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Thu, 27 Oct 2011

Burgundy 2011: Pommard, Volnay and Mersault.

Getting back into blogging, finally. Some travel blogging.

Today, hired a bike in Beaune and cycled to Pommard, Volnay and Mersault. The Cote-de-Beaune is looking beautiful, with the grape vines all still in leaf, and grapes hanging off the vines, almost ready to be picked. Almost, just a few days until harvest...

Vineyards near Beaune

Stopped first in Pommard. I had a meeting arranged for 10h30 at Domaine Mussy. I didn't have a map of Pommard, so tried using my phone's navigation software. It crashed, so I had to reboot it. Thanks, Google... Got there finally 15 minutes late but luckily they did not mind.

M. Meuzard, the winemaker, doesn't speak English, but Mme. Meuzard does. We head down into the cellar for a tasting. The cellar is low-ceillinged, 15th-century. The winery was founded over four hundred years ago -- in 1646 -- and has been in the same family ever since. Mme. shows me the barrel room -- they do not use much new oak, only ~10%, as it obscures the terroir.

The barrel room
The barrel room, Domaine Mussy.

I try some wines. I try first the 2009 Beaune Epenottes -- a very good year, but still young and very closed. Needs at least 4 years, according to Mme. Meuzard. I try then the 2001 from the same vineyard -- elegant, perfumed, some evolved/autumnal characters on the nose, tannins still firm but elegant, red fruit. Mme. Meuzard says that this is their most feminine wine.

I am asked what sort of wine I would prefer -- Masculine (structured, intense) or feminine (lighter, perfumed). I am not used to thinking of wines in these terms, so hesitate. Try a more masculine wine next -- 2001 Beaune-Montremots. More tannins, but still very elegant. Good structure. Ten years old but would last longer. I forgot to try their Pommard, unfortunately. Next time...

M. Meuzard is enthusiastic to hear I am a student winemaker from Australia. I wish I could speak more French, so I could have spoken properly with him....

As I am leaving, realise I bought some wine but forgot to pay, so head back. Too easy to get distracted when enjoying a good conversation...

Head to Volnay, then Mersault. Cycle around Mersault for a bit, then see a shop called Art du Tonneau, a barrelmaker. He has a short video in French, so I go in. The shopkeeper -- perhaps M. Gillet, the tonnelier -- doesn't speak much English but gives some commentary to the video. He sells in Australia, including to some very well-regarded domaines. He kindly offers me a coffee while I watch the video -- I have an espresso.

Afterwards, I head to Volnay and try to see a domaine there. I try one first, but they only sell by the case so cannot give me a tasting. I try another, more-or-less at random -- Domaine Christophe Vaudoisey. I ask "parlez-vous anglais?", but get a non, he only speaks French. Ah, a problem. I ask for a tasting, je voudrais gouter votre vin? He doesn't really follow my bad French. After a minute, he asks if I would like a "degustation"... ah, that's the word I should have used, but forgot...

I follow him down to the cellar. I try a Volnay first, then two Volnay 1er cru. The Volnay is very good, but both 1er crus have a certain something extra... more character, more structure. Then I notice he also has a Mersault, a 1er cru also. I try this last -- wrong order, but can't be helped. I buy one bottle of a Volnay 1er cru -- 'je voudrais...' is the correct phrase, and I remember it for once.

On the way back to Beaune, I finally have the lunch I packed this morning. It's 17h, not exactly lunch time, but still...

Rain is forecast for tomorrow, and the skies still glower, threatening with grey clouds. The grapes wait for harvest. The vignerons, I presume, pray the rain is not too heavy, not this late in the year.

posted at: 03:36 | path: /travel/france/burgundy | permanent link to this entry

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