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Burgundy Highlight
March 2009
Dijon has many churches... the most famous of which is Notre Dame
Mustard Shopping
Dijon is famous for its mustard.  Such fame would not have come about without its vineyard.  Mustard was generally made from mustard seeds and vinegar.  In 1752, Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted vinegar with Verjus (the sour juice of unfermented and unripe grapes), making the Dijon mustard more fragrant, smooth, and tasty.
 

Today, many supermarkets carry Dijon Mustard.  To experience the creativity and extensiveness of the Dijon mustard makers, it is worthwhile to visit few mustarderies.   We visited Maille at 32 rue de la Liberte. The favors of the mustard range from chardonnay to olive to coconut.  Bread sticks are provided and you can sample freshly made mustards at the stores.  Our favorite is the Vin Blanc.
                           
Route des Grand Crus
The Route des Grands Crus connects Dijon in the north to Santenay in the South, cutting through 37 Burgundian communes.  Drive past familiar names such as Gevrey Chambertin, Nuit St George, Vougeot, Vosne Romanee, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Puligny Montrachet…
               
Besides Dijon and Beaune, worthy stops along Route des Grands Crus:  historic Nuit St-George town center, the world’s most famous vineyards in Vosne Romanee, and the 15th Century Chateau du Clos de Vougeot. 
               
Olivier Leflaive
Founded in 1984 by Olivier Leflaive, with the help of his brother Patrick and uncle Vincent (Domaine Leflaive), Oliver Leflaive has quickly built his reputation as a negociant who produces high quality wine.   Through growth and acquisitions, Olivier Leflaive now owns over 12 hectare of vineyard and produces both white and red wines.  Familiar Olivier Leflaive appellations include Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, and several  Chassagne-Montrachet premier crus.
 
In the recent years, Olivier and Patrick purchased a nearby building that dated back to the 17th century and transformed its interior into a modern hotel. Each bedroom adopts an individual style. The atmosphere can be baroque, pop, retro, country, or romantic. For our trip, we stayed at La Maison. The rooms are comfortable and well equipped; and the staffs are friendly and helpful.  We highly recommend staying there!
            
Vineyard and Chateau Tour:   Strolling along the vines, William showed us the layout of Puligny Montrachet. The village appellation lies on the flat, the premium crus and grand cru sharing a similar altitude on the slopes. And on the highest altitude if there are vineyards, those will be the village appellation.  Having worked closely with the vines, William passionately explained bio-dynamic viticulture and the arduous work required. Treading along the vines, he taught us how to spot a well managed field from a poorly managed one. 
    
Patrick Leflaive showed us around the wine making facilities. Charming and humorous, we had a great time listening to him describing their vinification method. The domaine prefers using medium toasted oaked barrels to avoid over-powering the fruits in the wine. 
        
14 bottles we tasted during the Grand Tasting Lunch!
 
Recommended: The Grand Tasting Lunch at La Maison where 14 wines are served – 11 whites and 3 reds.  The wines were selected and served in a thoughtful manner so we could best compare the differences among the grapes, the terroirs, and the vintages.  We started with the Bourgogne Aligote 2006 which was highly fragrant and quite different on the palate from the Chablis Les Deux Rives 2006.   It was interesting comparing the Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault, and Puligny-Montrachet side by side. Coming from the same grape variety, producer, vintage, grade, and cellar storage condition, we can truly account their differences to terroir. The Chassagne was beautiful on the nose, with bouquets of flowers. The Puligny was purer in comparison; whereas the Meursault was big and buttery.  
  
Bouchard Pere et Fils
        
The history of Bouchard Pere et Fils dated back to 1775 when Joseph Bouchard bought the first plots of land in Volnay.  During the French revolution, the family expanded the domaine purchasing vineyards in Beaune, Pommard, Chassagne, and Puligny. Under the Henriot family’s management, the expansion continued in the 20th century to Meursault, Aloxe Corton, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin.  Today, Bouchard Pere et Fils is an established negociant with over 130 hectares of vineyard in the heart of Cote d’Or, 57% of these are premier Crus and 9% are Grands Crus.  This is a sharp contrast to the Burgundian wine world where premier cru accounts for 11% and grands crus account for less than 2% of total production.  
             
Cecile Blanchardon showed us around the grand Chateau de Beaune, showing us its underground cellars.  The estate was built in the 15th century to protect the French troops from the local Burgundians (allies to England). Its walls are 7 meter thick.   Ten meters underground and with 10,000 square meter of space, the cellar provides the perfect aging condition for even the most fragile bottle. It can store 4,500 barrels (over 1M bottles).  The oldest bottle dates back to 1846! To ensure the perfect bottle condition, the corks are changed every 30 years or so.  The bottles are only labeled prior to shipment.   
          
In the tasting room, we sampled the following: Chablis Champs Royaux 2007, Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2006, Bourgogne Pinot la Vignee 2007, Beaune du Chateau Rouge Premier Cru 2006, Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvee Carnot 2006, Le Corton 2006, Bourgogne Chardonnay la Vignee 2007, Puligny-Montrachet 2007, Meursault Genevrieres 2006, and Corton-Charlemagne 2006.  
        
    
            
This is a good mix of negoce wines and domaine wines.  Domaine wines are made from grapes grown in the estates; Negoce wines are made with purchased grapes.  The quality of both negoce and domaine wines are very consistent.  One of Bouchard Pere et Fils’ goal is to produce wines that reveal the character of its plot.   Tasting the wines, Bouchard Pere et Fils has clearly achieved his quality goal!   Made from 100% Chardonnay, the Puligny-Montrachet is very different from the Meursault Genevrieres and from the Corton-Charlemagne.  
                  
Domaine Trapet
Domaine Trapet is run by Jean-Louis and Andree.   Madame Trapet showed us around the property, explaining their philosophy.  Believing that a good environment and terroir will produce the best grapes, Jean-Louis had introduced biodynamic viticulture in 1998 and conducted many viticultural changes to grow better grapes. The improvement resulted in wines with strikingly pure notes. The Trapets are also quite generous with new oak, thus giving their wines an additional complexity.  
       
Domaine Trapet has many 1er and grands crus plots, including the Petite Chapelle, Clos Prieur, and Chapelle-Chambertin, Latricieres-Chambertin and Le Chambertin. In the cellar, we tasted the Gevrey Chambertin 2006, Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru La Chapelle 2006, and Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur 2006, and Chambertin Grand Cru 2006.  All of these wines were opened on Monday and preserve naturally in the cold cellar (just recapped with the original wooden cork, no argon gas or vacuum pump used).  We tasted the wines on a Friday. Despite being opened for four days, their aromas were fresh and profound.   Madame Trapet shared her experience on preserving delicate wines.  Vacuum pump can suck out particles of aromas. To ensure the best aromas, it is best to recap with the original cork and store the opened bottle in a cold environment.  And she was right, a good wine can always last a week! 
         
   
Wines tasted at Trapet.                                                             Few bottles date back to the 1920s.
                 
Besides Gevrey Chambertin, the Trapets also owned plots in Alsace. We tasted a 2006 Pinot Auxerrois and a 2007 Gewurztraminer.   The 2006 Pinot Auxerrois is beautiful. Having said that, it was the Gewurztraminer that stole our hearts – Simply perfect, with a delicate perfume of roses and lychees, refreshing on the palate and balanced in all dimensions!     
              
Domaine Dujac
Domaine Dujac was founded in 1967, when Jacques Seysses acquired Domain Graillet. Striving to make the highest quality wine, Jacques selectively adopted what he liked in traditional wine-marking as well as experienced with new concepts. His philosophy – giving the grapes the best in viticulture so that in the vinification process, there would be minimal interference with nature -- had earned him differentiation and respect from Robert Parker.   For example, Jacques would not destemmed the grapes before fermentation and no filtration was conducted prior to bottling.   
       
    
Vines behind the Dujac Property                                              Dujac uses 100% new oak for their grands crus
      
Jacques’ wife, Rosaline Seyssess, shown us around the domaine.  We could see vines Rosaline is a charismatic and knowledgeable host.  We sampled few silky, elegant 1er cru bottles and the 1988 Clos de la Roche. It was a bit too cold in the cellar.  Chatting, we swirled the wine, warming them up with our hands. Surely enough, the wines perfumed within minutes.  As loyal lovers of Dujac’s wines, it was wonderful tasting the bottles at their birthplace!   
            
Ma Cuisine
Run by Pierre and Fabienne Escoffier, Ma Cuisine offers friendly Burgundian fare in a renovated 15th century stable. Menu was hand-written on a board.   The wine collection is amazing with many rare gems. We ordered a 1962 Bouchard Aine et Fils Nuit-St-Georges and a 1969 Domaine Chanson Gevrey Chambertin. The Chanson was on the old side and not too colorful. The ’62 Bouchard was just perfect.  
        
For the third bottle, we wanted the 1978 Margaux. Out of stock, Pierre offered us the 1978 Latour. The wine was amazing and still on the young side with another decade of aging potential.
                 
Caveau des Arches
The restaurant is conveniently located on Boulevard Perpreuil, part of the circular boulevard that surrounds the Beaune city center.  The menu has several prix-fix offerings. Food was delicious and a value given its pricing.  
   
The wine menu has a good collection of new wines, though only few bottles from the 80’s vintages.   We had a bottle of 1995 Robert Arnoux Echezeaux Grand Cru and a 2004 Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanee. 
   
Castel de Tres Girard
Newly renovated, Castel de Tres Girard is an elegant restaurant situated in a hotel in Morey St Denis. Creative cuisine with a wine menu that claimed to offer 1000 bottles.  We were in a bit of hurry and didn’t have the chance to sample its desert. 
                 
Bisoh
Bissoh was an excellent place for dinner, thanks to Madame Dujac’s recommendation.  Like Ma Cuisine, Bissoh was run by a couple. The food was good.  Chef Sawahata Mikihiko added an oriental touch to the local boeuf bourguignon by adding mizo.  
          
As for the wine selection, it is put together by the wife Sachiko. She moved to Burgundy, following her passion for wine. Her champagne selection was excellent and the wine menu was full of pleasant surprises. We had a bottle of Jacques Selosse Brut Initial and a 1996 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru from Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue.
 
The Selosse Intial was a blanc de blancs, made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown in 3 grand cru fields. It is refreshing, crispy, and tangy. Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue is one of the oldest domaines in Burgundy, dating back to the Middle Ages. Owning 70% of the Le Musigny, it is known for top quality wines.  The Vogue Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru we tasted was in reality made from young vines from the Musigny Grand Cru fields.  
    
                

 

 

 
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