We were welcomed to the winery by its owner winemaker, Jean-François Chapelle, who recounted the history of the vineyard and surrounding area. It was also the opportunity to remind ourselves of some of the Burgundy geography basics!
In the fermentation hall and cellar, Yannick, the Technical Director, explained how the grape juice is transformed into wine after the harvest and then aged until it is ready for bottling. He told us how the vinification process differs between red and white wines, and how the wine is aged in the oak barrels. We tasted the same 2013 wine, but aged in different types of barrel, one new, the other a few years old, to better understand the role each has on the taste and structure of wine.
During this time another group, under the direction of Jean-François, participated in a workshop to help develop the senses of taste and smell when tasting Burgundy wines.
We then started the wine tasting in earnest with a couple of white wines from the estate, accompanied with some gougères. We continued the tasting during the meal with some of the red wines.
After the meal, we made the most of the sunshine, and headed into the Clos des Cornières vineyard to visit our adopted vines and take a few photos.
The Clos des Cornières contains three different ages of vines, and their grapes are picked and vinified separately before being blended to produce the wine that is chosen for the clients of Gourmet Odyssey. Back at the winery, we tasted the three different wines separately, as the 2013 vintage is still in the process of ageing, and has not yet been blended together.
We now have a several more months left to patiently wait and let the wine slowly age before being bottled. Another fascinating day spent at the winery - many thanks to all the team at Domaine Chapelle!
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