September 2015
Buying from the cellar door is the best way you can possibly buy wine, IMHO. You get to meet the winemaker, discover how they make their wines, taste their wines, not to mention buy their wines at the cheapest possible price! All extraordinarily good reasons in my book.
The only thing to be careful about is the timing of your holiday. Most wineries close their doors in August as this is the calm time before the storm when they are able to go on holiday themselves. The storm that I speak of is the harvest (the vendages). This comes in September/October, depending on the climate and weather that season, and is another time that their doors tend to be closed as they are simply too busy to deal with visitors.
One advantage to going during harvest time though (which if you do, it is worth calling as you might need to set up appointments) is the opportunity to taste the freshly pressed grape juice. It is incredibly sweet! The wineries are legally not permitted to sell this juice. The fun thing about drinking this juice is that it naturally starts to slightly ferment pretty quickly; in one sample we could actually hear and taste the fermentation happening! This takes the form of a gentle fizzing sound and the slight taste of yeast. Simply extraordinary! Another advantage is getting to see wine making in action:
Bourgogne, or Burgundy in English, is the most celebrated region in the world for Chardonnay. This is an extraordinary grape whose taste will vary according to the region it is grown in and the winemaking techniques. In France, bottles are typically labelled by region rather than grape. In the north-most end of Burgundy, you can find the famous and normally unoaked Chablis, Chardonnay at its purest. Further south, though still in the north half of the region, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Meursault are three famous examples of exquisitely made, oaked Chardonnay that age beautifully.
Wait, what? Ageing white wine? Yes, you read that right. Some white wine can age even longer than some reds! As Philip from Chateau Fuissé (see below) said to us once, “the last bottle you drink of that case will be the best”. We drank this magnum a couple of months ago, and it was simply divine! Yes, that date on it is indeed 1999.
Anyway, as I was saying, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and Meursault are indeed famous examples of white Burgundian wine, but their exquisiteness has made them really rather expensive. Enter the Mâconnais region in the southern end of Burgundy. It is a lot more relaxed; most wineries here are located in the wine-makers’ own homes in which they will have a purpose built tasting room. Here you will find Pouilly-Fuissé, well reputed but less expensive (though increasingly more expensive as its reputation grows). But this region is also home to the unsung heroes of Saint-Véran and Viré-Clessé. Also on the subject of less-expensive exquisiteness, if you are a fan of Blanc de Blancs Champagne (made only with Chardonnay grapes), then you can’t go past a well made Crémant (sparkling wine made in the same traditional method as Champagne) from Burgundy. Personally, I think it tastes even better than most Champagne!
So, without further ado, and in the theme of the time of year, here are a few of my favourite Burgundian white wines:
Christine knows S and R well enough by now to tailor tastings to exactly the wines they love. I was perfectly happy to go along with this, having a similar palate to them. The favourite here is a wonderful Crémant – a lovely balance of crisp acidity and green apple notes with toasty creamy loveliness. Basically, bubbles you can enjoy with everything! Also of note, their gorgeous Saint-Véran offers exceptional value and punches well above its price point.
This is an absolutely stunning expression of Pouilly-Fuissé and rightly served in many of the world’s best restaurants. Their range consists of about nine exquisitely crafted wines. My favourites from here tend to be the Vielles Vignes and Le Clos. The Vielles Vignes is a blend of grapes from their oldest vines—normally including some Le Clos—and so tends to be well balanced and more stable in flavour year to year. The grapes are all Chardonnay, but come from different parcels (patches of land). Le Clos is from one single parcel in the walled garden behind the Chateau and does vary a little each year. The pickers love this one because they can harvest it in a single day! Both wines are complex, rich, and creamy with long finishes and both age beautifully. On this note, if you happen to come across any old vintages of Chateau Fuissé, you might be able to sell them back as Antoine is trying to build up their back catalogue!
This is where you will find the best value Crémant on the planet. It is so good that R decided to stock up the car with it to serve at his 50th birthday bash! A little more acidic than the Domaine Luquet, but still well balanced and would happily challenge all but the best Blanc de Blancs from Champagne.
I had previously enjoyed the 2010 vintage which was just gorgeous – balanced, harmonious, and creamy. Like the best white Burgundy, it gets better with age, but does start off pretty damn good. Am very much hoping this 2014 is going to be as good. If so, it will probably be ripe for drinking in about five years.
Monsieur Sangouard is the most lovely gentleman. Last time S and R visited him at his home, it was pouring with rain and he insisted on getting soaked while he kept them dry under an umbrella as they loaded the car with cases of his wine. He has now retired, but his wine continues. On this occasion he escorted us in our car up to the main winery (commenting en route on how much he loves fast cars) where we were able to taste the current vintages. He has a few lovely wines, but my favourite here is the stunning Quintessance, another supremely complex and rich wine that improves drastically with age. It will be ready for drinking after about three to five years (depending on the vintage), but, if stored correctly, will continue to develop for another ten (if we could wait that long to drink it!).
I hope you manage to visit the region and enjoy some of these amazing wines!
Until next time, big bear hugs from Little Ted xx
Little Ted's Food & Wine Adventures 