Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Continue
on same road into tiny Corboin, descend through Vosne-Romanée—with its
fabled Romanée-Conti vineyards producing the priciest wines in Burgundy (figure $6,000
per bottle minimum; sorry, all bottles are pre-sold)—and rejoin D-974 north to the next
village,
Vougeot
. Follow signs to the famous...
Château du Clos de Vougeot:
In many ways, this is the birthplace of great Burgun-
dian wines. In the 12th century, monks from the abbey of Cîteaux (8 miles southeast from
here) created this beautiful stone structure to store equipment and make their wines. Their
careful study of winemaking was the foundation for the world-famous reputation of Bur-
gundian wines. It was here that monks discovered that pinot noir and chardonnay grapes
were best suited to the local soil and climate. There's little to see inside except for the fine
stone construction, four ancient and massive wine presses, and the room where the Con-
frérie des Chevaliers Tastevin (a Burgundian brotherhood of wine-tasters) meets to celeb-
rate their legacy—and to apply their label of quality to area wines, called
le Tastevinage
.
The château has a good English handout and posted information, but no tastings (€5, daily
April-Sept 9:00-18:30, Oct-March 9:00-11:30 & 14:00-17:30, tel. 03 80 62 86 09).
• Follow D-122 north of Vougeot and land in the wine-soaked little village of
Chambolle-
Musigny
, where you'll find...
Le Caveau des Musignys:
This is a fine place to sample Burgundy's rich variety of
wines.SaybonjourtosweetAnnie,whowillintroduceyoutotheregion'swinesinacool,
vaulted tasting room.Representing 40producers (recent vintages onlyfortasting), shehas
winesinallpricerangesfromthroughoutBurgundy.ThewhitesfromtheCôteChallonaise
are a good value, as are the midrange reds from Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanée
(free tasting, Wed-Sun 9:00-18:00, closed Mon-Tue, a block north of the church at 1 Rue
Traversière, tel. 03 80 62 84 01). You can eat upstairs in an elegant setting, where modern
blends with tradition, at the lovely
Le Millésime
(€20 lunch
menus
, €29-50 dinner
menus,
indoor seating only, dazzling wine shelves, closed Sun-Mon, tel. 03 80 62 80 37).
• The next village north is...
Morey-St-Denis:
This village houses more vineyards, a café, a bakery, and another
worthwhile tasting stop at the
Caveau des Vignerons,
with reasonably priced wines from
13 small producers (each too small to have its own tasting room). Gentle Catherine speaks
enough English to welcome you to her free tasting room where you can sample wines
fromtheCôtesdeNuits(goodselectionofwinesfromGevrey-Chambertin,thoughIprefer
those from Morey-St-Denis; daily 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-19:00, next to the church, tel. 03
80 51 86 79). Sleep for cheap nearby at
Chambres d'Hôte Le Saint Nicolas,
buried in
the village but well-signed (Db-€65-75, cash only, tel. 03 80 58 51 83,
www.le-saint-nic-
