Pommard or Volnay? It’s a bit like asking crab or lobster, roast potatoes or boiled, caviar or truffles! I like both, they are the same grape, Pinot Noir; two villages in Burgundy only 1km apart, vineyards adjacent to each other; but …… the terroir, oh the terroir, so different….. soil, slope angle, moisture ….. So different and producing quite different wines.
This Volnay I’ve opened for our Sunday lunch is less than classic, but nothing wrong with it! It’s less than classic because rather than being like a light, perfumed, feminine Volnay, it’s much more like a deeper, robust, masculine Pommard. Maybe that’s why I like it so much as I am a fan, an avid supporter in fact of the Domaine Michel Rebourgeon in Pommard.
Domaine Henri Delagrange is run by Henri and his wife Helene who whilst using modern winemaking methods stand by the old traditions of Burgundy. I visit and have a traditional Burgundian lunch in Cellier Volnasien every year where all of the Delagrange wines can be bought, escargots followed by coq au vin, though Dr C usually starts with oeufs meurette. The lady who runs the place is extremely generous in her approach to tasting, normally paid for in the shop, but over lunch she has always helped us to explore a few parcels and vintages as an “accompaniment” to the lunch. We recommend this lovely restaurant highly.
In July this year we have booked a week in Puligny Montrachet, a little further afield than our usual bookings in Pommard and Meursault ……. but it’s only a few hectares away!
http://www.domaine-henri-delagrange.com/en/

Categories: Travel

Tags: bourgognewines, Burgundy, Cellier Volnasien, delagrange Henri Delagrange, Food, food and travel, food culture, foodie, French wine, michel rebourgeon, Pinot noir, Pommard, Rebourgeon, Volnay, Wine