DAY EIGHT | Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Beaune | 6.13.16
Coffee, baguettes, and Beurre d’Isigny this morning — strikes and lunch breaks notwithstanding, there’s something civilized about a country with a protected AOC for butter.
A half-hour drive over the gently rolling hills of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits to a new address, this time for crème de cassis. Based on the recommendation of a vigneron in Vosne, we hit the perfect source on the first try. The family has been producing crèmes since at least the 1600s — for some reason that’s as far as their records go — and today makes tiny batches of crèmes de cassis, framboise, pèche, and cerise. After a tour of the workshop and explanation of their biodynamic commitments, we set to tasting the most extraordinary crèmes we’ve ever tasted: at once dense, sweet, vibrant, crisp, and refreshing. An exciting and perfect addition to the Ansonia portfolio, coming this fall.
Lunch back in Beaune, and a few new maps from the Atheneum, then back up to Gevrey for a tasting of back vintages of an old school style. Excellent whites and a 2014 red that should handsomely reward a few years’ patience.
Finally our tasting in Vosne — without doubt a highlight of our annual trip, and this time as good as ever. These are silky, crisp, dense but croquant wines that will be overshadowed by the 2015s, but in any other context would be exceptional. A Morey-St-Denis and Vosne 1er cru stand out.
Afterwards we taste samples from Champagne — extraordinary complexity, and even better than last year’s batch. Plenty to like in the sparkling category. Dinner at Ma Cuisine — a 2010 Meursault, and 09 Vouvray from Huet are stars; epoisses as always, the Fromage des Rois, and Roi des Fromages.
