Trip Report: Experiencing wine in Burgundy
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Trip Report: Experiencing wine in Burgundy
The following information comes from a visit in October 2007 exploring the wines of Burgundy (Côte d'Or, Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits):
<b>Sensation Vin</b>, 1 rue d’enfer, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 17 57 <http://www.sensation-vin.com>
We just popped in here and took a look around. We learned that they offered guided tastings but were just about to close. We came back the next day and signed up for a one hour tasting featuring six wines. As the tasting cost 18 euro per person, we feared this might be quite a ripoff, only six wines for 18 euro? But, as it turned out, the experience was much more engaging and educational than a mere pour-and-sip session. The woman who ran the tasting for us (and it was just us) spoke excellent English and immediately started peppering us with questions to gauge what kind of experience and knowledge we had with wine, with the French AOC appellation system and with burgundy in particular.
This was great and made it much more interactive than we had expected. Rather than just launching into a general overview that might be appropriate for most people who walk through the door, she tailored the session toward our level of knowledge and experience. She offered a great overview of the different types of producers, levels of wine classification (regional, village, 1er and Grand Cru), grapes and vinification techniques in Burgundy. For this she used a really cool overhead powerpointesque projection system with superb maps. We then moved onto the tasting and evaluation session. She allowed us to choose the proportion of red versus white (we went 2 white, 4 red) and served them to us blind. We would talk about the wine, paying particular attention to how old we might evaluate the wine to be and what type of year (hot/cold) it might be from. The wines were then unveiled and we had to guess which wine was which.
This was a very neat experience, as most of the wines I have, I have at home one-at-a-time. The opportunity to evaluate, compare, and dissect wines side-by-side with someone knowledgeable to guide the way was educational and enjoyable. All the wines were quite decent, and though they are available for purchase, we were more interested in (and the experience is tailored to feel like) trying-to-learn rather than trying-to-buy. The one thing I think would have been a great focus would have been to give more attention toward capturing the different terroirs of Burgundy, whether comparing villages, 1er or even Grand Crus. The tasting we experienced gives you more of a general wine knowledge of identifying aging and vintage characteristics using Burgundy wines rather than a particular attention to the distinctions within Burgundy itself. It would be a great idea if they offered something like that as an advanced course. Nonetheless for someone like ourselves with an interest in wine who wants a bit more focus, I think this was a great experience and I highly recommend it. The more one is prepared to participate, however, the more I think one will get out of the interaction.
<b>Caveau Rateau (Caveau Municipal)</b>, Chassagne-Montrachet
This is a wine shop and tasting room that offers the wine of the local producers. The experience was a bit confusing for me and it probably would have worked better if I had gone later in the trip when I understood more. They offer you a huge wine menu with tons of selections to choose from (noting that the cost is 10 euro for 4 wines without a bottle purchase). But when you start asking for pours, they start informing you that wine after wine is not open—which of course is completely fine, one does not expect them to have 80-100 bottles open at any given time. But it would be much more efficient to have a chalkboard or something similar to list what wines are open that day. Add to that confusion the fact that oftentimes the producers I had been recommended as reliable or particularly good oftentimes share their last names with other less interesting domains in the area. So me trying to keep all this straight was quite confusing. Although we ended up finding something we liked, I think a better strategy would be to go in with something that you want to accomplish, for example, you want to experience the difference between 2 1er Crus, 2 producers, 2 years, whatever, and then focus on that. Our more hunt-and-peck approach wasn’t so enjoyable, though I think the place actually offered bottles from a number of respectable producers. I think this is one of those times where switching to a try-to-learn rather than try-to-buy mentality could be more helpful, at least when you are as new to learning about Burgundy as we are.
<b>Le Cellier de la Cabiote</b>, 11 rue de l’Enfant, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 56 15 <http://cellier-cabiote.com/>
I found this to be a nice wine shop with a good selection to my uneducated eyes. There were some interesting producers I saw there that had been recommended to me. Excellent staff who gave me extended guidance and provided very helpful responses to my numerous questions. I enjoyed the experience of shopping there, the selection was not huge, but it varied and offered a bit of an eclectic selection.
<b>Denis Perret</b>, 40 rue et Place Carnot, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 35 47 <http://www.denisperret.fr>
Not much to say about this place, except that if you are looking for any of the scores of Louis Jadot which are harder to find, this would be the place to look. They only offer the wines of the five major producers of Beaune: Bouchard Père et Fils, Chanson, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot, and Louis Latour.
<b>La Table d’Olivier Leflaive</b>, Place du Monument, 21190 Puligny-Montrachet 33 (0)3 80 21 37 65 <http://www.olivier-leflaive.com>
I had heard good reports from folks who visited the tasting lunch at Olivier Leflaive and I looked forward to the opportunity to not only try a variety of burgundy wines but also to pair them with food in a relaxed atmosphere. The experience was a bit different than I expected and my impressions were a bit mixed. The photos I had seen from others who had attended before showed a rather intimate dining room encased in an older house on a main square in Puligny-Montrachet. The lunch we attended (and I don’t know if this is a permanent move or was just for that day due to high demand) was in the complex owned by the winery on the opposite side of the square. Rather than cozy, country, and rustic it was sleek, modern, and reminiscent of a Napa Valley tasting complex (complete with Olivier Leflaive ashtrays!, Olivier Leflaive spa soaps!, Olivier Leflaive bathrobes!, Olivier Leflaive diningware! all available for purchase). I would say there were approximately 40-50 guests for the lunch—most in large groups, we were one of two couples that attended.
Pascal Wagner is the name of the man who runs the show—and he is a work of art. It would be appropriate to call the experience Pascal’s Table, as his guidance and expertise are as much a part of the experience as the wine. He is fluent in French, German, English, Brazilian Portuguese and who knows what else. He is not a salesman in this context but a facilitator. He oozes charisma as he jumps up on a table to layout the next wines that are being poured. Pascal has an excellent ability to educate, to communicate his passion for wines and for understanding all the intricacies of terroir and place in Burgundy. There is no doubt in my mind that the tasting lunch at Olivier Leflaive has been as much a success as it has due to the efforts of Pascal. That being said, I think I probably caught on a bit too late in the wave—the lunch has become quite popular and although Pascal has the wherewithal to communicate his passion even in a larger group, I missed the intimacy and the more one-on-one attention I think was more typical when the lunch is held on the other side of the square with fewer people. Pascal is very accommodating and seeks out opportunities to stop by your table and chat, but we felt like it was more of an environment where one had to compete for his attention—especially whereas the rest of the room was filled with larger groups.
The lunch was expensive, with the <i>Grande Dégustation</i> (15 wines) costing 49 euro per person. The food was rather mediocre—an excellent Sélection de Charcuterie to start off the meal, but a tired chicken, gravy, and white rice main course, decent cheese plate and weak airline-style coffee. I really wasn’t expecting much on the food front, but I think they could have worked a little harder for the price on that front. The wine pours were fine and it was interesting to see how the wines paired with food. You often have 3 pours in front of you at a time, so it is neat to have the opportunity to move back and forth between them to catch the differences. I particularly enjoyed the first half of the tastings where the wines were mostly village-level wines from different villages in the Côte de Beaune. Paired with Pascal’s excellent guidance, this gave me an enormous opportunity to recognize the different characteristics of the different appellations which are sometimes within a stone’s throw of one another.
That part rocked. The second part, however, where they pour the 1er Crus and the Grand Cru was much less useful and educational. Though Pascal gave a good intro, it would be hard for me to say what lessons I learned (whereas in the first half, it was really useful and I still remember the stark difference between a village Mersault and a village Puligny-Montrachet). It would perhaps be more helpful if the wines selection were more structured (perhaps comparing different vintages of the same 1er Cru or different 1er Crus from the same village—assuming Leflaive’s portfolio allows such comparison). In any case, 14 decent pours (11 white, 3 red) of decent stuff, but nothing earthshaking for me. For someone completely new to Burgundy wine like myself, it can be a useful experience to learn about the wine and <i>terroir</i>, but the price is high and I wish the experience had been a bit more intimate. Nonetheless I enjoyed the experience and I certainly got something out of it.
<b>Sensation Vin</b>, 1 rue d’enfer, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 17 57 <http://www.sensation-vin.com>
We just popped in here and took a look around. We learned that they offered guided tastings but were just about to close. We came back the next day and signed up for a one hour tasting featuring six wines. As the tasting cost 18 euro per person, we feared this might be quite a ripoff, only six wines for 18 euro? But, as it turned out, the experience was much more engaging and educational than a mere pour-and-sip session. The woman who ran the tasting for us (and it was just us) spoke excellent English and immediately started peppering us with questions to gauge what kind of experience and knowledge we had with wine, with the French AOC appellation system and with burgundy in particular.
This was great and made it much more interactive than we had expected. Rather than just launching into a general overview that might be appropriate for most people who walk through the door, she tailored the session toward our level of knowledge and experience. She offered a great overview of the different types of producers, levels of wine classification (regional, village, 1er and Grand Cru), grapes and vinification techniques in Burgundy. For this she used a really cool overhead powerpointesque projection system with superb maps. We then moved onto the tasting and evaluation session. She allowed us to choose the proportion of red versus white (we went 2 white, 4 red) and served them to us blind. We would talk about the wine, paying particular attention to how old we might evaluate the wine to be and what type of year (hot/cold) it might be from. The wines were then unveiled and we had to guess which wine was which.
This was a very neat experience, as most of the wines I have, I have at home one-at-a-time. The opportunity to evaluate, compare, and dissect wines side-by-side with someone knowledgeable to guide the way was educational and enjoyable. All the wines were quite decent, and though they are available for purchase, we were more interested in (and the experience is tailored to feel like) trying-to-learn rather than trying-to-buy. The one thing I think would have been a great focus would have been to give more attention toward capturing the different terroirs of Burgundy, whether comparing villages, 1er or even Grand Crus. The tasting we experienced gives you more of a general wine knowledge of identifying aging and vintage characteristics using Burgundy wines rather than a particular attention to the distinctions within Burgundy itself. It would be a great idea if they offered something like that as an advanced course. Nonetheless for someone like ourselves with an interest in wine who wants a bit more focus, I think this was a great experience and I highly recommend it. The more one is prepared to participate, however, the more I think one will get out of the interaction.
<b>Caveau Rateau (Caveau Municipal)</b>, Chassagne-Montrachet
This is a wine shop and tasting room that offers the wine of the local producers. The experience was a bit confusing for me and it probably would have worked better if I had gone later in the trip when I understood more. They offer you a huge wine menu with tons of selections to choose from (noting that the cost is 10 euro for 4 wines without a bottle purchase). But when you start asking for pours, they start informing you that wine after wine is not open—which of course is completely fine, one does not expect them to have 80-100 bottles open at any given time. But it would be much more efficient to have a chalkboard or something similar to list what wines are open that day. Add to that confusion the fact that oftentimes the producers I had been recommended as reliable or particularly good oftentimes share their last names with other less interesting domains in the area. So me trying to keep all this straight was quite confusing. Although we ended up finding something we liked, I think a better strategy would be to go in with something that you want to accomplish, for example, you want to experience the difference between 2 1er Crus, 2 producers, 2 years, whatever, and then focus on that. Our more hunt-and-peck approach wasn’t so enjoyable, though I think the place actually offered bottles from a number of respectable producers. I think this is one of those times where switching to a try-to-learn rather than try-to-buy mentality could be more helpful, at least when you are as new to learning about Burgundy as we are.
<b>Le Cellier de la Cabiote</b>, 11 rue de l’Enfant, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 56 15 <http://cellier-cabiote.com/>
I found this to be a nice wine shop with a good selection to my uneducated eyes. There were some interesting producers I saw there that had been recommended to me. Excellent staff who gave me extended guidance and provided very helpful responses to my numerous questions. I enjoyed the experience of shopping there, the selection was not huge, but it varied and offered a bit of an eclectic selection.
<b>Denis Perret</b>, 40 rue et Place Carnot, 21200 Beaune, 33 (0)3 80 22 35 47 <http://www.denisperret.fr>
Not much to say about this place, except that if you are looking for any of the scores of Louis Jadot which are harder to find, this would be the place to look. They only offer the wines of the five major producers of Beaune: Bouchard Père et Fils, Chanson, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot, and Louis Latour.
<b>La Table d’Olivier Leflaive</b>, Place du Monument, 21190 Puligny-Montrachet 33 (0)3 80 21 37 65 <http://www.olivier-leflaive.com>
I had heard good reports from folks who visited the tasting lunch at Olivier Leflaive and I looked forward to the opportunity to not only try a variety of burgundy wines but also to pair them with food in a relaxed atmosphere. The experience was a bit different than I expected and my impressions were a bit mixed. The photos I had seen from others who had attended before showed a rather intimate dining room encased in an older house on a main square in Puligny-Montrachet. The lunch we attended (and I don’t know if this is a permanent move or was just for that day due to high demand) was in the complex owned by the winery on the opposite side of the square. Rather than cozy, country, and rustic it was sleek, modern, and reminiscent of a Napa Valley tasting complex (complete with Olivier Leflaive ashtrays!, Olivier Leflaive spa soaps!, Olivier Leflaive bathrobes!, Olivier Leflaive diningware! all available for purchase). I would say there were approximately 40-50 guests for the lunch—most in large groups, we were one of two couples that attended.
Pascal Wagner is the name of the man who runs the show—and he is a work of art. It would be appropriate to call the experience Pascal’s Table, as his guidance and expertise are as much a part of the experience as the wine. He is fluent in French, German, English, Brazilian Portuguese and who knows what else. He is not a salesman in this context but a facilitator. He oozes charisma as he jumps up on a table to layout the next wines that are being poured. Pascal has an excellent ability to educate, to communicate his passion for wines and for understanding all the intricacies of terroir and place in Burgundy. There is no doubt in my mind that the tasting lunch at Olivier Leflaive has been as much a success as it has due to the efforts of Pascal. That being said, I think I probably caught on a bit too late in the wave—the lunch has become quite popular and although Pascal has the wherewithal to communicate his passion even in a larger group, I missed the intimacy and the more one-on-one attention I think was more typical when the lunch is held on the other side of the square with fewer people. Pascal is very accommodating and seeks out opportunities to stop by your table and chat, but we felt like it was more of an environment where one had to compete for his attention—especially whereas the rest of the room was filled with larger groups.
The lunch was expensive, with the <i>Grande Dégustation</i> (15 wines) costing 49 euro per person. The food was rather mediocre—an excellent Sélection de Charcuterie to start off the meal, but a tired chicken, gravy, and white rice main course, decent cheese plate and weak airline-style coffee. I really wasn’t expecting much on the food front, but I think they could have worked a little harder for the price on that front. The wine pours were fine and it was interesting to see how the wines paired with food. You often have 3 pours in front of you at a time, so it is neat to have the opportunity to move back and forth between them to catch the differences. I particularly enjoyed the first half of the tastings where the wines were mostly village-level wines from different villages in the Côte de Beaune. Paired with Pascal’s excellent guidance, this gave me an enormous opportunity to recognize the different characteristics of the different appellations which are sometimes within a stone’s throw of one another.
That part rocked. The second part, however, where they pour the 1er Crus and the Grand Cru was much less useful and educational. Though Pascal gave a good intro, it would be hard for me to say what lessons I learned (whereas in the first half, it was really useful and I still remember the stark difference between a village Mersault and a village Puligny-Montrachet). It would perhaps be more helpful if the wines selection were more structured (perhaps comparing different vintages of the same 1er Cru or different 1er Crus from the same village—assuming Leflaive’s portfolio allows such comparison). In any case, 14 decent pours (11 white, 3 red) of decent stuff, but nothing earthshaking for me. For someone completely new to Burgundy wine like myself, it can be a useful experience to learn about the wine and <i>terroir</i>, but the price is high and I wish the experience had been a bit more intimate. Nonetheless I enjoyed the experience and I certainly got something out of it.
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<i>but nothing earthshaking for me</i>
Might it be that you are expecting California style wines? Which might explain why you found the difference in terroir more educational than the Grand Cru comparisons.
Might it be that you are expecting California style wines? Which might explain why you found the difference in terroir more educational than the Grand Cru comparisons.
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Great report Bewohner. I am so sorry to hear about the change in Olivier Leflaive. It was a highlight for us 3 years ago but that's what happens when a place becomes popular. Pascal is fantastic however.
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