After months of research, tentative plans, and adjustments, a final plan slowly took shape. Still expecting some further tweaks and on the ground ad libs, but the plane is leaving and the rental car waiting at CDG. Two weeks in France, visiting some regions for the first time. We will be staying in Reims, Chablis, and Beaune. On y va!
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May the Force be with you
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Congrats Jim. It sounds like you’re Fixin to have a good time. Don’t forget to take La Grande Rue, and definitely let the good times Chambolle!
I’m note sure when you’re where, but I have various invites/tix offers/notices for the following (which I can’t go to) - just LMK if you want info/to try & hit any of them -
– Les 24h de Beaune May 29-30 (crazy bike event mimicking the 24h de Le Mans);
– Mai Musical de Meursault (May 30 Meursault);
– Montrachet Jazz Festival (May 30-31) (Puligny Montrachet);
– Soiree Blanche in Reims June 20;
– Pop et Hip Hop Champagne/Prieure de Binson June 23.
Don’t let the Batards get you down!
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Picked up our rental at CDG and headed to Reims as our first stop. About an hour an a half drive to inner Reims and our hotel La Caserne Chanzy. The hotel is in a pedestrian zone, so we parked jist outside where a valet came to meet us and take us to the hotel.
At check in we were offered a welcome glass of Champagne. We ordered a small cheese plate. Pas mal. On commence . . .
Our room had a small balcony and high windows overlooking the Reims Cathedral. Stunning!
The Cathedral has hundreds of statues on the outside. A smiling angel winked at us.
The Cathedral was bombed in WWI as part of a greater bombing of Reims. Extensively rebuilt with new stained glass. This one is by Marc Chagall, More striking in person.
After a walk through Reims hosted by a “French Greeter” we stopped by Le Coq Rouge for a charcuterie board and Champagne. The atmosphere was a bit disappointing, lacked the warmth I expected. Maybe the main players may have moved on to the new Paris location? The Champagne was not disappointing at all. Excellent brut nature.
The setting sun posed by the Cathedral as we made our way back to the hotel.
First limited impressions . . . clean city, newish buildings energetic residents. Apparently a lot was rebuilt after WWI and art deco styles are prevalent. I think American “barons” must have contributed $$$ to the reconstruction. There is a Rue Rockefeller and a museum named after Carnegie.
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Our one full day in Champagne. Started with the classic French Breakfast at the nearby and very art deco Cafe du Palais in Reims. Consisted of croissant, baguette, butter, jam, coffee and juice. Brought back memories.
Headed out into the countryside for a mid morning walk a pt the Faux de Verzy forest. Very pleasant walk and many examples of a type of beech that grows almost like giant bonsai.
Here is one example.
We had a lunch reservation at La Table du 18 in Tours sur Marne. Requested the chefs table to overlook the hustle and bustle of the chef and his brigade, Nice three course menu with well flavored dishes. The main was a glorified hamburger in sauce with frites on the side.
We chose an unpretentious but very good Rose Champagne to go with the meal.
After lunch we had a visit and tasting at Vilmart. We were hosted by a young man named Hugo. We opted for a paid tasting of a range of their wines. Some very excellent wines.
Laurent Champs was very busy in the vineyards, but did stop by for a bit. Thomas Champs was away taking some kind of wine certification exam.
During the tour we noticed some fantastic wooden doors and stained glass which we found out were made by Laurent’s father, René Champs. We asked to say if he was around to say hi to, and he came over for a few minutes. He was an artisan who learned about winemaking after he married into the Vilmart family. Yet he continued as an artisan also . It was a pleasure for us to meet him and he gifted us an illustrated book he wrote on stained glass about 25 years ago.
After the tasting we walked to the local church to see some spectacular stained windows made by René Champs. Wow!
A varied full day in Champagne and then a return to our hotel by early evening, Had an 8 pm dinner planned at La Grand Georgette, but stomach rumblings quickly led to Vesuvial eruptions. Food poisoning! Probably from my hamburger at lunch which I requested as “medium” but was a little pink. Jacqueline smartly ordered hers well done. The start of 5 hours of misery.
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The acute episode was over, but fatigue, brain fog an minor dehydration lingered as we breakfasted at a Paul location nearby. A small piece of baguette and a decaf elonge.
I was determined to continue our planned activities as much as possible as I recovered from the lingering after effects. We were on the road to Chablis by 9am with a stop planned to visit and taste at Jean Laurent Champagne in Celles sur Ource in the Aube. This was the first of a few tasting visits on our trip facilitated for us by @Dan_Kravitz. Thanks Dan!
We had a nice tour and my wife enjoyed the tasting hosted by Dany, who came in on a Saturday for us. Lots of old bottles of Champagne, including this 1975.
I brought a Red Sox cap for Dany as a thank you. She seemed to love it.
Just about an hour after leaving Jean Laurent we arrived in Chablis. Nice attached cottage with a small patio next to the river.
We had a light lunch of bread and fruit.
My wife went solo to our dinner reservations at Les Trois Bourgeons. I was not in a state to enjoy it and I regretted missing out, but all in all we had a full day
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First full day in Chablis. On se debrouille . . .
Sunday weekly market, started with a nice breakfast at Chablis Bar. Soaking in the ambience, looking out the window at market activities.
Bought the biggest gougere we saw. Also picked up a baguette and cheese for later.
We had appointments at three tasting rooms in town. All were great, though my energy faded near the end of the third one. Pretty good day . . .
Started with Clotilde Davenne. Tasted three good wines and then Alex blinded us on a fourth. No idea. It was a Vielles Vignes Saint Bris and it was excellent. Very good producer and wines
Visited old acquaintances Frederic and Celine Gueguen. They have a solid lineup. We were gifted a bottle of 2024 Bourgos. Nice visit.
Finished up with a targeted tasting at William Fevre. Very interesting and tasty, with left bank and right bank premier crus and commentary. Unfortunately, My energy fell with a thud before we finished. Very good experience nevertheless.
Back at our accommodations, on the patio by the river. Enjoying a couple of things the French do best.
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The day opened with a beautiful sky. We took a nice walk up into the grand cru vines. The flowering of the vines had just finished, the first hints of grapes were forming, and the workers were out training the vines up through the wires. Busy period!
coquelicot , beautiful
Three William Fevre workers in the vines
Jacqueline making her way up
Our view of the vines and the town from the top of our “climb”
The walk drained the energy from both of us. I realized that i was still recovering. Jacqueline was paying for some exuberant tasting the previous day. We cancelled the rest of our schedule for the day. Dommage! Tasting at Jean Marc Brocard in Prehy, lunch in Chitry, and an afternoon tasting at Duplessis in Chablis. C’est la vie sometimes.
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Moving day from Chablis to Beaune. Planned visits and tasting at Richoux in Irancy, followed by lunch at Le Sufflot in Irancy. Neither of us were quite 100%, but tried to keep at our schedule as much as we could. The Richoux men were all out in vineyards so we were hosted by Thierry’s wife. Had to calibrate the visit a bit but nice stop.
Interesting image encountered walking in Irancy 
We gave Le Soufflot a try. Scaled back our emphasized textmeal . Nice place . Excellent cooking. Maybe the best wine list we have ever encountered in terms of minimal markup. Emphasis on local wine makers but a broad selection. Very recommended.
Arrived at our accommodations in Beaune. The voco Beaune is a newish hotel, just less than a mile outside the old center. A 20 minute walk to the city walls. Next to the Cite des Vignes wine education center. Plenty of easy parking and access to everywhere. Booked four days, with a second four day res pending how we liked it, (very recommend the hotel. We stayed all 8 days)
Our room was a suite with a balcony up in the trees.
Peaceful view from the balcony.
View of the ultra modern Cite des Vignes building from our balcony.
On fait ce qu’on peut, mais parfois on peut peu. . .
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Fully recovered at last! Hallelujah!
Spent a couple of days combining wine tasting visits with village lunches. Start the day with Morning coffee and croissants from the bakery nearby brought back to our room, Then a walk into Beaune. Head out with the car. A good rhythm. Tasting visit highlights were with Gilles LaFouge in Auxey Duresses and with Marie Jacqueson in Rully. We focused on white wines at both. Excellent wines and friendly visits. Both very recommended. Beautiful driving around the vines.
Back at the hotel there were a dozen sports cars in the parking lot. Chatted with some of the owners. From England headed to Tuscany on a special classic car tour.
Nice to be back completely!
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A Friday day trip to Arbois in Jura. Just over an hour drive from Beaune. It was a beautiful morning drive. Dramatic landscape change as we got into the Jura.
It was market day in Arbois so we parked outside of the city center. Here is the view from where we parked. Beautiful welcome!
Visited some of the well known shops. Yum!
Comte. Oh yeah!
Our morning wine tasting at the Stephane Tissot shop. Hosted in a very friendly, educational, and professional manner by Pablo Menut. We came with an intended focus on Savagnin, but Pablo encouraged us to taste a broader range. Happy that we went along for the ride . Extensive. Educational. Enjoyable. We were blown away when we reached the Savagnin ouille, sous voile, and vin jaune. Complex and delicious. Nothing off putting at all which i feared a bit. Wow, Wow, Wow, Thank you, Pablo. Very recommended visit and wines.
Lunch at Le Bistronome based on recommendations received here on WB. Thanks. The Lunch menu is outstanding for the food and for the value. Numerous extra bites before and during. Very high level. Artistic and creative. Good size portions also.very recommended
I told them my wife was celebrating her birthday in advance, and we had the best table. Thank you.
Finished our wonderful day with a delightful visit with Adeline Chatelain at the Fumey-Chatelain winery in a nearby village. Focused on Savagnin, ouille, sous voile and vin jaune. OK you Jura wine lovers, I get it now. These are delicious wines. Complex .Satisfying.
. . .After a great day, on the drive back to Beaune, the front left tire on our rental car blew up. We made it safely to the side of the road and began another misadventure. I might post some details separately. Importantly we came out the other end OK. Eventually ! And not without frustration and angst.
On doit se debrouiller…
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Saturday Jacqueline’s birthday .. .
Market day morning in Beaune. Quite a scene.
‘Best” bakery we found in Beaune. Visited several times.Almond croissant was my favorite.
After the market, we took a train to Chalone sur Saone, to pick up a temporary car rental.
Back on schedule,on the road to lunch.
At the “ferme”
Very nice Macon.
Main course of our lunch.one of many courses in a very very leisurely lunch. Lots of egg based dishes. Tasty but repetitive. An experience. A bit of the emperor has no clothes for me. Personable and friendly.
Ended the day back in Beaune, and the last tour and tasting of the day at JosephDrouhin.
If this tree could talk . . .
Tour of historic underground caves
The two highlight wines from our 6 wine tasting. Good stuff. Nice paid visit.
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Sunday morning fishing trip on the Saone near Saint Jean de Losne. No fish caught, but great day of fishing if you know what I mean.
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I was tired at the end as I got off the boat onto the walled bank. Both my feet were on land but I felt off balance and started leaning towards the water. A small step or two trying to right myself, then I accepted my fate and took a big step into the water and away from the.wall. Ha!
I was helped out of the water like landing a big old fish. My wife told me to stay down for a photo before standing up. Ha!
Lunch by the Saone after fishing.
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And now we’re all curious! How was it?
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Dropped off our own temporary rental and finally picked up the replacement car provided by our car rental company. Ad libbed a stop to Puligny Montrachet trying to find a last minute tasting. Based mostly on how much we enjoyed the Puligny Montrachet at our Joseph Drouhin tasting a couple of days ago. Went into the Caveau de Puligny Montrachet to ask about possibilities, and discovered this was a great place to do a tasting right there. Comfortable outdoor space too. Very educational overview, and some pretty good wines . The star of our tasting was the 2023 Jean-Louis Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. This could become my house white 
. Very recommend for a visit and a glass or more here.
A younger couple sat down next to us for their own tasting of a few white wines. They live in Lichnenstein , but actually lived in an area of Massachusetts for a while that we know well. Small world. As Jacqueline talked about our blown tire saga, they told us they blew a tire on their car that same Friday afternoon on the same road A36. OMG They were extending their planned stay in the area by one day to get their car back from the BMW dealer and decided randomly to come to Puligny Montrachet. Now the coincidences were getting into the realm of unbelievable. I invited them to join us for lunch as our guests to continue the conversation. We went to Saint Romain and the Bistrot de Falaises.
They were pouring a nice Saint Romain from Alain Gras at the restaurant. I will try to locate this wine and producer. Very recommended.
Solid three course lunch menu, with a generous and excellent salad as entrée, a monkfish plat, and a cherry sorbet over cherries for dessert.
Cosy place with food prepared at a very high quality level in a comfortable unpretentious setting. Very recommended
Saint Romain borders some impressive ledges and cliffs (the Falaises)
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The last day of our trip. Started with a walk into Beaune,..
Ramparts de Beaune. Lots of history to this town.
We grabbed an almond croissant at our favorite bakery and brough it to Le Parisien cafe to enjoy with a double espresso with hot milk. “dolce vita” French style
Visited famed cheesemonger Alain Hess to pick up a few cheeses for our last night picnic on the balcony. Excellent service in selecting the four cheeses. The most impressive display of cheeses that we have ever seen. A must stop.
We decided to have lunch back at the hotel. First time trying their restaurant Monaka. Small, with tables well spaced. High quality dishes. We brought our 2024 Gueguen Bougros Chablis with us. Delicious wine even at this young stage.
Fish mouselline as my entree.
Our final dinner. Baguette, French cheese, a glass of good Chablis. Simple. But doesn’t get much better than this IMO. Fitting ending to our meals in France.
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Started to fill in some words around the photos posted in earlier posts.
@MadsW , I finally put some words with the photos in the Arbois post. A wonderful visit! A revelation too about Jura Savagnin.
Jim, I’m stoked to read this. Jura, and especially Savagnin and cool vintage Chardonnay is amazing. I’ll be back to harvest in Late august/September and I can’t wait.
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