Domaine Emmanuel Giboulot and lunch at Le Montrachet, Thursday 30th October

After coffee we still had time for a wander round Athenaeum, the shop on Place Carnot which sells books and all sorts of exciting wine gadgetry. ACC found a wonderful book with very detailed maps and explanations of vineyard names, while I was particularly taken with this giant glass. I found out the next day what it's for!

Then it was time to meet Bill at Place Madeleine and head on down to Domaine Giboulot. Here we were greeted by a very nice young man wearing an interesting ensemble including a floppy hat and some pale pink tracksuit bottoms. It seemed that Emmanuel wasn't there - he'd had to see a man about a tractor, or something - so this chap and another young lady, who was possibly the secretary, gave us the tasting. It would have been nice to see Emmanuel but his wines spoke for themselves.

We tasted eight altogether, all from the 2013 vintage. For me the highlights were the Terres Burgondes blanc, which is made from pinot beurot (the local name for pinot gris) - this was very attractive, easy drinking with notes of lemon and butter, and had a great balance of acidity and weight. I've been drinking the 2009 lately, and it's been going down very well. On the red side, the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits en Gregoire was amazing, with a heavenly nose and crunchy fruit, and the Côte de Beaune Les Pierres Blanches had a lovely rich nose, good weight and was just generally beautiful. As usual the domaine's trademark purity and elegance were present and correct.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to Bill and met up with Alain le taxi who took us off to Puligny yet again for an occasion I'd been looking forward to for ages - lunch at Le Montrachet! I have fond memories of the sommelière twinkling at me when we went there last year but sadly she wasn't around this time. A kir soon cheered me up and we embarked on the accomplished set lunch which is a steal at 32 euros. We enjoyed perusing the magnificent wine list (available online here), and in the end settled on a bottle of 1998 Beaune 1er cru du Chateau from Bouchard which caused the sommelier to raise an eyebrow but we stuck to our guns and didn't regret it - it was a wonderful golden colour and opened up after half an hour or so.

We were in no great rush so decided to have a comparative tasting of fine and marc from Domaine Roulot to finish - half a measure of each, but happily the free-pouring sommelier seemed to give us quite a generous glass of each both! We took it outside on to the terrace, which was warm in the afternoon sun, and had the place to ourselves. One of these days I'm going to spend a weekend here...

Domaine Jean-Claude Rateau, Thurs 30th October

On the Thursday morning, Alain le taxi collected us at 9.10 and took us to Jean-Claude Rateau's domaine on the outskirts of Beaune. I'd expressed doubts as to whether a taxi was necessary, as it's not really that far, but in the end I was glad we did as it was quite a cold morning and it would have been a strenuous uphill walk first thing. Last year we were late getting there; this year it was nice to be early and we killed some time sitting on a wall by the property overlooking the vineyards. Once again, it was very foggy.

The post van dropped off some post, Jean-Claude appeared and we cracked on! As with Maison en Belles Lies the previous day, it was a very different story from last year, and things were looking much brighter with a cellar full of barrels. Was it our imagination or did Jean-Claude's wonderful moustache even look less droopy?

As usual, we were tasting the 2013 vintage and commenced with the reds. First up, Beaune les Beaux et Bons, which is wine from two adjoining vineyards, les Beaux Fougets and les Bons Feuvres. It had a lovely strawberry nose, nice weight and good acidity, and I liked it a lot. Coincidentally, I'm looking forward to drinking some of the 2012 vintage this evening, and the label says that it has aromas of black cherries. Whatever fruit it smells of, it's delicious.

Then it was on to Beaune Les Prévolles, which was also lovely - more serious, elegant, more floral (I think Jean-Claude said) and with a great finish. Very pretty again. Next was a Gevrey-Chambertin; I wasn't expecting that! I'm not normally mad about Gevrey but this seemed to me to be Gevrey in the style of Beaune and it was very perfumed, elegant and succulent.

2014 looks promising...

The Beaune 1er cru les Reversées was noticeably more serious than the first two and very "soyeux" (silky). If I understood correctly - 50/50 chance - it was made from very old vines, and it seemed more powerful than the others. So was the Beaune 1er cru les Bressandes, which Jean-Claude described as more rich. This was heavier, and for me had an interesting hint of the farmyard thing going on on the nose. It would be one to tuck away for a few years.

Hidden treasure! 

Finally, we tried the white Beaune 1er cru les Coucherias. This was the first wine I encountered from the domaine, when G bought it back from France a couple of years ago, and it wowed us - an instant 10 on the Premier Cru Project scale. The 2013 had that distinctive white Beaune nose that I love so much. It had a nice weight, was complex, and with a great finish. I seem to have put 2 stars next to it which is high praise indeed. All in all, Jean-Claude said he thought 2013 was a very pretty vintage and he has certainly made some very attractive biodynamic wines that I can't wait to drink in due course.

Afterwards, we'd been planning to walk back into the town centre but Jean-Claude kindly offered us a lift in his van, so we squashed up three in a row in the front and were deposited in Place Carnot with time for a coffee before our next appointment. The day had got off to an excellent start!

Domaine Perrin and Maison en Belles Lies, Wed 29th Oct

After lunch at Le Terroir, we were picked up by Julien, whisked along various windy roads, through Chagny (past Lameloise!) and back up to the Cote d'Or where the first stop was Volnay.

View from the main square in Volnay

We were visiting Domaine Perrin, and were greeted by Vincent and his wife, Marie-Christine, who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time. I think this was one of the first tastings of the 2013 vintage that they had carried out.

We kicked off with the white Saint-Romain, which ACC told me is an aligoté - I never realised this before despite quaffing large quantities of the 2008, or perhaps I'd forgotten. (Update: it appears I got completely the wrong end of the stick here. The aligote is not the same as the St-Romain, but is aged in St-Romain barrels. Mea culpa.) Must clearly re-evaluate my prejudice against stance on aligoté. Vincent said he had used less sulphur than previously (if I understood correctly) - he is generally moving to a more natural approach, and this seemed to have paid off as the wine had a very nice weight. I found it more difficult to assess the Meursault, which is another wine I've loved in the past, possibly because it had only been in bottle for a month and was still a bit shocked.

On the red side, the bourgogne rouge had a nice cherry thing going on on the nose, and was mouth-tingling with good acidity and crunchy fruit. The village Volnay was clearly related, but bigger and broader, while the two Pommards (Vaumurien and Chanlains respectively) were very elegant expressions of Pommard with a lot of tannin and I thought would need several years to come round, especially the Chanlains. The Volnay 1er cru Carelle sous la Chapelle was one of my favourites, with a really interesting nose, good structure and smoothness, while the 1er cru Gigottes had an enticing nose, great concentration and elegance, and a great finish - it may need the best part of a decade but when it gets there it will be fabulous. I shall have to give some serious thought to which one(s) it's going to be for me this year. Thank you very much to Vincent and Marie-Christine for yet another Volnay masterclass.

Then it was time to head off to Saint-Aubin where we were visiting Maison en Belles Lies. I remembered spending quite a long time hanging around in a car park next to what looked like a deserted factory last year. This year, things were very different. There were two men painting a piece of equipment (technical term) in a cheerful yellow colour, similar to the colour of A du V Towers in fact, and we were greeted by Pierre Fenals who seemed very upbeat. We were also joined by Bill Nanson from the Burgundy Report.

Last year, the domaine had been badly affected by hail which had drastically reduced what was on offer. This year, things were looking much brighter and we descended a tiny spiral staircase - it took me about 10 minutes to get down it, stepping very carefully to avoid a tragic accident - to the lower level where there were lots of barrels looking inviting!

We started with the aligoté which I thought was wonderful - vinified in oak, it had a lovely floral nose and was rich and big, unlike one of those nasty thin acidic aligotes that's only good for making kir. Next up was the white Santenay which brought tears to my eyes, not because it was bad, but because of the acidity level. Or maybe I just tasted it too quickly. It was very pure with good minerality and weight. The Monthelie blanc was less sharp, had a hint of honey on the nose, and was very agreeable. Then, the jewel in the crown: Corton-Charlemagne grand cru. What a treat! Pierre explained that he shares the vineyard with Bonneau du Martray and Coche-Dury so he's in excellent company. This was something very special, complex, rich and mouth-coating.

We moved into a different part of the cellar to taste the 2014s which were still fermenting away. They all seemed to be developing nicely, which bodes well for next year! At one point, Pierre was explaining something and suddenly there was a loud CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK which turned out to be Bill taking a photo with his super-whizzy camera. Pierre blinked and we all pretended nothing had happened.

Then it was on to the 2013 reds. First, L'Étrange, which I famously guessed blind at a dinner last year, admittedly only due to vast prior consumption of it since G is a big fan. It's a bit like a passetoutgrains in that it's a mixture of pinot noir and gamay, but if memory serves, PTG is normally 2/3 gamay, 1/3 pinot whereas L'Etrange is the other way round. Disclaimer: this could be completely incorrect. Anyway, it was very nice, had that slightly whiffy trademark nose, and chewy fruit. A relatively light and approachable wine.

Next came the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune which blew me away with its heady, scintillating nose. Pierre described it as tres jolie and it was just my kind of thing - very pinot, very pretty. The Aloxe-Corton was more serious stuff and had that meatier Aloxe thing going on, which certainly has its place but the Hautes-Côtes had ruined me for it. And then finally, the Corton les Perrieres grand cru which I see I put two stars next to in my notes, high praise indeed. It was very serious, rich, complex, interesting and just generally stunning.

We tasted some of the 2014s again bubbling away in their barrels. Already the unique characteristics of the different appellations were shining through. There's a Maranges in 2014 which will please a certain person I know, but it was very tannic at this stage and Pierre described it as more rustic.

Once again this was a very interesting tasting, it was great to see Pierre looking much happier, and the domaine's trademark style, elegance and purity were all in evidence. I don't really know much about biodynamism but it certainly seems to do the business as far as I'm concerned.

View of vineyards in Saint-Aubin

Afterwards, Julien dropped ACC off in Puligny-Montrachet and took me back to Beaune. I felt very swanky travelling in the black Merc by myself, but this luxurious lifestyle was short-lived. After Julien had gone on his way, I attempted to visit the local traitteur to get something to eat, but by the time I'd figured out how the automatic door worked, the sales assistant had disappeared. After hanging around for five minutes I decided to go to Petit Casino instead and procured a tin of lentilles aux saucisses, the French equivalent of beans and four pork sausages, a childhood favourite. It had been an amazing day and I was happy to have a quiet night in watching French game shows and reading a 1930s mystery novel.

Domaine Maurice Protheau and Domaine de la Choupette, Wed 29th Oct

On Wednesday morning, Julien le taxi picked us up at 8.20. Our destination was the Cote Chalonnais, and Mercurey in particular. It was cold and very foggy!

We arrived at Domaine Maurice Protheau which turned out to be based at a big chateau in Mercurey. I'd never been here before, as Mercurey is somewhat off the beaten track, and it seemed to be quite a big operation. Various people were bustling about as we arrived. Madame - I didn't catch her name! - gave us a great tasting of assorted wines from Rully and Mercurey, both red and white.

First the whites. The village Rully and Mercurey were both very pleasant but I homed in on the premier cru (bien sûr) - the Mercurey Les Champs Martin, which was big, and rich with good weight, a serious wine. The bourgogne rouge was juicy and relatively light - the word "croquant" was used, which was a new one for me and means "crunchy". The red Rully was mouth-tinglingly delicious and when Madame suggested it would be good with charcuterie I immediately envisaged a pork pie. My other favourite was the red Mercurey Clos des Noiterons which apparently is a monopole. This had a heady nose of red fruits and tasted like summer pudding. It was very elegant and charming. I suppose now I shall just have to wait and see what selection the Burgundy Portfolio comes up with!

Julien had been waiting for us and our next stop was Santenay to visit Domaine de la Choupette. I visited this domaine a few years ago and am a long-time follower of their red Santenays and Chassagnes in particular. We were greeted by Perrine and this time there were a couple of whites to start with: an exciting new Puligny-Montrachet which was elegant and approachable, and a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeots which seemed quite fruity after the Puligny, and was certainly high quality, a wine to keep.

NB basket of lovely cheesy gougeres!

The reds were the usual tour through Santenay and Chassagne and there was a clear ascending scale in terms of seriousness. I tend to buy different ones in different years to keep things mixed up, and tasting the 2013s, I particularly enjoyed the Santenay Comme Dessus which had juicy red fruits. The village Chassagne seemed very Chassagne and Perrine said it had lots of cassis, while the premier cru Chassagne Morgeots had a very fine, supple texture and was concentrated and complex, with a great finish. Not a wine to drink any time soon! Thanks to Perrine for a very enjoyable tasting.

We had some time to kill before lunch so we popped into the village wine shop where I picked up a couple of obscure premier crus for the Premier Cru Project. Then I took about 100 photos of the fountain on the main square. It's a charming spot and the trees were resplendent with autumnal foliage. We were sitting on a bench when a little tractor thing came whizzing past and the chap on it saw ACC and came to a halt to say hello - it turned out to be Jean Christophe Gutrin, one of the brothers who run Domaine de la Choupette.

At last it was time for lunch at Le Terroir. When I was here before, it was summer and we were able to sit outside, Inside, it felt more formal, but we had a warm welcome from the proprietor and the 21 euro set lunch menu was a bargain. To drink, we had a bottle of Bouzeron from Domaine de Villaine, which was excellent (I was amazed to discover half way through that it was an aligoté!) and great value considering that Monsieur de Villaine is co-owner of the Domaine de la Romanee Conti.

To be continued...

Domaine Bony, La Maison Romane and Domaine Audiffred, Tues 28th Oct

On Tuesday, after breakfast at the gîte, we ventured up to the Cote de Nuits, conveyed by Alain le taxi in effortless style. First stop, Domaine Bony in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Here we were greeted by a small child, a long-haired tabby cat and a large Labrador. Fabienne arrived shortly afterwards and was her usual energetic self. The tasting was largely conducted in English which was very nice for me.

I hadn't visited the domaine before but I have sampled its wines extensively and enjoyed the dinner back in February at Chabrot, so I was quite familiar with the range from Passetoutgrains (frequently the house red at AduV Towers) all the way up to the jewel in the crown, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru Les Pruliers. For me as usual the Nuits-Saint-Georges Damodes was a particular hit, with its delicious rich fruit. An exciting new addition this year was a white wine, a Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru Les Terres Blanches. If my notes are correct, this is 50% pinot blanc and 50% chardonnay. It had an aromatic nose of stone fruits, and was soft and appealing.

Afterwards, we stood around chatting waiting for Alain to collect us, only to find he'd parked behind a big van where we couldn't see him and had been there all along! He took us to Vosne-Romanée where there was time for a wander round before visiting La Maison Romane, home of cult wine-maker Oronce de Beler. Oronce turned up looking dashing in his wellies but there was no sign of Prosper the horse or the famous trio of Corsican pigs!

Oronce is a wine-maker who pays enormous attention to detail and makes some stunning wines which are in great demand around the world. For me, the Eaux Vives blanc made from chardonnay grapes grown in the Macon area was probably the best Macon I've ever had, while on the red side the Fixin had a delicious blackberry nose and was "un jolie vin de garde" while the Vosne-Romanée les Reas had that lovely rich Vosne nose but was very refined - it would be fascinating to try it again in a few years time. I came away feeling it was a real privilege to have had the opportunity to visit.

Afterwards, it was time for lunch at La Toute Petite Auberge down by the main road. This is another well-managed, calm restaurant and the lunch menu is a steal at 22.50 euros with a glass of wine and coffee thrown in. Tissues duly restored, we walked along the main road to Domaine Audiffred.

The welcoming committee

Here we were greeted by a parade of garden gnomes and also Henri, waving cheerily as we approached. It wasn't long before we were descending the stairs into the cellar.

Stairway to heaven

I visited this domaine for the first time last year and it was one of the highlights of the trip. This year once again the wines were elegant and stylish. We tasted 16 altogether, and for me (as usual) it was the Beaunes and the Vosnes which showed particularly well. The red Beaune had delicate, pretty fruit while the white had a very attractive nose and seemed soft and delicious.

Want. It. All. 

As for the Vosnes, Henri makes four ranging from village level up to 1er cru Reignots, and the ascending scale was very clear. The Reignots was absolutely magnificent, with great concentration and complexity, and will certainly be hard to resist when the Burgundy Portfolio's en primeur offer comes out in January. But I'll be happy to show my support further down the scale too and must make sure I keep my Champs Perdrix ladder going - three years and counting!

Vous etes ici

Afterwards, we waited in the little shelter in the middle of Vosne which has a new map showing all the vineyards. We watched as the gates to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti opened and closed several times, and I began plotting an elaborate Indiana Jones-style raid on their cellar but then Alain arrived to pick us up so that didn't come to pass. Next year, perhaps...

In the evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Nanson from the Burgundy Report, who ACC had heard was in Beaune at the same time as us. We met up in a new wine bar, Le Bout du Monde, which is on the road towards Place Madeleine. Here ACC and I were greeted by Fabienne Escoffier, which came as something of a surprise to me as last time I met her she was the chef at the famous Ma Cuisine restaurant. It seems that she's moved on and set up her own wine bar. I must say she's done a wonderful job - the atmosphere, decor and wines were all fantastic. I really must remember to pack a checked shirt next year though, to fit in properly.

We found Bill and caught up on all the latest goss before going for dinner at Le Goret aka Pork Place. We visited this place for the first time last year and ended up having massive great pork chops which took about a week to digest. This time the menu seemed to have expanded and Bill and I went for the boeuf bourguignon which confusingly also had pork in it, while ACC somehow ended up with what appeared to be a pork bone instead of the wished-for chop. Still, it was a cheery evening and livened up by a brief impromptu tour of some hidden Beaunois architecture! We resisted the temptation to visit Le Pickwick afterwards, as we had an early start the next day.

Domaine Pascal Clement and Domaine Chaudat, Mon 27th Oct

On Monday morning we had a leisurely start and I was looking forward to a ficelle aux lardons for breakfast but sadly ACC came back from his travels empty-handed. It seemed that no bakeries were open in Beaune early on a Monday morning! We were forced to resort to Dix Carnot, the cafe on Place Carnot, which did a mean pain au chocolat for me and an "escargot" for ACC, and a couple of cafe cremes later we were were raring to go.

We were collected promptly by trusty Alain le taxi who whisked us off to Savigny-les-Beaune where we were to visit Domaine Pascal Clement, a new experience for me. The courtyard was strewn with rugby balls and water pistols and his two sons arrived and greeted us before the man himself appeared waving from an upstairs window.

We had a comprehensive tasting of the 2013 wines made here but rather than list them all I will just select some highlights: the Rully 1er cru which had good weight and minerality, the Pernand-Vergelesses Les Combottes which I wanted to drink there and then and which the others described as "un jolie Pernand", the Meursault and the Meursault 1er cru which were both very rich,soft and attractive (as you might expect from someone who used to work at Domaine Coche-Dury). On the red side, the bourgogne looked and smelled beautiful and was enjoyably juicy, the Chambolle-Musigny had a wonderful aromatic nose, and the Vosne-Romanee was elegant and stylish, not words I usually associate with Vosne-Romanee! Merci beaucoup to Pascal.

After that, we made our way back down the hill (about a minute's walk) and arrived at Le Morgan, a tiny restaurant which appeared to have just one member of staff! This guy took our order, cooked it, cleared up, and everything. There wasn't a set menu but we shared some jambon persille to start and then each had a main course and a pichet of red and the total was very reasonable. I would certainly go back but NB you need to book in advance - I think the guy would have a heart attack if you just rocked up out of nowhere.

We had some time to kill before our next appointment so walked further down into Savigny, past the Mairie and discovered a rather nice little square with a fountain and some benches. Somehow I got the feeling that there must be a cat around somewhere, and sure enough as I walked round the square I spotted a tabby sleeping on a window-ledge. I persuaded it to wake up and say hello to me, and it spent the next half hour wandering round the square nearly getting run over.

At 2.00, Julien le taxi collected us and took us to Corgoloin where we had an appointment with Madame Chaudat. We visited this domaine last year and the Ladoix in particular has been a great hit. It was a similar story this year. We tasted three wines here: the bourgogne blanc, the Cote de Nuits rouge and the Ladoix, also red. They were all good but as usual the Ladoix was my favourite with its beautiful fruit, elegance and excellent balance. I look forward to getting my hands on some.

After a few minutes sitting on a park bench admiring the description of a one-track road as La Grande Rue, Julien reappeared and dropped me off in Beaune while ACC went on to another appointment. I was able to retrieve my mobile phone which had fallen out of my pocket at Route 66 the previous evening, and picked up some coffee at Casino.

Then we had a spot of rose cremant at the gite before heading off to dinner at Le Cheval Noir. I really like this place. It has a lovely, calm atmosphere, the tables are nicely-spaced, and it's both professional and friendly. It feels as if nothing bad can happen here. You also get lots of extra amuses-gueles and petits-fours etc. We had a very enjoyable meal, only slightly marred by my confusing the word "maigre" with "magret" so I was expecting duck and I got fish! But the mushrooms with the fish were spectacular, so I was very happy. All in all, a great first day of tasting.

A wonderful week

Morey-St-Denis in the autumn sunshine

I got back from Burgundy last night and now have lots of blogging to do! ACC and I visited 13 domaines over 5 days - he visited a few more on top of that, but he's a pro whereas I'm only an amatrice and need my recovery time. We mostly focused on the 2013 vintage which seems to be looking good, with finely-tuned, pretty reds and well-rounded attractive whites. Très jolie!

We had great weather - a bit cold and foggy in the mornings but when the fog lifted it quickly became quite warm and the vineyards were looking beautiful in the autumn sunshine. There was a wonderful sunset which was just fading as I caught the slowest train imaginable from Dijon to Beaune on Sunday evening. ACC kindly collected me from the station and I deposited my luggage at the gite, which was a new discovery right in the centre of town - convenient but also spacious and tastefully decorated! Then it was off for a quick pre-prandial at Route 66 on Place Carnot before moving on to La Ciboulette, best place in Beaune for dinner on a Sunday evening. It was good to be back!