Corney & Barrow

Welcome to the 2024 Bordeaux en primeur campaign! In this episode, the Fine Wine team discusses the key elements about the 2024 vintage, from the growing season to market insights, ahead of their official visit to the region. 

This week, the C&B team discuss the 2023s from the newly-released Domaine Marquis D'Angerville, which they tasted at the domaine last November. The 2023s are confident wines of precision and archetypal Volnay elegance. Wines for Burgundy lovers, with long lives ahead of them. 

After a short break following a busy offers period and Joe's trip to Asia, the Fine Wine team is back in the studio to discuss not one, but two iconic domaines and their 2023s: Domaine Jacques Prieur and Château de la Tour.

The Fine Wine team is back in the studio to discuss the en primeur release of 2023 Domaine Dugat-Py, one of the most revered names in Gevrey-Chambertin. The Dugat family have been growers here since the early 17th century, and their 15-hectare domaine includes four of the great grands crus of the village— Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin.

Representing the 13th generation of the family, Loïc Dugat employs detail-focussed viticulture and sensitive cellar management— elements that have thrust this historic domaine into a new dimension. The vineyards are certified organic and work follows the lunar cycle, using biodynamic preparations.

We are incredibly proud to represent Domaine Dugat-Py in the UK, an estate centred on organic farming and that showcases the complexity produced by some of the oldest vines in Burgundy.

Guy, Joe, and Neville take us through the newly released 2022 vintage from Domaine Trapet and Domaine Pierre & Louis Trapet, following their tasting with Louis Trapet back in October 2024.

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'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.