Lunch at Le Verre Volé, 31st October

On Saturday morning we were up early. ACC dealt with the gite owner while I dragged the suitcases down the alleyway - Monsieur Parize wasn't taking any risks with his people carrier - and had some weather chat in French. Fortunately by this stage I'd remembered the word for fog (memo to self: brouillard), and confidently told M. Parize that the fog was never like this in London. I was subsequently proved completely wrong when I got home and the next few days were incredibly foggy!

We arrived at the station in plenty of time so had some croissants and a coffee in the cafe nearby. There was some excitement when it appeared that our train didn't exist, but it turned out that actually the display was showing the wrong destination and all was well although it was running a bit late - they still seemed to be having trouble on the line. We were on the slow train which I'd booked, controversially, but I actually thought it worked well as it avoided having to change at Dijon and was emptier and more relaxed than the TGV.

We arrived at the Gare de Bercy, which is very close to the Gare de Lyon, only about half an hour late, and hopped in a taxi to our lunch destination, Le Verre Volé. This turned out to be a biodynamic wine shop / bistrot, with tables crammed in. In some ways being late was quite good as it was emptying out slightly when we arrived.

It reminded me of Caves Madeleine under the old regime where the wine is displayed on shelves around the room. I'm not sure if it's still the same as I haven't been back to Caves since it changed hands, although Lolo was complimentary about it in this month's issue of Bourgogne Aujourd'hui .

To drink, we went for this Cote de Brouilly from Laurence and Remi Dufaitre which was really excellent. It went very well with my hearty main course, and it was hard to believe that you could pack so much flavour into a wine that was just 12% alcohol.

We had a cheese plate between us to finish. The yellow stuff in the middle is butter!

It was a very enjoyable lunch, and then we went round the corner and along the Canal Saint-Martin to Chez Prune for a post-prandial Ricard. I hadn't been to Chez Prune before either, but it turned out to be a lively bar with a funky decor and was good for people-watching. Then it was time to head over to the Gare du Nord. We'd planned to get a taxi but inevitably there were none to be found, and it soon turned out that there was some sort of demo going on which meant the main road was closed.

Inevitably at this point ACC's suitcase started making a worrying squeaking noise. It wouldn't be a trip to Burgundy without something like this happening. Anyway, all was well, I believe the suitcase survived and I was in plenty of time to catch my train, while ACC had other things to do in Paris so we said goodbye at this point. It had been another action-packed trip and I came away very much looking forward to getting some 2014s in my cellar. Many thanks to ACC for organising everything.

This will be the last post of the year so Happy Christmas everyone, and thanks for reading. We have a fun New Year's Eve planned including a mystery bottle (exciting!) so I'll be back in 2016 to report back on that.

Dinner at Le Cheval Noir, 30th October

On Friday afternoon there was some downtime for me while ACC visited another potential new grower, and then we wandered round town, including a useful visit to the shop that used to be called Magnum. We went to the locals' bar for an aperitif and then walked round the ring road past a shop selling waters of the world (I wonder how long that will last) to Le Cheval Noir.

Here they have a selection of menus and we went for the Menu Tendance for 31 euros which turned out to be on the hearty side...

First, an amuse guele.

Oeufs en meurette.

To drink, we had this Givry 1er cru from Domaine Joblot.

This blurry photo is meant to depict the beef bourguignon which came with pasta.

Finally, a really great creme brulee flavoured with "l'anis de Flavigny" which research tells me are aniseed balls. This was a great flavour combination.

As usual, the atmosphere was peaceful, maybe even hushed. It's run by a husband and wife team - he cooks, she oversees the dining room - and it always feels to me as though it ought to have a star, but perhaps the fact that it doesn't means the price is keener. My only regret was that having had a big lunch I wasn't able to do justice to it all!

Lunch at Le Montrachet, 30th October

No visit to Burgundy is complete without a visit to Le Montrachet and on Friday a table had been booked for lunch. I was very much looking forward to it!

We'll be taking a left then...

To start, we had this mushroom vol-au-vent, but to call it that doesn't do it justice - there was bacon and chicken liver in there too.

Salmon with potatoes.

Cheeses from the state-of-the-art cheese trolley (this was quite amazing - made of wood, it unfolded to reveal a wonderful selection), including some seriously good Epoisses.

This was a sort of praline concoction with different flavoured fillings, "comme un eclair" - they do like their visual jokes at Le M!

To drink, we had some Chablis 1er cru Montee de Tonnere 2011 from Raveneau, which I seem to recall cost less than it would have done retail in the UK.

As always, the service was impeccable and the atmosphere in the dining room very calm and content. I'd love to stay there some time and go for dinner!

Domaine Joly, 30th October

On Friday morning there was time for breakfast before heading over to Puligny-Montrachet. It was a grey, foggy morning, and I spent an hour walking round the village adding to my collection of Route des Grands Crus photos while ACC visited a potential new grower.

We had a coffee in the little cafe on the main square, and then it was time to head over to Domaine Joly. This was my second visit to the domaine, which makes four wines, all white. We met Sylvie as we were walking up the road - there weren't many people about that morning!

The tasting began with the Aligote which I found enjoyably zingy with a nice weight. Next to it, the Bourgogne Blanc seemed softer but with the acidity to balance this out. The Puligny-Montrachet les Tremblots seemed quite approachable already, with a nice texture and great finish. It made me wonder if the 2014s might be drinking sooner than some other vintages.

Then we moved on to the Puligny-Montrachet les Charmes which isn't a premier cru but is certainly at that level. They made three barrels of this, and the barrels were of different ages (2010, 2012 and 2014) with each contributing different qualities to the mix. I was very impressed with the Charmes, which had a lovely nose, richness and complexity and is very elegant. We tasted some back vintages which confirmed the consistency of the house style and I'll be very tempted come January. Merci to Sylvie for another Puligny masterclass!

Hanging out in Beaune, and dinner at La Ciboulette, 29th October

And so, we resume the story of October's trip to Burgundy, which at this rate might just be finished by Christmas...

Back in Beaune, there was time to do some shopping and there was one shop high on my agenda - Mon Millesime. It was great to see Philippe and have a wander round and, as always, there were some enticing goodies.

I picked up a bottle of Marc de Bougogne with a spectacular fossilised cork and label that made it look as if it dated back to about 600 BC - more about this another time!

Then we headed off to Casino to pick up essential supplies. I loved this Big Ben box of After Eights which brought back happy memories.

After that, it was time for an aperitif at Le Bout du Monde, the wine bar run by Fabienne Escoffier. Once again I had inexplicably failed to pack a lumberjack shirt but we were allowed in anyway. Their selection of wine is phenomenal.

ACC, however, was in the mood for something other than vino so he went for a G&T and then a super-alcoholic Belgian beer, while I had a kir and then a very fine glass of 1er cru Saint Aubin.

Once again, the place was buzzing and full of sophisticated people and it's a great addition to the Beaune wine bar scene. I was sorry that we didn't get a chance to visit La Dilettante this time round, but it was closed, something to do with half-term, whatever that is.

Then it was off to La Ciboulette for dinner. ACC is quite a regular and had been here just the other night which was handy as he was able to recommend a few things such as this lovely terrine with pistachios.

They now do wines by the glass and we had a white and a red but I can't remember what they were - next year I won't assume that I will write everything up within 3 days and will make better notes!

I do remember my main course, the slow-cooked joue de porc. Very nice food on a cold evening.

Wines lined up on the counter

For pudding, the assiette du chocolat, bien sûr.

Since I hadn't drunk a 13% beer earlier, I indulged in some armagnac and was able to have a comparison of the 1982 and the 1992 en magnum.

It was a great meal and the bill came to 82 euros, or 60 quid, for the pair of us. You can't argue with that! If only there was somewhere like La Ciboulette in London...

Maison en Belles Lies, 29th October

We hopped back into Monsieur Parize's taxi and drove over to Saint-Aubin to Maison en Belles Lies. We were half an hour early but Pierre Fenals kindly interrupted his schedule to meet us earlier than anticipated.

The tasting was conducted entirely upstairs which meant no perilous trip down the spiral staircase on this occasion! The sun was shining in and gave the bottles a beautiful luminosity, but they were quite cold which made the tasting more challenging, for me.

Last year we only tasted 4 wines, as the vines were badly hit by hail, but this year there were a whopping 10. All the wines are biodynamic.

Starting with the whites, the Aligote was very pure with lively acidity, and the Bourgogne Blanc had a nice weight, was ripe and clean, like a baby St-Aubin. The Monthelie had good minerality and seemed very proper, the Santenay was approachable and I liked it a lot, and the Corton Charlemagne was top notch, lovely big wine with a wonderful finish.

Moving on to the reds, the Hautes Cote de Beaune was a bright red colour and had a fruity redcurrant nose, and was quite light and juicy on the palate. I found the Aloxe-Corton a bit tannic - although I am told that I may have been confusing tannin and acidity - I expect it just needs time. The village Maranges was easier to get on with and the premier cru Maranges was bigger and more powerful. Finally, the Corton Perrieres was silky, intense and had a lot going on - sous bois, leather, raspberries. I thought it would be sensational a few years down the road.

It appears that fans of L'Etrange will be disappointed as none was made in 2014 but Pierre made a lot in 2015 so that's certainly something to look forward to. Thanks to him for another great tasting.

I'd love one of these for AduV Towers

Domaine de la Choupette, 29th October

Thoughts and solidarity with the French at the moment. Bloody awful.

The journey continued...

We were slightly early for our appointment in Santenay so had a wander round. It really is a very pretty village with the hills rising in the background.

Then Perrine from Domaine de la Choupette appeared, along with her son (it was half term) and we tasted our way through the 2014s.

First were a pair of whites: the Santenay Saint-Jean had a very nice weight and texture and interesting flavours - Perrine mentioned lychee. The Chassagne 1er cru Morgeots was a beautiful pale gold colour and a bit heftier with good acidity and length, and citrussy flavours.

Then it was on to the reds. The Santenay Comme Dessus was a beautiful ruby colour and had lovely fruit and suppleness. The Santenay 1er cru la Comme was less immediately approachable, more serious and reserved but will no doubt show its full colours in time, while the Santenay 1er cru les Rousseaus was new this year. This vineyard is on the west side of the village while la Comme is on the east, and the wine had good structure and complexity.

The village Chassagne was silky with red fruit flavours and was tempting to drink already, while the 1er cru Morgeot was darker in colour with intense fruit on the nose and one could see the quality differential. This is the real deal and as usual, you pays your money and you takes your choice. There will be some difficult decisions to be made come January...

Lunch at Le Bouchon, Meursault, 29th October

After a hectic morning, we were ready for a spot of lunch and were duly transported from the Cote de Nuits to the Cote de Beaune, for lunch at Le Bouchon. I'm not sure why my go-to phrase for this place is "bungalow chic" as it's not actually a bungalow, but there's something about the interior - it's relatively plain and unpretentious.

Unattended mystery bag!

We had the menu du jour for the princely sum of 13.50 euros. First course was self-service from the buffet. This included a quiche lorraine which was cut into slices so big that just one of them would probably have counted as lunch back home but here it was just part of the starter.

The main was some slow-cooked thing with souffle potatoes, and pudding was pears in cassis jelly, if memory serves (I failed to take photos as this isn't really that sort of place). We also had a pot of Bourgogne Blanc from JanotsBos which hit the spot, and subsequently found it for sale in one of the wine shops on the main street.

We had some time to kill before the taxi turned up, so there followed a certain amount of wandering around Meursault.

Grand-mere present and correct

Julien le taxi had a prior engagement that afternoon so left us in the trusty hands of his colleague, Monsieur Parize. We'd actually been in his taxi two years ago, an occasion which had achieved legendary status for reasons which I won't go into here, but which had left a very favourable impression. We clambered into his people carrier. Next stop: Santenay.