A wine makers dinner and what a great evening we shared together telling stories and sipping some monumental wines. We were a small group of friends and the evening was accompanied by an exotic black truffle dinner that appeared on every dish like it or not.
It was a great pleasure to meet the champagne producer Egly-Ouriet, a dynamic shy yet confident father Francis and his daughter Clémence. Francis Egly the fourth generation of the Egly family to make wines from their exceptionally located, old vine vineyards in the Grand Cru village of Ambonnay. The champagnes were all excellent with the magnum of 2005 exquiste and hard to find but when you do grab it!
Francis inherited eight hectares of Grand Cru vineyards and acquired a two-hectare plot of old-vine Premier Cru Pinot Meunier and is bottled as such, 100% Pinot Meunier, and is a truly remarkable wine. Francis also makes a very rare, still Pinot Noir from Grand Cru terroir in Ambonnay.
They also produce Cuvée des Grands Côtés Ambonnay Rouge, a Coteaux Champenois Rouge, a still red wine from Champagne. This cuvée is made with 100% pinot noir, coming from the Grand Cru vineyards of Ambonnay, in Montagne de Reims. Only a few thousand bottles are produced and they are Egly-Ouriet estate bottled – a definite rarity.
We shared the evening with the charming Cyrille Rousseau from Domiane Armand Rousseau. Synonymous with Gevrey-Chambertin there is one domain that has contributed to this appellation over the past four generations, it is Armand Rousseau. I remember visiting the Domiane 30 years ago and it was considered top at the time and since then not much has changed. Since Cyrille Rousseau joined the family there is no doubt her personality lends itself to the reputation, and she is focused, natural and non pretentious – a cool person with a vision and respect for their terroir.
The Rousseau family owns 15 hectares of vineyards mainly in Gevrey-Chambertin and a small part in Morey-Saint-Denis. Of these 15 hectares, 8.5 hectares are classified at the highest level as Grand Cru and a further almost four hectares classified as Premier Cru. That is an impressive holding from a Burgundy perspective.
The Chambertin is described as the King and the Clos de Bèze is the queen and rightfully so given the Clos de Bèze is more feminine and has silky tannins. The wines are excellent and it is always a great please sure drink these wines with the craftsman who says we do very little and rely mostly on the terroir.
Chambertin vineyards a total of 12.9 hectares, and they are the largest landowners with a total of 2.56 hectares. Rousseau owns 1.42 hectares at Clos de Beze, divided into two parcels, the largest of which is in the upper part of the vineyard, and no doubt the terroir is outstanding.