A week ago today I visited Maison Ilan, owned and managed by Ray Walker, a young man from California.
Ray was kind enough to take time out of his weekend to welcome me and friends from Australia and Holland for a one hour visit.
Maison Ilan is located in the center of Nuits-Saint-Georges. It has just about the smallest vat room I have ever seen, and the traditional underground cellar is also suited to the small production.
Ray is the epitome of cool. He’s tall with fluid movements and a laid-back way of speaking.
He entered winemaking the way a recent convert might enter a religious order, with fervor and a “can do” attitude, which is just as well since it takes a lot of cojones to do what he has done.
He knew little about winemaking, but has plunged into it with a vengeance.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about Ray in the future. In fact, one of the reasons is that he’s pretty good at talking about himself! I don’t know where he finds the time to be so active on the Internet, and is also in the process of writing a book about his experience in Burgundy due to be published next year. Not to mention being married with two small children…
We tasted through a series of his 2010s : Morey St. Denis Premier Cru Monts Luisants which I noted as “light, good, and clean”. The Morey Saint Denis Premier Cru Les Chaffots (surrounded on 2 sides by Clos de la Roche) showed candied fruit and attractive sweet flavors. We went on to taste three fairly different barrels of Charmes Chambertin and 2 different barrels of Le Chambertin, which was fine, pure, and aristocratic. The Volnay Premier Cru Robadelle was also a feminine, perfumed wine.
Our visit was not a long one, but I was very happy to have met Ray, who has created quite a media stir – behind which are, happily, some good wines.
Like Olivier Bernstein, whom I also met on my trip, Ray buys grapes from land belonging to other winegrowers. He handles them with something that can only be called reverence, and is determined to gain a reputation as a quality grower. I came away convinced he’s well on his way.
Best regards,
Alex R.