This month I wanted to celebrate two great varietals of Burgundy as well as one lesser known. The inspiration for this month comes from the St. Vincent Celebrations in Burgundy.
Every year on the last weekend of January, the winegrowers in Burgundy celebrate and give thanks to their patron, Saint Vincent. Legends abound as to the origins. It is said that one day St Vincent stopped at a vineyard to chat to one of the wine growers. His donkey started nibbling at the young shoots on the vine with the result that the following year, the crop was far more productive. The Saint’s donkey had invented pruning!
Maybe it is just that the time of the celebration corresponds climatically to the transition between the hibernation of the vine and the beginning of the new growth or ‘Vincent’, a derivation of ‘vin sang’ or blood of the vine. However you wish to interpret it, this is a celebration which has been going on since Medieval times.
I look forward to sharing these fun and more traditional wines with you, and I hope to see you at Crocodile Soon.
I will let you know when the wines are ready for pick up, they are scheduled for the 3rd Monday of the month.
A quick reminder:
In the rare occasion that I am not at the restaurant on your visit, be sure to mention that you are a member of the club to receive your box, but also on every visit you get a 25% discount on bottles and glasses purchased at Crocodile.
Also, if you refer 3 members to the club, you get a month free!
Thanks again for being so supportive of Crocodile!
LES FAVERELLES,
BOURGOGNE VEZELAY
100% CHARDONNAY
WINE CLUB PRICE FOR OFF PREMIS CONSUMPTION:
$22 PER BOTTLE
THE VEZELAY WINES FROM LES FAVERELLES ARE ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC BOURGONES FROM WINES GROWN ON A 6 HECTER PROPERTY. THE PHILOSOPHY FROM THIS HOUSE IS NOT ONLY ORGANIC, BUT HAND HARVESTED GRAPES. THEY ARE RAISED BY A REAL WILL TO TEND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO THE EXTRACTION OF THE SOIL, TO REVEAL THE TASTE QUALITIES RELATED TO THE INDIGENOUS YEASTS. THEY ARE NEITHER FILTERED NOR CHAPTALIZED, RESULTING IN A COMPLETELY NATURAL WINE.
THE HAVE A DOG NAMED “MUSE” WHO WALKS THE VINEYARDS AND MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORGANIC AND NON ORGANIC VINES, AND BY PUTTING HER NOSE ON THE VINES SHE KNOWS WHEN THE MATURATION IS AT ITS BEST, AND SHE BEGINS TO TASTE THE GRAPES.
THIS CHARDONNAY IS FERMENTED AND AGED IN 100% STAINLESS STEEL TANK.
LUCIEN MUZARD & FILS
CHAMPS CLAUDE, VIELLES VIGNES,
SANTENAY 2013
PINOT NOIR
WINE CLUB PRICE FOR OFF PREMIS CONSUMPTION:
$33 PER BOTTLE
IN HIS DAY, LUCIEN MUZARD PUT TOGETHER A REMARKABLE STRING OF VINEYARD HOLDINGS IN SANTENAY. IN 1995 LUCIEN MUZARD HANDED OVER THE REINS TO HIS SONS CLAUDE AND HERVÉ, WHO IMMEDIATELY BEGAN DOMAIN BOTTLING THEIR WINE. THESE BOYS TRACE THEIR LINEAGE IN SANTENAY BACK TO 1645; THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS PART OF A LONG TRADITION OF FARMERS, AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR DOMAIN IS PARAMOUNT.
DURING FERMENTATION, NORMALLY A THIRD OR MORE OF THE GRAPES ARE LEFT ON THEIR STEMS, AND THERE’S NO ADDITION OF CULTIVATED YEAST OR THE USE OF ENZYMES. ELEVAGE TAKES PLACE IN BARRELS, 20-25% OF WHICH WERE NEW EACH YEAR UNTIL 2013 — WHEN, EXCEPTIONALLY, NO NEW WOOD WAS USED BECAUSE THE VINTAGE WAS ELEGANT AND FRUITY AND BECAUSE THEY HAD A LOT OF ONE-YEAR-OLD BARRELS FROM THE PRECEDING YEAR.
THE WINES ARE NOT FINED AND ARE ONLY LIGHTLY FILTERED AT BOTTLING.
CHAMPS CLAUDE BORDERS THE CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET APPELLATION WITH SOME NICE PEDIGREE, COMING UP AS IT DOES UNDER THE GREATER MORGEOT VINEYARDS TO ABUT THE 1ER CRU CLOS CHAREAU. MOREOVER, THE VINES DATE FROM THE 1920S AND AVERAGE A VENERABLE 75 YEARS OF AGE. THE DOMAIN OWNS 2.69 HECTARES (6.64 ACRES) AND MAKES ROUGHLY 1,400 CASES IN A NORMAL YEAR.
DOMAINE DE LA FOLIE
BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ, 2016
ALIGOTÉ
WINE CLUB PRICE FOR OFF PREMIS CONSUMPTION:
$18 PER BOTTLE
THE ALIGOTÉ GROWS IN TWO PARCELS TOTALING JUST UNDER TWO ACRES IN THE CLOS LA FOLIE VINEYARD. ABOUT HALF OF THESE GRAPES WERE PLANTED IN 1973 WHILE THE SECOND, LARGER PARCEL WAS PLANTED IN 1947. THESE VINES ARE A STONE’S THROW AWAY FROM THE BOUZERON APPELLATION ON THE SAME HILL. NO OAK IS USED HERE IN THE ÉLEVAGE.
THE GREAT REDS AND WHITES OF BURGUNDY, MADE OF PINOT NOIR AND CHARDONNAY, ARE AMONG THE MOST COVETED AND EXPENSIVE WINES IN THE WORLD. BUT ALIGOTÉ?
FEW GRAPES HAVE BEEN AS SCORNED IN THE LAST 50 YEARS. ALIGOTÉ IS OFTEN DESCRIBED AS THIN, ACIDIC AND INSIPID, CAPABLE OF NOTHING BETTER THAN SERVING AS THE BASE FOR KIR, IN WHICH WHITE WINE IS FLAVORED WITH CRÈME DE CASSIS.
TO ME HOWEVER, I BELIEVE THAT ALIGOTÉ EXPRESSES TERROIR ALMOST MORE THAN CHARDONNAY. IN MY OPINION WHEN FARMED IN THE RIGHT WAY; WHEN THE GRAPES ARE FARMED CONSCIENTIOUSLY AND THE WINES ARE MADE WITH PRECISION, THEY CAN BE DELICIOUS AND DISTINCTIVE, FULL OF THE ENERGY AND MINERALITY THAT ARE THE HALLMARKS OF ALIGOTÉ.
THESE GRAPES ARE GROWN ORGANICALLY THE SAME WORK IS DONE IN THE VINEYARD AS ARE DONE WITH THE BEST MEURSAULTS. THE TREATMENT DIVERGES IN THE CELLAR, HOWEVER, WHERE THE WINE FERMENTED AND AGED IN STEEL TANKS, INSTEAD OF IN OAK, WHICH PRESERVE FRESHNESS RATHER THAN ENCOURAGING COMPLEXITY.