wineshark: Wine tour 2012

Today we focused on Cote de Beaune, and started off by driving from the hotel to Puligny-Montrachet, passing through Pommard, Volnay and Meursault. It was actually very close from one village to another, taking us only about 15 minutes to arrive there if we didn't stop. But since there were time before our appointment, David took us through all the villages for a quick look. See how nice he had been...

We arrived at La Maison Olivier Leflaive to join a bigger group for the tour. It also included a nice hotel for visitors. A bit of background here. Olivier decided in 1984 to set up a new domaine with his brother Patrick and uncle Vincent, after acquiring the experience and techniques working in the family Domaine Leflaive. With his dedication, the wine is now getting much attention even if it is still not as renown as Domaine Leflaive.

Chris from the domaine brought us to the vineyards, taking a look at the Chardonnay planted just a short walk from the domaine. This year was a difficult year for Burgundy, with spring frosts and heavy rain for an extended period, and the harvest was actually pushed back for more than two weeks. We asked whether this would be a bad vintage but according to Chris, this year would be a test for the producers. Good producers would still be able to produce good wines by reducing the yield and through careful sorting. But for them the yield would be less than 50%, meaning the price would be high.

We then returned to the winery, and Olivier himself came with us to explain his philsophy of winemaking. Walking with us together to show the fermentation, maturation, and bottling facilities. He is such a funny and kind grandfather that we enjoyed the tour very much. And he made a joke of asking Grace to be his wife for a year, which we all supported!

Then we headed back to the maison for lunch, which was very nice though a bit long. We had tasted 6 wines: Bourgogne Les Setilles 2010, St-Romain Sous le Chateau 2009, Puligny-Montrachet 2008, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ Gain 2008, Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru 2007 and Pommard 2008. The Montrachet were good with the richness and creaminess though a bit too young to drink in my opinion.

We thenthe vineyards in St-Aubin and Auxey-Duresses, for a personalized tour of Hospice de Beaune. The tour guide from the hospice was a friendly lady, who showed us the history, and other interesting things. The hospice had been renovated so it looked very well-maintained. went back to Beaune, dropping by in different villages again to take a look at

Our guide also shared with us the funny medicine people in the medieval times, like letting the cow ate all the herbal flowers and collecting the dung to make medicine for patients, using the dried grounded cockroaches to make powder for curing coughs, and the slime of snails to make medicine for cold.

You may know that the Hospice is also famous for the wine auction. Through the donations the hospice had got into possession of more than 60 hectares of vineyards in different parts of Cote d'Or, the hospice produces wines every year and sold them on auction in Nov for charity. Through the connection of the agency, we had the chance to go the very exclusive underground cellar of the hospice and met with the winemaker Roland Masse, to taste some good wines. We had Volnay 1er Cru Cuvee Blondeau, Beaune 1er Cru Cuvee Guigone de Salins and Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru, with the last one selling at more than $2200 per bottle!

I had a very good chat with Roland and asked whether he got some good white also. He immediately went to the back and brought back a Meursault-Genevrieres 1er Cru Cuvee Philippe le Bon. So generous of him! We then had learnt the song and dance of the Conferie and it was such a happy and joyful time for us that we felt sad saying goodbye to them. Before we went I also bought two bottles at the shop: a Corton Grand Cru Cuvee Charlotte Dumay 2009 and Mazi-Chambertin Grand Cru Cuvee Madeleine Collignon 2009.

On the night, we went to Le P'tit Paradis for dinner. Located at the back of the Notre Dame in Beaune, it is a small restaurant serving tasty dishes. Opening a St-Aubin on the night, we all had a good meal and completed a happy day in Beaune.