In the tradition of Howard Cooper’s excellent and very informative travelogue posts, I’m compiling notes from my (all too quick) visits to Burgundy, the Northern Rhone and Barolo from May 6th to the 10th on this thread. I hope you enjoy.
Chablis and Burgundy (May 6th and 7th) – Laroche, William Fevre, Joseph Drouhin, Pierre Amiot, Genot-Boulanger, Bouchard, Meo-Camuzet
We started from Disneyland Paris the morning of May 6th for a pit stop in Chablis, starting with a short morning appointment with Domaine Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin in Chablis. Despite making excellent time and running a little ahead of schedule, we had an epic navigating meltdown on the way, missing an exit and costing us a half an hour. Benoit was hosting his Italian importers at the same time and the delay made it impossible to join in late. I spoke with Benoit later via email and he was very kind and gracious about my error. I hope to try again in the future. I’d followed some of the of the difficulties here with premox but after reading some recent reviews by Tim Atkin in Decanter and reading of the switch to Diam, I was excited for the visit. Oh well, zero for one. We got on track from there.
Domaine Laroche
Domaine Laroche was easy to book using the Rue de Vignerons website. We were given a tour of the historic Obédiencerie winery building (built in the 9th and 12th Century), which included an old press, current use barrel cellars, library bottle storage and a really cool ancient press from the 13th Century. Over 1000 years of history. The modern history of the domaine dates to the early 20th Century. Domaine Laroche developed from plantings within the Laroche family dating to 1850, and Michel Laroche has been an influential figure in the region for the past 50 years, building vineyard holdings to nearly 15 acres of grand crus, 52 acres of premier crus, and 156 acres of Chablis, as well as bottling négociant wines. They profess minimal inputs in winemaking, progressing from stainless aging of Chablis, to neutral oak and tank for premier cru, to as much as 20% new oak on grand crus (including use of 132L half-sized barrels). Farming is lutte raisonnée working toward organic certification. Laroche also owns Mas La Chevaliere in the Languedoc and Champy in Burgundy.
History aside, it was interesting to me seeing the 132L barrels in the cellar. In all my visits to barrel rooms, I’ve never seen these tiny barrels. I believe these are devoted solely to La Réserve de l’Obédience, but I could be mistaken. It was also interesting to see how many older vintages, up through the 1990’s, were bottled in clear glass.
We tasted four wines – 2016 Vieille Voye, 2015 Beauroys 1er Cru, 2016 Les Fourchaume Vieille Vignes 1er Cru, and 2005 Les Blanchots Grand Cru. Overall impression – the 2016’s were really nice in their expression of fruit purity and mineral expression and depth. The 2016 Les Fourchaume VV was my favorite of the tasting, lots of complexity. The 2005 Les Blanchots showed some maturity on the nose, but was very youthful and complex on the palate with a lot of complex depth. Solid overall, richer in style than the Fevre wines we tasted next. Cellar tracker wine notes here - France and Italy - May 6 to May 10, 2019 - CellarTracker
We took a short walk across town, crossing the beautifully scenic river Serein and a busy road to get to the panoramic view of the grand cru vineyards at the Les Clos sign at the bottom of the hill, then headed back into town and to the William Fèvre tasting room.
Domaine William Fèvre
William Fèvre we were able to walk right into the tasting room without an appointment, and they poured a full assortment of current release wines spanning the entire range. As is commonly known, Fèvre is owned by Henriot, as is Bouchard. The Domaine farms 193 acres (including nearly 40 acres each of grand and premier crus) and 90 separate parcels sustainably using organic practices. Wines in the range that are barrel-aged employ oak that is at least 5 years old. Closures were recently changed to Diam throughout the range.
We tasted 2017’s and 2016’s, starting with Petit Chablis and Chablis before moving into the premier and grand crus. Premier Crus (2017 Montmains, 2017 Vaillons, 2016 Côte de Léchet, 2016 Fourchaume) and Grand Crus (2016 Bougros, 2016 Les Preuses, 2016 Blanchot). This was a stellar tasting with the 2016’s standing out – in particular Fourchaume, Bourgros, Les Preuses, and Blanchot. Apart from their individual distinctions, each showing common traits of bright citrus and massive walls of marine-driven mineral and floral secondary notes, rich structures and great great depth. Cellar tracker wine notes here - France and Italy - May 6 to May 10, 2019 - CellarTracker
Maison Joseph Drouhin
Finishing the first day in Beaune, we took the tour at Joseph Drouhin. This was my third visit to Burgundy, and this time I wanted to include some historic tours at larger houses into the mix. Drouhin was a great stop – including a tour of their expansive old barrel cellars beneath several blocks in the center of Beaune. Their cellars for the tour are primarily for show, but there are a few barrels aging for Hospices de Beaune bottlings. There was another old press here – dating to 1570, which has seen recent use at a special event.
According to our tour guide Jerome, Drouhin owns nearly 200 acres, with further purchases from about 740 acres. Drouhin remains family-owned, dating to 1880. Some basic info from their website - Domaine vineyard plots are farmed biodynamically, with hand-harvesting throughout the range. Highlights of vinification include natural yeast fermentation and modest (20%) use of new oak on many of the wines (including Grand Crus).
The lineup included six emblematic wines – three whites and three reds. 2015 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru which featured impressive vivacity considering the richer nature of the warm vintage. 2016 Chassagne Montrachet which seemed pretty run of the mill. 2015 Meursault Genevrières 1er Cru which stood out for richness, complexity, energy/tension, and was the wine of the flight – the full package. The reds were 2015 Beaune Champimonts 1er Cru, 2014 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru and 2011 Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains – all very nice. Link to Cellartracker wine notes - France and Italy - May 6 to May 10, 2019 - CellarTracker
Our Monday dinner was at Le Relais de Saulx in Beaune. This was a very charming space in historic Beaune run by former Masterchef star Olivier Streiff, with his wife Nina Montchovet running front of house. The dinner was a nice mix of classic style with contemporary influence. The fois gras in two textures was excellent. There’s a choice of three main courses - I had fish and my wife had a risotto (there’s always a risotto course on the menu). I think we both wish we would have had the pigeon, which seemed to be the hit based on our observations. The wine list had plenty of desirable choices at reasonable pricing. We went with a non-fussy choice of a Monthelie 1er Cru, I think it was a 2011 or 2012. Would be happy to revisit.
First day was a bit of a warmup. More to come from Burgundy – including Pierre Amiot, Genot-Boulanger, Bouchard and Meo-Camuzet.