Over the next two weeks I will be working and reporting from Domaine d’Eugenie, the Burgundy Domaine found right in the heart of Vosne-Romanee (you can see La Tache from my room…). Run by Michel Mallard as part of the Artemis group which also owns Chateau Latour, Chateau Grillet in the Rhone, and Araujo in California, this relatively young Domaine has been producing very high quality wines since 2007.
The total production of 2015 Meursault Porusots at Eugenie
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Before I arrived on Sunday, the work had already begun on the tiny production of white wine at the Domaine, which was already sitting in tanks and barrels, as well as the “Clos d’Eugenie” red and parts of Vosne Brulées. The whites start their fermentation in tank and are then transferred after a few days when the wine has reached the right oxygen levels to finish fermenting.
Perfectly ripe grapes ready to be picked in the Clos de Vougeot
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I saw some of this transfer this morning through bleary eyes at 6.45am, a tough start after driving all the way to Burgundy yesterday. By 7.30 the team of pickers were assembled and ready to start harvesting one of the Domaine’s Grand Crus, Clos de Vougeot. I would be working as a picker today, not usually my favourite job given the backbreaking bending and carrying required, but with the sun shining and the festival atmosphere from the close-knit group it proved to be very enjoyable, despite the pain!
Having seen grapes around harvest time before on a few occasions, I was immediately incredibly impressed by the Pinot Noir we were picking today. Rot is always something that needs to be picked out to some extent around harvest, but these grapes seemed to be almost completely rot free. The tightly wound punches of small-berried Pinot Noir looked absolutely pristine, and from tasting a few also showed great ripeness of fruit. Sorting the grapes proved quite easy, very little needed to be left for the birds.
We spent the entire day picking Clos de Vougeot, with a brief break for lunch, and the quality was clear throughout. The morning harvest is being vinified as whole bunches, with the afternoon being destemmed. Once we had picked all that was needed for today, we returned to the chai. The pickers went home but I stayed with the full-timers to help firstly do a bit more selection on the sorting table – all grapes are first passed on a vibrating table that takes out small/dry matter, then along a conveyer belt while 4-6 people pick out any suspect berries or material, before finally going the destemmer. Michel then takes the haul to the old oak vats where they are filled and left with loose coverings and temperature control to start their fermentations tonight. We will start to see the results tomorrow morning.
A bucket of freshly picked Clos de Vougeot fruit
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After a thorough cleaning of all the equipment at the end of a long day, Michel opened a bottle for us to taste semi-blind. As we had been picking Clos de Vougeot all day, this was to be a Domaine d’Eugenie Clos de Vougeot from an earlier vintage. We debated between 2011 and 2013, but the latter proved to be correct. The nose is bright with red berries and violets, with a little spice from new oak. The palate, while ripe with fruit, gets its personality by balancing, refreshing acidity and a lifted floral character. Given this is still a very young wine, the oak and tannins still need a little time to integrate and give real grip and spice on the finish. The fruit is long, fresh and persistent however, and it is easy to see this being a real knockout with some age.
The de-stemming machine
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A very good way to end the day with the sun setting over La Tache (which was also picked today by Romanee Conti). We do it all again tomorrow with the Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux, so now I really must be off to bed… 6am alarm set once more.
The Cuverie (vat room) at Domaine d’Eugenie
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