Champagne and Chambolle.  They are magic words, and it was such a hit the past two years, we’ve decided to do it again! And there are three extra reasons (at least) to raise your glass — we’ve added three more small grower Champagne producers to our portfolio: Champagne Camille Savès, Champagne Bruno Gobillard, Champagne José Dhondt, (and of course our longtime fave Champagne Marc Chauvet). Savvy wine tasters like to kick-start the holiday season by attending festivities at wineries across the Willamette Valley the weekend before Thanksgiving, and they will be rewarded at Scott Paul with bubbles and the best of Burgundy!

Noon – 5p.m. $20 tasting fee waived with 6 bottle purchase.

Please join us!  Cheers!

I train on the hills of Forest Park above our house in Portland. I obviously need to train on much STEEPER hills. I finished the Beaune half-marathon this afternoon, and that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done – much harder than the half I ran in Oregon back in September. I feel like I’ve been beaten with a bag of hammers, and that 99% of my life force has been sucked out of me. Aside from that, I do feel great that I made it.

I had naively hoped to shave a few minutes off of the 2:14 I ran in Oregon. I started to realize that perhaps that was not going to happen during the 2-mile long hill from the bottom of Meursault up to Volnay Clos des Chênes. I felt it slipping away even further on the climb from Clos de la Bousse d’Or up into the village of Volnay. I knew for sure it was out of the question on the hill through  Pommard Charmots. It occurred to me that putting that hill on the course was somebody’s idea of a cruel joke. A lot of healthy people could not walk that hill. I passed a woman that was sobbing hysterically on her attempt to get up it.

Fortunately it was mostly downhill after that, and I ended up running 2:16:20 – just a couple minutes slower than the Oregon race. So please tell me why it felt like an extra hour out there!

A few observations – This will be my last race in France. They seem to have different ideas about the value and importance of sanitation and hydration. There are no bathrooms or porta-pottys anywhere on the course – beginning, end, anywhere. Thus, the runners just step off the side of the road and relieve themselves right in the vines, or on the streets of Meursault in one case I witnessed today. The women, I guess, just have to hold it.

Water stations, typically every two miles in US races, are 4-5 miles apart here, and of course there’s no water at the beginning of the race should you want to hydrate just before the run, as is my habit. When you do finally get to the water stations – they are inexplicably serving squares of gingerbread – “Pain d’Epices” in local parlance. Just what I want in my stomach while I’m churning up the hills of Pommard…

And then there’s the finish line. When you hand in your timing chip you get a slip of paper that entitles you to the finishers’ bag – which includes a chit for a paper cup of bad instant hot chocolate and another square of gingerbread, a sign-up form to subscribe to “Le Jogging” magazine, a copy of “R” running magazine, a lollipop, a juice box, a stale Special K bar, and a packet of assorted band-aids – which I thought was a nice touch. However, no running shirt, no t-shirt, no medal, nothing to commemorate the pain one went through to cross the line. At least give me a crappy t-shirt – I gave you my soul! The finish line is a couple miles away from the start, and of course there is no parking at either end, nor is there any kind of shuttle. That seemed like the longest walk I’ve taken in my life. 

It would be a spectacularly beautiful course, but in today’s dark gray, cold, and pouring rain, it seemed to lack a little awe-inspiring wonder somehow. All that said, I am glad I did it. I have now run a marathon in my first year of running – however half of it was in Oregon and the other half was here in France. Maybe next year I’ll put it together and do it all at once. I hear the Portland Marathon is flat. I hope it is very flat.

I broke down in tears myself hearing Martha’s and Pirrie’s voices when I called them back in Oregon after the race. I thought of them all the way – and the Grand Cru Burgs and Fleur de Sel chocolate chip cookies, of course.

There is not enough Advil on the planet to ease these aches. I will now curl up on the couch and watch the France-Argentina rugby match. Something nice and relaxing…

9am in Volnay on Saturday Morning. In five hours I’ll be at the starting line for the Beaune semi-marathon. Hopefully in about seven hours I’ll be crossing the finish line. The bustle of thousands of tourists in Beaune for the Hospices de Beaune weekend is only about 3 miles away, but here it is silent, save for the church bells every 15 minutes. A perfect place to relax and reflect, before hitting the pavement and winding through the vineyards of Beaune, Pommard, Volnay & Meursault. It’s looking like we might luck out and get a dry afternoon – wish me luck on that and on all fronts…

In the meantime, plenty of time to gather thoughts and notes from tastings and meals over the last few days. the 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau was released on Thursday, of which I could care less. I am excited, however, about the new generation of exciting high-quality artisan producers of the superior Cru Beaujolais – especially in the villages of Morgon and Fleurie. I’ve had the opportunity to taste several that are amazingly complex and delicious. I’ll be meeting with some folks down there before I leave, and may return with some new goodies for our portfolio. (I’ve also been turned onto a couple of exceptional wines from the Languedoc that are amazing values – details soon…)

I must take a minute to remark on the three vintages of Corton-Charlemagne I tasted with Jean-Charles at Bonneau du Martray the other day. The ’08 and ’07 were both akin to sucking on a wet limestone rock, such is the intensity. The ’08 is coiled like a spring, where the ’07 is like a pure beam of light. Both of these will need the better part of 7-10 years to reach their peak, but my god they are amazing. Jean-Charles also showed the ’97, which now has a floral, lifted nose, with a long and lean profile and still some youthful chalkiness on the intensely powerful finish. That one still has many years ahead of it…

Corton-Charlemagne

At Mugnier yesterday, Frédéric said there will probably not be a Clos des Fourches from the 2009 vintage, but it has not been decided as of yet. Most likely all of the fruit from the 25-acre monopole Clos de la Maréchale will go into the 1er Cru bottling, as even the younger vines performed superbly in 2009. Interesting that the ’09 Mugnier wines are all between 13.5 and 14.5% alcohol – levels not often reached in Burgundy. (It’s the Musigny that topped out at 14.5%) However, none of the wines showed any trace of extra heat. Whether that is atttributable to the terroir or Freddy’s “non-winemaking” I’m not sure. He believes that this vintage will benefit from a long elevage, and plans to bottle in May, and says he has seen the wines take a huge turn toward finesse in the last few months in barrel. What we tasted yesterday was the epitome of elegance and finesse to my way of thinking. M. Mugnier thinks they will get even more refined in the months to come before bottling. The Musigny is indeed the definition of harmony &  grace already…

Kudos to our friends Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith-Franchini, the mother-daughter team whose Cook’s Atelier in Beaune was just written up in USA Today (even though the paper misspelled it!) Our dinner there on Thursday night was spot-on excellent. Marjorie cooks everything direct from the Beaune market and the butcher and cheese-monger down the street. The food is simple – just great ingredients lovingly prepared and presented in their best light. Her Boeuf Bourguignon, a 2-day preparation, shows layers and layers of complex flavors as all of the different textures melt together in the mouth. Yum. And the fleur de sel Chocolate Chip cookies are insanely decadent. It’s what I will crave immediately after finishing the race later today! (That, and the lure of 100 or so bottles of great old Grand Cru Burgundy awaiting me at the Paulée Monday will drive me on through the 13.1 miles today!)

At Lafarge yesterday afternoon, I was struck again, as always, by the amazing energy and wisdom of 80-something Michel Lafarge, who just finished putting his 61st vintage into barrel last month. Michel and his son Frédéric continue to set the standard for what is to me the essence of Volnay. I consider myself fortunate for every minute I get to spend around those two. Of the 17 different wines they produced in 2009, all of which are outstanding, there was a special glow to the Beaune Grèves, the Clos du Chateau des Ducs and of course the Caillerets and Clos des Chênes. But what blows me away the most may be the Passetoutgrain l’Exception – 85 year-old vines, 50-50 Pinot and Gamay, and perhaps the single finest example of the appellation that you’ll ever find. Buy every bottle you can and enjoy it with gusto…

Michel and Frédéric Lafarge

And so, off to the race. Hopefully my sore legs will bring me back in front of the MacBook later today for an update. Cheers!

So how does one follow up a morning of tasting at Mugnier and then a 15-vintage vertical of Chambertin from Mortet? How about with a stop in Pommard to see Thierry Violot-Guillemard, one of Burgundy’s greatest characters, and then finishing up with a taste through the amazing Volnay cellar of Michel & Frédéric Lafarge? Sure, why not.

First I stopped off at the registration area/finish line for tomorrow’s half-marathon, and picked up my packet. Of course the organizers here wouldn’t think of giving the runners safety pins to pin our numbers on our running jerseys – thankfully I was able to rummage through the junk drawer in the Volnay kitchen and I actually found 4 pins, so I’m good to go. Then a quick cruise up to Pommard to see the larger-than-life Thierry Violot – whose ’09s had just been racked and sulfured yesterday, so were really in no shape to taste. He had already bottled, however, his ’09 Bourgogne “Maison Dieu”, from a well-situated parcel of old vines just beneath the limit of the Pommard appellation boundaries (and before the AOC lines were drawn in 1935 it had always been considered “Pommard”.) 2009 is a vintage where the lower level appellations did extremely well due to the excellent fruit richness and ripeness, and this example is one of the most pleasurable Bourgognes Ive run across yet. He made about 10 barrels of it, and I will try to get my hands on as much of it as I can.

Violot-Guillemard's Monopole Clos Derrière St. Jean

I took a quick look at the ’09 Platières, Clos des Mouches, Epenots and Rugiens – they all had very nice fruit and concentration, but the recent racking and SO2 additions had closed up the back ends for now. I’ll check them out in earnest in the spring, but they look to be stunning wines.

There is no better way to end the day than with a tasting at Lafarge. The venerable Michel Lafarge, now a veteran of 61 vintages in Burgundy, and his son Frédéric, produced 17 ridiculously good wines in 2009 – across the range from the Aligoté Rasins Doré to the Volnay Clos des Chênes and everything in between. They really hit it out of the park in ’09, and here once again I found ’09s that were in no way heavy or too driven by the fruit. Yes there is delicious, ripe fruit throughout, but the terroir is speaking loudly as well, with each appellation speaking with its distinct voice. We finished up in the 12th century cellar with a bottle of ’83 Clos des Chênes – a vintage I have very little experience with. It was an extremely tough year in Burgundy, and the ’83s are shown very rarely. But proving the old adage that the good producers make good wine every year, this ’83 lept out of the glass with swirling, captivating aromas, and after about 5 minutes in the glass unfolded into the silky, pure essence of Volnay. Bravo, Michel!

So now it’s a simple plate of pasta and a good long rest. Wish me luck tomorrow – I will post again after I’ve recovered from the race. (If you happen to be here in Burgundy, I’m #216, and need all the cheering from the sidelines I can get!)

We’ll start with the something new. As in the ’09s at Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny. Perhaps his best range of wines since the stunning ’05s, and with time they may stand among his best ever. Words fail to ever completely grasp the beauty of Mugnier’s wines, and in the 2009 vintage there are new levels of fruit freshness to go with the ethereal elegance and the weightless dance that have become the domaine’s signature. The 2009 Amoureuses may be the best young wine I have ever tasted out of barrel, period. Five hours later and I can still feel it in my mouth – the lace and minerals, the exquisite purity, seemingly endless length, and that certain je ne sais quoi that can only be found in Amoureuses. It is indeed a magical terroir, and as Frédéric said this morning – if one’s preference in wine tends to run to Amoureuses, there is really nothing else that one could recommend as a substitute or something similar. Only Amoureuses is Amoureuses. Full notes on the full range to follow in a future post…

In the cellar with Frédéric Mugnier

As for something old, how about the amazing 15 vintage vertical of Denis Mortet’s Chambertin - every vintage from 2006 to 1995 inclusive, and then the 1993, 1990 and 1985. This was a magical tasting at Becky Wasserman’s compound in Bouilland, with Burgundy journo-legends Jasper Morris and Anthony Hanson in attendance, among others. Highlights for me were the ’05, ’99, ’98, ’93 and ’85, but there really wasn’t a bad wine in the bunch. The silky and lithe ’85 was probably past its peak now, and slightly corrupt, but still a lovely beauty of a wine from a personal favorite vintage…

A few nice bottles of Chambertin

Oh yes, and there was the ’59 Musigny on the table for lunch, along with the magnum of ’99 Ramonet Batard. Off to more tastings – details to follow…

Every year I’m in Burgundy in late November for the Hospices de Beaune auction, the Paulée, and all the accompanying festivities. This year there is one more event to add to the calendar – our first ever winemaker dinner in Beaune, the ancient wine capitol of Burgundy.

If you’re going to be in the neighborhood, make plans to join us on Thursday night, Nov. 18th at The Cook’s Atelier - a very cool and very private supper-club in the heart of Beaune. Our friend Marjorie Taylor is the chef-proprietor and she’ll be serving up a special dinner for an intimate group of 10. I’ll bring some nice bottles, and you are welcome to do the same. Seats are 95 Euros per person, and you can reserve directly with Marjorie.

I look forward to seeing you there, in my home-away-from-home. Santé!

An excellent day of meetings and tastings up and down the Côte today. Lunch in Beaune with the legendary Becky Wasserman and her team (her husband Russell cooks up a storm every day – excellent roast pork in a mustard and tarragon sauce, fresh greens and cheeses…) Then off to Pernand-Vergelesses for a great visit with the thoughtful philosopher-vigneron Jean Charles de Bault de la Morinière, the 5th-generation family head of Domaine Bonneau du Martray (the only estate in Burgundy to produce only Grand Cru wine, btw.)

The elegant and eloquent Jean-Charles at Bonneau de Martray

Jean-Charles, who claims to be shy and not to like speaking, is actually very engaging and eloquent and quite a good story teller, in multiple languages to boot. I’ll post in great deal on this wonderful addition to our portfolio when I return to Oregon, but suffice it for now to say that Bonneau de Martray quite clearly remains at the very top of the heap of the dozens and dozens of producers of Corton-Charlemagne. We tasted the ’08, the ’07 (which we have in stock now, and is very floral and expressive for a young C-C), and the ’97 – still young, but immensely intense, concentrated, and powerful. Simply a world-class wine from a world-class producer.

Then spent the rest of the day in Meursault, with Patrick & Catherin Essa at Buisson-Charles. Tasted through all the ’09s (which will be bottled in January), as well as the 2010′s (which are thru fermentation now but have not yet begun malo.) God, the ’09s are shining. The Meursault VV is the richest and most complete I’ve ever seen here – Patrick thinks it rivals perhaps the ’85. Of the 1er Crus – I thought the Goutte d’Or was the best today, but they are all intense, rich, minerally, and brilliant. And limited – only 5-8 barrels of each…

Tonight is our little winemaker dinner at the Cook’s Atelier in Beaune – really looking forward to it, and to pouring the ’08 Audrey here in Burgundy! Will report back after…

UPDATE -

It is too late to get into details for now. I’ll let the pictures speak a few thousand words – our winemaker dinner in Beaune this evening…

Oh. My. Lord! More soon. (And I’m running a half marathon in 36 hours?)

In my years of tasting in Burgundy – the most consistently excellent tasting has been with Alain Meunier at J-J Confuron in Premeaux. Every vintage, year-in, year-out, i have not had a disappointing mouthful of wine there. Ever. “Great” vintage, “tough” vintage, “average” vintage – seems not to matter here. Alain seemingly hits it out of the park every time.

His ’09s are especially outstanding, as they have a great mineral streak running through them that keeps the rich ’09 fruit from dominating the wines. I expect there will be some ’09 Burgs that people will think are from California. Not these from Confuron. They have lovely balance throughout. I was especially floored by the Côte de Nuits Villages, the Chambolle, the Vosne-Romanée Beaux-Monts, and of course the Romanée-St. Vivant. He’s planning on bottling these in January-March. We’ll have them by June. I think I will have to offer these on a pre-arrival basis in the spring. Fortunately the ’09 vintage was fairly generous in quantity, but our allocations are still small, especially on the Grand Crus. Watch your email – these will be wines not to miss…

And now off to dinner at La Regalade in Beaune. More après…

UPDATE – Take La Regalade OFF your resto list for Beaune. Whew. How could it be so good 9 months ago and so disappointing now? Hands down the worst wine list I’ve ever seen anywhere in Burgundy. Obscenely high prices for good-to-mediocre food. Sorry I wasted the $$ and time there, and I ‘m the one that usually finds something positive to say. Yuck! One could very easily stick to Caves Madeleine for every meal and always be happy. I should take my own advice.

Anyway, looking forward to our winemaker dinner at The Cook’s Atelier tomorrow night (which I KNOW will be good), and tastings at Bonneau du Martray and Buisson-Charles. And now, sleeeeeeeep……

Instead of the “Hood to Coast” run I did the “Clos to Clos” run this morning – a nice and easy 4 miles from Volnay Clos de la Cave des Ducs over to Beaune Clos des Mouches and back. It felt great to be back out on the vineyard roads, watching the sun rise over the mountains to the east. I will now rest the legs for two days in preparation for the 13.1 miles on Saturday…

Why is it that the baguettes always taste better in France? At least that’s the conventional wisdom, though I can tell you from personal experience that it is possible to get a dry, cotton-y and tasteless baguette over here as easily as in the US. I think it’s mostly a matter of timing. A French baguette has a shelf life of about 3 hours, and it seems to have a peak period that lasts about 45 minutes. If you get one outside of that window, it can be pretty awful. Somehow the French just know exactly when to buy their baguettes. When you see all the French ladies queuing up at the boulangerie – I suggest getting in line with them. This is obviously the time to get your bread. If no one is line – stay away. It’s as if to say “why would you want to buy a baguette now – don’t you know that the bread is only good at 7:45?”  I was the happy recipient of a great baguette in Volnay this morning – the perfectly crunchy yet chewy crust, the moist and tender interior, slathered with some home-made confiture – it doesn’t get much better than that. Of course the leftovers of that baguette are now calcified and harder than cement, sitting on the kitchen counter. I will save it to use as a blunt instrument in the case of intruders in the night…

I’m catching up on emails this morning, and then off to taste in Morey and Nuits this afternoon, before dinner at La Regalade in Beaune (I hope they have the filet mignon de Porc with garlic potatoes…) More as it happens…

And we’re back. (I wonder if the late Johnny Carson followed through on his promise to have his signature line “I’ll be right back” inscribed on his tombstone?) I left Burgundy just at the end of harvest on September 30th. Got back to Portland in time for our harvest there, we just finished putting our final lot of the vintage in barrel, and here I am again. Almost as if I never left. It has certainly been a blur, to say the least. Add in a little trans-atlantic sleep deprivation and I’m really not sure where I am at times. I know when I wake up to the sound of church bells outside my window, I must be in Burgundy. (I know it’s Portland when I wake up to the sound of the garbage trucks clanging the dumpsters at 6:15am. Don’t get me wrong, I love Portland with all my heart – it’s just that our morning sounds are discernibly more “urban” than those found in Volnay, population 350…)

The chruch & bell-tower in Volnay

I loaded up the fridge with a few staples, including some noodles and sauce for my pre-race meal in a few nights, and I’m un-packed and ready to rock for my favorite week of the year in Burgundy. The Hospices de Beaune auction, the Paulée, and a veritable orgy of great old Burgs will create a lifetime’s worth of memories. And I’ll be getting a first comprehensive look at the succulent ’09 vintage here. (Tasted several dozen over the past few months, but will attack it with gusto this week, and will dutifully report my findings here.)

In the morning I’ll literally hit the ground running, with a quick 5K to get the kinks out and warm up the muscles – my last run before the half-marathon on Saturday. I feel pretty strong, all things considered, so wish me luck! Then I’ll be tasting in the Côte de Nuits most of the day. Stay tuned…