We have some very good wino friends that are traveling to Burgundy in ~10 days time. One of them is a huge chardonnay fan and has Domaine Leflaive as her favorite white wine producer. Does Domaine Leflaive do tastings or tours? The will be staying in Beaune for 5 nights with cycling excursions, on their own, between there and Santenay. Can you recommend accessible white burgundy producers in the area that are receptive to visitors and worth the visit? Also where would you stop for lunches and dinners in that area? Thank you so much. I have started to go back through the WB archive to see what people have recommended in the past. Thank you, Gary
I can’t help. Ten years ago, I set up a visit to Marc Morey by reaching out directly. A few years after our visit, the web site went to French only. Now I don’t even find a website. A shame as it was a great visit but did feel like Sabine didn’t enjoy visits in general.
The Marc Morey visit was the only one that I was able to set up that wasn’t “corporate” and a larger producer. Lots of requests starting months prior with most going unanswered and a few polite rejections. My understanding is things have become even more difficult and 10 days is short. Good luck and hopefully others can help.
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Leflaive is a very difficult visit to get - unless you happen to be friends with Jack Daniels, lol. But the good news is it’s actually a pretty poor visit anyway - very clinical, in and out. If you love Leflaive wines you’ll have more fun just going to a wine bar and drinking a couple of bottles.
Additionally, it’s very unfortunate about your friends’ timing. July 14 is Bastille day and everyone is on vacation. We are heading out there next week and several of our regular visits are already on vacation, while others are off starting on July 11 for a week or two.
On top of that to get visits lined up, you need to start a couple of months out. Anyone who is going to be around already has their schedule planned by this point. And if you don’t know someone who knows someone, you’re going to get a lot of “we don’t do visits” replies.
Sorry I only have bad news. The best (only) bet for visits would be big houses like Jadot, Drouhin, Faiveley that take reservations and hopefully will be open that week.
But drinking/eating is the best part about being in Beaune anyway. For recommendations of places to drink/eat, it really depends on the vibe you seek. There are lots of great restaurants, some casual, some more formal and lots of great wine bars also.
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I agree with Andrew. This is far too late to begin planning tasting visits, especially for top producers. I doubt I could get a visit at Leflaive with 6 months of time..
Unfortunate timing on top of that with Bastille day, but I’ll also second that your best bet will be to do negociants like Drouhin and Bouchard if they are available. Beyond that, email works best and most domaines prefer to do tastings during the week. Cast a wide net and be content to go to the wonderful restaurants and wine shops in and around Beaune.
The other really cool thing we’ve done on a couple visits is a Jeep tour of the vineyards. It’s a really informative ride for about 2-3 hours (either cotes de nuits or cotes de Beaune) and the guide will Coravin numerous (5-6) wines as you overlook the vineyards and learn about their history/geology. This was the company we used x2:
Rent e bikes in Chablis and do easy tour of left and right banks. Then do self guided walking tour of the Grand Cru vineyards.
Reward yourself with a vey affordable bottle of Raveneau at lunch on the sunny patio at Hostellerie des Clos restaurant in the heart of town.
Then do a tasting at Fevre … there is also a tasting center of smaller producers in town. You might be able to book some domaine visits with smaller producers away from hype bustle of CdN/CdB.
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Year before last we had an excellent lunch at Le Soufflot in Meursault.
https://www.restaurant-meursault.fr/
Hope they enjoy.
Pat
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Le Soufflot is top notch. I like it for dinner more than lunch though.
A good place to stop for lunch between Beaune and Santenay would be Papi in Chassagne-Montrachet. Excellent food and great wine list. Colette is a fun wine bar/bistro on the outskirts of Chassagne as well. By far the best coffee south of Beaune. More limited food menu but the wine list is nice and they have a retail selection too.
Moulin aux Moines in Auxey-Duress is a lot of fun for lunch. It books up fast on the weekend but they’re open for dinner M-Th as well.
This is the way…
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There’s a chance Henri Gouges would take you on short notice which would be the ideal outcome IMO
A visit with Armand Heitz would be spectacular. The wines are great and his journey and philosophy on farming are very unique and inspiring. He’s also the best dresser in Chassagne-Montrachet! Highly recommended.
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Earlier this year I had a short notice visit to Beaune, was able to arrange a morning appt with Armand Heitz. Uber was 12 euros. Walked the vineyard path after between Pommard and Volnay, Uber’d back to Beaune and went to Drouhin and did the full tour and tasting. Walked around the shops in town and grabbed an early dinner at Ma Cuisine. Was a very nice day.
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J.Vizuete - Thank you so much for the suggestion of a Jeep tour. Our friends quickly responded and lined up the Croton - Montrachet tour. They’re pretty excited. Years back they shared a Jadot Montrachet with us that was out of this world good. Thank you for making the tour suggestion…Cheers, Gary
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Andrew - Thank you on suggesting the larger fine negociant houses. Our friends have lined up a tour at Drouhin. Thank you again, Gary
I hope you enjoy it! We’ve had absolutely lovely and educational experiences! Please post afterward if you can
Great ideas Howard. I know they have already lined up a visit to Drouhin . Hopefully they try a couple of more producers. I especially like the Armand Heitz suggestion as I do like the wines he produces…Cheers, Gary
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Sadly it’s not me going but when our friends get back in a few weeks time I/they will post a followup on their travels. Thank you again, Gary
On such short notice thank you all for your suggestions. I started getting hungry looking on the web at the restaurants mentioned and the lobster picture above. Great suggestions from everyone so far. I’m sure they will have a better trip from your input…Mahalo, Gary
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You did me in with that picture Matthew. I instantly had a hankering for homard and Chablis. Well done ! Mahalo., Gary
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Sorry for highjacking the thread but I didn’t feel like I should start up another Burgundy visit advice thread. I was considering visiting the area next Feb. Any general advice how to approach the tasting appointments?
I’m not ITB and I buy certain producers in quantity but not from a single source so not that I have strong connection with importers or retailers. I guess cold emailing and using as much French as I reasonably could use without looking I’m trying too hard? Should I shift the visit plan because 6 months in advance is even too soon?