We crammed our friends John and Katie into the back seat of our rental car and headed south towards Beaune. We had to make one stop at a Champagne house on the way, one of our favorites, Gosset.
Gosset is the oldest “wine” house in Champagne, not to be confused with the oldest “Champagne” house in Champagne, (Ruinart). Gosset started making still wine in 1584, but switched over to Champagne when it became popular with the French nobility in the 19th century. The below is a very creepy photo of Pierre Gosset, the founder of the winery. Pierre is the one on the right, don’t mix up your creepy figures.
We were supposed to do a full tour of the cellars, but my car’s Nav system took us to their commercial winery. It turned out ok, we had an excellent tasting by a super nice host, and we’ve seen plenty of cellars at this point.
Ok, a quick “pro tip” regarding the toll lanes in France. If you see the following sign…
…do NOT get in the lane with the “t” unless you have a transponder. If you are tourist, you likely don’t have a transponder! The lane with the green arrow is to pay with a credit card. Don’t ask me how I know this! Jeez, I can still hear the cars honking at me! What an embarrassing clusterfuck that was! Onwards…
The next day in Beaune we had a tasting at Domaine Drouhin that Randy had set up.
Randy recently befriended Veronique Drouhin, their Head Winemaker, and she gave us the private tour treatment. This press from the 13th century still works, and is used for special wines from time to time.
The cellars are beautiful, and a perfect spot to escape the summer heat.
Our tour group, ready to taste!
Randy is standing in front of a 3rd century Roman wall.
If you read the book “Wine and War”, and you should, there is a story about Maurice Drouhin, who was helping the French resistance against the Germans during WWII. The Gestapo came to take him away and execute him in June 1944, and he escaped from the cellars via this door, now known as the “Door of Freedom”.
Kim and Kari in front of all the wines we tried. This was an exceptional tasting!
This was my favorite wine of the tasting, and of course it’s a Grand Cru. Damn focus!
If the private tour and tasting wasn’t enough, Veronique set up a lunch for us inside the winery, and opened some more excellent wines! Apparently Randy makes a really good impression!
Her husband Michel is on the far left, and Veronique is third from the left, between Katie and John. Really appreciate the hospitality!!
We stayed at a really nice spot just outside the ramparts of Beaune called Le Clos De L’Aigue. I highly recommend it, as it’s super quiet and comfortable. They even have a pool, which was perfect for the summer heat.
They also have chickens!
We had a tasting and lunch lined up for our last day, but both Kim and I got sick, so we stayed close to the hotel. I did give Randy and Kari a ride to the airport so they could take their private chartered jet to the south of France.
One last shot of Burgundy on the way back to the hotel. Super beautiful this time of year!
Up next we head to our last location before flying home, Chablis, France.