The next morning Etienne and Marko arrived in Burgundy, and with both cars now on the road, the four of us made our way to Beaune. We would spend the next two nights in a lovely apartment just a five-minute drive from the centre-ville.
Our first official visit was to Maison Joseph Drouhin, where we were welcomed by Philippe Drouhin.
Looking back on the entire trip, Philippe was undoubtedly one of the highlights.
Instead of giving us a quick tour, he spent almost half of the morning in the vineyards with us. Despite the scorching heat, we sat among the vines while he shared the history of the Drouhin family, the vineyards, their philosophy and the changes they have experienced over the years. Every question we asked was answered thoughtfully and thoroughly. There was never any sense that he was in a hurry. He genuinely wanted us to understand not only what they do, but why they do it.
That is where the real value of these trips lies. You can read about vineyard practices and terroir, but there is no substitute for standing in the vineyard with someone who has spent their life farming it.
After the vineyard visit we headed down into the cellar for a tasting of some remarkable wines. We tasted the Vaudon Chablis Premier Cru 2023, Saint-Romain Blanc 2022, Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Garenne Premier Cru 2022, Beaune Clos des Mouches Premier Cru Blanc 2022, Beaune Clos des Mouches Premier Cru Rouge 2022, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur Premier Cru 2021 and finally the Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2021. Tasting these wines immediately after walking the vineyards added another dimension to the experience. The connection between place and wine became much clearer.
After saying goodbye to Philippe, we headed into Beaune for lunch before making our way to the famous Athenaeum bookshop. It’s the sort of place where anyone interested in wine or viticulture could happily spend an entire afternoon (I must add, if you can read French the selection is much greater!) I had also hoped to visit the Hospices de Beaune, but unfortunately there simply wasn’t enough time. That will have to wait until the next visit.
Later that afternoon we visited Les Horées, where we spent the evening with Catharina Sadde. Catharina studied with Etienne at Montpellier and has since established herself as one of Burgundy’s exciting young winemakers. We tasted through several of her wines from barrel and just had such a nice time chatting about her wines and how she started out.
Naturally, as the afternoon went into evening (the sun was still up till like 21:30!), the South Africans had to braai some meat, cause you know, that’s what we do best! We had some lamb shoulder, Bratwurst and chicken, some delicious salads and wines.
By the time we finally made it back to the apartment it was just after midnight. It had been a long day, filled with incredible wines, generous hospitality and conversations that reminded us why we had travelled halfway around the world in the first place.
The next morning we headed to Domaine du Comte Armand, where we would meet Jane and continue our journey through Burgundy.
