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The M’M Show: Burgfest 2021 Reds Interviews
Introducing The M&M Show: four swift episodes with Matthew Hemming MW and Miles Davis on all things Burgfes: format, 2021 vintage takeaways, best producers, and sharp insider tips.
Watch on our new YouTube channel (links below).
BURGFEST EXPLAINED
BURGFEST 2021 VINTAGE REDS
BURGFEST 2021 BEST PRODUCERS
BURGFEST 2021 REDS INSIDER TIPS
Transcript of the first interview below
Miles Davis: Welcome to the new M&M show. Not a white US rapper but Matthew and Miles discussing Burgfest which Matthew has just returned from.
So, Matthew, maybe the best way to start this is just giving us a quick explanation of exactly what is Burgfest.
Matthew Hemming MW: Yeah, sure. Miles. Hi. Good morning, everybody. Burgfest in essence is a blind tasting, the Burgundy equivalent of the slightly better-known Southwold tasting.
So, a group of us get together and we blind taste wines from a single recent vintage. We do it twice a year. So, in the spring we taste white wines and then we return, and we taste the reds in the in the autumn. So, beginning of September.
Miles Davis: And who are in the group that attend? Are they always the same people?
Matthew Hemming MW: Yep. It’s a regular group, so we’ve become good friends.
It’s a good tight little group of tasters.
Jasper Morris, master of wine from Inside Burgundy, really sort of coordinates, runs things, Herds cats, and then Neil Martin from Vinous (Media) takes part.
Neil Beckett, who’s the editor of the World of Fine Wine, and then we have representatives from a bunch of the key Burgundy importers.
Without running through everybody, there’s Jason from Flint Wines is usually there. Toby Morrell from the Wine Society. There’s Nicola from Private Cellar. Siobhan from Hayes Hanson and Clark. You can see where I’m going.
Miles Davis: The great and the good of the Burgundy wine trade, basically.
Matthew Hemming MW: Yeah. And me.
Miles Davis: Yeah. Yeah. And so, what were you tasting last week?
Matthew Hemming MW: So, this year was the turn of the 2021 vintage. Last week we were looking at the red wines.
We are very lucky…because you know we obviously can’t do everything. We only have five days. So, we put ourselves through the premier and the grand crus which is obviously a huge privilege, and we tend to limit ourselves to the key communes and villages. So, we don’t try and do everything.
Miles Davis: Okay. And 21 obviously came on the back of three very solar vintages, very hot vintages, and it was much more classical vintage. Did it live up to that reputation?
Matthew Hemming MW: Yes and no. Um, I think this was one of the tastings where I went in expecting to like the wines but came out actually more positive and thinking better of the vintage than I had in the first place. Rewinding to the spring, I think that the white wines for me didn’t really meet my early expectations of the vintage whereas I think that the reds have exceeded what I thought.
So, I’ve reversed my position thinking that 21 favoured white wines. I’m now thinking, there are some very nice whites, but actually the reds are a more consistent level of quality and perhaps a more reliable choice. There are some real charmers.
Miles Davis: Good. Were there any standout communes, or any underperformers?
Matthew Hemming MW: I think Pommard continues to show you that there’s this new era for Pommard… it’s really benefiting from climate change.
I think there are some lovely wines there. I think Nuits St. Georges showed very well this year. In addition, I think at the other end of the scale, you know, I don’t really like to put the boot in but I think Volnay is continuing to struggle a little bit and I’m starting to wonder if in the new climate era, has Volnay quite found its feet.
It clearly struggles in the really solar vintages. I always think of it like kind of the eye of Sauron bearing down and in that sort of very exposed transparent style of wine.
There’s nowhere to hide when the sun is like that but now we’ve had a vintage that isn’t really like that and still the wines didn’t seem to be quite on song. The other village that I didn’t think quite hit the heights I was expecting maybe, surprisingly was Vosne Romanée. I thought clearly at the top there were some great, great wines but around the sort of the middle orders I think I found more to enjoy in other areas, Chambolle actually did surprisingly well.
Chambolle is often the counterpart to Volnay, struggling in some of these recent years and yet I I think this was a lovely vintage for some very lacy, very classic Chambolle.
Miles Davis: And were there any real standout producers that you’d like to give a mention to? And not obviously the ones that we’re always supporting ourselves necessarily.
Matthew Hemming MW: I think there were lots of wines from the length and breadth of the Cote d’Or that that stood out. I think to me I think we all would agree that De Vogue was really interesting to taste this this year. Perhaps they weren’t the wines that we all gave the greatest points to, but it was really fascinating and exciting to see the emergence of Jean Lupatelli’s influence at this domain.
Miles Davis: And that was his first full vintage in charge. Is that correct?
Matthew Hemming MW: Yeah, precisely. And I think we’ve witnessed a sort of a slight kind of foot coming off the gas, a more delicate style starting to emerge and it’s certainly got us excited to see what’s to come in the years from now on.
Otherwise, I think Domaine de la Vougeraie had a really good year.
Miles Davis: Are there any real insider little tips that you can share with us, something that might be punching well above its weight?
Matthew Hemming MW: There are a couple of others. There are always interesting things thrown up by these tastings. I think we were all surprised at the performance of Domaine Heresztyn-Mazzini’s Clos St Denis – good luck spelling the Domaine name! My tip to the guys actually is Heresztyn you follow the alphabet – the s always become comes before the z when you’re spelling that the difficult name.
But the wine really surprised us. I think there’s a real blast of whole bunch spice backed up with a great depth of fruit and tasting blind. I don’t think any of us picked that as the Heresztyn Mazzini wine – I certainly didn’t.
And given the price differential between that and some of its peers in a flight of close underneath that is something to look out for.
Miles Davis: I’m sure. Okay. Maybe we’ll just call them H&M from now on.
Matthew Hemming MW: Well, like my initials reversed maybe.
Miles Davis: Well, exactly. And right at the top end of the scale, money, no object. If you could go and have one of those bottles, what would you choose?
Matthew Hemming MW: Uh, so look, that’s always a question where you start to think, well, you know, do I just pick the most expensive, exciting, prestigious wine because I want to have it in the cellar?
Quite surprisingly I would love to have the Domaine de la Vougeraie Musigny in the cellar just to follow that.
I wouldn’t have thought on paper that wouldn’t be my pick of the Musignys but I thought it was sensational. I’d love to be able to track that over the years.
And if I go to my sort of first frivolous answer the two top wines from Rousseau, I think we all agreed that the Clos de Beze was delicious. I was perhaps slightly more taken by the Chambertin than some of my peers this year, but I thought there was something really exciting there and I often don’t really go for Rousseau at these tastings. So again, I’d be fascinated to see what happens, but clearly following Rousseau over the years is a bit of a millionaire’s privilege these days.
Miles Davis: Yeah, for sure.
Matthew Hemming MW: But you know, you gave me an unlimited budget.
Miles Davis: Well, I’m so glad that you had to put yourself through this for us. Thank you very much for your time. As we’ll say on this on this new series of programs, that’s a rap. Thanks, Matthew. Catch you soon.