August 31. I arrived in Geneva on Friday morning after a long, but not unpleasant flight. I made my way through customs to the Europcar desk and received the keys to my Fiat Panda. By 10:00 am I was beyond the borders of my childhood city and somewhere in the mountains of the Savoie region of France. I made the A-6 by noon. At Tournus, a small, medieval city north of Macôn I turned off the autoroute and caught one of the small roads leading west out of the city.
There exist many scenic roads in France that offer incredible sightseeing, and the D-14 proved no exception. The road winds through some very pretty countryside that includes many vineyards and, perhaps more spectacularly, a castle dating back a few hundred years or more in each of the small villages that one passes. I drove toward one of these in particular, the Chateau Le Noble on the outskirts of a town named, La-Chapelle-sous-Brancion.
The old priory housed the few chambres d’hôtes available at this chateau, with origins dating back to the early 16th century. The garrulous Monsieur de Cherisey welcomed me and told me about his own vineyards when I explained to him my reason for being in Burgundy, namely, the wine. After a brief session of unpacking, I got back into the cozy Panda and drove north.
The names of the towns became more familiar as I drove. Givry. Rully. I noticed signs pointing me toward Maranges and Santenay. I did not stop in any of these towns though I very much would have enjoyed doing so. I had a 4:30 pm appointment in Pommard for which I did not want to be late. While driving I noticed that the Bourguignons were already deep into the harvest. The official start date had been proclaimed some two weeks earlier, the second earliest ban de vendange in history. I was a bit put-off that my trip here coincided with the harvest. This would make it much more difficult to see some of the producers I desired to visit.
Lydie, the assistante commerciale, met me at the door of the domaine. She led me to the tasting room where I was asked to wait while Monsieur Sordet, the proprietor of Domaine Coste-Caumartin returned from picking his Boucherottes, a premier cru vineyard just outside of Pommard in the commune of Beaune.
Monsieur Sordet arrived shortly thereafter and he, Lydie, and myself sat down and tasted through the wines in which I had expressed some interest for the American market (tasting notes can be found in the follow-up post). After the tasting session, Monsieur Sordet drove me through Pommard and showed me his climats, including his pride and joy, Clos des Boucherottes, a premier cru monopole vineyard. We also drove through Saint Romain, a charming little village at the top of a hill a bit off the well-known route des grands crus. Monsieur Sordet has sizeable holdings (for Burgundy) in Saint Romain. His family has its origins there. His brother owns the actual Chateau for which the “Sous le Chateau” vineyard is named.
While driving we discussed the harvest. He said that he was waiting for the Chardonnay to achieve greater ripeness, but that the Pinot could not have waited any longer, as rot had become a serious threat to the quality of the grapes. He said it would most likely be a difficult Pinot Noir vintage in the Côte de Beaune, but a good Chardonnay year.
When we returned to the Domaine the harvesters had assembled in the dining room to eat. We joined them. With the cheese course that ended the meal, Monsieur Sordet produced two older bottles of Pommard including his 1990 Pommard Premier Cru Clos des Boucherottes, Wine Spectator’s #23 in the Top 100 of 1993, imported at the time by Kermit Lynch (who, of course, insisted the wines be unfined and unfiltered). This wine was singing, barely hitting it’s stride, and certainly one of the finest Pommards I have drunk.
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