[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-Three: Chablis, Champagne

We leave Beaune this morning under cloudy skies. As the fog lifts and the drizzle clears, we drive northwest to Chablis, Burgundy’s satellite region. Our first appointment is en centre ville — a family producer of classic, mineral Chablis. The 2013s are perhaps the best they’ve made in recent memory, full of life and energy, and in perfect balance.

[TravelBlog] Post Twenty-One: Dans les Vignes

With a morning off from tastings, I take the car for a stretch up the Côte d’Or for photo collection. The soft morning sun quickly rises past the haze and clouds to paint a picture perfect blue sky above the shimmering green rows of vines. Many vignerons are in the fields this week — treating with insect deterrents, pruning the top canopies of the vines, and checking on the floraison.

Classic Grand Cru Red Burgundy

Jean-Louis Amiot is on a roll. In the last few years Amiot has hit his stride, producing consistently excellent wines in vintages that have been anything but easy. Yesterday we visited the domaine to taste his 2013s, and were once again impressed at the quality in a difficult year. They’ll be included in next month’s July Futures.

Pommard: Cassis and Silk

Spend even a few days tasting Burgundy, and the power of terroir is hard to miss. During a brief visit last week, we sampled Volnay, Savigny, Givry, Mercurey, and Pommard — five wines made from the same grape and the same region. But the characters of these wines could not be more disparate.

[TravelBlog] Post Fourteen: l’Abbaye

Croissants and coffee this morning on the Place Carnot, Beaune’s central square. We head south mid morning through the Côte d’Or and out the St. Aubin valley to the Chateau de la Rochepot. The castle dates from the 13th century, and was carefully and lovingly restored in the 19th century by a local family. Rochepot boasts classic Burgundian tiled roofs, a bright and sunny courtyard, and a 230 foot well through solid rock dug entirely by hand in 1228.