Elden Wine

Based in Burgundy and specializing in small-production wines little known outside of France.

Our services include:

• Elden Selections, a twice-yearly newsletter keeping you up-to-date with the complex world of Burgundy.
• Personal Importation We help you become the importer.
• The Burgundy Wine Institute, in collaboration with the BIVB Ecole des Vins, is a glass-in-hand exploration of the Burgundy vineyards.
  
• Past Issues of ‘Elden Selections’ back to 1996. With a Search function.
  
• Winemaker Profiles ‘Get to Know the Growers’.
• Ask the Winemakers We can put you in touch with the Producers… just ask!
• Tasting Notes from our regular cellar and in-house tastings.
• Members Forum Password access to special wines and older vintages, as well as our ‘Club House’ Forum.
• Elden France Introductory mixed sample cases for those of you living in Europe.
• At Home in Burgundy What’s great wine without great food? Recipes from Ellie’s book.

If you would like to receive a paper copy of ‘Elden Selections’, just send your mailing address to eldenwine@gmail.com

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Spring 2008

TWO ROTTEN SUMMERS
Printable PDF Version

This is the story of two rotten summers. By way of introduction … a little rant. Consider Roland Masse, the latest in an illustrious line of winemakers at the Hospices de Beaune. On the third Sunday of November each year, the wine world descends into his cellars to taste what he has made from grapes that were still on the vine mere weeks before. No, it’s not Beaujolais Nouveau — far from it — this is a fine Burgundian tradition, albeit one that has lurched awkwardly into our media-driven era. These wines are sold at auction for charity. Traditionally, the prices paid there are seen as a first reflection of the vintage, and as a barometer of the market. So pity poor Roland Masse. Not just because it’s a tough job (some would say impossible), but because it recently got a lot tougher. The Hospices auction used to be a closed shop, with the big ‘negociant’ houses –the only participants– bidding for the lots that they always bid on. The candle burned out, the gavel came down; and it was as quaint as it was chauvinistic. Then, in 2005, the Hospices decided to hand the organization of the auction over to Christie’s, and, for better or worse, things will never be the same. For one thing, now anyone can bid. Just like a real auction, you might say. But the change has been dramatic. These new-comers, often more passionate than professional, bid, not just to play, but to win. And the traditional houses can do little more than temper the mood of the proceedings. A part of Burgundy, it seems, has been subsumed by a subculture that caters to people who read magazines about cigars. As local knowledge takes a back seat to the driving force of fashion, we’ve lost the only real benefits (aside from raising cash for charity) that such a public spectacle can accrue: first impressions of the vintage, and the mood of the market. That’s why I feel for Roland Masse: all that stress for what? The 2007 Hospices sale (average price per barrel) was up 37.86% for the reds; the whites were down 6.55%. (This could be because) in 2006, the whites were up a remarkable 63.61%, while the reds were stable. This issue of ‘Selections’ is a report on those two vintages. Judge for yourself whether the numbers jibe.
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Posted by Dennis December 2007