Yesterday was a very difficult day for me. Today has not been a cake walk, but I'm trying to come to peace with what my body is going through. I am a VERY lucky person. I work in an industry where I am able to taste wine from all over the world, travel to different parts of the world, eat at amazing restaurants and, above all, meet really amazing people.
My short tenure in the wine business (9 years) has afforded me so many opportunities, challenges, and stress — I am in LOVE with my choice of work. It's not all happy and fun, no but no one's job is. As I lay here in my bed, with a brace on my back and ice on my spine, I realize how much I have learned about the world, people and business from my job. I may learn obtuse facts about various wine regions, but as I research these places I always stumble across some really interesting tid-bits of knowledge.
These tid-bits take me across the world many times over and allow me to gain perspective on what is happening in it. This year, Australia is undergoing a severe drought, the Rhone had floods and horrible hail storms, and China is on the verge of having more planted acreage than most of Europe. Love is a strong word but I do love my job! Thank you all for reading my MS posts and when I get to sit next year I will do the same thing. I will begin to post Jeff's Top 10 Wines of the month the first week of October, but before that here is a wine that everyone should be on the look out for:
Domaine Michel Gros, Bourgogne Rouge, 2004 $25.00
Domaine Michel Gros is one of the best houses (my opinion) in the Cote d' Nuits. They are based in the commune of Vosne-Romanee and produce wines throughout the Cote. This wine is a blend of various lots from many of their vineyards. It is the perfect wine for fall. The nose is full of sour cheery and red raspberry, the palate is dry with fine tannins, hints of dried leaves and balanced! The moment I tried this wine I was in LOVE!
We're all pulling for you, Jeff.
One more note on Michel Gros — he is the the nicest, most self-effacing man you're likely to meet. Michel made the wines for the last few years for his father at Domaine Jean Gros, while Jean was still active. When Jean retired, his vineyards got split up among Michel and his siblings, as is the law in Burgundy. These holdings included about a quarter of the high-profile Richebourg grand cru, among some other great holdings.
Rather than splitting hairs with his siblings and getting his few rows of Richebourg, he opted to keep the family's 1er cru monopole of Clos de Reas, long in the family, intact. He also kept a great parcel in the Clos de Vougeot, another classic 1er cru, along with some vineyards up in the Hautes Cotes de Nuits (HCDN), which is where Michel loves to hunt wild boar. These three are bottled separately every year, along with a few other commune-level wines. The HCDN costs roughly what the Bourgogne does, and tastes really great with Michel's boar!
Thought you'd like to know...
Posted by: David C | 28 September 2007 at 03:52 PM