Going to Burgundy with Monsieur de Floride

Over these weeks suggestions are being offered on transportation, hotels, and restaurants, interrupted by a report from November’s Hospices de Beaune Auction. We have covered transportation and hotels, and today the Hospices de Beaune Auction weekend. Back episodes (with more detail and links) are stored at Terroir-Wine-Seminars.com.

In Burgundy, there are many rules and for every rule there are countless exceptions. We will explore this uniquely Burgundian concept more fully in the future. There is also much history and many legends that either explain or conflict with historical beliefs. That being said, here we go.

In the mid 1400s, the Dukes of Burgundy entrusted a fellow named Nicolas Rolin to be the Chancellor of the area of Beaune – think of the Sheriff of Nottingham. As he was not such a great guy, as he was getting older, he asked the local Abbott what he needed to do to get to Heaven. He was told that he had to build a hospital for the poor – the Hôtel Dieu de Beaune. The hospital remained functional until the 1970s; in fact many Burgundian vignerons were born there. The buildings are now a museum, containing much art and tapestries, including the Roger van der Weyden polyptyque entitled «The Last Judgement», which is truly breathtaking. When you look close you can see Rolin and his wife in the painting.

Over the years, including today, locals with a concern about the afterlife donate their vines to the Hospices. The vines are tended, grapes harvested, wine put into barrel (each barrel results in about 290 bottles), and then offered up for auction the third Sunday of November. What used to be a folksy local tradition where bids were concluded with the winding down of a candle flame is now operated with the corporate efficiency of Christie’s auction house. With Christie’s involvement has come two obvious results – the wines have improved and the prices have risen – which most surely benefits the charity. The Burgundy lover and author Anthony Hanson serves as an advisor and godfather for both sides, and his contributions have been noticeable.

On Saturday, our group tasted barrel samples of all forty plus wines being auctioned, consulting with Roland Masse (the Hospices «regisseur»), Anthony Hanson, and Christophe Tupinier (editor of the magazine Bourgogne Aujourd’hui). We followed that with two sessions with the negoçiant we had chosen help us bid on the wine and finish it, (BWC friend) Pierre Meurgey and winemaker Dmitri Bazas of Maison Champy. During our visit they brought out older vintages so that we could observe the maturation process. Sunday afternoon, during the five plus hour marathon, our group successfully bid for two barrels of red grand crus. The Champy people will pick up the barrels from the Hospices winery in the next few weeks and finish the «elevage» over the next year or so. The finished bottle labels will indicate the name of the wine (Mazis Chambertin), the donor (Cuvée Madeleine Collignon), Hospices de Beaune, Maison Champy, and the nickname of our group.

Saturday afternoon was a real treat. Domaine Joseph Voillot in Volnay holds back a good amount of each vintage, and each year over this weekend they host a themed tasting. This year, Jean Pierre Charlot (Voillot’s son in law who now runs the estate) served up twenty six vintages of Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles. It was a great learning experience to observe the qualities of each vintage and note the differences. Voillot makes wine that ages, and they do remarkably well in «difficult» years for sure.

On Monday, the Meursault wine growers host «La Paulée de Meursault» to celebrate the end of the harvest, a seven hour lunch and free for all. A few hundred lucky guests squeeze in to long tables and enjoy the efforts of a famous chef. Along the way you taste some wine, and between each course you walk around the room and share your own good fortune with friends old and new – my group of seven brought thirty-five bottles to share. Expect to taste at least two hundred examples before you lose count. The Meursault winemaker that we had visited that morning brought eight magnums for his party of three – and to share with everyone else, of course. At about 7:30 PM, a half dozen local winemakers open up the «cuveries» for tastings for those still thirsty.

Everything in Beaune (population 20,000) is alive over the weekend – the usual Saturday farmers’ market mostly extends through Sunday night. There are musical performances, barrel making demonstrations, food stands (think of San Gennaro), and warm culled wine (it was 40 degrees outside at best). Many of the shops are open from 9 AM to 9 PM. At the Palais de Congres conference center, you can taste hundreds of Burgundy wines – get there early as it is really crowded. Sunday afternoon you can get into the back of the Auction hall just by waiting in line. The Auction weekend, based on a set of historical events, is wonderful expression of the Burgundian «joie de vivre».

See you there next year!

David DeBenedictis

«Monsieur de Floride»