It is not just an historic name on a barrel...cuvee Nicolas Rolin Beaune has so many stories within stories that it is easy to dismiss it as a monoculture, and therein lose the emphasis of complex possibilities. The hillsides of premier crus … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #16 – What is in a name? Nicolas Rolin
Collins Corner
Collins Corner #15 – 50 years may be too soon
Some insights come when least expected. Such as the case of Savigny from Seguin-Manuel. Seguin-Manuel, originally in Savigny, dates to 1824. The Savigny plots that compose the source of the villages wine date back nearly that long. When the … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #15 – 50 years may be too soon
Collins Corner #14 – An American in Beaune – a war legacy
The sweet little girl in the tourist office stared blankly at me. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened to me in Beaune, the uncrowned capital of Burgundy, usually the fault of my really poor French, but this time I was sure the question … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #14 – An American in Beaune – a war legacy
Collins Corner #13 – when communes collide
Understanding French wine; Begin with the geography lesson. Such is the first grade of the Cote d'Or, pull out the maps. Each town is encapsuled with its own boundries, Communes. The logical second step is to experiment and learn these … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #13 – when communes collide
Collins Corner #12 – The vineyard without a hometown
When I first began to buy bottles of Burgundy in the late 1960s, well before I was in the trade, I had few choices in backwater Oregon, and always hoped to find a bottle with credentials. So I grabbed my first Volnay with great anticipation, only to … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #12 – The vineyard without a hometown
Collins Corner #11 -The core of the Beaune appellation
Middle earth, full o' stones may best describe this section of Beaune. The symbolic Grand cru site is Beaune-Greves, replete with history back to the early church foundations. Although it has continued to increase in size over the … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #11 -The core of the Beaune appellation
Collins Corner: Its a big world, Beaune
When you read a missive from one of the Publicity Hounds that like to fill you in on the "prestige" wines, Beaune will be dismissed in a wave of condensation, "too many premier crus" and "lets go somewhere where there is only a barrel per Luit Dix … [Read more...] about Collins Corner: Its a big world, Beaune
Collins Corner #9 – Pilgrimage to Beaune
I will now lay out my thesis for why Beaune wine is altogether different than the rest. It is not an appellation so much as a philosophy, where you must look to the church rather than the government for an explanation. The Chroniclers of wine, … [Read more...] about Collins Corner #9 – Pilgrimage to Beaune