OP
OP
Charles Morgan
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2010
- Messages
- 8,206
- Car
- Mercedes 250CE W114, Alfa Romeo GT Coupe 3.2 V6
The scene, a side road to the North West of Nuits-St-Georges, the main town (one and a half horse) of the Cote de Nuits, the northern part of the Cote d'Or. To avoid the rush hour a Baltic Blue BMW 02 is working its way around the edge of the vineyards where they touch the town. The driver, confronted with the choice or three roads where the map says one, opts for the centre one, un-contradicted by his navigator, who is busy texting his mate Aussie Max, the guy with the Pagoda who couldn't come at the last minute, about the magnums he has just bought.
Intoxicated not by any wine, (spitting only for the designated driver), but by the sound of a free revving little 2 litre with an over-sized exhaust, so driving a little fast, suddenly, from nowhere, a drainage ditch hidden by a dip in a rising vineyard road seizes the boy racer spoiler and snaps it in two. Worse, the bolts holding the same, over-sized, intoxicating exhaust, ground on the hump (or hump the ground). Driver, for it was me, regrets car is not a sensible W124 and hates to think of the damage done a long way from home.
This is where travelling with an experienced classic car owner has its benefits, for the motto don't panic might have been written by Richard. Running a 55 year old car presents more challenges than a mere 39 year old one, and serenity is a useful virtue. A quick inspection of the underside, no damage obvious, and with the visible grounding points understood, before long, two strapping men are seen bouncing up and down on the bonnet, springing the car loose. One snapped spoiler later, the only injury being to pride, and to the notion that a low slung car is suitable for vineyard tours.
So, you may ask, why the drainage ditches? The sun is shining, we are 300 miles south of the UK, and the cherries are ripe on the trees.
Well, Burgundy lies at the northern extremity of where it is possible to ripen Pinot Noir (the dominant red grape of the area then - Gamay, now used in Beaujolais - having been declared unfit for human consumption by a decree of Duke Philip the Bold in 1395.). There is a perpetual battle for ripeness, and every degree of vineyard sun exposure, the warmth of the soil, the position on slope affecting soil depth and drainage, all making a huge impact on the ripeness of the grapes at the end of the season, the soil type and vine clone also affecting flavour.
The monks of Citeaux noticed this. Each year parts of their large vineyard holdings would have similar flavours and ripeness that were different from other parts. Over time, the vineyards were given names and it was noted which were consistently better and which weren't, and lo, the middle of the slope, either south east or south west facing, that got the sun as long as possible each day, that were well drained, became the most vaunted. Higher up, or lower down, the wines were not so good, but nevertheless very fine, while right at the top of the slope, or in the wetter, deeper bottom, the grapes were less ripe.
And in one simple paragraph, the entire notion of vineyard classification and the wonder of terroir explained and made easy.
So where was my car parked - right below Romanee-Conti, above Romanee St Vivant, in the commune of Vosne-Romanee. Romanee-Conti is the apotheosis of grand Burgundy, in great vintages such as 2005 each bottle now selling for £10,000 before VAT and duty. Romanee St Vivant, another great grand cru, sells for a mere £1,000 each. The road and parking spot is in the latter, a mere 12 yards separating the two. Terroir.
Intoxicated not by any wine, (spitting only for the designated driver), but by the sound of a free revving little 2 litre with an over-sized exhaust, so driving a little fast, suddenly, from nowhere, a drainage ditch hidden by a dip in a rising vineyard road seizes the boy racer spoiler and snaps it in two. Worse, the bolts holding the same, over-sized, intoxicating exhaust, ground on the hump (or hump the ground). Driver, for it was me, regrets car is not a sensible W124 and hates to think of the damage done a long way from home.
This is where travelling with an experienced classic car owner has its benefits, for the motto don't panic might have been written by Richard. Running a 55 year old car presents more challenges than a mere 39 year old one, and serenity is a useful virtue. A quick inspection of the underside, no damage obvious, and with the visible grounding points understood, before long, two strapping men are seen bouncing up and down on the bonnet, springing the car loose. One snapped spoiler later, the only injury being to pride, and to the notion that a low slung car is suitable for vineyard tours.
So, you may ask, why the drainage ditches? The sun is shining, we are 300 miles south of the UK, and the cherries are ripe on the trees.
Well, Burgundy lies at the northern extremity of where it is possible to ripen Pinot Noir (the dominant red grape of the area then - Gamay, now used in Beaujolais - having been declared unfit for human consumption by a decree of Duke Philip the Bold in 1395.). There is a perpetual battle for ripeness, and every degree of vineyard sun exposure, the warmth of the soil, the position on slope affecting soil depth and drainage, all making a huge impact on the ripeness of the grapes at the end of the season, the soil type and vine clone also affecting flavour.
The monks of Citeaux noticed this. Each year parts of their large vineyard holdings would have similar flavours and ripeness that were different from other parts. Over time, the vineyards were given names and it was noted which were consistently better and which weren't, and lo, the middle of the slope, either south east or south west facing, that got the sun as long as possible each day, that were well drained, became the most vaunted. Higher up, or lower down, the wines were not so good, but nevertheless very fine, while right at the top of the slope, or in the wetter, deeper bottom, the grapes were less ripe.
And in one simple paragraph, the entire notion of vineyard classification and the wonder of terroir explained and made easy.
So where was my car parked - right below Romanee-Conti, above Romanee St Vivant, in the commune of Vosne-Romanee. Romanee-Conti is the apotheosis of grand Burgundy, in great vintages such as 2005 each bottle now selling for £10,000 before VAT and duty. Romanee St Vivant, another great grand cru, sells for a mere £1,000 each. The road and parking spot is in the latter, a mere 12 yards separating the two. Terroir.
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