Notes from the Burgundy trail Pt. 2…
The tiny, picturesque village of Savigny-les-Beaune lies tucked up in a small valley just around the corner from Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses, on the way up to the Haute-Côte. It is home to a very cool old castle (complete with moat), an amazing collection of old airplanes, and probably the best value reds in all of Burgundy. You certainly get more bang for your buck in Savigny, and the top producers are crafting wines that often blow away their higher priced cousins from the more prestigious appellations.
At the top of the heap is Domaine Jean-Marc & Hugues Pavelot. From their 27 acres in Savigny & Pernand they produce a fascinating array of wines, including six single-vineyard 1er Crus in Savigny that are a textbook illustration of the concept of terroir. I first met Hugues at the IPNC event in 2004, and am thrilled that we now finally have the opportunity to work together. Hugues’ first vintage at the helm was 1999, with his father Jean-Marc still present in a supporting role. We’ll kick off our work with the domaine with their lovely ’08s this fall. I especially loved the SLB Narbantons and Dominode bottlings, though for pure value the village-level Savigny-les-Beaune is unbeatable.
In the cellar with Hugues Pavelot
I had a great tasting as always with Jean-Marc Millot at his cuverie and cellars beneath Nuits-St. Georges. His ’08 Clos Vougeot is the best CV he’s produced yet – the quality of the tannins is really pure and fine, and the wine has a lot of personality (I don’t know that I would have guessed it as Clos Vougeot blind – it is normally not so expressive, especially in its youth.) The news here is that Jean-Marc will be adding the sub-climat designation of “Grands Mapertuis” to the label of his Clos Vougeot, as all of his vines in the Clos are in that prestigious section at the very top, just south of the Chateau. And as I’m always preaching – it’s important to know where in the Clos your wine came from. (Not that good examples can’t come from the lower sections – but you certainly have much better odds with vines up at the top…)
Jean-Marc with daughters Alix & Laura
I was fascinated to learn some of the history of the little house I stay in while in Burgundy. It belongs to Thiébault Huber’s (Domaine Huber-Verdereau) parents. I’ve always known it was their little vacation house in Volnay, with Thiébault’s cramped yet functional winery tucked into the outbuildings, but that’s all I knew. I turns out that this was the winery and residence of his grandfather, the late Raoul Verdereau, and probably his great-grandfather as well, though no one seems to know for sure. What is for sure is that Raoul was in the French army during WWII, and while he was away the house was requisitioned by the Germans and used as a residence for a group of German army officers and soldiers from the time of their invasion until sometime in early 1943. Apparently the officers took the house, and the soldiers were given what are now the winery rooms. Lucky, as according to legend the houses the soldiers occupied were often trashed, while the officers’ quarters were generally left in better shape.
During the war Raoul was captured and imprisoned for a time, but was released in early 1943. He returned to Volnay to find his house occupied by the Germans, and his family living in a barn outside the village. Shortly after his return, the Germans suddenly exited, and the Verdereaus were able to move back into their home. And Raoul was able to get back to tending his vines – which had been more or less looked after by all the women and girls of the village during the war, but little or no wine was made during most of the war years.
I came to find all of this out in the course of tasting a magnificent bottle of Raoul’s 1943 Pommard Rugiens that Thiébault so generously opened for me at lunch one day. The wine was beautifully evolved, silky, and quite divine, but even more special and more of a treasure as the story behind it was revealed while we drank it. That bottle will always be a special memory for me, and I will always have a different perspective on my little Volnaysien hideaway every time I climb into bed after a long day of tasting on the Côte.
The Verdereau house in Volnay
In a post a few weeks back I mentioned the book The Great Domaines of Burgundy by Remington Norman, and noted that a new, well-needed update of this classic was scheduled for release this fall. It has, however, already been released in the UK and presumably the rest of Europe, as there was a big display stack of them on sale at Athenaeum in Beaune. I picked up a copy, and found it to be an excellent update and full of interesting and useful information. One could always quibble with the selection of domaines for a work like this – who was left out, why is that one in, etc. – but on the whole it’s a good tome and worth picking up. (Make sure you get the THIRD Edition – apparently you can pre-order it now on Amazon for August delivery…)
The latest from the Mâconnais and some amazing tastings in Volnay & Pommard in the next installment…
