I had a very nice lunch in Beaune last week, and it provides me with an opportunity to give you a nice new restaurant tip and also to mention an uncommon, but tasty wine. The restaurant was called Clé de Voûte. If you enter the ring-road around Beaune from the direction of the (Lyon) auto-route, almost immediately on your right is a large antiques shop with its own small courtyard. If you have the chance, park in one of the spaces directly in front of the antiques shop – if you subsequently buy something from them, I’m sure they won’t mind – and just another door or two further-on is the restaurant. You head down the steps into a nicely converted cellar and more importantly to very good food. The wine-list is modest, but well-priced.
Onto the wines; not your first choice maybe, but the wines of Albert Bichot are (in my opinion) becoming rather dependable choices. First up was a good value, tasty Mâcon (Domaine Clos de l’Eglise) which is about 20% barrel ferment and the rest done in stainless-steel. Of most interest was a lovely Meursault – a red one! Checking with Bichot who produce the Domaine du Pavillon wine; it seems that they could have made more money by replacing the 40+ year-old vines (close to Volnay Santenots) with chardonnay – I’m glad they didn’t – it seems that we both think that there’s a little too much personality in the wine for that. It’s a well coloured, fresh and pure pinot with real drive, it does show the cedar of 2004 but in this case it’s on very low register such that it adds a nice complexity. Apparently there’s not so many bottles made, so if your country doesn’t get any – c’est la vie – but it’s worth a try.

2004 Domaine Clos de l’Eglise, Mâcon-VillagesRebuy – Maybe
2004 Domaine du Pavillon, Meursault (Rouge)Rebuy – Yes