Looking at Romanee Conti

Vineyard. Group of visitors in front of La Romanee Conti Grand Cru. Vosne Romanee, Cote de Nuits, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Romanee Conti, Vosne-Romanee, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Romanee-Conti is one of the grand cru appellation vineyards in the commune of Vosne-Romanee in Cote de Nuits in Bourgogne. It is a monopole (fully owned) by the Domaine de la Romanee Conti, sometimes called DRC. It is planted exclusively with pinot noir grapes to make red wine. Not just any red wine, but one of the most expensive ones you can find.

The Romanee-Conti grand cru is just one of several around the village of Vosne Romanee. When standing looking at the stone cross on the edge of Romanee Conti you have La Grande Rue to the left, on the other side of a dirt road, behind you is Romanee Saint Vivant, above RC up the hill is La Romanee, and to you right (north) is Richebourg.

The total vineyard area is 1.63 hectares. Yields are low, much less than 30 hl/ha according to some, a bit over 40 hl/ha according to others, so there are not many bottles around, only some 4000-5000 bottles. But that is of course not the main reason that makes the wines from this vineyard one of the world's most expensive red wines. That is mainly du to its collectability and to the desire that well heeled people have to own a bottle that says Romanee-Conti on the label, and perhaps, perhaps even one day drink it. It is more of a collector's item than a beverage.

The vineyard is cultivated with organic farming since 1985.

But why there is a tall stone cross standing at the edge of the vineyard I do not know. It was erected in 1723, according to the inscription (which also says "Pierre Argo"), re-erected by the Gaudin de la Villaine and Leroy (at one time co-owners of the vineyard).

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne Vosne Romanee Domaine de la Romanee Conti stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Where's Marc? Here's marc.

Bottles aging in the cellar. Marc de Bourgogne. Domaine Marc Jomain, Puligny Montrachet, Cote de Beaune, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Domaine Marc Jomain, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

THIS IS ONLY A SELECTION OF SAMPLES. Use the image SEARCH function to find more relevant photos.Domaine Marc Jomain, Puligny-Montrachet, Burgundy

Domaine Marc Jomain (or simply Domaine Jomain) is located in the village of Puligny-Montrachet, not far from the main square. It is owned by the family Jomain and has some 9 hectares of vineyards, mainly in the appellation of Puligny. It is run by the brothers Philippe and Christophe Jomain and their sister Catherine. They took over the winery from their father Marc in 1992.

The vineyards are planted with chardonnay for the white wines. They have parcels in four of the Premier Cru vineyards in Puligny and a substantial chunk (a third of a hectare) in the very exclusive Batard-Montrachet grand cru.

They practice the so called culture raisonnée, sometimes called sustainable vine growing and that could be described as almost, but not quite organic, accepting to do chemical treatments when absolutely needed.

The harvest at Domaine Jomain is traditionally made by hand by a team of pickers in the vineyard. Some of the wine is aged in wood, only a proportion of which is new oak barrels.

http://www.domaine-jomain.com/

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne Puligny Montrachet Domaine Marc Jomain stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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In some cases it's good with a lot of hot air in the vineyards

Vineyard and hot air balloon. Over Clos des Epenots. Pommard, Cote de Beaune, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Pommard, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Pommard is one of the best known villages (or communes) in Bourgogne's Côte d'Or. No doubt it is helped by a name that is easily understood in English. The Pommard commune starts just a short walk south of Baune, the capital of the Cote de Beaune. You can take the Route des Grands Crus or you can walk (or take your bike) along the small roads through the vineyards.

Pommard has 27 premier crus (e.g. Les Rugiens and Les Epenots: Grans Epenots and Petits Epenots), but no Grand Cru. The total vineyard surface area (in production) is 320 hectares, of which an impressive 118 ha is premier cru. All wine made in Pommard (with its appellation controllee) is red and made from pinot noir grapes. Thus, they have no chardonnay vines, Burgundy's (almost) sole white wine variety.

There is a quite famous Chateau de Pommard, that you can visit and where you can taste some wines in the cellar. However, there are other growers that are perhaps better known for their quality. Along the road leading to the village you will pass the old railway station that seems to have been converted into a modest holiday home.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne Pommard stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Behind a locked gate - given the value of a single vine one understands why

Vineyard. Domaine Bouchard Pere et Fils. "Le Montrachet" Grand Cru, Puligny Montrachet, Cote de Beaune, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Le Montrachet grand cru, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Le Montrachet is perhaps one of the most famous white wines from Burgundy, or even from anywhere. It is made from grapes grown in a small vineyard in Bourgogne, so even if many people know of it, few have actually tasted it. It is certainly one of the most expensive white wines in the world.

Montrachet is an appellation controllee grand cru vineyard split between the two villages Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. It is exclusively for white wines, thus made exclusively from chardonnay grapes. The total vineyard area is less than 8 hectares. This tiny vineyard is, as always in Bourgogne, not in the hands of one winery, but the property of several winemakers and wine growers. According to Wikipedia there are 18 owners and 26 producers. Each owner has his own rows of vines. In other words, there are at least 26, if not more, different Montrachets produced each year.

Burgundians are not for making things simple, so this tiny vineyard plot has neighbouring vineyards (which are often considered as part of Montrachet, when talked about in general terms) of almost equal fame: Batard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet, and Criots-Batard-Montrachet, this last having less than 2 hectares... There is also a plot (without a specific appellation) called Grand Montrachet.

Some well known owners/producers of Montrachet are Laguiche, Joseph Drouhin, Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Hospices de Beaune, Bouchard Pere & Fils, Domaine Leflaive.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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What we're hoping for in a few months' time (ripe pinot noir)

Bunches of ripe grapes. Domaine Philippe Livera, Gevrey Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Domaine Philippe Livera, Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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The Domaine Philippe Livera winery is on the outskirts of the village of Gevrey-Chambertin in Côte de Nuits in Burgundy. It is run by winemaker Philippe Livera and his son Damien. It is a small(ish) family estate in the northern part of the Côte d'Or. Winemaking is traditional and the wine spends varying time, depending on the appellation and on the vintage, in barrel to age and mature slowly.

Just outside the Livera house, across the street, they have a small vineyard, a 'clos', that is surrounded by a wall, almost in the centre of the village of Gevrey. (And it produces the wine that they call "Clos Village".)

They make several different wines, including village appellations as well as grands crus from chambertin or chapelle-chambertin. All, of course, made from pinot noir grapes.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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This - is Corton

Vineyard. Corton les Chaumes et la Voirosse, Hospices de Beaune. Aloxe Corton, Cote de Beaune, d'Or, Burgundy, France

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Corton and Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru vineyard, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Corton is a 'grand cru' vineyard in the commune (or village) of Aloxe-Corton a short drive north of Beaune in Côte de Beaune in Bourgogne. The appellation controlee Corton includes both red and white wines but the vast majority is red. White Corton is really more of a rarity - but a great wine. It accounts for barely 5% of total production.

The total vineyard are is just under 100 hectares (94.78 ha according to one source). Most of it is planted with pinot noir. The whites are made from chardonnay grapes. The size is thus comparable with a big chateau in the Bordeaux region. The difference is that a chateau in Bordeaux has one owner, whereas a "vineyard" in Burgundy is divided into numerous individual plots where each owner might have a single hectare or even less.

All the vineyards are located on the slope just above the village of Aloxe Corton. On the top of the hill there is a small forest, almost like a cap, but the rest of the area is planted with vines. This is one of the most expensive vineyard land that you can find. Expect to pay 1 or 2 million euros per hectare if you want to buy. (There are occasionally very small plots for sale.) Corton is not the only Grand Cru in Aloxe. There is also AOC Corton-Charlemagne and AC Charlemagne.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne Corton Grand Cru stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Welcome to my little wine cellar. Ha, ha!

Bottles aging in the cellar. Domaine Negociant Champy Pere & Fils, Beaune, Burgundy, France

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Maison Champy, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Maison Champy (previously Champy Père et Compagnie) is a Burgundy négociant based in the town of Beaune. The company was founded already in 1720. That gives them the right to claim that they are the oldest wine trader ('maison') in Burgundy.

Their wine cellars are in central Beaune, not far from the Mairie/Town Hall. Since 1990 it is owned by Henri and Pierre Meurgey. As a négociant they both buy grapes and must as well as finished wine. More than half of their production is vinified by themselves (as opposed to being finished wined made by someone else). They also own 12 hectares of vineyards. The grape varieties are of course pinot noir for the red burgundies and chardonnay for the white burgundies.

The wines are made with very careful vinification, with the aim to express the grape style and the original terroir from each plot. The wines spend varying lengths of time aging in oak barrels in the wine cellar.

Their total range of wines extends over a large number of different appellations, both from the Cote de Beaune and from the Cote de Nuits.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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Would you like to share a glass of beaujolais over lunch?

Restaurant La Maison des Beaujolais. Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

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Beaujolais, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Beaujolais, the southern-most tip of Burgundy. Tip is perhaps the wrong word, since it produces the largest volume of Burgundian wines. Virtually all wine in the Beaujolais is red, made from the gamay grape. (Gamay does exist in the vineyards in other parts of Bourgogne also but to a very small extent.) They also make small quantities of white wine, from the chardonnay grape variety.

For many years Beaujolais has been mostly known for its Beaujolais Nouveau, the "new" new sold shortly after the harvest, in November - usually not of a very exciting quality. Perhaps Beaujolais is today moving towards making more of the 'serious' style of Beaujolais that they are quite capable of making.

The landscape in Beaujolais is quite different from the rest of Burgundy: more hilly and undulating. Very pretty, with small villages here and there.

There is "plain" Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, and Beaujolais Cru. Cru meaning that the wine comes from one of the ten villages (Brouilly, Régnié, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleury, Saint Amour, Chénas, Juliénas, Morgon, and Moulin-à-Vent) and has the right to put the village name on the label.

The gamay vine is usually trained in gobelet style (bush vine). The regulation says that it must be so but trials with guyot trellising are done and there are also old vineyards that have not used gobelet. Harvest is done manually (necessary with gobelet) but some trials are done with machine harvest.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne Beaujolais stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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This .... is gamay

Goblet pruned vines in the vineyard. Bunches of ripe grapes. Gamay. Domaine Tractot & Dubost, Beaujolais, France

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Domaine du Tracot and Domaine Dubost, Beaujolais, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Domaine du Tracot and Domaine Dubost are the property of the Dubost family in the Beaujolais. It is managed by Jean-Paul Dubost, winemaker.

It is a fairly substantial property with vineyards in several of the crus in Beaujolais: Moulin à Vent, Brouilly, Morgon, Regnié, Fleurie. The vineyards are planted with Beaujolais, the red grape variety of the Beaujolais. They also have small plots of vineyards planted with white chardonnay and viognier grapes.

The winemaking and the winery is a mix of modern and traditional. They harvest the grapes by hand, as is the rule in Beaujolais. The grapes arrive at the winery and are sorted on a sorting table to eliminate bad fruit. The winery has on one side shining stainless steel fermentation tanks, and on the other traditional concrete vats.

Being a relatively large producer in Beaujolais they export their wines to several different countries and have received positive mentions from several international wine critics.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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A fork in the wine?

Fermenting grapes with a fork in the cap. Gamay. Domaine Melinon, Morgon, Beaujolais, France

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Domaine Melinon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Domaine Melinon is a small Beaujolais winery located in the Beaujolais cru Chiroubles in the Villié-Morgon village. It is managed by the winemaker Odile Melinon and her husband Gérard. The family has been winemakers since several generations.

The winery is traditional with small, open-top concrete fermentation vats.

The vineyards are planted exclusively with the gamay grape variety. Grape picking is done by hand.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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Fill 'er up, they said

Harvest workers picking grapes. Carrying grapes in a basket. Domaine Gravallon Lathuiliere, Morgon, Beaujolais, France

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Domaine Lathuiliere-Gravallon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Domaine Lathuilière-Gravallon is a 17 hectares wine estate in the Beaujolais region in southern Burgundy. The winery belongs to the Lathuiliere Gravallon family. Today it is Cathy Lathuilière who is the winemaker.

The vineyards are in the Beaujolais region so the grape variety used is gamay, making fresh, aromatic red wines. They make several different cuvees from the different communes, "crus", in Beaujolais: Morgon, Fleurie, Chirobles. They even make a Beaujolais rosé.

Harvesting the grapes is done by hand with a team of grape pickers. the gamay vines in Beaujolais are traditionally trained in gobelet style, bush vines, making hand picking essential.

The winemaking is very traditional. The wine is aged in oak vats of large size. Some are aged in smaller barrels.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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Saturday morning surprise: Featured on Photoshelter's Buyers' Page

Waking up to a rainy Saturday morning an email catches my eye: Andrew Fingerman, Photoshelter's VP of marketing, has sent me an email. Curious.

[Photoshelter, if you don't know it, is a magnificent service for photographers. It is an online service that a photographer can use to display, promote and sell his images, as well as a very good way to deliver images to clients. For example: you can at a very low cost build your own online stock agency, so to speak, like we have for our wine and travel photography at BKWine Photography. Or you can use it to rapidly syndicate and distribute photos from an event, as some did at the climate summit in Copenhagen some time ago: upload the images to your Photoshelter account and they are immediately available to clients. Have I convinced you that it can be worth trying Photoshelter if you are a photographer? If I have click the following link and you'll get a special offer with the promotion code embedded in it: try the Photoshelter online photo archive here! (and if you do, I think I will get some credit for it too. But that's mostly anecdotal, and it's certainly not because of that that I'm telling you all this).]

Back to the point. What I discover in Andrew's mail is that Photoshelter in a systems upgrade has just introduced a new photo buyers welcome page that should make it easier for photo buyers to find the right photographer or the right image on Photoshelter ("Find Professional Photos and Photographers").

On that page they have a few featured photographers. And they have me as one of the featured photographers, or more specifically BKWine Photography. Curiously, I'm listed under Food Photographers, but I guess that's not too far off, since they don't have a wine and drinks photographer section. Perhaps 'travel' would have been more to the point. What do you think?

With a start of the day like that I can live with a bit of rain today!

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This is exactly enough staves to make one wine barrel. It really is.

Assembling the staves. Cooperage, barrel manufacturing, Cadus, Louis Jadot, Ladoix, Beaune, Burgundy, France

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Cadus cooperage, Burgundy, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Tonnellerie Cadus is a cooperage (barrel maker) in the heart of Bourgogne in Ladoix-Serrigny just north of Beaune. It belongs to the Louis Jadot négociant (wine merchant and wine producer) but also sells its barrels to other wineries.

They make barrels of all sizes, including the Burgundian pièce of 228 litres and the Bordelais barrique of 225 litres. Making a barrel is still very much a hand craft. It starts with selecting the wood from oak grown in France or, increasingly, other countries. The wood is cut in rough planks that are let to dry in the wood yard for several years. The planks are then cut into precision shaped staves and then the assembly starts: The staves are put together in a cylinder held tight with the iron hoops.

The cooper then heats the barrel over open fire, both to make it easier to bend the staves to the rounded shape and also to give the barrel it's toasting. The firing, or toasting ("chauffe"), can be soft, medium or strong and is one of the key parameters in the characteristics of a barrel. Other key elements are the provenance of the wood, albeit many argue that the tannin contents is more important than what forest the trees come from, the grain of the wood, and the craftsman's skills of the cooper.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bourgogne barrel making Cadus stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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A bud on a vine

Twig of vine with a small leaf bud. Chateau Beau-Sejour-Becot. Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France

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Bordeaux vineyard, winery and region stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Bordeaux is the world’s biggest producer of quality wine. It has some 120,000 hectares of vineyards split up in some 60 appellations (regions and sub-regions). The region has a wide variety of wine producers: from the very small, rural, family owned producers, often found in the eastern part of the district, to the spectacular chateaux that can be found in the heart of the Médoc which have today often become the rich man’s trophy estate.

The capital of the wine region is of course Bordeaux city itself. It is a wealthy and thriving city that has undergone a substantial “face lift” over the last decade. It is now a city full of splendour, with beautiful city palaces, a charming riverside walk, small winding streets in the old part of the city and many good restaurants. But there are many smaller towns and villages around the region that are worth visiting, the medieval town of Saint Emilion (UNESCO World Heritage site, as is the city of Bordeaux itself) being the most famous.

The landscape is dominated by vineyards and vines. Wherever you go you see straight rows of vines. In winter they look almost barren when the vines are pruned back to the core. In summer the vines are lush and green and in the autumn the take on a colourful aspect.

You have both red and white wines in Bordeaux. The whites now only represent 10% of the total, unfortunately since you can find many excellent (and good value!) dry white wines here. Red grapes are primarily cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. White wine is made from sauvignon blanc, sémillon and muscadelle.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Winery and Vineyard Sample Wine Travel Photography - Images by Per Karlsson

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2001, 1988, 1975 - or the beauty of ageing

Wine glasses. Chateau d'Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux. 2001, 1988, 1975. Bordeaux, France

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Château d'Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Yquem is in the appellation of Sauternes in Bordeaux. It produces luscious sweet white wine from grapes that have been affected by noble rot, the famed botrytis cinerea, which affects the grapes in the vineyard.

Chateau d'Yquem is the grandest, most famous, biggest and - most expensive of the Sauternes wines. It is the only chateau to have be designated as Premier Cru Supérieur in the more than 150 year old 1855 classification. It was for a long time the property of the Lur Saluces family, and was managed by Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces. In the late 90s, due to disagreements in the family, it was sold to the luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) headed by the French tycoon Bernard Arnault. The vineyards extend over 113 hectares and are planted with 80% sémillon and 20% sauvignon blanc grape varieties. The vines are trained in a trellising system called gobelet pallisé, which is unusual, except here in Sauternes.

The chateau is an impressive medieval fortress commanding spectacular views over the surrounding landscape. The winery has been much renovated, a new barrel cellar has been constructed (the wines are aged for an extended period of time in new oak barriques), and everything now exudes the same richness as the wines themselves. The winemaking is under the responsibility of the exceedingly 'sympathique' Sandrine Garbay while Pierre Lurton, the director of the chateau leads the business. They also make a non-sweet (dry is not the right word) called "Y" (i-greque), which started the trend of not-so-sweet wines with single letter names (R de Rieussec, G de Giraud...).

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


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Talk about being the centre of attention

Group of visitors at Chateau Nairac, Barsac, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

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Château Nairac, Barsac, Sauternes, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Nairac is in the appellation of Barsac in Bordeaux. It produces luscious sweet white wine from grapes that have been affected by noble rot, the famed botrytis cinerea, which affects the grapes in the vineyard. When this rot comes late in the season, just before harvest, it is beneficial and causes the grapes to shrivel on the vine and become more concentrated. It can also attack the vines at other times and then it can cause great damage as 'grey rot'.

Chateau Nairac is in the commune of Barsac, an appellation that has the right to sell its wines under the bigger appellation Sauternes. Many wineries in the appellation chooses to label the wine as Sauternes since it is better known internationally, but at Nairac one uses the Barsac name. Chateau Nairac has some 17 hectares of vineyard planted with 90% sémillon grape variety, and 6% sauvignon blanc, 4% muscadelle.

Nairac has a rather grand chateau building lying next to the main road south through the appellation. The winery is today headed by the brother-and-sister pair Nicolas and Eloise Heeter-Tari, Eloise taking care of promotion and management and Nicolas being responsible for the vineyards and winemaking.

At harvest a large number of pickers arrive in the vineyard to pick the shrivelled grapes almost one-by-one by hand. The grapes that arrive at the press in the winery look all mouldy and dried up, but they produce an incredibly rich sweet white wine with a deep golden colour.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Sauternes Chateau Nairac stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Mmmm, yummy! Rotten!

Bunches of ripe grapes. Nobel rot. Chateau Liot, Barsac, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

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Château Liot, Sauternes, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Liot is in the appellation of Sauternes in Bordeaux. It produces luscious sweet white wine from grapes that have been affected by noble rot, the famed botrytis cinerea, which affects the grapes in the vineyard. When this rot comes late in the season, just before harvest, it is beneficial and causes the grapes to shrivel on the vine and become more concentrated. It can also attack the vines at other times and then it can cause great damage as 'grey rot'.

Chateau Liot is a 20 hectare property with most of the vineyards lying on the mostly flat land around with winery and chateau. It is located in the commune of Barsac, on the plateau of Haut-Barsac, whose wines are often sold under the Sauternes appellation. The vineyard is planted with 85% sémillon grapes, 10% sauvignon blanc and 5% muscadelle. Winemaking is traditional, with the fermentation taking place in various style vats, mostly stainless steel. The wine is aged in oak barrels (barriques) for up to 18 months. Part of the casks are new but most have seen one or more wines. The grapes are harvested when over-ripe and when they have been affected by the noble rot.

The chateau belongs to the David family, and is managed by Jerry David. The family also produces a red and white Graves wine (not sweet, but dry) at another property, the Chateau Saint Jean des Graves.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Sauternes Chateau Liot stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Hey sweetie!

Bottles of sweet white bordeaux wine. Chateau Guiraud, Sauternes. Bordeaux, France

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Château Guiraud, Sauternes, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Guiraud is in the appellation of Sauternes in Bordeaux. It produces luscious sweet white wine from grapes that have been affected by noble rot, the famed botrytis cinerea, which affects the grapes in the vineyard. When this rot comes late in the season, just before harvest, it is beneficial and causes the grapes to shrivel on the vine and become more concentrated. It can also attac the vines at other times and then it can cause great damage as 'grey rot'.

Chateau Guiraud is on the higher part of the Sauternes appellation, the plateau. It is neighbour to e.g. the Chateau d'Yquem. It is one of the bigger properties in the appellation with its 100 hectares, of which 85 ha are planted with vines. The vineyard is planted with the white grape varieties sémillon (65%) and sauvignon. The grapes are of course harvested by hand (the only option for a sweet white wine like this). At chateau Guiraud they use a lot of new oak barrels (barriques) for the aging and maturation.

The chateau building is modest in size and design (but not by any means small). However, it has a very impressive tree lined allée leading up to it.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Sauternes Chateau Guiraud stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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On the label: Chateau Haut Marbuzet

Chateau Haut Marbuzet, Saint Estephe, medoc, Bordeaux, France

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Chateau Haut-Marbuzet, Saint Estephe, Medoc, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Haut-Marbuzet is one of the best known "Cru Bourgeois" in Medoc. It is in the Saint Estèphe area. It is owned by the Henri Duboscq family and managed by the brothers Bruno and Hugues Duboscq.

The vineyards extend over 61 hectares. The grape varieties planted in the vineyard are cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc vines. The winery is on one side of a country road and the offices and tasting room on the other, built in a rather grandiose style.

The wine made at the winery is exclusively red, full-bodied and powerful. At harvest, the grapes that are brought in to the winery go through a manual selection on a sorting table to assure that only quality fruit go into the winery. Winemaking is classic: fermentation is big concrete vinification vats and aging in oak barrels. Much new oak is used.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Saint Estephe Chateau Haut Marbuzet stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Nice view over Saint Emilion

View over the town. The main square with cafes. The town. Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France

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Saint Emilion medieval village, Bordeaux stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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The village of Saint Emilion is one of the most picturesque in the Bordeaux wine country. It's on the "right bank" of the Dordogne river. The village is dominated by the tower Tour du Roy and by the church tower. The church is one of the main tourism sites in the town. It is a "monolithic" church, meaning that it is carved out of the underground rock. Only the tower is visible above ground.

In the middle of the village there is a charming town square with cafés and restaurants. The whole town is actually full of restaurants and cafés so there is plenty to choose from. There are also many wine shops where you can buy bottles from the Saint Emilion region or from other parts of the Bordeaux district. In a few places you can buy the typical 'macarons de Saint Emilion' small, succulent almond bisquits. Saint Emilion is on a steep slope and has many winding cobble stone streets that can be quite dangerous to negotiate when it is raining. From the upper part of the village, close to the tourist office, you have a beautiful view over the town and over the surrounding vineyards and landscape

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Saint Emilion Town stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Heavy liquid? - Measuring the must weight

Measuring must weight in a test cylinder. Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne, Saint Emilion Bordeaux France

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Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne,Saint Emilion stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne is located in the Saint Emilion appellation, in the Bordeaux wine region, across the Garonne and Dordogne rivers from the city of Bordeaux. It is situated a short distance north of the village Saint Emilion. Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne is today managed by the owner / winemaker Francois Despagne. The vineyards cover some 26 hectares, mainly on sand and clay soil. The grape varieties used are for the most part merlot, with some cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and malbec. The winery is equipped with both stainless steel tanks and concrete vats. All are temperature controlled during the vinification. At harvest the grapes are sorted by hand after having been destemmed, before they are crushed and the fermentation starts.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Saint Emilion Grand Corbin Despagne stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Bleeding

Chalk board sign saying vat bleeding, saignee. Chateau la Grace Dieu les Menuts, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France

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Chateau Grace Dieu les Menuts, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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You will find Chateau Grace Dieu les Menuts vineyards on the main road between Libourne and the town of St Emilion, on the right hand side of the road. There are several "Grace Dieu":s so you have to be careful. It is a 16 hectare vineyard planted with 65% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon. It is owned and managed by the winemaker couple Thierry and Odile Pilotte Audier.

It is a medium sized Saint Emilion property with the right to carry the mention Grand Cru on the lable. Winemaking is traditional: pressing with a vertical basket press, fermentation and vinification in concrete vats, aging in oak barrels. But it is balanced by modern technology and techniques: sorting the grapes at the harvest to obtain optimum raw material, thermo-regulated tanks etc. Depending on the vintage, a protion of the wine is aged in one (or two) year old barriques to give it a balanced character.

All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Saint Emilion Grace Dieu les Menuts stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson

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Merlot

Bunches of ripe grapes. Merlot. Clos Saint Julien, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France

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Clos Saint Julien, Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine.

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Clos Saint Julien is classified as a Grand Cru in Saint Emilion. It is a very small vineyard situated just outside the town limit on the north side of the village of St Emilion. The vineyard is on one single plot with all the vines surrounded by a wall, hence the name clos. It is mostly planted with the merlot grape variety.

It has a tiny winery building in the middle of the vineyard, as is necessary. Catherine Papon Nouvel own and manages this wine estate since some years back when she took over from her father. She has two other Saint Emilion properties: Chateau Gaillard, which is bigger, and Chateau Petit Gravet Ainé. All three produce excellent wine, very different in style.


All images © copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine. Images may not be used without our permission.


Bordeaux Saint Emilion Clos St Julien stock photo samples - Images by Per Karlsson


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On Darkness

Just an additional note on yesterday's post on Darkness.

It's actually a real story. I was with some other people in the cellar of Clos Fourtet. Their cellar is underground, in an old quarry 9as you could see yesterday). While I was busy trying to do some photography with the limited light there was all the others had finished looking around and went away.

They did not notice is was not with them and I did not notice that they left, crouching behind a stack of bottles as I were.

So off the went, closed the door, and turned of the light.

Darkness.

In an underground quarry it is very dark. I promise.

Fortunately I had my camera bag, so I picked out my flash, that I almost never use - travel flash doesn't make for good pictures. But here it, well, saved my life is perhaps saying a lot, but it saved me from stumbling into a lot of bottles.

I fired the flash and could walk a few meters. Fired again and could walk a few more meters. And keeping on firing I finally found the door (that, thank God, they hadn't locked!).

"There you are! We were wondering where you had gone." they said when I emerged in the tasting room where everyone else was enjoying some wine...

Since then I always carry a pen flash light in my camera bag...

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