▻ Omnibus XXXXI
Episode Summary:-
In our first Omnibus of 2026, John Stimpfig and Elin McCoy discuss today’s big wine stories and look back on 2025, a year full of turmoil in the wine industry. They predict 2026 may be even bumpier.
January is all about Burgundy, with the tasting rooms full as the 2024 vintage is being sold En Primeur. It was a difficult vintage, beset by mildew, but John predicts there will be pleasure to be had. As always, it will be a question of price. Price was certainly top of mind at the 165th Hospices de Beaune auction, which took place in November. There were 552 lots, and despite the world’s gloomy economic conditions, the auction raised €18.8 million, the third-highest amount in its history.
Two other Burgundy auctions caught John’s eye. First, Christie’s sale commemorating the 250th anniversary of Domaine Faiveley, with wines going back to the last century, and then the Bouchard Père et Fils auction, where a bottle of La Tache 1886 went for £325,000, 2.200% above its low estimate.
Bouchard Père are making headlines lately, and not just for their extraordinary auction prices. John explains how Artemis Domaines, the company owned by François Pinault, which has other stellar holdings in Burgundy, including Clos de Tart and Domaine Eugenié, as well as Château Latour in Bordeaux is rearranging where Bouchard Père’s Crus will go. Several of Bouchard’s most iconic parcels in the Côte de Beaune will now be brought together under a new entity, Domaine des Cabottes, whilst other iconic parcels of Bouchard Père on the Côte de Nuits have been integrated into Domaine d’Eugenié.
On another front, social media went into overdrive when Michelin announced that they would be publishing wine guides (to accompany their restaurant and hotel guides) with a new wine scale. Michelin already have a foot in the wine world, as they bought Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate back in 2019. The guides will rate producers, not wines, and the scale will be 1 to 3 grapes, with 3 grapes representing “exceptional estates.” The inspectors will be made up of ex-sommeliers, critics and production experts. The Wine Advocate team are not being used. Sarah and John discuss how this is going to work in practice, as – unlike hotels – it will be difficult to have anonymous inspectors. The first two guides will be for Bordeaux and Burgundy, an unusual choice considering the hierarchy is well established
Sarah and John also congratulate Jancis Robinson MW on her 50th anniversary in the wine trade and 25th anniversary of establishing jancisrobinson.com. John recommends a 7-part podcast on her life, which has been produced by Richard Hemming MW. It is free to listen to on www.jancisrobinson.com.
John then reflects on the lives of two great Grenache specialists who recently left us, Peter Frazer of Yangarra Estate, who died at the young age of 51. Also leaving us too early, at 61 years old, was Emmanuel Reynaud, owner of iconic Châteauneuf estate Château Rayas.
Elin McCoy reviews 2025 in the US, and looks at the major winery sales, including Ch Ste Michelle, Mumm Napa, Accendo Cellars and Newton Estate. Elin rejoices on the move from private-equity-backed wineries to private individuals. “Private equity has no business in getting into the wine industry,” she states.
She also reflects on some of the wine world’s great names whom we lost in 2024: Frédéric Panaïotis, Nicolas Potel, Gerard Perse, Martine Saunier, Peter Sichel, Sam Sebastiani and Jed Steele. Elin remarks that wine is the one profession where you can have as much influence at 100 as you can when young. “Wine is a life, a life calling not just a job – a life that people make for the rest of us to enjoy.”
Politics have certainly got in the way of wine enjoyment in 2025, with tariffs imposed by Donald Trump playing havoc with retailers, restauranteurs and even US vintners. Elin brings us up-to-date with the latest news, including the upcoming decision from the Supreme Court. Will the tariffs be struck down? We wait to see.
Fraud has become more audacious, with a British woman stealing DRC in the US (Sarah reveals, slightly sadly, that it was not her). Artificial Intelligence has also taken a grip in the wine world. Elin reports that Chap GPT is now used by millennials to decide which wineries to visit – the result is disappointingly predictable. And the Marriott Hotel in Napa Valley has embedded AI technology into its guest experience. Elin questions whether this is a good thing.
Elin wraps her report with the revelation that Chinese wine is now much more available in the US, due to a buzzy new import company, China Wine Club. Elin has just awarded a Syrah made by Ian Dai as one of her 10 wines of the year in her Bloomberg column. She discovered Xiapou at the RAW wine fair, and was impressed, especially as it was around US $30. Ian Dai, who is an ex-sommelier, calls Xiapou a nomadic winery as he works with grape growers in six terroirs to produce natural-style wine. Elin and Sarah agree that it is an exciting new addition to the wonderfully diverse world of wine: terroir-driven wines from China.
Running Order:-
-
0.00 – 13.13
“A single bottle of 1886 Bouchard Père et Fils La Tache went for a whopping £325,000.” – John Stimpfig
– Results from the Hospices de Beaune auction.
– Domaine Faiveley and Bouchard Père auction results.
– All change at Bouchard Père et Fils.
– 2024 Burgundy En Primeur. -
13.14 – 36.42
“Michelin inspectors will not be drawn from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.” – John Stimpfig
– Michelin announce new wine guides rating producers on new wine scale.
– Jancis Robinson MW celebrates 50 years in the wine industry and 25 years of www.jancisrobinson.com.
– Looking back on the lives of Peter Frazer of Yangarra Estate and Emmanuel Reynaud of Château Rayas. -
34.43 – 57.06
“Private equity has no business in getting into the wine industry" – Elin McCoy
– Elin reviews the major US winery sales of 2025.
– Looking back on the great wine names who we lost in 2025.
– US tariff updates and notes. -
57.07 – 01.18
“Wine is one of the last things where, when you drink a bottle of wine, you have an actual person who has touched that product.” – Elin McCoy
– Wine fraud on the increase.
– How artificial intelligence is being used in the wine industry.
– Terroir-driven Chinese wine arrives in the US.
This month, we look at Michelin’s new wine guides, artificial intelligence in the wine world, Burgundy auction results, review the main events of 2025, and welcome terroir-driven Chinese wine in the US, plus lots more.