looks awesome
keep us in the loop would love to read it
just selection of makers
I would buy an English copy and pay extra for hardback.
Chapter 3 (continued): the Dream Team from Domaine Groffier
Tasting the Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses, Bonnes Mares and Clos de Bèze 2011 with the Dream Team from the Domaine Groffier is a dream come true.
Julie is the sister of Nicolas and granddaughter of Robert. Céline is Nicolas’s wife and herself a winegrower with her brother in Meursault. Serge is Robert’s son.
Goûter les Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses, Bonnes Mares and Clos de Bèze 2011 avec la Dream Team du Domaine Groffier est un rêve.
Julie est la sœur de Nicolas et petite-fille de Robert. Céline est l’épouse de Nicolas et, elle-même, vigneronne avec son frère à Meursault.
Love reading the updates! Like everyone here, I’d buy you book as well. Hope all goes well with translating!
Best of luck, I am in for a copy when it comes out in english.
Chapter 4 : Jacques Seysse
At 26, Jacques is destined for a corporate career at Nabisco. But when his father hires him to create the marketing department, Jacques tells him that he does not intend to stay. He then reveals his project to make wine.
“My father, who had time to digest my attempt at rebellion, suggested I go do the 1966 harvest at our friend Gerard Potel’s estate to have a better overview of the profession. Behind my back, he told Gérard: “We need to find out whether he can cope with the rigors of being a winegrower. So I want you to kill him at work!” Gérard asked me to take the empty crates by truck to the vineyard, transfer them to the tractor, drop them off in the vine rows and bring back the crates which were full of grapes and empty them into the destemmer. The crates weighed 30 to 40 kilograms and there were 300 or 400 of them. In the evening I would collapse in my bed with a broken back. But instead of killing me, Gérard me vaccinated against the apprehension of becoming a winegrower.”
Jacques then swapped his apartment in Paris for the small Marcel Graillet estate in Morey-Saint-Denis. When he arrives in Burgundy in 1968, his only assets are his palate—trained in tasting fine wines with his father, an internship with Gérard Potel, and the helpful advice of the great winegrowers (friends of his father’s) who welcome him. Through hard work and learning, he has managed to make wines that have a style while still expressing their terroirs. Jacques has the particularity of not destemming the grapes before vinifying the wine but it is a whole set of practices in the vineyard and in the winery which has led to this decision and which results in these wines. Jacques handed the reins of the estate to his sons, Jeremy and Alec, around 2007 but he is still helping out.
À 26 ans, la voie semble toute tracée pour Jacques Seysses : une carrière de dirigeant l’attend chez les Biscuits Belin. Mais lorsque son père l’embauche pour y créer le département marketing, Jacques lui annonce d’emblée qu’il ne compte pas rester. Il lui parle de son idée de faire du vin.
« Mon père, qui a eu le temps de digérer ma tentative de rébellion, m’a suggéré d’aller faire les vendanges 1966 chez notre ami Gérard Potel pour avoir un meilleur aperçu du métier. Derrière mon dos, il a appelé Gérard : “Il faut le dégoûter ou le vacciner : alors, tu le tues au travail !” Gérard m’a chargé d’emmener les caisses vides en camion au vignoble, les transférer sur le tracteur, les déposer dans les rangs de vigne et de faire le chemin inverse avec les caisses pleines et les vider dans l’égrappoir. C’étaient des caisses de 30 à 40 kilos et il y en avait 300 ou 400. Le soir, je m’écroulais dans mon lit le dos cassé. Mais au lieu de me tuer, Gérard m’a vacciné contre l’appréhension de faire ce métier. »
Jacques troque alors son appartement de Neuilly contre le petit domaine Marcel Graillet à Morey-Saint-Denis. Il débarque en Bourgogne en 1968 avec, pour seules armes, son palais formé par les grands vins dégustés avec son père, un stage chez Gérard Potel et les bons conseils des grands vignerons, amis de son père, qui l’accueillent. À force de travail et d’apprentissage, il a réussi à faire des vins à qui il a donnés un style tout en leur conservant l’expression du terroir. Jacques a la particularité de vinifier en vendanges entières, sans égrapper, mais c’est tout un ensemble de pratiques dans les vignes et en cuverie qui a abouti à ce choix et qui donne ces vins. Jacques a passé la main à ses fils, Jérémy et Alec, vers 2007 mais il reste présent à leurs côtés.
Chapter 5: Claude Dugat
The Domaine Claude Dugat is located behind the village of Gevrey-Chambertin’s church, in a 13th century stone building where the bishops of Langres stored the tithe which they collected from the peasants.
Claude is cheerful in all circumstances, which is rather rare nowadays, and even if a flower pot were to fall on his head, he would laugh it off. He assures me that he is not on earth to waste his time sulking. He should not even be among us. His father, who already had two daughters, did not want to run the risk of having a third! Yet, Claude was born in 1956.
Tasting at the Domaine is both a delight and a torture. The delight is the tasting. The Charmes Chambertin and Chapelle-Chambertin show off their power while Le Griotte-Chambertin seduces you with its femininity and silkiness—we’re bordering on the sublime! The torture is the horrible frustration of being unable to purchase even a single bottle. Claude’s small production has been quenching the same customers’ thirst for the past 20 years. And nothing in the world would make these die hard individuals give up their wine allotment from the Domaine.
Claude cowers when I tell him that his wines are delicate. “For me, ‘delicate’ refers to a string or a sheet of paper!” he counters. "There must be thickness and body in a wine. A Gevrey-Chambertin must be like David Douillet (the judo champion). He is someone you respect for his size and power. At the same time, he dresses elegantly and is kind to children. The Gevrey is similar. The elegance comes from the Pinot Noir; the kindness comes from the winemaker; the power comes from the soil. Kindness does not mean weakness!
Le Domaine Claude Dugat est situé derrière l’église du village de Gevrey-Chambertin, dans un bâtiment du XIIIe siècle dans lequel les évêques de Langres entreposaient la dîme versé par les Gibriaçois.
Claude est de bonne humeur en toute circonstance, ce qui est plutôt rare de nos jours, et même si un pot de fleur lui tombait sur la tête, il en rirait. Il m’assure qu’il n’est pas sur terre pour s’embêter. Il n’aurait même pas dû naître : son père, qui avait déjà deux filles, ne voulait pas courir le risque d’en avoir une troisième ! Pourtant, il est né en 1956.
Venir goûter au Domaine Dugat est à la fois un délice et une torture. Le délice, c’est la dégustation. Le Charmes Chambertin et le Chapelle-Chambertin montrent leurs biceps alors que le Griotte-Chambertin séduit par sa féminité et son soyeux : on frôle le sublime ! La torture, c’est l’horrible frustration de ne pouvoir repartir avec ne fut-ce qu’avec un flacon. La petite production de Claude désaltère les mêmes clients depuis 20 ans. Ces derniers ont la vie dure et ne lâcheraient leurs allocations pour rien au monde.
Claude se recroqueville lorsque je lui dis que ses vins sont fins. « Pour moi, fin définit un fil ou une feuille de papier !, » affirme-t-il. « Il doit y avoir de l’épaisseur dans un vin. Un Gevrey doit être comme le judoka David Douillet. C’est quelqu’un qu’on respecte pour sa grande taille et sa puissance. En même temps, il est habillé élégamment et il est gentil avec les enfants. Le Gevrey est pareil : l’élégance, c’est le pinot ; la gentillesse, c’est le vigneron qui l’apporte ; la puissance vient du terroir. Gentil ne veut pas dire faible ! »
I’ll add myself to the list of people who want to see this book published in English.
Consider contacting Skyhorse Publishing, who published David White’s book on Champagne.
Thank you, Scott.
I’ll add them to my short list.
Khiem
*Chapter 5 (continued) : The new generation at Domaine Claude Dugat
*
Claude Dugat’s three children work with him. “I loved Wednesdays, when we had the day off from school,” remembers Bertrand. “We would go to the vineyards with our parents, bringing our toys. During the summer, they would set-up tents between two rows of vines to keep us shaded. During the winter, we would make potteries, with wet clay, which we baked next to the vine shoot fire. We would also sit in front of the same fire and eat baked potatoes grilled over the fire’s ambers with butter and salt. I have very fond memories of those moments spent in the vineyard and would like to relive them with my own children someday. This is how our parents got us to like this profession, without having ever forced us into it.”
Laetitia Dugat recalls her beginnings: “My father had just shown me briefly how to prune the vines and given me some shears. Acting like the big sister, I wanted to show my brother my knew skills. When my parents came back, they discovered that I had pruned most of a vine row backwards! When I had just learned how to drive the tractor, my father instructed me: “I’ll trim the large plots and you can do the small ones to help me.” I had just finished when my father arrived with a big smile and the neighbor, whose vines I had trimmed, followed right behind laughing!”
Les trois enfants de Claude Dugat travaillent avec lui. « J’adorais le mercredi quand il n’y avait pas école, » se rappelle Bertrand. « Nous allions dans les vignes avec nos parents et nos jouets. L’été, ils installaient des tentes entre deux rangs de vigne pour nous garder à l’ombre. L’hiver, nous faisions des poteries, avec de la terre mouillée, que nous cuisions à côté des feux de sarments. J’aimerais retrouver ces moments où nous étions assis ici, devant un gros feu, à manger des pommes de terre cuites à la braise avec du beurre et du sel. Tout ça, ce sont de bons souvenirs. C’est ainsi qu’ils nous ont donné envie de travailler dans les vignes, sans jamais nous avoir forcés. »
Laetitia Dugat se rappelle de ses débuts : « Mon père venait de me montrer brièvement comment on taillait et m’a confié un sécateur. J’ai voulu faire la grande et expliquer à mon frère ce que je venais d’apprendre. Lorsque mes parents sont revenus, ils ont découvert que j’avais taillé une bonne partie d’un rang à l’envers ! Quand j’ai su conduire le tracteur, mon père m’a dit : “Je vais rogner les grands rangs et tu feras les petits pour m’aider.” Je venais de terminer lorsque mon père est arrivé avec un grand sourire et le voisin, dont j’avais rogné les vignes, le suivait en rigolant ! »
My book, Patrimoine Extraordinaire des Vignobles de Bourgogne–Histoires de Vignerons, is finally out. I saw it at Athenaeum when I visited Beaune this week. They actually sold 5 copies on the first day!
Jon Wyand pointed out to me that it was number 93 in Amazon.fr’s top 100 wine books. Meantime, it has slipped down to 94. ![[cry.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/853b6e76c6e8406be77a6727c2a27ad1672678b3.gif "cry"){kind=small}
Mon livre est finalement disponible. Je l’ai vu chez Athenaeum, à Beaune, cette semaine. Ils en ont vendu 5 exemplaires le premier jour !
Jon Wyand m’a signalé qu’il était en 93ème position sur la liste des 100 meilleures ventes de livres de vin sur Amazon.fr. Depuis, il a perdu une position.
Love it , will buy a few when I am in Beaune in 9 days !
jwpinxten,
Some friends have ordered the book from Amazon.fr and already received their copies.
That January 2017 date is erroneous. Both Amazon and Fnac are already shipping it.
Tasting with Jacques Seysses
When I visited Jacques Seysses this week, he was kind enough to uncork a bottle of Volnay premier cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or 1964 from his friend Gérard Potel to celebrate the publication of the book.
I had heard so much about Gérard’s 1964’s and 1966’s Volnays from Dominique Lafon, Christophe Roumier and Jacques himself. And I also knew that still had a few bottles left.
Well, I discovered that Jacques is not only a skilled winemaker but also a skilled sommelier. As he as inserting the corkscrew, the cork started giving way and slipping down so he got another, slimmer corkscrew. With dexterity, he got the cork out without breaking it.
The '64 Clos de la Bousse d’Or was still going strong, quity fruity and pleasant to drink.
1964 was Gérard Potel’s first vintage in Burgundy.
I found out from Jean-François Coche that he also debuted in 1964 and that he and Gérard were friends.
drank a bunch of 64 Pousse d’Or in the day–you had a real treat.
Was at Atheneum a week ago and looked at that stand with the books on Burgundy, but somehow missed your book!
Is it possible that it wasn’t there last weekend or did I overlook it? (quite possible…)
Gilberto,
I think they only received it on Saturday.
You can order it online in Switzerland from payot.ch or exlibris.ch
Thanks.
Khiem
Thanks Khiem, then I believe that it was not there. I spent some time browsing the books on that stand and did not see it. There was a new book in Portuguese, but otherwise books I had seen already.
Khiem,
Good luck with your book.
It looks fantastic.
just bought it online on Fnac, courious when it comes!