But phylloxera struck, then Prohibition, and the thriving industry’s expansion was sharply curbed. Producers that survived that difficult period found loopholes in the law, such as unofficial home-winemaking kits and sacramental wine. After Prohibition’s repeal in 1933, it took time for the industry to find its feet. The Mondavi family – who bought Charles Krug – was integral to its development, but the focus wasn’t immediately on fine wine. Figures such as Georges de Latour, Louis M. Martini and André Tschelischeff started changing the story, but it was arguably Robert Mondavi – who struck out on his own to found the eponymous winery – who led Napa into a new era, championing it as a region that could compete with the Old World. Of course, the now legendary 1976 Judgement of Paris was the turning point. When California came out on top in Steven Spurrier’s blind tasting, the world took note. Soon the cult of Napa Cabernet was born, and as Parker’s scores swayed palates, prices soared. 
But it’s unfair to think of that as the region’s story – for there is much more to uncover beyond the sheen of those 100-pointers. While of course some producers come with the polish you might associate with Napa, almost every winery we’ve visited has been fast to focus on the vineyard, whisking us out to walk or drive through the vines. As an agricultural state (grapes – both wine and table – are only the second biggest crop here, following the dairy industry, and with almonds only just behind), farming is at the heart of its culture.
 And it’s ever more relevant, with the region at the forefront of climate change – as this week’s extraordinary weather conditions show. Drought is an ongoing challenge (although recent rains have replenished groundwater), and wildfires have stolen headlines – especially in the 2017 and 2020 vintages (expect much more from us on this soon) – ravaging vast swathes of land, the flames and the associated smoke taking both lives and livelihoods. Despite these challenges, there’s such excitement here – with an electric vitality to the industry. Land prices in Napa are enormous – over half a million dollars per acre for the best sites, and planting any additional land is almost impossible. But that isn’t stopping its evolution, with shifting farming, winemaking, varieties and styles as producers look to redefine modern Napa. Head west towards the Sonoma Coast, where the ocean breezes and fog are bone-chilling, and new frontiers are being forged. The skies here are moody, thick fog cloaking the view of this exposed area, but fields of sheep and cows are being replaced with vineyards as people push limits to create restrained styles, especially of Pinot and Chardonnay. 
We can’t thank producers who have swung open their doors to us enough. We’ve already had so many fascinating conversations about the trends and challenges in the region, about what people are doing in the vineyard and winery and why, and tasted some remarkable wines. Hundreds of thousands of people headed west in the 19th century, drawn to this corner of the land of opportunity. Many didn’t find their fortune in the Gold Rush, but this is still a place that holds such promise.  Reinvention and revolution is the Californian way, powered by a uniquely American entrepreneurship. Forget the scramble for treasure, today the bold and the brave are creating their own destiny – and it’s filled with hope.
 Read more Editorial


Our team has spent the last week touring some of Napa and Sonoma’s best wineries, exploring the Golden State and what makes it so special. Sophie Thorpe considers why – three centuries after the Gold Rush – California remains a land of opportunity

After a week of touring Napa and Sonoma, we consider how California wine producers are creating their own destiny – and exceptional wines

Wine’s land of promise – California

Land of promise: California

Wine writer Tamlyn Currin is well known for her love of off-the-beaten track wines, in particular wines from Germany. FONDATA asked her to consider why it is that Riesling fans (of which she is most certainly one) are so much more zealous than fans of other grape varieties.

Examine Riesling's authenticity as a terroir ambassador and its varied styles. Dive into its global celebration and why it's cherished by enthusiasts. 


FONDATA: Exploring Riesling's popularity

Riesling, it’s a tribal thing

Looking out across the Côte d’Or, the astute might notice a few more gaps amongst the rows of vines than normal. Dig a little deeper, listening to nervous murmurs in cellars around the region, and you’ll hear that there’s trouble below the surface – with a once-favoured rootstock the culprit.  We like to imagine the life of a Burgundian vigneron as one of the happiest in the world; a bucolic existence in the vineyards, or else surrounded by casks, vats and bottles of their gorgeous bottles. We rather enjoy the product ourselves – despite the occasional irritations of a corked or otherwise flawed bottle resulting in a failed experience. Still, the only loss is of that specific bottle. Sometimes there can be clouds in a vigneron’s life, storm clouds. A hailstorm might destroy the crop in one sector of a vineyard: that cuvée disappears off the map for a whole year, the vigneron’s work for the season destroyed in a single half hour. Or, though we have not seen this for many years, an entire vintage may be compromised by torrential rain throughout the harvest. It is hard to imagine what it can be like to lose a whole year’s crop in one go, but how much worse must it be when there is an existential threat to the life of the vine itself. Two recent threats have been the disease esca, known as the black goo in some parts of the world, and flavescence dorée. Both can bring rapid mortality to individual vines, but can be treated. Now there is a new and insidious problem to contend with: one of the key rootstocks widely used in Burgundy seems to be giving up on the job. The 161/49C rootstock has been the favourite for a generation here. The C stands for Couderc, specifically Georges Couderc who bred this rootstock as far back as 1888, shortly after it had become apparent that only vines grafted on to American non-vitis vinifera rootstocks could resist the phylloxera beetle. It is a Berlandieri x Riparia cross, designed to be relatively resistant to active limestone (very important in Burgundy), and is not over-productive: indeed, it has been such an obvious choice for producers looking for quality over quantity that it has been exceptionally widely planted in Burgundy of late. But 161/49C is giving up on its job. The failures were first seen in the south and south-west of France, and are now widespread in Burgundy. The damage was mostly done with more recent plantings: which may have given rise to the theory of the rootstock having intrinsically degenerated. However, another explanation has emerged, that the younger vines do not have deep enough root systems to be able to search out underground water, whereas the old vines with established root systems appear to be able to carry on serenely. The story is still unfolding and I doubt that we have all the answers yet. I learn from Pl@ntGrape that 161/49C is theoretically relatively resistant to drought, a view which may very well be changing. Whereas discussions with vignerons a few years ago were based around the assumption that this rootstock which had been so good was suddenly failing, as if it had run out of energy entirely or else the mother plant had contracted some sort of disease, the view most commonly heard is that this rootstock cannot manage the new hotter, drier conditions. In almost every cellar, a question about 161/49C yields a glum response. Yes, we are suffering. At first vignerons pulled out damaged vines and replaced them individually, but when each following year the losses multiplied further, the bullet of ripping out the whole plot has to be bitten – demoralising, expensive and with repercussions for years to come. You need to leave the plot fallow for at least two years (wise old heads say five to seven years) before replanting. The first mini-crop arrives three years later and the vine does not really reach maturity for 20 years. Antoine Jobard is pulling out a plot of Meursault Genevrières that he only planted in 2017. Cyrielle Rousseau adds an additional nuance: a plot of Clos de la Roche recently replanted with three separate clones, all on 161/49C rootstock is suffering much worse in relation to one of the three clones compared to the others. A further headache is that it is not clear what to plant instead. Among its close siblings – other Berlandieri x Riparia crosses – are 420A, 5BB and Teleki 5C which are all now being widely trialled in place of 161/49C: but the worry persists that these too may develop the same issues. Others are looking at 41B – quite widely used in Chablis – which dislikes drought but does not die of it according to Roger Saumaize (Pouilly-Fuissé), or 3309 which is tricky where there is a high active limestone content. François Lumpp in Givry has switched to 363 Montpellier though he noted pithily (and I have cleaned it up a bit!), “When you buy stuff that’s rubbish, you find out too late: whether it’s the cork, the barrel or the cuttings from the nursery.” Solutions will be found: a rootstock that can cope with drought, doesn’t mind a bit of limestone, is later rather than earlier ripening, and allows the vine to deliver fine quality grapes. Auditions are being held now! One thing is sure – smart producers are going to hedge their bets by settling on a mix of different options, to avoid having all their grapes in one basket. Jasper Morris – the man behind Inside Burgundy – is a Master of Wine and leading Burgundy expert, living, working and writing in the region.

Leading Burgundy expert and Inside Burgundy author Jasper Morris MW investigates a rootstock causing trouble in Burgundy

Jasper Morris MW on rootstock in Burgundy

The root of the matter

It was the vision of Jacques Perrin in particular – who farmed the property organically from 1950 onwards – that cemented Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Château de Beaucastel reputation. Today his sons – Jean-Pierre and François – are at the helm, with fifth-generation Marc, Pierre, Thomas, Cécile (Jean-Pierre’s children) and Charles, Mathieu and César (sons of François) also all work full-time at the estate. All seven of the children worked in wineries around the world before returning to the family estate.  A visionary estate The estate was one of the first in Southern Rhône to become organic (in 1950) and then biodynamic (in 1974), making the vineyard better prepared than most for the climate change effects over the last 30 years.  “Beaucastel is the largest Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate in one contiguous plot and it stands at the most northern limit of the appellation. It is a vineyard which is therefore very exposed to the Mistral winds, which has a huge cooling-down effect,” Emmanuel explains, protecting the vineyard from extreme temperatures.  The vineyard is based on a limestone bench covered by a rather atypical mix of clay and sand, topped with diluvium “galets roulés” (pudding stones). It is an incredible terroir that, Emmanuel explains, “allows us to combine power and finesse even in the driest vintages. It has always been considered a benchmark terroir in the area and was in fact a cru before the Châteauneuf appellation was created.”  
The biodynamically farmed old vines have also helped offset the ever-increasing drought pressures in the region. “We are extremely fortunate to have older vines,” Emmanuel says. “The galet roulés covering our vineyards also help prevent water evaporation. So all in all we’ve managed to make great wines even in warmest and driest vintages.” That hasn’t stopped the domaine, however, from continuing to adapt their methods to better cope with the ever-present threat of climate change. “We are learning more and more every year and continue to implement changes we deem necessary.” Alcohol levels in the region have undoubtedly risen, an effect that the estate looks to counter. 
When Jacques Perrin was in charge, he created a very specific vinification technique which he later patented. He would heat up the must to 80˚C, to start fermentation quickly while allowing Jacques to use less Sulphur, helping fix the colour of the wine, particularly with the Mourvèdre grape which has a tendency to lose colour with age. But this method also reduced the greener flavours in the wine, that came from less ripe grapes. 
Today’s climate, however, does not face the same issues, with consistently riper fruit. As a result François and César have phased out this technique, instead opting to whole-berry fermentation, and even whole-cluster ferments for varieties like Syrah, to naturally reduce alcohol levels. These days they also pick earlier, opting for more freshness whereas in the past it was always the goal to maximise ripeness, something that no longer is an issue for the region.  “The estate is always looking at ways to counter the issues of climate change,” Emmanuel continues. “For example, some of the younger Syrah vines are today producing very powerful wines so we are either co-ferment with some Grenache, reincorporating some of the stems in the vat or carry out whole-cluster fermenting,” helping to find better balance in
the wines. In the vineyard too, the team is constantly looking for ways to improve. “We recently tried spraying clay on leaves to limit photosynthesis,” Emmanuel says. The initial experiments have proved positive, but it is still too early to see the long-term effects on the wine
and requires further testing. 
But this experimental approach is everywhere in the property. They continuously make alternate blends that they age in the Beaucastel cellar and over time compare with their main cuvées to see how well the final blend develops versus a different potential version of
the same wine: Emmanuel states the cellars are full of these experiments. 
The domaine has also been assessing how the Beaucastel wines age with different fining techniques. “We do a lot of comparative tastings and assessing of older experimentations. For example, we recently did a horizontal of Château de Beaucastel 1996, where each bottle was fined differently, and identified which fining technique works best for ageing the wine – this is crucial in the development of our knowledge and helps us to make sure decisions taken in the moment are the best ones for the future.” 
Hommage à Jacques Perrin What is distinctive about Château de Beaucastel and the Hommage cuvée in particular is the high proportion of Mourvèdre in the blend. The Hommage is typically made up of 60% Mourvèdre. Emmanuel explains, “Hommage is from our Courrieux lieu-dit parcel, where Mourvèdre was first replanted (post-phylloxera) in 1910. As Mourvèdre is such a late-ripening
varietal, Château de Beaucastel needs an outstanding Indian summer to hope for an Hommage vintage. The decision thereafter is taken during the blending tastings. 
“When tasting the foudre of Courrieux back in 1989, François and Jean-Pierre were overwhelmed by the outstanding quality and knew that it had to be bottled on its own. Jacques Perrin’s intuition for the best blend from the estate revolved around a dominant proportion of Mourvèdre. As a tribute to their visionary father, they followed his instinct and
dedicated this unique cuvée to him.”  Production remains tiny despite the huge demand for the wine. In recent vintages, production has been around 6,000 bottles per year. The only difference in the vinification process of Hommage versus their other cuvées is an extra six months’ ageing in 4,000-litre foudres. All the winemaking is fairly hands-off, vinifying all the varieties separately apart from the Muscardin, Vaccarèse and Terret Noir which – due to the tiny quantities – are co-fermented. The reductive varieties – Syrah and Mourvèdre – are fermented in open-top wood fermenters and the remaining oxidative varieties are fermented in concrete tanks prior to the all-important blending sessions with the family.  The 2018 vintage has already been fantastically reviewed, awarded a potential perfect 100 points from the Wine Advocate, with reviewer Joe Czerwinski describing it as “full-bodied
but incredibly silky, combining great purity, richness and length into a seamless, elegant package that should give immense pleasure for decades to come.” The success of the 2018 vintage, according to Emmanuel, was “down to the perfect ripening conditions in mid-October, allowing them to bring the grapes of this late-ripening variety in at perfect maturity – 2018 was fantastic for Mourvèdre.” 
The grapes of the Southern Rhône 
Château de Beaucastel proudly uses all 13 permitted varieties of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. Some even say 18 varieties, since varieties like Grenache, Terret, Clairette and Piquepoul all have a black, pink and grey clone of the variety mixed within the vineyards. “Each variety brings its own attributes that differ depending on the vintage, but also depending on the amount you use or the blend you make,” says Emmanuel. “For example, when you open a young Beaucastel, it’s very Grenache-driven, even when there is a similar percentage of Mourvèdre. It’s only few years later that Mourvèdre will finally come to the
fore, revealing game, leather and savoury characteristics. “Individually, Mourvèdre brings power and structure, but when you open an older Beaucastel it delivers freshness and silkiness. Grenache Noir brings kirsch, plum and cassis fruitiness. Syrah adds color, tannin and spices, and when blended with Mourvèdre and Grenache it
brings truffle notes.  Counoise can be considered the Pinot Noir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and has a distinctive white pepper note. Cinsault adds freshness, Muscardin and Vaccarèse are very floral and add freshness, Terret Noir is light even in colour and adds acidity. The white varieties of Roussanne and Grenache Blanc bring elegance and freshness. Clairette is very aromatic and brings unctuosity. Bourboulenc adds tension with notes of almond and vanilla, Piquepoul richness and Picardan adds a lot of bouquet.   “For us it is very important to have all the varieties to make an elegant and balanced wine. However, above all, it is the knowledge and the art of blending, passed on from generation to generation of the Perrin family, that is the key to understanding the real expression of Château de Beaucastel terroir.” With experimentation at the heart of the Perrin philosophy, the infinite potential of blends when using so many grapes in the wine keeps the extended Perrin family busy monitoring their blending decisions as the wines develop with age. With the 2018 Hommage, it looks like
all their experimentation is paying off. Explore all current Château de Beaucastel listings or browse more Editorial 

Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Château de Beaucastel dates back to the 16th century, but it was only after the Perrin family took control of the estate in the early 1900s that it became one of the most iconic and well-respected wine producers in the Southern Rhône.

Exploring the largest Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate, Château de Beaucastel, and how it became one of the most iconic and well-respected Southern Rhône producers

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