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  The Tastevinage ceremony Every year the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin organises two Tastevinage sessions at the Château du Clos de Vougeot, one in the spring for red Burgundies and one in the autumn for white Burgundies, sparkling Burgundies and wines from the Beaujolais area.  A
jury of more than 250 tasters  Twice
yearly, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin brings together a jury consisting
of more than 250 tasters selected from the elite of connoisseurs and discriminating
palates: famous wine-growers, great merchants, heads of viticultural unions, wine-brokers,
oenologists, government officials from the fraud detection department, restaurant
owners, enlightened amateurs. This panel is accompanied by officials and journalists
acting as witnesses. The organisers from the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin confine themselves to organisation and do not taste, thus remaining neutral.  The
analysis of samples The batches to be examined must be presented as samples in bottles labelled and capped with the name of the submitter. Before the tasting each sample has been analysed by an official laboratory recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to the bottles used for analysis and for tasting, other bottles are kept in a special cellar for future verification should a buyer be at variance. This is a further guarantee that the wine, which he has acquired, is the wine that was selected, except of course for the conditions in which it is kept. The records of analysis for each batch of wine have the same value as an identity picture on a passport.  A
blind tastingFifteen or so wines per table, presented anonymously, that is without the name of the grower or merchant, are put through this hard test for about two hours. The questions that the jury must answer are precise: "Is this wine worthy of the appellation and the vintage on its label? Is it genuinely representative? In a word, is it a wine I would be pleased to have in my cellar and proud to serve to a friend? " The verdict is without appeal. |
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