The Wicklow Wine Company Newsletter

Eating & tasting my way around Burgundy

Barbara Boyle

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I then headed to the north of the Côte d'Or and spent a day and a half visiting a number of producers in the Côte de Nuits. It is here that you find all the truly great red appellations of Burgundy.

I visited Cyprien Arlaud at Domaine Arlaud and was given insights into some of the differences between the appellations of Gevrey Chambertin, Chambolle Musigny and Morey St Denis. The domaine, just 15 hectares, owns its own vineyards along a 7km stretch from Nuits St Georges to Gevrey Chambertin.

Morey St Denis and Gevrey Chambertin have similar soils – clay and limestone. The difference lies in their microclimates. Whilst they have the same general weather conditions they have different temperatures due in part to wind influences. There is no hill behind Morey St Denis whereas there is a high one behind Gevrey Chambertin where cooling winds lower the mean temperature and ripeness in Gevrey Chambertin needs longer to develop - it is picked later. This goes along way to explain the extra tannins in Gevrey Chambertin and why Morey St Denis is generally softer. There are 8 grand crus in Gevrey Chambertin, it is a big appellation. Morey St Denis is much smaller though it has 5 grand crus.

Chambolle Musigny on the other hand gives very rounded and more feminine wines. There is a small gorge behind it and there is less wind than in Gevrey Chambertin and there is also a higher proportion of clay in the soil. Chambolle Musigny ripens well and is generally the first to be harvested.

Domaine Arlaud follows organic and also many biodynamic practices. To preserve the soil they do not use chemicals, pesticides or fertilisers. In order to aerate the soil and avoid compaction they plough with horse on the grand cru and steeper sites and use light tractors elsewhere. As a result of the introduction of organic viticulture the vigour of parcels of land is even more pronounced, one to the next. All harvesting is by hand, full bunches are then sorted over several tables at the winery, one of which is a vibrating table which eliminates the dried berries and debris, and one sorted manually. The grapes are completely destemmed, with no crushing of berries and no pumping over. They use minimal sulphur and wait for the natural yeasts to start. The grapes are kept cool when they arrive, below 16 degrees and there is a natural progression with maximum temperatures of 30 degrees. It can take 5 to 10 days to start fermentation, no added yeasts or enzymes used. Fermentation can take 20 to 25 days to complete.

Vinification methods are not heavy handed as they are trying to keep the nuances and the differences between each cru. They bottle by reference to biodynamic principles and the moon as this affects the sediment in the tank – when the moon is waning. Racking is done when the moon is waxing.

The weather makes its imprint on the vintage. The more you wait the more the character comes out. (This is an issue which comes up time and time again in Burgundy.) 2004 was not an easy vintage; the summer was cloudy, though it turned out well in September. Sorting had to be meticulous and they had to be careful not to extract too much. It may not have perfect ripeness and concentration but it does have finesse. Pressing was particularly gentle, for if they had extracted more colour they would have had to deal with more difficult tannins.

The wines were aged for 16 months (the maximum is 18 months). 20% new oak was used - the same percentage is used for all the premier crus. 2004 is a lot like 1997 and the wines at premier and grand cru levels may need up to 10 years to show their best. For the 2004 ‘villages’ wines Cyprien would give them one more year in bottle and up to three years for the premier crus. 2002 is a keeping vintage, 2000 is drinking well now and is good but is not yet mature. The “perfect” vintages are 1999, 2002 and 2005. August last year was even worse than in 2004, so it is will not be one of the “perfect” years.

Read Barbara's notes on some of the wines she tasted at Domaine Arlaud