When we got the chance to visit, Patrick Bize of Domaine Simon Bize was still a culty magician in Savigny les Beaune (not yet the widely acknowledged master he became), making wines that transcended the (then) grossly undervalued village. What a chance to learn about the ins and outs of Burgundian farming and winemaking!


Patrick was very warm, friendly, happy to share his (extraordinary) samples and talk about the wines. But as to how he made his decisions – how much to destem and how to extract; when to harvest and how to prune – these he didn’t want to talk about in dry technical terms that American merchants could assimilate to better understand Burgundy in general. In a typically French fashion, these were questions of feelings and flavors, touch and taste and instinct. It was poetry. Beautiful, but uh, what?


Pretty soon though, an Australian intern, Andrew Nielsen, finished sweeping up and joined our tasting. Andrew understood our questions; he’d come with similar questions. And after working closely with Patrick, he’d started developing his own understanding of how Bize worked his magic. And not just Bize. Patrick was revered among Burgundian winemakers, and the greatest of the greats, the biggest names in Burgundy, would drop by to talk over the year’s challenges, winemaking conundrums, and to share tastes and explore the evolution of favorite vintages.


Andrew had absorbed all of this and was an incredible translator for us. We would ask a question, Patrick, would tell us how he felt about it, and then Andrew would give us a technical answer that connected the wine to Bize’s poetry to the actual winemaking decisions in a way that deepened our understanding not just of these wines, but of wine.


Andrew was obviously a curious person, a deep thinker, and a hard worker. So when, many years later, we got to taste Andrew’s own wines we weren’t the least bit surprised at how great they were. Terroir specific in the way that you can only achieve with a deep focus and hard work. But also soulful – delicious! – in that poetic way that Bize had.


Le Grappin, Macon-Villages, 2022 $35.99

Le Grappin, Savigny Les Beaune Rouge, 2022 $71.99
Palest ruby. Intensely floral on the nose, rose petals a gogo. Delicate red cherries on the palate, really all very fine and deftly done. There is some saltiness filling out the back palate, covering the fine, powdery tannins. (Jancisrobinson.com)