Hittin' the River Road

Today I completed a couple days of serious, intense tastings in Burgundy. Last night was a vinous and culinary tour de force that really sealed the deal. I left with an exhausted set of tastebuds, but many exceptional memories. It was good throwing my suitcase in the van and knowing it was headed South. As good as they were, I was ready for a break from Chardonnay and Pinot.

Before I get to what came next though, some final reflections:

'06 Vintage - Classic, but tight and powerful.
'07 Vintage - Cool and difficult, but exciting in the hands of a great producer
'08 Vintage - Cool, but solid with a lighter style prevalent with good acidity and precision
'09 Vintage - Get in line, the press will be all over the fruit and power rolled into these wines. Reminds me of '90 in the way  the way the vignerons speak of the wines.

I also had a great wine moment that reminded of some of my best friends in the business. There I was, in a wine shop in Beaune, staring longingly at a '96 Clos du Tart. '85 Clos du Tart, was and is, one of the defining moments of my career. And here it was, reminding me of the times that the wine biz has given me. Good times... (Just as a note, in 1991 those times cost $70 a throw, today they would be almost $400.) So later in the evening, surrounded by people with the same passion, I had some snails in puff pastry and chicken with a morel cream sauce while drinking '00 Raveneau Monte du Tonnerre, '02 Meo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanee "Les Chaumes" ( stunning and the best of the night!), '01 Mazi Chambertin from Maume, and '01 Bonnes Mares from Bertheau. Dollars in the glass for sure, but also liquid passion and two decades of smiles and fond memories.

My notes head South through Savigny Les Beaunes and next through Maconnais. Those of us who think we know it all have fallen into the wrong business. Maconnais, once again highlighted how little I know. New surveys show that Chardonnay isn't just growing in limestone but also clay and blue schist. Wine isn't an expression of barrel, it's an expression of soil and the humanity of the winemaker. What a joy to experience a culture where nothing is from the cookie cutter.

My pilgrimage through Beaujolais was an homage to a dear friend. I took every sip with a confident looking over my shoulder and wasn't disappointed. Beaujolais is "joie de vivre" and "bontemps roulez" in a glass. The wines and their makers exude fun and life. Work hard, party hard ,eat and drink well, do we need much more? The food was hardy and good, but most importantly life had relaxed, my palate wasn't as challenged and it finally stopped snowing. Pulling into the hotel, I got out of the van and tossed a rock into the Rhone. The river road and the South lay ahead. For the first time in a long time, I found myself craving Syrah.