Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/595716
I t's 1915, the first full year of World War I. On the Western Front, the French launch their second offensive against the German army in Champagne. France is under siege, and in villages such as Musigny, the absence of men and horses put women in charge of everything—including the noble art of winemaking. Despite unprecedented challenges, this Burgundian appellation in eastern France produced incredible wine that year—a point of pride among the French. (Decades later, renowned British wine critic Michael Broadbent would bestow five stars on that Musigny vintage). Six of those hand-blown bottles containing 1915 Musigny Grand Cru Pinot Noir fell into the hands of Walter Georis, who purchased them at auction in 1980 to add to his 30,000-bottle cellar under his famed Carmel restaurant Casanova. Ever the romantic, Georis views wine as a living enti- ty, a "time capsule" that tells a tale of the land and its people. Originally from Belgium, the Georis family makes wine of its own, and he can't resist the oppor- tunity to open a 1915 Musigny to celebrate that his- toric harvest. So he gathers a few friends, family members and col- leagues to uncork the living testament. "What stories will it tell us?" Georis mused. On the tasting panel is Georis, his son and winemaker Damien Georis, winery owner and Grammy-winning composer Alan Silvestri C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 5 113