Steven Spurrier

Burgundy vineyards in their autumn colours

Burgundy Master Class

12 - 16 October 2009

This intensive tour designed and led by Steven Spurrier was intended for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of Burgundy. It is aimed at people who are seriously interested in the best wines of Burgundy as expressed by their terroirs, thanks to the dedication and skill of the people who own them.

The visits were to a mix of the most exlcusive domaines and some of the best négociants. Many of these do not accept any visitors, either because the commercial pressure would be too great a distraction to the time and energy of their winemakers, or because of the risk of infection in the caves. The producers were discovered through a mix of cellar visits, talks in the vineyards and tutored tastings.

On the first day we started in the afternoon with an introductory tasting with Faiveley. This was followed by a tasting of the Premier Crus of Beaune at Chanson Père et fils and dinner.

On the second day we covered the wines of Meursault and Volnay with Comtes Lafon and then Puligny-Montrachet with Domaine Leflaive. Lunch was at Olivier Leflaive’s own restaurant to cover Auxey-Duresses, Monthélie, Saint-Aubin and Saint-Romain. We then had a walk in Puligny before considering Chassagne-Montrachet with Domaine J N Gagnard. In the evening we tasted applelations from the Côte de Beaune, at Bouchard Père et fils, followed by dinner.

We continued on the next day with a tasting at Louis Jadot from their domaines in Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. Then at La Vougeraie in Nuits-St-Georges we tasted their superb wines, continuing over lunch. In the afternoon we visited the vineyard and medieval winery of Clos de Vougeot. We included two fabled domaines in Chambolle-Musigny in the afternoon, Domaine Roumier and Comte de Vogüé.

For Morey-St-Denis, we tasted the wines of Domaine Dujac and Clos de Tart and for Gevrey-Chambertin, the wines of Domaine Fourrier. We lunch in Gevrey-Chambertin, and visit the vineyards of DRC. We rounded the day off with the wines of Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges from Domaine Grivot. We had a final dinner with more superb wines in Beaune.

On the last day we tasted at Joseph Drouhin to catch up on any appellations that we’ve managed to miss. We finish with lunch at Steven’s favourite bistro in Beaune.

This amazing experience with extraordinary tastings and visits had a serious twist. To quote Steven “My hope would be that every wine tasted would be accommpanied by a technical information sheet, so that the five days of tastings and visits will represent a reference library for the participants for their future enjoyment of Burgundy”.