Cheers to that!
A wine old time in beautiful Burgundy.
LET me say, before we start, wine snobs annoy me. All that posh posturing is quite ridiculous.
But I quite enjoy a nice red from time to time and, having now learned a little about the way the French produce and categorise their wines, I must admit I find the subject much more interesting.
My trip aboard the European Waterways’ hotel barge L’Impressioniste opened my eyes to this world and I can only recommend the experience.
Sailing along canals in the heart of Burgundy is a fantastic holiday, whether you like wine or not.
Hotel barging, with a crew of six and only a handful of fellow travellers, is a lot friendlier than big ship cruising.
And, as we went, every meal was accompanied by fantastic, rare and storied wines.
We were lucky enough to have two experts on board – pilot Julian, who regaled us with the legends behind the bottles we were drinking at table, and Daniel, who accompanied us on trips to the great vineyards we sailed past. It was fascinating. I’d always known that some wines are very expensive, while others are pretty cheap.
But I’d never known what it is that elevates some to high status. If they are all made from grapes, why does one fetch £8000 a bottle, while another can be had for a few quid?
To explain all this, the first trip Daniel took us on was to one of the great vineyards, Clos de Vougeot.
The walled vineyard was founded by Cistercian monks between the 12th and 14th Centuries. All of the reds produced from within the walls are labelled Grand Cru, the highest level of classification. But why? The secret is in the soil. Vineyards are never watered. Vine roots are expected to make their way deep into the gravelly earth to draw moisture from the limestone bedrock far below.
The wine makers say this forces the roots to work very hard – and the harder they work, the better the flavour.
And great vineyards are never on hilltops, they are close to the brow of a hill so
Clos de Vouget costs around £85,Baby Jesus is a snip at £70, both before tax. they get good sunlight but won’t suffer the harshest weather.
Nor are they on flat lowlands, because the water table is too accessible, so the roots don’t have to work hard. A Grand Cru vineyard, therefore, must grow the best grapes on a graded slope on the right level of hill in the right type of soil with the right sort of bedrock at the right depth below ground.
Then the vineyard has to have a lengthy and royally-patronised past.
It must have suffered during the French Revolution. It must have famous names scattered throughout its illustrious history.
It has to have seen a little romance, endured a little tragedy and must be set around a chateau or monastery that looks like a scene painted by one of the great Renaissance artists.
Oh, and its produce must be able to fetch prices that would make a movie star gasp.
It is rare to get all of these criteria exactly correct.
Then, and only then, can it be called a great Burgundy.
Clos de Vougeot meets all these conditions and, even to an amateur like me, tasted absolutely lovely.