Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Tasting at Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue

(Day 5)
It was our final tasting in Bourgogne in this trip. After the tasting, we were going to head to Paris.


The final one was what we all anticipated so much. We visited Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue and met the winemaker, Francois Millet.


Comte de Vogue’s property has a beautiful medieval architecture. It was build in 16th century.


Francois took us to a cellar and gave us 2010 barrel tasting. Here’s the lineup.

(2010 vintage)
Chambolle-Musigny village…September 25 harvest. From Les Fuees & Les Beudes (both 1er Cru) vineyards. Younger vines.
Cmabolle-Musigny 1er Cru…From Grand Cru Musigny vineyard. 10-25-year-old vines.
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, “Les Amoureuses”
Bonnes-Mares
Musigny

The tasting was so special, especially because we could listen to all the philosophy of Francois. He is a big thinker and his words were poetic. The wines were truly gorgeous, and he said as a wine maker, his focus is to bring terroir of each vineyards, so he never manipulates the wines.

Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Dinner at Bistro de l’Hotel

(Day 4)
Our final dinner in Bourgogne was at Bistro de l’Hotel in Beaune.


The look of the restaurant and service is quite formal, yet this restaurant has a nice relaxing ambience. This is a popular restaurant among local winemakers, and they come casually.


After the amuse-bouche (veloute de celeriac), I started with Fricase de Langoustines, Encornets, Coriandre et Piment (sauté of prawn and squid, with cilantro and pepper). It was a nice fresh-flavored dish, and I was happy that the preparation was quite light. One of my friend’s Scallop linguine was nice, too.

So, we were wondering if the chef had experiences in restaurants in Italy at one point in the past…


My main course was Poulet de Bresse Roti de chez Mieral, Puree Maison (“Bresse” chicken roast with vegetables) for 2. This was the dish I was so excited about tasting at this restaurant! Bresse chicken is a AOC breed and it is a regional specialty in Bourgogne. I was happy to see the blue feet! Our server sliced the juicy chicken so elegantly and efficiently. Then, all the au jus were poured over the chicken. Decadent! Even the carcasses looked so nice...I wanted to make stock with it!


Voila. The chicken was served with potato puree and vegetable glasse. The flavor of the chicken was exactly I was expected and it was so gorgeous. And, I truly enjoyed the “natural” bite in the texture. Gorgeous.


Wines were nice, too. 1999 Louis Carillon, Puligny-Montrachet…orange/ amber color, hazelnut and butter in the nose. Fresh acidity, minerals, spice, lime, and earthiness on the palate. Long finish. 2006 Alain Burguet, Gevrey-Chambertin “Mes Favorites”…bright ruby color, spice, berry, and flower. Dark berry, smooth palate with acidity.


Cheese course included Epoisse, Citoux, Tarte du Poiset (local goat with white rind), and Delice de Pommard (triple-cream cows milk cheese, blended with brown mustard seeds). And, the dessert was Framboise Panna Cotta.

The chef came to our table and we chatted a little bit. He is originally fro Sweden and had lived in France for over 30 years. He said he has never worked in Italy, but Italy is his favorite country to visit and loves the food. So, that was his inspiration!

Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Tasting at Domaine Michel Voarick

(Day 4)
Our last stop of the day was at Domaine Michel Voarick in Aloxe-Corton. Among all the producers we visited in Burgundy in this trip, (except for Olivier Leflaive where we had lunch at,) this was the only producer which has a public tasting room.


We had a private tour of their cave and tasted 2010 barrel samples as well as previous vintages.

2009 Pernand-Vergelesses (blanc)
2009 Corton-Charlemagne
2010 Corton Renardes…only 2 barrels are made
2010 Corton Clos du Roi
2010 Corton Charlemagne
2008 Corton-Charlemagne
2009 Aloxe-Corton
2008 Aloxe-Corton



We met the owner, Jean-Marc Voarick (Michel’s son) at the domaine. He mentioned that the production of 2010 vintage is about 60%, compared to 2009 vintage, but the quality is promising.

Trip to Europe (Bourgogne-France-Fall 2011)...Tasting at Henri Gouges

(Day 4)
For lunch, we went to Nuits-Saint-George again.


We stopped by at a little bistro called, Le Beffroi. I had Salade de Mache with poached eggs and bacon. There were 3 hot poached eggs on a mount of greens! Pretty dynamic.


From the town of Nuits-Saint-George, we walked to Henri Gouges, where we had an appointment with. Pierre Gouges was waiting to host a tasting for us. He is a brother of my friend, Francoise. It was so nice to meet him for the first time.


Pierre kindly gave us a tour of the winery facility, which was rebuilt in 2007. They now have impressive modern equipments with temperature control. But, the wine-making process itself is very natural.


After the tour, we walked to their cave for tasting of 2010 barrel samples etc. Here are what we tasted.

(2010 vintage)
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Chaines-Carteau”…from dry soil, fine dry rock
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Clos de Cloires”
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Les Pruliers”…from 65-year-old vines
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Vaucrains”…from top soil, red clay, hard location to work on.
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Les-Saint-Georges”

2009 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Clos des Porrets”
2009 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Les Pruliers”
2007 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, “Les Vaucaines”
2010 Nuits-Saint-Georges (blanc)…from “Les Perrier”


It was great that we could taste different crus of NSG back to back and see all the character differences. These wines showed both power and finesse.