Corney & Barrow

In this episode of Burgundy Unpicked, Joe and Guy are joined once again by Aaran and Neville to discuss the highlights of the 2023 Burgundy wine offer, focusing on various domaines and the unique characteristics which made this vintage particularly exciting. 

It wouldn’t be Christmas without discussing food and wine. In this episode, C&B Training Manager Camilla chats to our in-house Chef Clive about festive feasting. Listen to the pair discussing their action plans for Christmas, and discover great tips for food and wine matching.

It's time for one of the most anticipated episodes (and topics) of the year! Guy (Head of Fine Wine Buying) and Joe (Head of Monopole) are back in the studio, this time alongside Aaran and Neville (Fine Wine Sales Execs), to discuss the 2023 Burgundy vintage. Following on from their visits to the region in November, the team gives a detailed insight into the 2023 growing season, samples tasted and comparable vintages, an outlook on the market, a few fun anecdotes, and food highlights. 

Following the success of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, our Fine Wine Team is back with a brand new series on all our Burgundy releases. January marks the release of the much anticipated 2023 vintage, and what better way to kick-off our series than with a spotlight of none other than Domaine Leflaive! In this episode, Joe Muller, Guy Seddon, and Bryce Fraser discuss their trip and tasting at the domaine in early November, giving a glimpse into the vintage and sharing a few personal highlights. This is our ‘Burgundy Unpicked’ series.

Our festive podcast series is back for 2024! In this episode, Tiffany, Margherita, and Hebe discuss sweet wines. The conversation centres around the techniques used to create the various styles of wines coupled with personal experiences of food and wine matching. The ladies discover a mutual love for Moscato d’Asti and encourage you to enjoy sweet wines all year round— these wines are not just for Christmas! 

To conclude the Bordeaux 2023 campaign, join Joe, Will, Marc and Aaran as they give us a wrap-up report.

They each discuss how they feel the releases were overall, including prices, how Vinexpo affects the flow of things, some missed opportunities and the excitement surrounding the wines and châteaux.

The four then take turns picking their favourite wines from each commune — they are largely in agreement when discussing the Left Bank but feel spoilt for choice on the Right Bank!

Finally, there is an overview of which wines proved most popular with customers and those that surprised the C&B team.

Join Guy Seddon (Head of Fine Wine Buying), Will Hargrove (Head of Fine Wine) and James Franklin (Head of Merchant Sales) as they introduce Domaine du Pélican. This exciting Jura estate is the brainchild of Guillaume d’Angerville of Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Volnay and his long-time Régisseur François Duvivier.   

Following on from a recent buying trip, the trio discuss the Jura region in detail — the wine styles produced, the techniques used, the grape varieties and soil types, amongst many other factoids. As Biodynamics are particularly important, Guy gives us a quick overview of what this entails and the evident effects this has on the wines. They each conclude that Jura wines have been enjoying a renaissance in recent years and how viticulture has changed to adapt. 

They also explain how the idea of establishing Domaine du Pélican was sparked and the significance of the Pelican legend! Perhaps an accident or perhaps fate…

Finally, Guy, Will and James dive into the wines themselves — how they taste, what they could be likened to, their ageing potential and what food to pair them with.

As the curtain closes on the final week of Château releases - Joe and Guy discuss what the past week has brought us with their honest opinions on the wines and prices.

There’s plenty for them to cover, from potential best wines of the vintage such as Montrose and Vieux Château Certain to household names such as Conseillante, Figeac, Troplong Mondot and the newly blossoming Beau-Séjour. The pair talk through and compare the current releases to past vintages, placing them in the context of the wider Bordeaux market. As a new addition to the Bordeaux unpicked podcast, Guy gives his insight into the experience in Bordeaux of the mythical ‘A-team’, highlighting some of the wines that impressed them most.

As part of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, members of our Fine Wine Team give regular updates on the campaign and the most recent releases. This is our ‘Bordeaux Unpicked’ series.
 This week has seen châteaux releases come thick and fast — Aaran and Joe discuss what the last few days have brought us with their honest opinions on the wine and prices.
 The pair discuss the wines they felt have really hit the heights out of this latest selection on offer, along with those that didn’t quite hit the mark. They compare these wines to previous vintages, give their recommendations of the week and the must-buys.
 When chatting about Château Rouget, Aaran and Joe also go a little more in depth on the winemaking techniques used here and how that translates to the final wine.
 They conclude by giving their expectations for the finale of the campaign next week and recap which châteaux are still yet to release.
 Wines discussed: Branaire-Ducru, Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Gruaud-Larose, Palmer, Pichon Baron, Durantou, L’Eglise Client, Rouget, Carmes Haut-Brion, Rauzan-Ségla, Berliquet, Canon, Margaux, Pavillon Rouge, Pavillon Blanc and Capbern

As part of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, members of our Fine Wine Team give regular updates on the campaign and the most recent releases. This is our ‘Bordeaux Unpicked’ series.

This week, we are joined by Aaran and Will as they discuss the most recent releases. Due to a large majority of Bordelais producers being out in Hong Kong for Vinexpo this week, things have been relatively quiet.

There have been a couple of châteaux who released, however. Of these, the pair give their honest opinions, including which wines are great for mid-term drinking and which are good to ‘follow’. They also go into more detail about the individual offers from Mitjavile and Moueix, which were released last week, along with Peter Sisseck’s Château Rocheyron.

They conclude with their thoughts on the wines predicted to be released next week, which include some very big names…
 
Wines discussed: Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Rocheyron, Mitjavile and Jean-Pierre Moueix.

This week, Joe and Aaran are joined by Will, who was part of the ‘A Team’ during the C&B trip to Bordeaux.
 The trio kicks off with a discussion about a particular château that released its wine this week at a disappointingly high price. Although the team agreed that the wine deserved a great score and that they thoroughly enjoyed it, unfortunately, it outpriced itself in line with the other properties.
 On a more positive note, they talk about some of the glowing releases from this week, including the wines of Jean-Pierre Moueix. They emphasise C&B’s strong connection with the Moueix family and highlight their favourite wines from this stable. Similarly, the wines of the Mitjavile family also came out this week — another Bordelais house that is intrinsically linked to C&B. The trio explain how Louis and François make incredible wines with a distinctive DNA year on year. 
 They round up the week by confirming which wines represented the best buys and note next week is expected to be quiet for releases, with the exception of a couple of châteaux.
 Wines discussed: Cos d’Estournel, Lafleur-Gazin, Lafleur-Pétrus, Bourgneuf, Peymouton, Bélair-Monange, Clos Saint-Martin, La Grave, Beychevelle, Léoville-Poyferré, Mitjavile and Domaine de Chevalier. 

As part of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, members of our Fine Wine Team give regular updates on the campaign and the most recent releases. This is our ‘Bordeaux Unpicked’ series.
 This episode follows on from a busy week of Bordeaux releases. We are joined by Aaran and Joe once more who discuss in more detail about the latest châteaux to release their wine prices. From these, they highlight which wines represent great value and which ones tasted amazing along with the must-buys so far. Drinking windows are also discussed to give an indicator of the bottles that will require lying down and those that will be more approachable in their youth. 
 The pair also delve into which wines impressed when tasting barrel samples out in the region last month and note some top white wines from the vintage, stating there is a strong representation of dry whites in 2023.
 Finally, they round up which wines are expected to be released next week and those they are excitedly anticipating themselves.
 Wines discussed: Cheval Blanc, Léoville Barton, Langoa Barton, Kirwan, Rauzan-Gassies, Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Lynch-Bages, Ducru-Beaucaillou, d’Issan and Pape Clément.

As part of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, members of our Fine Wine Team give regular updates on the campaign and the most recent releases. This is our ‘Bordeaux Unpicked’ series.

In this second instalment, Aaran and Joe are joined by Marc, our Bordeaux en primeur wine buyer. The trio discuss the current state of the market along with prices and quantities. Adding to the conversation, they also chat about the wines that have proven to be hits or misses so far and which releases they look forward to seeing during the remainder of the campaign. 

 Wines discussed: Mouton, Angelus, Cantemerle and Lafon-Rochet.

As part of our Bordeaux 2023 en primeur podcast series, members of our Fine Wine Team give regular updates on the campaign and the most recent releases. This is our ‘Bordeaux Unpicked’ series.

 In this first episode, we hear from Aaran and Joe, who formed part of the ‘B Team’ during the Bordeaux en primeur trip. They discuss what they learned when out in the vineyards, potential drinking windows, current release prices, and which wines impressed or disappointed them.

 Wines discussed: Angludet, Pontet-Canet, Léoville Las Cases, Lafite, Carruades de Lafite and Duhart-Milon.

Resident podcast host Tree chats with Guy Seddon (Head of Fine Wine Buying) and Joe Muller (Head of Monopole) about their recent visit to Bordeaux to scope out the 2023 vintage. In this episode, they give a detailed overview of the growing season, the expected release prices and, of course, the wines themselves. Both Joe and Guy also recap their top wines of the trip from both the Right Bank and Left Bank, along with discussing the potential future of the en primeur system.

Ahead of this year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign for the 2023 vintage, we decided to contact our customers to find out more about their feelings on Bordeaux en primeur in general. In this podcast, resident host Tree talks to Will Hargrove and Marc Ditcham about the en primeur system and what we gleaned from the survey results, along with an overview of the 2023 campaign. The trio explains why we wanted to do this survey in the first place, what the results mean, and how it will be used.

Join Rebecca Palmer (Head of Merchanting Buying) and Chris Hampson (CEO & Artistic Director Scottish Ballet) as they discuss the intricacies of the special partnership between Corney & Barrow and Scottish Ballet.

Throughout this podcast, they explore the parallels between winemaking, creating art, building on heritage and engaging audiences whilst also looking at the similar values both companies share – breaking new boundaries but respecting traditional techniques.

They describe the unique dance that was created especially for C&B a few years ago, ‘Swirl’, which was performed in our Ayr vaulted cellars, with a look at a new project and wine-inspired choreography we will be collaborating on this year.

Finally, the conversation also meanders to Chris’ own wine passion as he discusses his most-loved wine regions and, of course, his C&B favourites!

Join resident podcast host Tree as she looks at Burgundy 2022 with Guy (Head of Fine Wine Buying) and Joe (Head of Monopole). Following on from their visits to the region last year, Guy and Joe give a detailed insight into the 2022 growing season and what makes these wines so fresh, the samples tasted, the producers they met along with the up-and-coming winemaking generation, comparable vintages, biodynamic viticulture benefits and restaurant recommendations for if you’re ever in the region yourself! The pair also explain the C&B tasting notes and scores to help guide you through our Burgundy 2022 offer.

Whether you’re a seasoned Bourgogne enthusiast or a wine-loving beginner, this is the perfect deep-dive synopsis of the latest releases from one of the world’s greatest wine regions. 

Terroir is a term that is regularly used in relation to wine, but what exactly is it? Spoiler alert: it’s not just referring to the soils! Join C&B resident Podcast host, Tree, as she delves into this fascinating topic with Kate (On-Trade Sales Executive) and Luc (Fine Wine Buying Assistant). They discuss why winemakers are so proud of their terroir, how it shapes the character and quality of wine and what the possible science behind it is. As a Christmas bonus, the three also talk about their festive wine traditions and top recommendations for your own celebrations.

Join our resident Podcast host, Tree, as she discusses wine vintages with Will (Head of Fine Wine) and Ida (Fine Wine Sales Executive). They delve into explaining what vintage means and how it affects the flavours and characteristics of a wine. Important questions are answered, such as Does a bad vintage exist and what makes it so? along with discussion around wine vintages from their own birth years. Of course, as it is Christmas, there is also conversation around some festive food and wine pairings too!