Domaine Bzikot, 4th Jan

Our first appointment of the week was at Domaine Bzikot in Puligny. The domaine makes 50,000 bottles a year, and first came to our attention when G and I found a bottle of its Puligny-Montracher 1er cru Hameau de Blagny 1982 in Mon Millesime back in 2008. I note from the trusty premier cru spreadsheet that it was made by Stanislas Bzikot - Sylvain's grandfather?

Sylvain welcomed us into a little ante-room full of boxes with just enough room for us to taste, and produced a number of 2008s in bottle. We started with the Bourgogne Blanc, which had a floral nose and was charming. Then moved up to the Puligny Villages, which had a nice mouthfeel but I found hard to assess at this stage. After that we had another Puligny, La Rousselle which is a lieu-dit i.e. a named vineyard, just under Les Referts which is a premier cru vineyard, and it was a step up from the village-level wine. But the jewel in the crown of the whites was the Puligny 1er cru Les Folatieres, which was as lovely as the 2007. It had a slightly cabbagey nose, and was big and delicious with a great finish.

Then we tried the 2007 Bourgogne Rouge. I hadn't realised the domaine made red wines. This was a light colour and had a lovely fruity nose but I found it a bit dull on the palate. The 2008 red Auxey-Duresses was more my cup of tea - a darker colour and with brambles and loganberries on the palate. Finally, we had the 2008 Volnay, which had an enticing nose. It was a bit early to say but I thought it would be worth coming back to in 2-3 years.

Overall, a fun tasting, and Sylvain was very charming. Domaine Bzikot has been a great discovery and the wines rewarding at all levels.

We'd originally been intending to walk from Puligny to Meursault, a distance of about 3 miles, but it was bitterly cold so we decided to get a taxi instead. To kill some time we repaired to the bar on the village green which produced a mean kir for me and ACC and a Suze for AM. I sniffed the Suze with some trepidation and wasn't disappointed - an acquired taste, je pense! Then it was back to wait for the taxi by this terrible statue.