"You know how it goes: you’re in France, having a lovely dinner – perhaps aboard a very special canal barge – and the wine somehow tastes better than any French wine you’ve ever tasted at home. When you ask if it’s possible to find the same wine back in the US, either it’s not imported or, if it is, it’s in such limited quantities that you’d have to scour the country to find it. What to do? The importation of wine into the US is a highly regulated affair, and interstate commerce of wine even more so. Understandably. But State and Federal laws do allow a leniency for ‘personal importation’ that serious wine lovers should know about. In a nutshell, if you buy wine for your own consumption directly from the producer in small quantities, there is no need to pass through the traditional importation channels. In fact, in most cases, the wines can be delivered directly to your door. Papillon is pleased to announce a new service, one which should allow you to become your own ‘personal importer’.

HAND-MADE BURGUNDY
So why is it that these wines taste so much better in France than similar wines do back in the States? For Burgundies, at least, the answer is simple. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (the principle Burgundian grape varieties) do not lend themselves to bulk production. At their best, they are hand-made, artisanal wines. To supply a market as big as the US, Burgundy producers have only two options: either they offer an honest wine in the tiny quantities that their parceled vineyards naturally produce; or they can concoct a ‘facsimile’ wine, blended, diluted and denatured, in quantities sufficient to cash in on Burgundy’s good name. In either case, let the buyer beware! A great many of the Burgundies available on the American market are – by design or by default – over-priced and disappointing. To be sure of what you are buying, it’s imperative that you get to know the growers.

GET TO KNOW THE GROWERS
Burgundy is a mine-field. For every good wine, there are dozens of losers. It’s an all-too-familiar scenario: you go to the wine shop for that ‘special occasion’ wine. The taste of a superb Meursault lingers in your memory. Wanting to recapture a moment, you buy some other Meursault – only to fine it drab and insipid. Same village. Same hefty price, no doubt. But a completely different wine. That’s Burgundy. Some of the most sublime wine in the world is made here. And some of the most over-priced. What makes the difference? It’s logical, really. Some winemakers are just better than others. If you want the best that Burgundy has to offer, you have to know who is making the wine. A good wine maker must first be a good farmer – there is no good wine without good grapes. Those who treat the soil with respect, who prune their vines to give quality over quantity, who are careful and meticulous with their treatments and who know what is ripe and when, they will have an advantage over the rest, even in the ‘off’ years. The wine world is in flux. More and more people are interested in wine; more and more countries are producing decent stuff. With the competition, times are tough for French wine – for Burgundy in particular. We welcome the crisis. The more the Burgundians realize that they can no longer exploit the reputation, the better their wines will be. As wine lovers become more sophisticated, New World experimentation will give way to wines which are made where grape variety best suits soil and climate. For Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, few would disagree that that place is Burgundy. A new generation of Burgundian winemakers are coming to know that they are privileged to work in such ideal conditions. Find them and you’ll find the great Burgundies.

PAPILLON CAN HELP
But how do you find them? This is what ‘Le Papillon Selections’ is all about. On a twice yearly basis, you will receive up-to-the-minute tasting reports of wines which we are following on their way from the barrel to the bottle. We’ll also let you know which of these wines we finally decide to add to our own Papillon cellar. You’ll get inside information about harvest conditions, and be able to form an intelligent opinion about the coming vintage well before the wine press makes the decision for you. Our Winemakers profiles will put in touch with the faces behind the labels, and our Burgundy Basics column will help de-mystify this all- too-complex wine region. You’ll hear from the winemakers themselves about when our selected wines are ripe for drinking; and we’ll give you tips on cellaring while you await the day. So let us be your ‘palate’ here in Burgundy. Let us introduce you to growers who make some of the world’s great wines. It’s a way to avoid the heartbreak of opening an expensive disappointing wine. But more, it’s a direct contact with the people who till the soil and prune the vines and turn fruit juice into nectar. If ‘Le Papillon Selections’ helps you to import your own and to drink better wine as a result, we’ll all raise a glass.

FAMILY WINEMAKING IN LADOIX
I first met Roger Capitain back in 1985. He told me then that he had recently retired. Ten years later, he’s still at the helm of the family concern, the Domaine Capitain-Gagnerot in Ladoix, much as he was during his first harvest 50 years ago. His sons have taken the relay in the cellars, sure, and their wives now run the office; but the wine is still pure Capitain. These are benchmark Burgundies: they capture light; the earth speaks; the fruit sings. Based around the Corton Mountain, Capitain’s holdings are textbook Cote de Beaune: Aloxe-Corton, Savigny-les-Beaune, Ladoix, Pernand-Vergelesses, this is the land of delicate fruit and finesse. With Premier Cru vineyards in each of these villages, some big chunks of Grand Cru Corton and Corton-Charlemagne, and a tiny but magnificent parcel in Clos Vougeot, the Capitain family oversees an important domain. In his role of doyen, Roger Capitain has become an in-your-face philosopher. When he speaks with emphasis, he’ll but his nose three inches from yours, look you in the eye and say, perhaps, ‘it’s easier to satisfy clients than to educate them: people prefer what is beautiful to what is true’. During long afternoons in the cellar, I’ve learned as much about his soul as about his wine. In the end, the one reflects the other. ‘Like salt in soup’ he said of oak, ‘you need a little, but too much will ruin the wine’. ‘Never strive to imitate, strive to be inimitable’. Capitain met his wife in Normandy, just after the invasion. The French army was shambolic, so he joined up with the Americans. To this day, his door is open and his thanks sincere to Americans passing by. We’re pleased to feature his wines in this first issue. Great wine, great man.

AN EARLY TASTE OF THE 95’s
1995 was one of those almost-great years which Burgundy seems to have so many of. A cool spring meant failed flowering which meant naturally low yields. A dry, hot summer let the grapes catch up, though. A soaking rain was just on time in the late August, and the growers went smiling into September. Picking started early in the month. Then the rains came. Well- tended grapes were able to resist the wet conditions, and the growers dodged downpours to get the harvest in with minimal dilution of the juice. My first taste of the new wine was in late November at the Hospice de Beaune sale. Subsequent tastings in the Cote Chalonnaise, Cotes de Beaune and Chablis (I’ve not yet tasted the Cotes de Nuits) confirm my earliest impressions. I was struck by high acid levels in both red and white. But behind the acidity is good concentration: lots of body and bottom in the Pinots, very fine tanins; creamy softness and ripe fruit in the Chardonnays. True, the acidity is a bit out of balance, but who has ever tasted an older wine that’s overly acidic? While it’s too early to say for sure, my guess is that you’ll be hearing a lot about Burgundy 95, both red and white.

BURGUNDY BASICS
Every vineyard in Burgundy is rated for its potential quality. This is essentially what the ‘appellation controlleé’ categories are all about. The more specific the ‘appellation’, the greater the potential. In the chart you’ll see that there are basically four categories of ‘appellations’. The pyramid shape is appropriate: we’re moving up from quantity to quality, from general to specific. At the base of the pyramid are the REGIONAL ‘appellations’, mostly generic ‘Bourgogne’ red and white. This is by far the bulk of Burgundy's production. These wines can come from any of the different regions of Burgundy, from Macon to Auxerre. Moving up the pyramid, getting more specific, the VILLAGE ‘appellations’ wines must come from vineyards within the named village (Gevrey-Chambertin, Beaune and Chablis, for example, are all villages in Burgundy). More specific still are the PREMIER CRU ‘appellations’. Sometimes called ‘first growths’, these are specific vineyards within a named village which have, over time, proven to be superior. ‘Appellation Beaune ‘Bressandes’ 1er Cru’, then, comes from the village of Beaune; ‘Bressandes’ being the name of the vineyard. All of the grapes used in this wine must come from this specific vineyard. Finally, at the pinnacle of the pyramid the GRAND CRU appellations’ are the most specific (as well as the rarest of Burgundian wines). Here, we no longer see the village name used. These wines take simply the name of the vineyard (Montrachet and Chambertin) are famous ‘grand cru’ vineyards. In fact (and it can be a source of confusion) several Burgundian wine villages have added the name of their most famous vineyard to the village name. For instance, Gevery-Chambertin used to be called simply ‘Gevrey’; the name of the town was legally changed to capitalize on the world-wide fame of ‘Chambertin’. Likewise, Puligny-Montrachet used to be plain old ‘Puligny’, adding ‘Montrachet’ later to help sell the village wine. Theoretically, a ‘grand cru’ wine should be one of the finest bottles in the world – it will be so priced – but remember that these ‘appellations’ rate only the potential quality of the wine. Nothing has been said, you’ll notice, about the winemakers’ ability to realize that potential.