Columns — Fine Wine Review

The genius and craftsmanship of Jean-Yves Bizot defy understanding: his wines evolve and change from vintage to vintage, yet they always retain their unmistakable, unique style. His feeling for wine is as complex an idea as time itself – or rather, its passage. And just when we manage to grasp even a fraction of the meaning of his wines, they slip away and move ahead, just like time. At least, these are my impressions from his wines and from meeting Jean-Yves during a visit to his domaine many years ago.

Wine is not just grapes; it is the meaning and essence of a winemaker’s life. Wine is not merely the result of technical actions in the cellar, but the quintessence of a vigneron’s sensations, filtered through the prism of their work in the vineyard. All of this together is what we call terroir – something we now keep trying to reduce to talent and experience, while behind it stand years of work, feeling, and an intimate understanding of wine.

What does smart wine, personal taste, and the true value of a wine mean to you? These are the questions that, in my view, every genuinely advanced wine drinker should be asking. The way you answer them depends entirely on what is already in your head. The answers come only with years of building your own experience, hundreds of bottles opened, and an endless amount of information studied and absorbed.

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