A few weeks ago, I was idly surfing the Guardian website and found an article about Emmanuel Giboulot on the front page. Not often that happens! Unfortunately it wasn't good news - he was being taken to court in Dijon for failing to use a particular pesticide on his vines. The article suggested that he faced a prison sentence if convicted, but there was quite an outcry (a petition was organised which now has over 500,000 signatures) and the prosecution is now asking for a fine of 1000 euros.
I don't know the ins and outs of the argument, but it seems that this pesticide may not be very effective at killing the insect in question, and may kill other creatures which have a positive impact on the environment. It also seems that that plenty of other wine-makers don't apply the pesticide either, but pretend that they have done so in order not to get in trouble with the Ministry of Agriculture. I applaud Giboulot for standing by his principles.
His wines are very special, in my opinion, and I'm very happy that I have quite a stash of them thanks to the Burgundy Portfolio. I've had the privilege of visiting the domaine twice and attending the wonderful dinner held in London in May 2012 - more on that here. The other night G and I cracked a bottle of his Beaune Lulune 2010 and it was an absolute stunner. We last tried it in Feb 2013, when we felt it needed more time - it's drinking very nicely now but there's no rush.
As Giboulot's wines are biodynamic, they benefit from a lot of air, so we double-decanted for an hour and 45 minutes. It was quite pale for a red wine, had trademark tinned strawberries on the nose, and was very pretty on the palate, with lovely light fruit, elegance and finesse but also lots of flavour and juiciness. The character of the terroir really comes through, and we felt this was wine made from happy vines. It was scintillating - one hesitates to use the word "ethereal" but it really does apply in this case. G said it was one of the nicest things he's ever drunk, and I agree.
This isn't a premier cru, but it's a clear 10 on the premier cru scale. I think I like it even more than Yves Darviot's 1er cru Beaune Greves which is saying something. I hope Giboulot is able to make many more vintages without government interference and wish him all the best for 7th April when the verdict will be announced.
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