I was fortunate enough to be at the recent event at the Ledbury in London for the introduction of “Inside Burgundy, the vineyards, the wine & the people” by Jasper Morris MW. I have only had time to scan through the whole book once and read some parts with more attention to detail, but I already feel strongly enough to give a recommendation.
Inside Burgundy has no protective cover, instead looking more like textbook with a blue spine and dark red (but not burgundy) front and back face. The exterior doesn’t sport a photograph, and actually there is only one picture in the whole book, on the title page. At 656 pages, it isn’t a quick read, but nor is it excessive. The book isn’t dense at all, being 1.5 spaced and only using two thirds of the available space for each line. This latter approach was taken so that sidenotes can be adjacent to where they are referenced. In other words the book could have been much shorter, but I like the approach taken.
Inside Burgundy begins with 85 pages of introductory material covering such essentials as the history of Burgundy, terroir, viticulture, and style.
The bulk (and strength) of the book is “Vineyards and Vignerons” which divides each appellation into its own chapter, most of which have a detailed map. These chapters start with a brief history and generalizations about flavor profiles of the wines. Then he spends a good deal of time with each grand cru, listing how much each domaine owns, and when relevant, in which part of the vineyard. Then he spends a paragraph describing each premier cru, giving his opinion of it, comparing that to the opinions of Dr. Jules Lavalle in 1855 and Camille Rodier in 1920. Morris concludes each chapter by describing the domaines located within the appellation, discussing their history, techniques, style, and best wines.
The book concludes with a well-written vintage description including descriptions of the growing season, Morris’ initial thoughts on the vintage for both reds and whites, and his current beliefs on its quality. Inside Burgundy contains no tasting notes at all. I don’t think that is a problem because notes are very time dependent, and can be obtained elsewhere.
I don’t believe the above description does nearly enough to describe the quality of the book. So let me share a few things I really liked:
Morris doesn’t duck the issue of premature oxidation in white wines, and actually discusses that first in the chapter, “making white wine.” This seems an awkward, but good decision for a seller of white Burgundy.
The amazing map on page 200 shows exactly where each growers’ plots are within Clos de Vougeot. Fantastic! And it is just one of thirty-six terrific maps, many covering two pages. (He gives full credit to Pitiot and Poupon, creators of the “most comprehensive atlas of Burgundy’s wine”.)
Morris adds plenty of color to the subject. In an explanation of why Clos St-Jacques isn’t classified grand cru he says, “The story goes that at the time of classification the Clos was entirely owned by the snobbish Comte de Moucheron, who did not deign to fill in the forms necessary to apply for grand cru (or indeed any other) category. He also alienated the tribunal by sneering at such bodies and lighting up a cigarette, which he was then obliged to smoke outside while the deliberations took place, according to Lous Trapet who was present. Nobody else was going to propose grand cru status on his behalf, so premier cru it became.” (Morris cites Bazin’s Chambertin for this story).
Throughout the book you can feel Morris’ passion for Burgundy. As a footnote for Chambertin-Clos de Beze, he quotes Brideshead Revisited, which I think is a terrific touch. “I rejoiced in the Burgundy. How can I describe it? The Pathetic Fallacy resounds in all our praise of wine. For centuries every language has been strained to define its beauty, and has produced only wild conceits or the stock epithets fo the trade. This Burgundy seemed to me, then, serene and triumphant, a reminder that the world was an older and better place than Rex knows, that mankind in its long passion had learned another wisdom than his. By chance I met this same wine again, lunching with my wine merchant in St James’s Street, in the first autumn of the war; it had softened and faded in the intervening years, but it still spoke in the pure, authentic accent of its prime, the same words of hope.”
I like that Morris doesn’t avoid value judgements and the issue of producer style. The recent Norman/Taylor “Great Domaines of Burgundy” discusses techniques of each winemaker, but not always the resultant style. Unless one already knows the effects of green harvesting or fermentation temperature on the finished wine, this approach doesn’t help choose a producer. Morris tries to describe the house style in broad strokes, and doesn’t duck comparisons. Just choosing a random example, he says of Domaine Emmanuel Rouget, “The wines continue broadly in the same style as those of Henri Jayer without perhaps touching the same heights - it may be a question of meticulousness, or just of green fingers - though they can still be breathtakingly good, and continue to command high prices in secondary markets. They’re luscious, red-fruited wines with a perceptible oak aspect.”
Jasper Morris is the Burgundy buyer for Berry Bros and Rudd. Happily, he deals with this conflict of interest up-front. While some producers get more space than others, I can’t ascribe this treatment as to whether he represents the producer. (I am interested in others’ feedback on this.)
What would I change about the book? I’d like a little more discussion on premier crus and producers. Many of the premier crus get only a few sentences of description or history. The amount of verbiage per producer varies considerably. Some get their vineyard holdings listed, others don’t. Finally, I’d love more general information about varying vineyard and cellar practices. I understand that all the different vignerons have their preferences, but I’d like to know why they make the decisions they do. But these nitpicks pale compared to the content and the passion of this book.
Perhaps when Allen Meadows finishes all his books, we won’t need an all-in-one Burgundy book. Until that point, I would strongly recommend Jasper Morris’ Inside Burgundy.
is that this is a terrific resource, just absolutely first rate. Absolutely the best maps I have seen in a general work on Burgundy. I find some of the summary tables in Clive Coates’s book useful, and would like to have seen Morris do the same, but that is a minor little quibble.![[training.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d0f39866e5714408d7091b0bd2d7bb764d7bb973.gif "[training.gif]"){kind=small}
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