Posted On March 25, 2010 at 9:54 am in Burgundy
Day three of the Grands Jours de Bourgogne took place at the Palais de Congres in Beaune and featured wines from the Maconnais and the northern Cote de Beaune appellations of Aloxe-Corton, Savigny les Beaune and Haute Cotes de Beaune. The sheer number of wines at events like these forces you to focus on a specific appellation rather than taking a shotgun approach to tasting. By my count there were 424 producers present and each has at a minimum at least three to four wines. Some claim to have the ability to effectively evaluate five hundred or more wines a day. However, for me, after about a hundred wines, especially the more tannic ones, I can discern the high and lows but I find difficult to taste the nuances. Thankfully, organizers set up a vinothèque or sample table featuring one wine from each producer. Here you can freely try wines and then after finding something interesting you go and meet the producer to taste his full range.
The endless table of wines
Posted by Greg Roberts · Tags: Burgundy, cote maconnais, france, Wine · No Comments »
Posted On March 18, 2010 at 3:48 pm in Burgundy
Next week I have the opportunity to participate in giant Burgundy tasting event called Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne. It’s held every other year with 15 different tastings spanning from Chablis in the north to the Cote Chalonnaise in the south. This year they are expecting 1600 journalists, importers, distributors and restaurateurs from 34 countries to take part in the tasting.
Despite having to be away from the office for five days for the event I’ve justified taking part since its an opportunity to taste a lot of Premier and Grand Cru Burgundy, which are not exactly everyday wines in our household. Also, it’s an occasion to taste and compare side by side the different styles of wines from producers in each appellation. Finally, since I’m sitting for the difficult blind tasting section of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET, London) Diploma in June, this is exam prep!
A tasting of wines from Clos de Vougeot & Vosne-Romanée takes place at the Chateau
Posted by Greg Roberts · Tags: Burgundy, france, les grand jours, vosne romanee, vougeot, Wine · 1 Comment »
Posted On October 14, 2009 at 4:35 pm in Burgundy
Recently, I spent some time with one of my producers, Jean-Pierre Charton in the village of Mercurey in Burgundy. I’ve visited many times so it was no surprise that he had come straight from the vineyards and his hands were covered in dirt and grime so we exchange greetings without a handshake. With about 20 acres of vines he and his son do all the vineyard work almost entirely on their own. There are few shortcuts available for tasks like correctly pruning the vines, limiting the number of buds on each branch and conducting green harvests. Charton and son Vincent who recently graduated from the Lycée Viticole in Beaune do this difficult work by hand.
In his cellars we tasted his 2008 wines including his Premier Cru, Clos de Roi Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Mercurey Vieilles Vignes and Bourgogne Pinot Noir from barrels, as well as the limited remains of the 2007 vintage in bottle. He’s rightfully very proud of his wines and enjoys tasting them as much as I do. Often he simply smiles and nods his head acknowledging that weather conditions and the hard work in the vineyards came together in the end to make a great wine.
Read a full profile of Domaine Jean-Pierre Charton here.
Jean-Pierre Charton, Mercury Vieilles Vignes 2006: This red is marked by its beautiful silky texture, a foil for the flavors of sweet cherry, spice, leather and a hint of truffle. Rich, this is softening nicely and begs for roast chicken, with a good firm finish. Drink now through 2014. Wine Spectator, 90 points
Posted by Greg Roberts · Tags: Burgundy, Charton, Mercurey · No Comments »
