Day 3-Burgundy-Meursault

This part of the day still has me mystified. I keep trying to tell myself it was the romance of being in France that made these wines seem so unearthly and magnificent, but when I look at it realistically, by this time in the day I am suffering from the worst of my jet lag, it's freezing cold, and my tongue is tired after tasting the last 24 wines from lunch. Today, however, the light bulb went on. My passion for a grape I had only previously appreciated, but never sought was ignited during this part of the trip. I know what good Chardonnay tastes like, but never do I try to seek it out and purchase it or drink it. The next three producers, all three from Meursault, not only re-introduced me to an appellation that I had no idea I liked this much, but introduced me to a style of wine-making that can only be spoken of as godly.

Domaine Arnaud Ente

Arnaud started his domaine in 1992 and has some of the smallest yields in Burgundy. He is meticulous about growing grapes and making wine and it shows in the glass. These wines woke my pallet up and said 'hello, pay attention to us'. 1997 was his first vintage and all his vineyards are farmed biodynamically.

Tasting order:
2008 Aligote-spicy, lively wine
2008 Bourgogne Blanc-very full-bodied, strong, heady Chardonnay in the nose, but with finesse and elegance on the palate.
2008 Meursault-unbelievable beautiful nose, chalky, minerally. This wine is blended from 3 Clos vineyards that are not 1er Cru
2008 Meursault 'Clos de Ambres'-55yr old Chardonnay vines-this wine was spectacular with a mushroomey nose followed by intense tropical fruits
2008 Meursault 'Les Petits Charrons'-very similar exposition and angle to 1er Cru vineyards, much more elegant and acidic than previous 2 wines
2008 Meursault 'La Goutte d'Or' 1er Cru-this had a nose of sweaty socks
2008 Meursault 'La Seve de Clos'-120 yr old Chardonnay vines- lowest yields, 1 ton/acre, lots of citrus fruits with an incredible underlying minerality
2008 Puligny des Referts 1er Cru-Tropical instead of citrus, this vineyard is on the Meursault side
2006 Meursault 'La Seve de Clos'-an incredible balance between minerality and fruit
2008 Bourgogne Rouge-100% Gamay from 100yr old Gamay vines-his dad likes this wine so much, that his allocation is larger than for the whole US
2008 Volnay 'Les Santenots du Milieu' 1er Cru Rouge-fascinating wine




Arnaud Ente and his wife


Inside of a wine barrel


One of Arnaud's vineyards


Domaine Francois Jobard

While I liked Ente's wines, Francois Jobard, to me, is famous. He is actually mentioned in Kermit's book, 'Adventures Along the Wine Route' and here I am, standing in his cellar. Francois takes steps in the vineyards that few winemakers take the time to do. His wines are organic and only use natural yeasts found in the cellar. New oak is kept to a minimum and he neither fines nor filters his wines. He lets fermenation stop in the winter when it gets cold and resumes again naturally when it gets warmer out. He releases his wines a full year after everyone else, and we are talking about Chardonnay, mind you. We were tasting '07's out of the barrel. Wtf. No wine or winery stands out more in my mind from the trip than these heavenly wines. I started out taking notes and had to stop, because I lacked the words to properly describe what it was I was experiencing. I was able to purchase some of these wines and am very much looking forward to introducing them to Oklahoma.

Tasting order:
2007 Bourgogne Blanc-crystal clear, almost luminescent, unbelievable nose, so viscous and perfectly balanced-I got some of this
2007 Meursault 'en la Barre'-this is not 1er cru, but is the vineyard behind his house (see pic below)-I got some of this too
2007 Meursault 'Tillets'-it's nose is so exquisite it's like perfume
2007 Puligny-Montrachet 'Le Trezin' 1er Cru
2007 Meursault 'Blagny' 1er Cru
2007 Meursault 'Poruzots' 1er Cru
2007 Meursault 'les Genevrieres' 1er Cru
2007 Meursault 'les Charmes' 1er Cru
2006 Meursault 'en la Barre'-this had a lot more structure than the '07
2006 Meursault 'les Poruzots' 1er Cru
2006 Meursault 'les Genevreieres'

At this point in the tasting Jobard, who never spoke a word, except maybe for Bonjour and Merci, disappears to the depths of his cellar and comes back with this bottle


1985 Meursault Blagny-I actually smelled tangerines coming out of this wine. So beautiful.




The man on the left is Monsieur Francois Jobard


Jobard's wine casks-where the magic happens


Old bottles of Meursault covered in mold in his cellar


More moldy bottles, look at the one on the left. You can only see the impression of the bottle in the mold. He knows what vintage each one of these wines are.


1996 Meursault Poruzots


en la Barre Vineyard

Domaine Roulot

Jean-Marc Roulot has been involved in his family's wine business his whole life and his family has been active in Burgundy since 1827. Low yields, organic farming, natural yeasts in cellar all lead to one of the most sought after Burgundy producers on the market. He was the first wine-maker in Meursault to bottle according to village vineyard sites, even though they weren't Premier Cru. Roulot's vineyards are adjacent to Coche's, whom I'll talk about shortly. A different style of wine-making than Jobard, but his wines were every bit as expressive as Jobard's. I think my palate is dying at this point, but we'll see.

Tasting order:
2008 Bourgogne Aligote
2008 Bourgogne Blanc-really nice minerality, perfume-like, almost floral like the soap you get in a hotel room
2008 Meursault 'Vireuils'-tangerines, perfume and lavender on the nose
2008 Meursault 'Les Meix Chavaux'
2008 Meursault 'Luchets'
2008 Meursault 'Tillets'
2008 Meursault 'Tessons'
2008 Meursault-Boucheres 1er Cru-sweet, ripe oranges
2008 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru
2008 Meursault-Perrieres 1er Cru
2004 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru
2008 Bourgogne Rouge-strawberries, rhubarb and cola
2008 Monthiele Rouge-really concentrated clean fruit, spicy backbone and good minerality-we should be getting some of this
2008 Auxey-Duresses-love this appellation, a lot!!!


Jean-Marc Roulot






Wall of Roulot









Domaine Coche-Dury

Jean-Francois Coche-Dury aka Coche (koash) is one of the most sought after Burgundy producers in the market today. He makes miniscule quantities and very few cases come to the US. His annual production is 4500 cases, but he makes 30 or 40 different kinds of wine. In France, you can tell if a restaurant is Coche approved because it will have his wine on the list at affordable prices. Anywhere else in the world and your paying 4 to ten times as much. I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to taste these exquisite examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Tasting order:
2007 Meursault-very aromatic, zesty green apple and citrus
2007 Puligny-Montrachet 'Les Enseigneres'-Pineapple and coconut
2007 Meursault 'Les Rougeots'
2007 Meursault 'Les Perrieres'
2007 Corton-Charlemagne-Grand Cru-I wrote down that this is the best of the day, but little did I know what was coming down the pike!
2007 Auxey-Duresses Rouge
2007 Pommard Vaumuries(?)-this had been bottled the day before
1999 Meursault 'Les Rougeots'-this wine is still bristling with acidity ten years later
1997 Monthelie Cote de Beaune-still young, vibrant and healthy. This woke our tongues back up even though this is the 70th wine of the day. At this point Coche runs out of the room and comes back with this bottle.
1996 Corton-Charlemagne-Grand Cru-by far the best wine of the entire day...words cannot express the magnificence of this glass of wine, I quit spitting a long time ago.


Coche






Coche's cellar