In the ‘70s, some winemakers hid behind their vineyards’ names and their grand cru labels; they said, ‘We do it this way because we’ve always done it this way,’ and they didn’t even try.
Now, a new generation is trying harder; they’ve traveled, they’ve seen that you can do other things and they’re making wine that’s as consistently good as it ever was."
…………… The Average Quality of Burgundy has taken a Sudden Leap Upwards ! ?
So, who is going to be the Gaja of Burgundy, take the AOC names off their labels and rely on their own name to sell it?
By and large true, I think. However, this development is less sudden than you -unintentionally?- make it seem here and there are many domaines with great holdings left begging for a younger generation to take over and clean out the cob webs.
I think someone would be absolutely nuts to do this. These names are so much more well known that Barbaresco.
But, if you want it, doesn’t Drouhin make one called Lafloret and I think Jadot makes a Pinot Noir for you.
Only one I can think of is Leroy in 2004.
I think this started many years ago. 25+ years ago at some domaines, more recently at some others. And then sometimes it takes the new generation a few vintages to get their own extraction/oak skills mastered, although this seems less of an issue when they were working elsewhere with good teachers.
Maureen’s right, I always find that the 'only good since…'thing is a very partial reflection of the truth. The real revolution is at latterly second rate negociants who have obviously realised the need to start doing things seriously.
Yes, as Maureen points out, the “new generation” which came into control as the baby boomers matured…in the early-mid '80s were the real “new generation” IMO. For the most part their fathers (mothers?) took over following WWII and seemed to be people who retired as soon as they legally qualified. They almost all seemed to cede to their much more enthusiastic and wine-educated children (mostly men). Most of those guys are still in control, but…their kids seem to have taken over bit by bit. I don’t think,however,the changes the most recent generation have made are nearly as great as the dramatic shift to the boomers. And…due to the demographics (many families were not back in town or in business for many years following the War), there were tons of those guys who grew up together and went to oenology school at Beaune or Dijon together…and who shared ideas, ideals and enthusiasm. Almost all of them were already going by the mid='80s. To me the most dramatic shift was to conscientious grapegrowing and hygeine in the cuverie and beyond.
Re: Hygeiene…when we first visited “seriously” in '88 (though we’d been there twice before and couldn’t figure out how to “experience” the wine and the region, it was almost comical to see the differences in hygeine at places. Some had no problems with our spitting on their floors…Others grabbed spittoons every time we started to spit…The old habits were evolving, domaine by domaine…and on return visits more and more had new equipment and cleaner cellars.
I guess you can’t really dismiss Robert Parker as a motivator , either.
Couldn’t disagree more. When else in the history of burgundy have white wine producers been creating an inherently flawed product? The quality of burgundy is being totally undermined by premature oxidation in my view.
Most vintners nowadays are more inclined to 21st-century technology and the latest methods for scientific analysis in the growing and harvesting of the grapes and the making of wine. Some of the vintners are very old school, who are those Old-School Burgundy Vintners? … Lafarge? Ampeau?
… 
Well…though I agree on Ampeau, an estate I know well, being, to a degree, “old school”, Michel Ampeau and his late father have always been fanatics for hygeine in the winery and temperature control all along the winemaking and aging process. Is that really “old school”? Not in my experience. And, their whole operation is inventoried with the most sophisticated inventory control I’ve ever experienced.
By contrast, in one visit to Lafarge, in 2001, the place did look like the old-fashioned, dusty/spider webbed/mold-filled image of a primitive cellar. Maybe that ruined my estimation of that estate, though I didn’t like their wines either.
How about Dugat-Py? Old-School Style?
Once in a while I try older D-P’s ; rustic, with dense dark fruit, slightly austere and never ready! After tasting the 2008 Mazis; I think the style has changed a bit here …!
Oh, well, i don’t pay much attention to white burgundy.
Me neither, any more, though there was a time when I loved it.
[ResizeableImage=][/ResizeableImage]
If you pay attention to red burgundy, you should care about premox. If nothing else, it shows you what the response will be in the event of a systemic flaw. It’s the whites now. Maybe the reds in the future.