Maison Ilan's Blog

We’ve been in Burgundy now for four days and things have been going exceptionally well. My wife Christian took quite well to the house, our new surroundings and thank God she loved the wine I made!

I would be remiss in not mentioning how happy I am that things are finally settled with the house, cuverie and cave. Throughout the year, I experienced disappointment after disappointment when it came to getting the location figured out. Unsigned contracts by owners who changed their minds, slow administrative processes, impossible requests from customs to make certain locations work, etcetra. I stayed focused and humble and it has paid off with dividends. Getting the keys this week has been quite momentous. For me, the dream has effectively been realized. Now the real work may begin.

Living in a new country is a strange thing. More specifically, going home to your house in a new country is a strange thing. It’s all very…comfortable. I had to admit that I am taken aback by just how comfortable it all is.

Walking down the street in Nuits, I’ve reintroduced myself to charcutrie owners, bakers, cafe owners, etcetra to let them know they have a new neighbor. It is important to let our neighbors know that we aren’t simply passing through. People have been very kind in expressing a warm welcome for us.

Coming from California and seeing snow outside our windows in Nuits this morning was beautiful. Thankfully, we have a nice amount of shops, stores and other points of interest close to us as well. There are a few changes to the house that are on the books once the weather heats up. For the moment, I cannot help but feel confident and excited about what will unfold next…

Cheers

January 3rd, 2010, and I am back in France. My wife and I are on a TGV heading from Paris – Gare de Lyon to Beaune. With so much to do within the next few weeks, it’s nearly exhausting just planning it all. However, the excitement of it all keeps the thoughts of the details just a moment away.

This is an important trip. A trip during a bit of a chilling time of the year, with temperature just south of 0*C with some snow. We will get the keys to the house in Nuits Saint Georges on Monday. Later that day, I will start filling in the cave floor with gravel. This means renting a large truck and going over to the Comblachien quarry, using buckets to transport the gravel from the truck to the cave and spreading the stones evenly. Should be a great way to keep in shape!

We will also transfer the 2009 barrels from Saint Aubin to the cave which will mean renting an even larger truck and placing in wooden bungs for the 40 minute drive. To further ensure the wine stays cool (not too difficult in 0*C temps) by bringing the wine over around 4am. I will research moving companies and speak with more domaines that have a similar barrel transportation issue (read recent post for more info) before making the decision of how to proceed with getting the wine down the stairs. My backup is to siphon out and fill by gravity.

With my wife seeing the house for the first time in person tomorrow, and all of my precious barrels being moved around this week….wish me luck!

Cheers!

Just an hour and a half away from New Year’s 2010 and I wanted to express a sincere ‘thank you’ to everyone that has been supportive in making 2009 such an amazing year for my family and the winery, Maison Ilan. Without support, who knows where this winery would be.

I wish all of you a Happy New Year’s and look forward to keeping in touch in 2010.

Please enjoy some of our photos from a very special year for us, 2009.

Cheers!

I just wanted to put up some info on a coffee table book that I have enjoyed quite a bit. This book, Les Grand Cru de Bourgogne, vus de ciel (seen from the sky) is of course filled with beautiful photographs of Burgundy and some nice summaries along with a few dashes of history thrown in. What I like is that it puts a different visual to Burgundy than is the norm. Typically, you see that horizontal map of the Cote d’Or, trying to imagine the terrain and topography differences. This book adds vibrant life to the beautiful layout of Burgundy which I think is rewarding for anyone interested in Burgundy or vineyards in general. Sure, you can get an idea from google Earth. However, the photos in this book are far more detailed as they were taken from helicopters.

Enjoy…

Cheers

As a few have noticed from reading this blog, I’ve tried to use older (hopefully beneficial)methods when I happen upon them. Keeping this in mind, the method I use for topping up is one of my favorite as it is so relaxing and simple. The slow pouring using a filling wand has never really been a strong suit of mine. What I now use is a flower waterer. Filling up the waterer is easy, gaining access from the bottom of the stainless steel tank with my topping up wine. Just a few precise pours, and it is all done. It’s amazing how much control you get from them, and I find it incredibly relaxing topping up in this manner.

On a cold day such as this one in California, I can’t help but think about Burgundy. The wine. The weather. The food. It just keeps going in and out of my thoughts. With such a big change coming up with the move(s), I’ve tried to pull back my excitement and let some time pass. As with most things, time has decided against this plan.

With just a few weeks until we are back in Burgundy, moving the wine (Full wine barrels!) to Nuits-Saint-Georges I have been focusing on a technical issue. Put simply, my full barrels of wine need to be placed below the house in the vaulted cave. The punchline? The only access to the cave is going down 10 stairs. This may seem like such a small detail, however, the prospect of dropping a full barrel of wine gives me the instant hollowing sensation in my stomach.

Traditionally, wine barrels were able to be moved down stairs using a rope and hook system which was anchored by two huge holes bored into the top of the stairs in the entry of a cave. There used to be a name for people that provided this service. It seems clear that others have figured out that no matter who is manning the rope system, its a potentially financially painful situation. Keeping this in mind, I’ve decided to take a different approach.

I will place an empty barrel in the cave and siphon (using gravity)a full barrel at the top of the stairs, in the cave entrance. Moving an empty barrel down to replace the now full barrel in the cave as the next to be filled. This seems to be the most practical way of doing this. Next harvest, I will simply fill the barrels in the cave using gravity and bypass the whole barrel siphoning step. I will also be filling the cave with gravel over the existing dirt. Should be fun.

Cave entrance (note holes)

Cave (larger than shown)

Bottle Storage Section of Cave

Cave. A bit rough currently. I will be adding gravel in January.

With my first harvest in Burgundy behind me, I’m currently looking ahead to 2010. As well as things went in 2009, there are many areas for improvement, mistakes to learn from, and shifts which are in the development stage.

Starting in January 2010, the facility in Nuits Saint George will be ready for holding my 2009 barrels. I’ll begin preparation of the cuverie area for harvest 2010 in January as well.

As for barrels, I’m planning on using a bit less new oak. For 2009, around 30% of my oak was new. I will be dropping my target number to 15% (possibly 0%) moving forward, while allowing for small changes based upon production numbers and vintage profiles. Obviously, a 2.5 barrel production wine such as Le Chambertin will be impossible to fit in this box.

The plan is to purchase a small amount of new barrels each year, and placing other old barrels which were purchased used out of commission when possible. Eventually, all of the used barrels in use would have been purchased new by Maison Ilan at some point. This is a big deal when used barrels are purchased without knowing 100% the full history of the barrel.

Also, I will be moving toward using all open top wooden fermenters. The stainless steel tanks will be phased out. My thoughts are based on the goal of having uniform fermentation vessels. The possible benefits (aromatics, longer fermentation times, less heat retention) to using this more traditional vessel outweigh the ease of use benefits of stainless steel, for my intended uses.

I’ve been thinking about winery choices quite a bit lately. With such a terroir based region, I have been trying to furthering the intention of treating each lot the same. The goal is to have the difference of the terroir be highlighted, instead of differences in oak selection such as oak age, cooperage, toast levels, pigeage regime, maceration targets, etc. With the differences in production numbers, having percentage of new oak used is (and has been) the difficult issue. The only ways to match the numbers is to go 100% or 0% (the latter is a strong option) new oak on everything across the board. I can’t see either as feasible at present.

In January, I plan to do make a choice on who to use as my sole Cooper (producer of barrels). I am leaning towards François Freres at the moment, however I am considering staying with Chassin.

My sorting table will again consist of a huge piece of laminate-topped wood. I am also on the hunt for an old wooden vertical press similar to the model I used for 2009.

More updates to follow.

Thanks again for viewing.

Cheers!

While in California, I had one of friends topping up my barrels. Due to some residual gas from primary, the barrels gave off the impression of malolactic fermentation starting up. This was last month. I made a post about it, glad that things were moving along. My preference was for a slow malolactic, but with so many other’s wines taking off, I believed mine were following suit.

2009 is proving to be an interesting year. Sure, I’ve read the hype from what people are tasting of the vintage. One of the generalities of the vintage are rapid malos, a good of them complete at present.

Tasting my own wines, I was fooled. Residual gas was present when pulling the bung off, and the taste seemed right.

Knowing the importance of wine health, I decided to get a analysis to be sure. Results in hand, I can say that not only has the malolactic fermentation not finished, it has yet to begin! While being correct in thinking the malo was comete would mean that I could rest easy knowing that all was finished, it is actually my preference to have this result that I was in fact wrong. A longer fermentation is my preference. And as it turns out many other who took samples in for analysis were also met with this great news after thinking there wines were following in the lines of the others having the malo finished.

What I take from this is to never hesitate in confirming your instincts with facts, never assume about your wines based on what others are reporting and when in doubt…ask.

I will stick with my decision to let the wine take it’s time. From looking at the analysis provided by the guys at Bouchard Analysis in Beaune, the wine is looking healthy while it sleeps.

That’s all for now…

Cheers

Out of all the traits which I aspire to, patience has been the most difficult for me to achieve. I’m naturally impatient, enjoying the thrill of tinkering and seeing results in real time. Slowly but surely, I’m being forced to come to grips with the truth of it all. I simply have to be more patient and trust what is in the barrel.

I have to confess that after taking in the grapes this year and working through the vinifications, I have felt a bit, well, left out. Seeing the appellations on the barrels, I keep thinking about how they ’should’ and may taste when the elevage is finished. It’s a tortuous feeling. And all you can do is wait.

Since early on, the profile of the fermenting juice tasted different each day. The same was true after the primary fermentation was finished. All too often, having tasted the wine every other day, sometimes feeling unsure one moment and the next confident. Once in barrel, I’ve tried to lay off, backing away and letting the wines be what they will be.

That’s all for tonight…

Cheers

Following up to some ideas I had before arriving in Burgundy, I will be back in the vineyards in 2010, during Our winery’s down time. There is a great benefit to being a negociant in Burgundy. Less intensive capital needs, ability to pick and choose fruit, etc. However, I believe that there is a connection to the vines when you work within them that somehow aligns both fruit and man that can be somehow lost by simply staying within the walls of a cuverie without stepping out and getting your hands in the soil.

A few days ago I posed the question to my source in Morey Saint Denis if I could spend some time in the Les Chaffots 1er Cru vineyard and others to experience first hand what this vineyard feels like on a more intimate level. I’m not talking about a one hour photo op here. I will be just another hand working the vines. As connected as I feel with my wines, I know there is a benefit to be found in knowing your sources personally. Hopefully this will prove to be valuable experience for when I have my own vineyards here as well…

Cheers