The French have a long tradition of eating outdoors. From harvest tables in Burgundy to breezy rooftops in Paris, a French meal en plein air is full of beguiling aromas, clinking glasses, and hearty laughter. We’ve enjoyed more than half of our meals this trip sur terrace, and we find that wine (and really food in general) tastes better outside, with room to breathe and open.
Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay, Nuits-St-Georges, Auxey-Duresses, Beaune | 6.16.16
We started the morning in Chassagne-Montrachet, home to rich, beautiful, elegant wines with silky golden texture and balancing freshness. As it has often this week, the conversation centered around the dismal outlook for 2016. With warm sun and cool rain going punch for punch all day long this week, the specter of mildew is ever present. Happily, the 2014s in the bottle and 2015s in the barrel are as good as ever.
The sun was out before breakfast this morning, an odd sight of late. We drove north to our first appointment in Morey-St-Denis, as clusters of sunlight chased each other among the rows of vines. Our producer in Morey-St-Denis made excellent wine this year — the 2014s are juicy and croquant, with attractive mouthfeels and great refinement. We caught up on the news of the day, nearly all of which concerns the catastrophic damage from the late April fros
Morey-St-Denis, Beaune, Rully, Meursault | 6.15.16
Yesterday morning Vincent Ravaut began our tasting at the domaine with a simple glass of white from an unmarked bottle — “just to arrange the palate,” he explained. The wine was a very pretty chardonnay, with a lovely nose of white flowers and almonds and a rich but lively mouthfeel. Noting our interest, Vincent explained it was the domaine’s entry-level Bourgogne blanc from 2013; he then smiled and broke the news that it was “épuisé” (sold out) for some time.
We dodged large raindrops this morning running from our car to the domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin. Situated in a majestic mansion dating to 1700, this domaine makes fine, elegant red Burgundies that are delicate and finessed. Tasted some beautiful 2014s, which should both require and reward some patience.
Gevrey-Chambertin, Ladoix, Monthelie, Beaune | 6.14.16
We spent last Friday morning in the Beaujolais. It’s a charming region — really a 30 mile vineyard punctuated by a handful of villages. The region’s most widely distributed wine is an inexpensive and insipid red that’s rushed to market several weeks after the harvest. But as connoisseurs have known for years, there’s far more to Beaujolais than meets the eye.
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.
Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Beaune | 6.13.16
Chablis has had a rough year so far. With hailstorms and late frosts devastating the region this spring, our conversations during yesterday’s tastings all turned to the cruel whims of Mother Nature. It would have been an entirely depressing visit had it not been for the two most recent, truly excellent vintages already in the cellars.
This morning, after buttery croissants and homemade Stumptown coffee brewed through an Aeropress and enjoyed on the sunny veranda of our apartment, we drove to Chablis. It’s about an hour and a half to the north — an hour on the highway, and a half on the small, straight country roads of northern Burgundy.
Chablis, Beaune | 6.11.16
Up early again today for our trip south — it’s about an hour drive to the Beaujolais, and the region greeted us with sunny skies, a pleasant breeze and an impressive morning of discovery.