As a warm-up for my three weeks in Beaujolais I, last Friday, dipped my toes into the (mainly) reds of the Côte d’Or before a Beaune weekend with a wonderful Saturday ‘lunch’ in the Hospices de Beaune – my first!
Two domaines in Gevrey-Chambertin and one in Chambolle; Astrelles, Marc Roy and François Millet. It wasn’t weather for sunbathing but I still toured a few vineyards – interesting to see three different approaches in the vines – all within a stones-throw from the house in the Clos des Issarts.
Then it was cool to see that most of the decorations for the St.Vincent were still in place in both Morey and Chambolle: The estimate was 70,000 people attending the St.Vincent weekend – for a time the police had to stop people coming into Chambolle-Musigny as the streets are so narrow and there were queues forming!
And the lunch in the Hôtel Dieu? Yes, in La Chambre du Roy – I’ve had tastings in here before but it’s the first time that I saw it set with tables for lunch. Really a super Saturday afternoon – yes we were there for 4.5 hours!
