Retrospective Review Volume I, Number 3 (December-January 1979-1980)

In this our third issue, Edward Lazarus kicked off with “Woes of a Burgundy Drinker” speaking to the fact that back then a lot of wine was spoiled by excessive heat either in transit or after arrival when many wines were stored in unrefrigerated warehouses. In Southern California, there are many weeks each year when temperatures range between 80-100 degrees. Northern California is generally cooler, but even so, temperatures can reach the same highs. This is disaster for wine storage – particularly Burgundy. Burgundies, both red and white, are among the wines most sensitive to excessive heat.

And, 30-40 years ago, many, if not most, wine storage facilities used by wholesalers and distributors were not refrigerated. So true to our mission we were straightforward with our call “must consumers deal with spoiled wines as well?” Today things have changed as now wines are transported in a temperature-controlled environment to their destination , which is temperature-controlled as well. We’ve made progress and today, thankfully, spoiled wines are a rarity.

Ah, Spring, The Vintage of the Century Is In the Air!

Ah, Spring, The Vintage of the Century Is In the Air!

Last November when we were in Burgundy, we were impressed with the 2008 red wines. They showed better balance and richness than the 2007s tasted from barrel (our review will follow shortly – stay tuned). But nearly everywhere we went, when tasting any 2008s and expressing a positive opinion, the reaction was “just wait for the 2009s.” Later, this year we will go back to Burgundy and taste some of the 2009s. But even without tasting the wines, it seems obvious that given the quality of the harvest, that there will be many lush and concentrated Burgundies of great appeal. And, more recently, at the opening tastings of the 2009 Bordeaux, the cry is echoed. Here are just a few of the early proclamations: “2005 a great vintage or better,” “the best young vintage I have ever tasted,” “Best wines ever.” So it looks like we are in for another “Vintage of the Century.” Again? OK. In my 40 years of tasting wines, I have only heard this about 10 times. Wow! I am not that old!!

WINE TASTING OF THE MILLENNIUM

Over the years, I’ve participated in thousands of wine tastings. I have read about hundreds or thousands more. But there is one that stands out above all the others. It is, without question, the wine tasting of the millennium. The basic idea was to taste the highest scoring wines of all time in one tasting.

A Selection from California and France

Two Stunning White Burgundy Producers: I began drinking White Burgundies in the late 1960s as I was beginning my journey down the wine trail. From the very beginning, I was captivated by the flavors and balance of the wines and their ability to pair beautifully with a wide variety of foods.

A Gourmet’s Diary: A Tasting of Red Burgundies

Following are tasting notes of some Red Burgundies at The French Club in San Francisco last year. 1999 Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Louis Jadot.  Medium brick red color. Mature but elusive nose. Rather spare and dry in the mouth. A nice wine but a bit of a disappointment to me as I am a big […]

Retrospective Review: Volume I, Number 1 (August-September 1979)

We are reproducing here a copy of the first issue of The Underground Wineletter. Below you’ll find an updated review of each article, where I will go over what we got right and what we got wrong. We will follow this format with each successive issue. So Volume I, Number 2 will be coming next. […]