WEEKEND IN BURGUNDY, Afternoon in the Caves

So allow us to set the scene: end of January, -4°C or 28°F, some sun but mostly grey, and humid. In this weather we arrive at the first of the Chef Cousin’s suppliers, Gaston et Pierre Ravaut. Diligent readers will remember tasting notes following the Paris degustation on the peniche at the Club des Vignerons Laureats and we have not much to add to those, although taste more we did. Now caves in Burgundy are basements – underground with concrete floors and filled with wooden barrels and stacked bottles. They are damp and cold even in the summertime.

But there was a task at hand, dear Audience, and we did not shirk from our responsibility. A responsibility that ran for about three hour, but we did discover two wines we had left off our wish list (filed in early January with the Chef Cousin who places a large order each year with this producer). The first was Ravault’s Corton Bressandes Grand Cru 2005. We are sure to have tasted it in Paris, we never miss the opportunity to slosh some Grand Cru, but perhaps following on all the Ladoix and Aloxe Corton, it did not register.

However, in a serious degustation, one always tastes in the same order – from lightest to heaviest or least complex to most. Therefore, this being a serious degustation, we did start with the lightest and work our way up to the heaviest. At Ravault, that meant Ladoix (village appellation), Ladoix 1er Cru (three different), Aloxe Corton (village), Aloxe 1er Cru, and then the two Corton Grand Crus. A lot of wine served one small glassful after another. You sniff, swirl, sniff, swirl, sip, slosh, spit and repeat but DON'T swallow. Again today we tasted their Corton Grand Cru Les Hautes Mourottes and Corton Grand Cru Bressandes. And this time the Bressandes 2005 sang to us. It was added to the mental wish list.

We can feel your thoughts: “Why does this bit of spitting take three hours?” Such an excellent question, fair Audience, and the response is simple. We were tasting 2005’s that had been bottled recently and 2006’s that were still in the barrels and tanks. So there were two of each wine. Remember that traditionally in Burgundy red wine is not bottled until about 18 months after the harvest. At Ravault, roughly half of the production is aged in oak barrels, of which a small percentage are new each year, and the other half is aged in large metal tanks. Prior to bottling the barreled wine is mixed with the wine aged in tanks to give the taste that Ravault seeks in their wines.

So we tasted reds in this manner but the white wine we tasted was all 2006 in bottles because unlike red wine, white is bottled soon after the harvest. Ravault’s production of white is somewhat limited; they make only four: two are regional – an Aligote and a Chardonnay; one is a village – a Ladoix; one is Grand Cru – Corton Charlemagne. It was while tasting the whites that we discovered the second wine we had left off our wish list. More accurately, it was the Prince Consort who suggested that the 2006 Ladoix white should be on that list. Oops, another on that mental list we are maintaining.

Finishing at Ravault, late, we ride off in the Chef Cousin’s 4x4 along the dirt farm roads to the second of the caves we were to visit today - Pierre Marey et Fils. Again a supplier of the CC, and a cave we have visited several times. Marey is a 5-10 minute ride from Ravault, but it is several villages away. Marey is located in the village of Pernand-Vergelesses which is the only village that offers in both white and red wines, Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village and Regional. There is a very nice page on a domain’s website with interesting tidbits about Pernand, in English. The address is: http://www.dubreuil-fontaine.com/pernand/

Well, Marey is also a different sort of cave in that there is a degustation room and that is all one visits. Upside: it is slightly heated! We are particularly fond of Marey's Pernands – red and white – and have purchased them on several occasions. We have also developed recently a small passion for white Pernand that has a bit of age on it. With time, this wine develops the most interesting notes of honey and spice over the fresh white flower that is present from the first day. In fact, Ravault’s Ladoix aside, we prefer the whites at Marey and Marey’s Pernand aside, the reds at Ravault, so we took the opportunity to purchase some red 2005 Pernand 1er Cru, white 2006 Pernand, and 2006 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (naturally you remember, dear Audience, that all Charlemagne is white!).

Oh, there are two serious notes of business to relay. We would be bereft in our duties if we did not report word from Marey concerning their 2004 vintage which we own. “Drink it.” was his comment! Now there are vintage guides that rank, by year and region, wines, and for some years there are as many different opinions as one can wish. However, one year is consistently similar in various charts – 2004, not so great. The other note of business, gentle Audience, 2005 was a stellar year for red Burgundies, mixed maybe for whites, but 2006 is a very good year for whites in the region. Buy ‘em if ya can!

Now we’re late for everything else. We’ve been booked into two different bed and breakfasts because one, run by a son and daughter-in-law of the Ravault’s (this region is so incestuous it makes Appalachia look mundane) was full. The CC and La Serveuse will stay there and we will stay in another but both are in another village south of Beaune, Puligny Montrachet. Phone calls are made to alert the B&B’s and our dinner reservation that we’re delayed and off we go.

Rest up because the evening is full of suprises!