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+--- Thread: Burgundy (/thread-12728.html)
- sharon001 - 07-25-2005
This one's a rave rather than a rant. Just spent the weekend in Burgundy. Saturday: Vosne-Romanée and Beaune, Sunday: Meursault, Volnay, and Pommard. A little corner of paradise, and some interesting tastings (including a deliciously gourmand Volnay Champans 2002 and an excellent simple village appelation Vosne-Romanée 1999 from a producer whose vines are 4 meters away from Romanée Conti...).
I am endlessly pleased and amazed by the earthy, nuanced variations between different Burgundy villages, "climats", and producers.
Though we were trapped into the unfortunate Musée du Vin in Beaune: a kind of tourist destination where for 10 euros one can taste 16 exceedingly bad renditions of the different appelations (3 of which were corked, the day I went; I had to ask the guard to open another) and get a little metal tastevin as a souvenir. Yikes.
- TheEngineer - 07-25-2005
I
A M
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E N V I O U S ! ! ! !
Would love to hear a bit more about this. Where you went, in what order, some details on the towns/restaurants/wineries, and some tasting notes as well. May in fact be able to scrape up enough to do this later this year or next so any additional information would be much appreciated!
[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 07-25-2005).]
- sharon001 - 07-26-2005
OK, will oblige! I have tons and tons to say, so I'll try to be concise... It is a spectacular trip; I completely recommend it.
Took the TGV from Paris to Dijon, which takes just an hour and a half. After that, had a nice big preparatory dinner at a friend's parents' farm out near Dole.
In the morning, we drove to Vosne-Romanée.
The distances between these places are all around twenty or thirty minutes by car (it's crazy - the names are so big, I never realized the distances were so small; fifteen minutes and you're leaving the Côte de Beaune for the Côte Châlonnaise. Pommard is a mile and a half away from Volnay, and you can see Meursault from there, etc.)
Before I go on about the Vosne-Romanée, I'll mention a vintner we didn't get to stop by this time: Philippe Amiot, who makes one of the best Chambolle-Musignys I've tasted (the simple appelation village 2000 impressed me more than a much more prestigious Nicolas Potel 1er cru I served afterward a few months ago), and whose prices are very reasonable.
So: in Vosne-Romanée, regretfully passed by the bunkered fortress of the Domaine Anne Gros, but my friends knew a small producer in a little street behind the church - Denis Thomas, a young and interesting vintner. Mme Thomas mère took us to the cellar to taste.
* Bourgogne 2002 - simple, but not the best bourgogne pinot noir around.
* Vosne-Romanée 1999 - complex; dark, somewhat spicy, the notes were well blended; violets, dark cherries
* Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru "Malconsorts" 2001 - still a little closed, intense, with some barky bitterness and red fruit
* Echezeaux Grand Cru 2002 - already very round, promising, with raspberry and gooseberry, but rustic and still closed (tannins, dried leaves)
Mme Thomas told us how the Domaine du Romanée-Conti is entirely "biodynamique," and that they use horses rather than tractors and do everything by hand. Her own grapes are four meters from theirs.
Afterward, we walked up a little stone-wall bordered street to the vineyards. Light green everywhere under a light blue sky. There was not a soul around, and this on a Saturday in July. We walked a little, and a little stone plaque set in a low wall stated in small letters: Romanée-Conti. We walked for a while and decided to head over to the Clos de Vougeot, which is about a ten minute walk. The castle was charming, and we were amused by plaques on every door asking not to tip the personnel.
Afterward, we went to lunch at a very good restaurant at the edge of town, La Toute Petite Auberge (prix-fixe at 27 euros, first course, main, cheese, and dessert; excellent cheese cart, and the dishes were a mix of classic and inventive). We drank a tasty, gourmand Chorey-lès-Beaune from the Domaine Arnoux, smooth and velvety and which opened up over the course of our two-hour lunch.
Next stop, Beaune... (Stay tuned.)
*
[This message has been edited by sharon001 (edited 07-26-2005).]
- wondersofwine - 07-26-2005
I too am envious but appreciate your notes. I've stayed in Dijon on an art history tour of Burgundy in which we visited the Hospices de Beaune and some churches and art museums.
I was living in Germany at the time and just beginning to get into French wines so didn't really appreciate the environs. I did pick up a Savigny de Beaune in a French wine shop using a wine book by an American expert as a guide.