Promise (slightly) Unfulfilled...

Well, I know that I told you I would be sending daily updates from the vineyards of the Cote d'Or, but alas, I never brought my computer. Why? I always have a tough time at our hotel (Le Montrachet) getting and maintaining an internet connection, so instead of lugging my burly laptop to Burgundy, I decided at the last minute to just focus on the sights, sounds and smells (oh yes, there are many) of Bourgogne and to detail as much as possible. Some of my travel companions look at me with a perplexed brow when I'm banging away on my Blackberry, but it really is an efficient tool to record every tasting, wine and dish that we enjoy. As for Tweeting, stupid T-Mobile wanted to charge me a king's ransom to tweet out the wines from France. Le Batards!

So if you read our 56 newsletter, you know that Lamy Pillot was an impressive visit that lasted from mid-afternoon to well into the evening culminating in a delcious dinner in Beaune at Le P'tite Paradis. Chris did a great job of describing the whole scene on his blog, Down to Earth Wine. The following morning, we were to see one of the most storied white wine estates of the world, the irrepressible, Domaine Leflaive...

We had a glorious tasting at Domaine Leflaive and Antoine Lepetit couldn't have been more gracious. He answered all of our questions about the processes with accuracy and thought, allowed us to sample their dynamic 2008's from tank as the are close to being bottled and even explained what "Sous le Dos d'Ane" means, their fantastic singular Meursault. "Donkey's back" is the answer as neither Chris nor I could find a good translation for the life of us before now. One surprising tidbit is that many 2008's were extremely slow to complete malo-lactic fermentation. Thus, we were unable to taste the Puligny Montrachet AC or the Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 1er cru. We did go Bourgogne Blanc to Grand Cru and it was really amazing!

Wines Tasted:

2008 Bourgogne Blanc
2008 Meursault Sous le Dos d'Ane 1er cru
2008 Puligny Montrachet Clavoillons 1er cru
2008 Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er cru
2008 Batard Montrachet Grand Cru
2008 Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru

2007 Puligny Montrachet AC
2007 Puligny Montrachet Les Folatiers 1er cru
2007 Bienvenue Batard Montrachet Grand Cru

Since the 2007's will be coming to our market very soon, it was great to get a chance to taste them from bottle. All three were stunning wines in their respective category, representing the pinnacle of the Chardonnay grape. The Puligny village is not to be missed as it is wide open and classic Puligny with tropical fruits, orange peel, nuts and mocha hints. The Folatiers is always a lush and forward drinking site and the 07 is gorgeous with expansive, voluminous citrus fruit, stones, chalk, white fruits and vanilla bean. Finally, the Bienvenue is like a statuesque beauty, all regal and dressed to the nines. It jumps from the glass with melons, spice, tangerine, smoke and white corn with real class and superior length. Truly a jaw dropping tasting and a true honor to be in the hallowed halls...

Next up...Carillon, Bzikot & crazy meals!

JCB the 4th