Burgundy cellar

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Burgundy cellar

Burgundy by Coach

Burgundy by Coach

26 - 30 October 2008

Visit the classic French vineyards of Burgundy just after harvest time when there are plenty of exciting new stories to catch up on, and when there may still be some activity in the vineyards and cellars. The vineyards will be at perhaps their most beautiful with autumnal copper tones.
Our first evening is in the attractive city of Auxerre, with its many churches, riverside setting and medieval streets. Our first day’s wine tasting is to the nearby vineyards of Chablis.
We spend the morning exploring Auxerre before continuing to Domaine Emmanuel Dampt whose wines are from both the Tonnerre and Chablis appellations. Here the family arrange an informal buffet for us whilst we taste an extensive array of their outstanding value wines.

Our next base is the peaceful wine village of Gevrey-Chambertin in the Côte des Nuits. Here we taste a range of serious Premier crus at Lucien Boillot. The winemaking here is traditional with ‘pigeage’ by foot, and sometimes whole body immersion! The wines are great. Lunchtime and early afternoon are then free in Beaune, Burgundy’s wine capital.
The town’s old centre is wonderfully preserved with many medieval buildings still standing. You can walk the entire circle of battlements. The most stunning building is the Hotel Dieu, with its multi-coloured glazed roof tiles, built in 1451 for the sick and poor.

In the late afternoon we visit the village of Santenay at the bottom of the Côte de Beaune where the wines seem to echo those of the northern Côte de Nuits. Here we have a tasting of the Premier Crus from the length of the Côte de Beaune with Prieur-Brunet. This is followed by dinner at their restaurant, matched with a vertical tasting of their Santenay- Maladière.

Next morning we visit Château de Chorey, (Domaine Jacques Germain), which has a superb array of dark and brooding Beaune Premier crus, as well as great value wines from Savigny-lès-Beaune and Chorey-lès-Beaune. There is also a white Pernard-Vergelesses, that was once judged to be the perfect wine to go with Colchester Oysters!
That afternoon there is an optional, but rather special visit in Pommard to Domaine Parent and Domaine AF Gros, with superb wines from Pommard and Vosne-Romanée respectively.
On our way home we stop off for lunch with a small Champagne producer - more bargains for the cellar!