I’m just back from a weekend in Beaune, a wonderful but freezing weekend of discovery which just so happened to coincide with the opportunity to cheer on Les Bleus (albeit fruitlessly) during the Rugby World Cup final! My trip was definitely more pleasure than work this time as I was lucky enough to be hosting our National Wine Month winners on a Patriarche VIP tour of Burgundy. It seems a long time ago now but it was the result of the competition we ran in conjunction with National Wine Month and The Daily Mail online back in May. 

Our winners, Cassandra and her husband Steven from Wakefield, met me at Lyon airport for the drive to Beaune. Our first stop was a tour and tasting at our Patriarche cellars, home to the largest underground cellars in Beaune. There are 5km of tunnels to tread so we’d worked up a thirst well deserved of the 12 wines that greeted us at the end of our tour! We sipped, swilled and spat our way through five whites, five reds and two Crémant de Bourgogne. The two outstanding wines on show for me were: Patriarche Père et Fils Bourgogne Chardonnay 2010 and Patriarche Père et Fils Nuits St Georges 2009. The Bourgogne Chardonnay was creamy, fruity and refreshing and the Nuits St Georges was subtle, brambly, fresh and layered. Both great examples of Burgundian wines that are drinking well now.

Our visit continued with a gastronomic feast at Le Fleury in the centre of Beaune with dishes of fois gras, boeuf Bourguignon, St Jacques and cheeses from the region. We’d barely had time to digest before it was time to get up and wander around the local market; more food, artisanal products, mustard of course and lots of fruit and vegetables followed by a tour of the Hospices de Beaune. Then more food at lunch in the hills overlooking Beaune and a rather long tour of the Cotes de Nuits on our way to the awe inspiring Clos Vougeot. Sunday morning bought all the excitement of the Cup final, having been in France when they won the football World Cup I had high hopes for another amazing atmosphere and streets full of hooting cars and flag waving. They may not have won the cup this time but their wines certainly won the hearts of Cassandra and Steven!