Eric Asimov Blogs about Philippe Pacalet Burgundies and Poulsard from Houillon/Overnoy Eric Asimov, The New York Times wine writer, now has a blog. Everyone has a blog these days, but this one has lots of interesting reading. The mainstream media has always been so distant from real wine, seemingly rehashing press releases from major distributors and wineries. It is truly a pleasure to read Mr. Asimov's work as he sorts through the wine world to find wines of genuine pleasure. Years ago, a Times mention of Burgundy would simply be Latour, Jadot and DRC. Of course, Asimov cannot ignore these references. But I was pleased to read in today's blog installment: All the Pacalet wines I’ve had have always been pure and beautifully aromatic. They are light and graceful, rarely tannic, and never buried in new oak, so you can enjoy them young, like this one. By contrast, the Jadot, which I think is one of the best of the bigger Burgundy producer/negociants, seemed saturated in the vanilla flavors that come from new oak. Maybe this was just in comparison to the Pacalet, but this wine seemed somewhat generic, not bad but not a wine of much distinction, though perhaps a few more years will help. The other week, Mr. Asimov wrote about wines from the Jura: I have a 2001 Cotes du Jura from Domaine Ganevat, a dry white made from the little-known savagnin grape, and a 2002 Arbois red from Emmanuel Houillon, made from the equally little known poulsard grape. Suffice it to say that these wines challenge almost everything that the 21st century prizes in wine. The white has a nutty, sherry-like aroma that many people regard as hopelessly oxidized, but it is actually tangy, complex, pure and delicious. The poulsard barely has enough color to be called a red. It is light-bodied yet with a graceful intensity and an earthy funk that turns floral and strawberry-like with air. All these wines are actually purchased somewhere by Mr. Asimov and are not freeby handouts from wine importers or distributors. Of course, he does have the resources of the New York Times behind him. But I find it admirable that he has gone beyond winewriting clichés and is making an effort to find out what is actually interesting out there. Take a look at his blog: Eric Asimov Blog
Great writer. I just heard they made his book, I. Robot into a movie with the incomparable Will Smith. Great job!
I've been thinking the same thing lately. He's writing about lots more than just the typical mainstream stuff. Even today he wrote about Bierzo... Amazing that a big paper like NYT is mentioning these exciting wines...
where did he taste the Pacalet's??
He makes it sound like he's been into Pacalet for a while. Just trying to score some geek points I think.
Eric is a mensch, even if he does work for the Times. |