France Travelogue — Day 1/Part 2: Beaune

Back on the road headed to Domaine Debray, a young winery (first vineyard purchased in 2006) that produces bottlings from around 25 different crus. We would soon taste them all. The team of owner, Yvonnick Debray and his oenologist, Jean-Philippe Terreau, have quickly established a prolific range of high-quality wines that will be hard to overlook in the coming years.

So unassuming from the outside, but…

This was an intensive tasting inclusive of five 2012 barrel samples and 20 bottle tastings from the 2010 and 2011 vintages. There was about a 60:40 ratio of red to white tasted. The thing that stood out most with this tasting was the precise detail of the entire experience and the intense professionalism of the two gentlemen. These are men committed to creating the best wines possible via exacting methods in the vineyard (sustainable practices, establishing vine-strain, ensuring small yields) through harvest and in the cellar (destemming, gentle pressing, meticulous temperature control, natural fermentation, etc.). The same behaviors were reflected in the nearly ritualistic nature of the tasting.

Where good stuff happens.

It would be foolish and daunting (and nigh-unreadable) for me to post all of my tasting notes here. Suffice it to say that my overarching comment on the wines when asked about possible favorites as we neared the end of the tasting was, “…difficult as it’s all just varying degrees of very good…”. I think that sums it up. There is not one wine in this visit that I would not personally buy or not enjoy drinking. There were, however, highlights:

Never enough Burgundy.

whites

• 2011 Savigny les Beaune (tropical,spicy/toasty)
• 2011 Meursault 1er Cru LesBoucheres (fleshy baked red apple, cinnamon, mineral)
• 2011 Corton Charlemagne (fruit blossom melange, silken mouthfeel, marshmallow finish)

reds

• 2012 Pommard 1er Cru Les Chaponniéres (mossy/earthy cherry nose, powerful, high-toned, high-extract)
• 2011 Bourgogne Rouge (modern, sagey, ripe and bright, great value)
• 2011 Mercurey 1er Cru Sazenay (cherry lozenge, sage, toasted marshmallow, cardamom, lavender)
• 2011 Aloxe Corton 1er Cru Les Velozieres (black cherry, vanilla, full and rich)
• 2011 Corton Grand Cru (old-school, black cherry, sanguine, high-toned)
• 2011 Vosne Romanée Les Barreaux (intoxicating cinnamon/clove nose, über-ripe cherry, baking spice, chewy texture)
• and the utterly ridiculous 2011 Clos de Vouget Grand Cru (dark and dense, silken, mixed herbs on front with red cherry bringing up the rear, impeccably structured: ripe fruit, sloping acid, velvety tannins)

2nd from left: Mr. Terreau, 2nd from right: Mr. Debray, far right: Philippe Bourgeois

This is a winery to watch.

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France Travelogue — Day 1: Champagne

Last week I was afforded the honor of accompanying a small group of American wine professionals on a trip to French wineries represented by Bourgeois Family Selections (Asheville, NC). Our group included Jean-Philippe Bourgeois (president of B. F. S.), Jem Emery (B. F. S. office manager), Martin Von Ellen (N. E. sales manager for B. F. S.), Tom Lally (Sales Manager, Okoboji Wines, IA), Steve White (Wine Brands Manager, Click Wholesale Distributing, WA), Chris Horn (Wine Director, Purple Café, WA), and our chauffeur, Alain Paquet. This trip covered most of France’s major wine regions and a total of 16 wineries were visited/represented over the course of seven days. 

Posts will be in a day-by-day account.

This was my first ever international travel experience and it all went surprisingly smoothly. Dulles to JFK (4-hour layover) to Paris-CDG by 6:15 am. It was snowing upon arrival in Paris, but that only delayed pick-up from the airport by half-an-hour to 9:40 am.

Not enough sleep on the flight over.

From here I met with the group on our Mercedes Sprinter van (outfitted for traveling bands — which later became known by the group as “The Disco Bus” for it’s blue LED interior lighting and odd French radio selections) — and off we went to our first winery visit.

Champagne Philippe Fontaine

Gorgeous place with the river running under the mansion and a watermill located at the back.

It was snowy and cold (about 30° F max) in Balnot sur Laignes. Our rear-wheel-drive van could not make it onto the snow-covered property, so we hoofed it a bit. We were greeted by the lovely couple of Salomé Fontaine-Garcia and Louis-Antoine Garcia who gave us a thorough tour of the property and explanation of their viticultural and winemaking methods.

Gyropalettes for riddling.

Just a little limestone here.

The Fontaine’s grow Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay, and somewhat surprisingly, Pinot Blanc (from which they make a 100% varietal bottling) in both Balnot sur Laignes and Riceys. These images are from the main property in Balnot sur Laignes.

From here we retired to the Fontaine’s charming little home in the village of Balnot sur Laignes. Here we met up with the winemaking patriarch, Philippe, who preferred to keep a low profile throughout our visit. This is where we tasted all the current bottlings of their production and enjoyed a lovingly prepared lunch — heated at a neighbor’s house due to a lack of electricity in their home at that time — including an incredible smoked salmon and foie gras terrine. The family was incredibly kind and generous with their time, energy, and passion while providing us with a wealth of information about their wines and the warmth of their home.

All the cuvées of Champagne Philippe Fontaine.

• Brut Tradition: 70% Pinot Noir/30% Pinot Meunier — rich, soft lemon curd and light toastiness in an almost extra-dry style but with striking acid and a keen minerality

• Cuvée des Lys: the oddball of the bunch made with 100% Pinot Blanc (the family does not feel that Chardonnay makes for a good sparkling wine and chose Pinot Blanc after an off-the-cuff experiment) — higher-toned than the Tradition and with more spice evident on the nose and back-palate

• Brut Reserve: same blend as Tradition — palate of very rich and gentle apple and restrained acid, lusher mouthfeel than those preceding

• Brut Prestige: 40% Pinot Blanc/35% Pinot Noir/15% Pinot Meunier/10% Chardonnay —very spice-driven nose with mouth-filling baked apple and cinnamon on the palate, super-satisfying

• Brut Millésime 2007: 100% Pinot Noir — kind of the disappointment of the afternoon with a very tight nose and closed palate showing only a bit of toffee

• Brut Rosé: 50% Pinot Noir/50% Pinot Meunier — beautiful strawberry color, floral/ yeasty nose, palate of mixed berries and dried flowers with a soft yeasty note on the finish

Day 1, Part Two: Beaune to follow…

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