Wednesday was the last day of picking with a full team at Eugenie. Fortunately, there was not far to travel after breakfast at the Domaine, as we were picking the village vineyard Clos d’Eugenie which is attached to the winery. This half a hectare plot is made into its own label, separating it from Eugenie’s Vosne Romanée village wine which is made from different vineyards in the village. The enclosed vineyard sits just five metres from La Tache and Michel believes the quality here is a step above what one would expect from Bourgogne villages.
Saturday heralded in the first day of the harvest with a full team of pickers at Eugenie so I was up before sunrise, boots on and secateurs at the ready. Following a quick coffee and meeting the team, who had arrived from different parts of Burgundy, it was straight off to Echezeaux. This 37 hectare Grand Cru site is split into different sections with more than 45 different producers owning a share. Eugenie’s 0.5 hectare parcel sits in ‘Les Orveaux’, a fantastic site just above Clos de Vougeot. Michel mentions to me that he’s excited as, for him, this is the main and most important stage of the production. ‘Once the wine is in the vat, there are little things you can do. But making sure you have the best grapes possible going into the tanks, that is the most important’.
I arrived in Burgundy bright and early where I met the ever smiling Burgundian Michel Mallard. Michel, as well as his own family Domaine in Aloxe Corton, has been producing top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay here in Vosne Romanée since the domaine was bought by Francois Pinault. Domaine Engel became Domaine Eugenie, and in terms of quality and reputation, the Estate has never looked back.
September is harvest time in France so I headed down to Burgundy and the Rhone Valley to spend some time with friends of Farr Vintners who also happen to make some outstanding wine.
