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Wine Tours
Thanks to diligent research, driving through various small country lanes, sampling the products at many local wine and food fairs and face to face meetings with winemakers around the region we are able to assist by offering the following suggestions for touring the region.
JURA
We know personally three very good places to try Jura wines:-
the , in Poligny,
the in Voiteur and
the personal cellar of at la Grange Bernard near Menetru le Vignoble.
The first two are co-operatives whose tasting rooms are open at normal shop hours and don't need appointments. The Caveau des Jacobins is in a stunning setting. A de-consecrated church! The storage barrels, holding between 18,000 and 24,000 bottles of wine EACH line the nave of the church whilst behind them are the smaller barrels holding the "speciality" products. The "WOW" factor as you enter is very high indeed. The co-operative offers the full range of Jura wines from the basic "Cotes du Jura" right up to the rather special "Fine du Jura" (a particularly good "Brandy"). All tasting notes are highly personal but we were particularly taken with the Cuvee St. Avoye and the Chateau Bethanie. we'd probably not recommend the sparkling "Cotes du Jura" but the "Cremant du Jura" is another matter.
We know less about the Fruiterie Vinicole de Voiteur but have spent a happy few hours there. Less of the wow factor as it is a purpose built "winery" with tasting room attached. The wines are all good and they do a very good Chateau Chalon as well as another Chardonnay/Savagnin mix which is a good stepping stone for the full Savagnin wines.
We're biased, we admit it. A couple of years ago whilst ambling gently around a Food & Wine fair in Lons le Saunier we were waylaid by a small man carrying sparkling wine! This was the start of what has become a good friendship. Denis Chevassu is passionate about his wine and loves talking about it to anyone! Sadly as he only speaks French he's a bit limited to the size of audience but we can be persuaded to come along and interpret! (Quite easily actually!) For a small producer he has a large range of wines & spirits. They range from the award winning Chardonnay (2000 & 2002 were particularly good years), through a variety specific Savagnin (no mixture here), a Pinot Noir (rare in the Jura to find this on it's own, it's usually combined with Trousseau and or Poulsard) which in 2003 was stunning (all sold now but the 2004 is rather good) up to the speciality wines of the region. The Cremant (sparkling wine) is, in our humble opinion, one of the best we have tasted. Light and refreshing, an absolute joy. It's recently won a bronze medal in the International competition for Cremants. He supplies his Chateau Chalon Vin Jaune to the Michelin starred Bec Fin restaurant in Dole. This is a wine kept for a minimum of six years in oak casks with no topping up. The wine evaporates slightly and a yeast film covers it within the barrel. The method is similar to making Dry Sherry and the taste is similar also but much richer. All Vin Jaune and Chateau Chalon (the superior version) is sold in 62cl bottles much to the EU's disgust and as a result cannot be exported to America. Their loss! Macvin is a mix of "normal grapes" and the spirit made from the residue of the pips, stalks et al (called Marc du Jura). Very sweet, it is usually served as an aperitif, well chilled. Should you have a very special occasion near get some of Denis' Vin de Paille (straw wine). A sweet dessert wine it costs about 18 for a HALF bottle! They don't sell it in whole bottles and is absolutely stunning.
Folklore has it that it is very good for sick people (rather on the same lines as "Guinness is good for you" for those of you old enough to remember). Denis & Marie give tastings by appointment only but one or the other can usually be to hand at fairly short notice. Ask and we can contact.
Distance wise this is the shortest of the tours. Sens sur Seille to Poligny is 36 kms (22 mls). Poligny to Voiteur is 14 kms (9 mls) and the Chevassu's are between the two! Voiteur to Sens sur Seille is 23 kms (15 mls). We generally recommend two tastings in a day but Denis & Marie is a must, so whichever of the others you chose well....
BEAUNE
We have another job. Unbeknownst to the taxman (only joking honest) we translate winemakers websites from French to English. It is only a small concern but growing slowly. However it has enabled us to meet a couple of winemakers in their own places when we hand deliver the finished product.
This is a producer of about 25,000 bottles per year who has land in both the Hautes Cotes de Beaune and the Hautes Cotes de Nuits. This land is above Beaune & Nuits St. Georges and has only been producing AOC wine for about 45 years. The countryside is different in that there are areas of vines and then areas of arable farming right alongside. Very different from the next location. Domaine Glantenet has it's cellar in the village of Magny les Villers and is fairly easy to find (We can always supply maps and directions).
The wines are typical of the two Hautes Cotes, fairly simple, good quality and easy drinking. You won't be looking to keep these for 10 years. The whites, a fresh crisp Aligot é, Hautes Cotes des Beaune and Hautes Cotes de Nuits need drinking before they're four years old (never a problem here!) and for the Aligot é two or three years is better! The Hautes Cotes de Beaune 2004 is a very pleasing wine, fresh and refreshing, and , like most of the wines from the Hautes Cotes, a very good price.
The reds are fairly full bodied and already beginning to win their share of prizes. The Hautes Cotes de Nuits has a surprisingly smoky first taste but then smoothes out to give lots of typically Pinot Noir fruits. Both this and the Hautes Cotes des Beaune can keep well from between three to five years. The flagship of the Domaine is the Cote des Villages Red which again can be kept from three to five years.
Here you start talking in hushed voices! J-L Joillot has his domaine in the village of Pommard just outside Beaune. Pommard does big wines. There are several Premier Cru "Climats" (areas) around Pommard and this domaine makes wine from several of them, "Les Charmots", "Mont ée Rouge" and "Les Petits Epenots". All these are red wines, all from the Pinot Noir grape and all will keep from five to twenty years depending on the vintage.
White is not strong in the Pommard area however the domaine does feature an Aligot é and soon will have a Puligny-Montrachet (home of the best white wines in the world according to the modest winemakers of the village). This, along with the Hautes Cotes de Beaune white, Rose, Cremant, Pinot Noir, Hautes Cotes de Beaune red and Passetoutgrain ( a mix of Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes) are the staples of his range. Should you decide to come here for a visit what you really want to try are the big hitters.
The Burgundian method of measuring a wine's quality is a very obscure one, known only to one man who died 130 years ago and took the secret with him. Vineyards next door to each other will be classed differently. In Pommard some may be Premier Cru (the second highest level only behind Grand Cru) and the field next to it may be "Appellation Communale" the next level down. Some of these can be just as good as a Premier Cru. The "Les Noizons" and "Les Rugiens" are some of these wines and really it is very difficult to tell the difference. We tasted both and were impressed. Well, very impressed really. These can keep from five to ten years. As for the quality of the previous years vintages; 2000 & 2004 were "good" years and 2001,2002,& 2003 were "excellent" years. 2005 is looking to be another "excellent" year but it is too soon to tell yet. To confuse you even more the Beaune Premier Cru "Mont ée Rouge" is rated higher but priced lower than the Pommards "Les Rugiens" & "Les Noizons". We make no attempt to understand it. The two Premier Cru Pommards, "Les Charmots" and "Les Petits Epenots" are great wines. They will keep from ten to twenty years (although the 2003 can be drunk much younger because of the unique climate of that year) and are very definitely special occasion wines.
Both Domaine Glantenet and Jean-Luc Joillot need advance warning for tastings and Tuesdays are definitely best. At Glantenet Sylvie will help you through the tastings and speaks very good English. She also works there on Thursdays. At Joillot's the cellar is open on Tuesdays, Fridays & Saturdays when J-L's daughter is in attendance and she speaks good English. J-L speaks some English but is a little shy about using it. We'd suggest going to Domaine Glantenet first for a morning session, popping into Beaune, or going on a picnic, for lunch and going to Joillot's in the afternoon. Just ask, we'll try and arrange it (Can't guarantee the weather though). Overall distance is about 130 kms (80 miles).
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