The Wine Conversation – Details, episodes & analysis

Listen in to Omnibus for all the latest wine news and views. This month we cover the fake wine scandal in Taiwan, the latest harvest reports, wine bankruptcies and latest winery sales, the launch of a non-profit foundation for promoting the enjoyment of aged wines, plus Elin heads to the Hamptons with “Sex and City” author Candace Bushnell to taste the latest Dom Pérignon.

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Davie Gleave MW takes a deep-dive into Italy’s most planted grape, Sangiovese. Discover where it grows best, where the grape originated from (spoiler alert, not Tuscany}, whether it can age, and why David believes it has a bright future.

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Sacha Lichine, the “godfather of rosé” talks to Jane Anson for our series “Great Wine Lives”. Son of Alexis Lichine, one of the most prominent 20th century wine figures, Sacha grew up at Château Prieuré-Lichine in Bordeaux, and drove tractors before he could drive. He talks about how he came to move to Provence, working with Patrick Leon, the previous Technical Director of Château Mouton Rothschild, and setting out to make a serious rosé. Today Whispering Angel is a phenomenal success, loved by celebrities, including Adele, who famously said it was the first thing she wanted to buy along with tomato ketchup after lockdown. Listen in to hear his fascinating story.

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Sebastián Labbé, Chief Winemaker for Santa Rita premium wines, talks about the 2024 harvest in Chile. Find out which regions he believed were outstanding, and why he is a fan of Carménère, which he is picking earlier and fine-tuning for more freshness. 21 minutes to get up-to-speed with 2024 Chile, courtesy of our Founder Sponsor, Santa Rita Estates.

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Join us for a 10-minute masterclass on understanding the Burgundy trade with leading Burgundy authority Jasper Morris MW, author of the award-winning book “Inside Burgundy”. Discover how the system works, the role of domaines, negociants and co-operatives, and importantly where Jasper believes you can still find value.

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The German Air Force’s 1943 map of the Medoc was used to create the base material for the Bordeaux Wine Atlas map. One of the fascinating facts in a special podcast on how wine maps are created with wine map guru Chris Foulkes. Chris has arguably more experience in creating wine maps than anyone. He oversaw the 3rd edition of the World Atlas of Wine, published the Bordeaux Atlas and recently Inside Burgundy by Jasper Morris MW and Inside Bordeaux by Jane Anson. Listen in to hear his stories about the challenges he faced in creating the maps, how before Google Earth he employed a young man with a bicycle to travel around the Medoc to check estate boundaries, the deliberate errors inserted to avoid copyright theft, and much more. His latest venture is publishing a special edition print of Jane Anson’s map which for the first time shows the terroir and the position of the chateau, recently launched on her site www.janeanson.com. You will never look at a wine map in the same way again!

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As Jane Anson finishes her report on the 2023 Bordeaux vintage she talks to Sarah Kemp about her impressions after tasting over 800 wines. She advises which appellations did well, how it compares to previous vintages, and names the châteaux she believes will offer value for money. Find out which wine she would buy, money no object, and why. Sarah was delighted. Jane’s report is released on May 2nd and she is offering a 10% discount during En Primeur. Listen in to get up-to-speed with a vintage Bordeaux lovers will love.

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News and views aplenty in this month’s Omnibus, good, bad and damn frightening. Elin McCoy finds there is great wine, food and art at Château La Coste in Provence (currently showing 85 of Damien Hirst’s works), reviews the new releases from Champagne Bollinger, and discusses the new Mouton Cadet range designed for Gen Z with Philippe Sereys de Rothschild. Over in Macau Jane Anson judges the new Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards and reveals the winner. It’s April so inevitably John Stimpfig and Sarah Kemp are talking about the Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, with the perennial question, what price will the châteaux release at. The good news is that the tariffs have been lifted on Australian wine into China and the Old Vine Conference has announced their Hero awards. The frightening news is that a report has come out predicting 29% of vineyards will not be able to produce premium wine by the end of the century. Great news for charity though, John Stimpfig is back on his bike to raise money for the Hospitality Industry, a 200km bike ride across Burgundy, but before then there is a Gala Dinner in London. Listen in to hear all about it. This Omnibus is brought to you by our Founder Sponsor, Santa Rita Wine Estates.

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The first report on the 2023 Bordeaux vintage from Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp. Sarah joined Jane for her second week of tasting, and found much to love “I felt a lot of these wines, not all, were what made me fall in love with Bordeaux. It’s the vintage I will buy my son to remind him why I loved Bordeaux and was away so often”. They discuss the factors which shaped the wines, with mildew and the question of whether to strip the leaves and risk burning the grapes a major decision. Yields, economic conditions, appellation success – a full discussion after a week of long days travelling round Bordeaux putting together the jigsaw puzzle of understanding the latest vintage. Jane will produce her full report for subscribers on May 2nd. For listeners who are not subscribers, there is a Flash sale, to be taken up by April 25! Please use the following discount code on a yearly subscription to start your 7-day free trial, at www.janeanson.com/subscribe: TRYJAIB24

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Jasper Morris MW, today’s leading Burgundy expert and author of the award-winning book “Inside Burgundy”, conducts a 10-Minute Masterclass on St-Aubin, the fourth great white Burgundy village. Jasper discusses its terroir, the best vintages to look out for, its renowned names and the one producer that is up and coming. For wine lovers, there is the added bonus that it still offers value for money.

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