Alexandre Burgaud is a name with which you might not be familiar, but if you like wine, you need to get to know it.
Burgaud is a young producer whose five-hectare estate lies in Lantignié, a tiny place (population of 886 humans in 2015) about 5 kilometers from Beaujeu and 10 kilometers from Chiroubles, in the Rhône department.
Alexandre Burgaud is making some very good wines in Beaujolais. (Photo courtesy Les Grappes)
Gamay is what we have here, and Burgaud does it well. I tasted his 2018 Beaujolais-Lantignié (SRP $23) and his 2018 Brouilly (SRP $21), and I want more. These bottles are perfect for your case-purchase plans, and once the COVID-19 pandemic allows dinner parties, the Brouilly will be paired with lamb shanks and mushrooms on a Brockhaus menu. I like the structure of this wine; tannins here are in harmony with the marvelous red berry fruit.
As for the Beaujolais-Lantignié, it is something I am going to add to my regular lineup. The ripe cherry and dark berry aromas rise from the glass in an enticing manner, and the black peppery/herbaceous flavors induce taste after taste. I paired this wine with a saucisson sec and some Comté, and it was wonderful.
Alexandre’s cousin, Jean-Marc Burgaud, is a talented Morgon producer, and he has shared a lot of his winemaking knowledge and techniques with Alexandre. That includes the practice of never destemming, and the use of concrete for aging.
A wine of which I’d never tire. (Courtesy Alexandre Burgaud)
The vines planted on Alexandre Burgaud’s five-hectare estate — which was established in 2013 — average 60 years in age and produce the Beaujolais-Lantignié and Beaujolais-Villages; the soils here are rocky, predominantly blue slate, similar to those found in the Côte du Py. The Brouilly’s source is a few hectares of rented vines (average age of 70-plus years) that Burgaud hopes to purchase.
Burgaud’s wines present great value, and the quality in the glass is remarkable. I’m impressed with his approach to winemaking, and look forward to enjoying more of what he makes.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Mumm Napa is a beautiful place. Back in 2003, I toured the winery on a warm, sunny afternoon, ending the day seated on a terrace outside, glass of sparkling in hand. Memories of France — and a day at Maison Mumm — came back to me as I drank and admired the view.
Back in late September (2019), I was scheduled for a return engagement at Mumm Napa, but had to cancel, to my regret. As soon as we are able to travel, the winery will be one of our first destinations. Until then, I’m sampling a few bottles I received — a Brut Prestige, a Brut Rosé, the 2013 DVX Rosé, and the 2011 DVX — and taking the time to research the history of Mumm … it’s a fascinating (German) story, so if you don’t know the house’s origins get reading. (And here’s a bit about Mumm Napa’s founding.)
Mumm Napa was completed in 1987.
I’ll have review of the sparkling wines soon, including a profile of Guy Devaux, the man responsible for Mumm Napa, so look for that, but in the meantime I’m featuring Tami Lotz in Wine Talk. She oversees winemaking at Mumm, and is engaging and opinionated, qualities I like.
Lotz, a Napa native, has a degree in enology and viticulture from U.C. Davis, and has spent time in Germany, Australia, and Chile (focused on wine, of course). She worked as an intern at Mumm after college, and returned to the Napa estate full time in 2003.
Let’s see what she has to say.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
Tami Lotz: I tend to drink a lot of sparkling wine, so, of course, I have a couple to recommend.
First, I’ve been really enjoying the Mumm Napa 2014 Blanc de Blancs Reserve. The blend is 82 percent Chardonnay and 18 percent Pinot Gris. I love the stone fruit and melon notes that the Pinot Gris contributes to the apple and citrus-dominant Chardonnay. It aged for almost four years on the yeast, so there’s a lot of toasty complexity in the wine. I think it will continue to age beautifully for another 5 to 10 years. My favorite pairing with this wine? Oysters! I love living close to the coast so we can drive out and pick up a few dozen to take home and savor. Retail price: $44
I’m always looking for new bubbles to try, and I recently came across a bottle from England, a Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve. I haven’t tasted a lot of English sparkling, and I was very impressed by the quality. The fruit was fresh, the acid bright, and the wine very balanced overall. I enjoyed that bottle with sushi, but I think a cheese board would also be nice. Retail price: $50
As you can probably imagine with my sparkling wine background, I’m a big fan of acid. I tend to seek out German wines because I love their acidity, minerality, and amazing aromatic expression. I recently opened a 2017 Juliusspital Würzburger Stein Silvaner Erste Lage trocken. It was gorgeous. The nose had a lot of pear and citrus, and the palate had a surprising amount of weight, with excellent minerality and a long finish. We went with traditional German fare that evening, and paired it with Weißwurst and Käsespätzle. Retail price: $35
Tami Lotz loves — as she should — Chardonnay.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
TL:1979 Salon. It’s one of only 37 vintages they produced in the 20th century and happens to be my birth year.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
TL: It’s hard to pick a favorite grape, just like it is to pick a favorite wine, but I’m especially enamored with Chardonnay from a sparkling wine standpoint. It provides acid backbone, elegance, and length to blends, and it is perfectly wonderful when in the spotlight as a Blanc de Blancs. It ages exceptionally well, and pairs with the foods I enjoy most.
JB:How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
TL: People don’t always realize how well sparkling wine can age. I would recommend the Mumm Napa 2006 DVX Extra Brut. After eight years on the yeast, this wine was in balance with very little dosage. It still shows youth in the bright fruit and acid, but offers so much complexity in the brioche notes contributed by the yeast. The palate shows a lot of weight and creaminess, and the finish seems to last forever. It will still be beautiful in another decade.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
TL: My go-to is the Oxbow Cheese and Wine Merchant in Napa. I love that they are constantly changing their list and bringing in new and interesting wines from all over the world. It’s a great place to catch up with friends and enjoy some wine and cheese. (Note: I miss the days of being able to experience the above. My current go-to place is the back patio next to the old orange tree, and our happy hours are virtual, but still very fun!)
A sparking named after a great winemaker.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
TL: The one thing I can’t say enough is to drink what you like. I think that, too often, people drink what they think they “should” or what they think might impress someone. If we could all just take a moment and think about the wines that have made us smile, that made our day a little brighter, or that simply tasted good, and then go buy those wines, we’d be much happier wine drinkers.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
TL: I remember my first year at U.C. Davis. I was an Animal Biology major, but decided to take an Intro to Winemaking class. I grew up in Napa, was working in restaurants to pay for school, and enjoyed tasting wine, but didn’t really know much about how it was made. When it struck me that making wine was a unique blend of art and science, and that it could be a career, I changed my major and never looked back.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
TL: A college classmate’s parents showed up with a bottle of dandelion wine for us to taste It’s still one of the most unique tasting experiences I’ve had.
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
TL:Ernest Hemingway wrote that “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing which may be purchased.” I would agree.
A sight that makes me smile. (Photo by The Brockhaus)
I came across this box of chanterelles last week while picking up some collard greens, and could not envision doing anything other than buying the mushrooms and sautéing them that evening. They were plump and fresh and beautiful.
I like simplicity when it comes to chanterelles, and these I gently rubbed clean with a paper towel and set on the counter for an hour or two, so they would dry as much as possible. I cut the larger ones into smaller pieces, and then put a bit of butter and olive oil in a pan and turned the heat on medium-high. Into the pan (once the butter was melted) went two cloves of diced garlic, and, a few minutes later, the chanterelles.
Cleaned and sorted with care. (Photo by The Brockhaus)
The aroma was stunning, and I swirled the mushrooms around the pan, making sure to coat them with the oil and butter. They absorbed all of the liquid after 5 minutes or so, a process that I love, and then, as if by magic, gradually, the oil and butter — along with the mushrooms’ own juices — began to emerge. It is a moving sight.
I seasoned the chanterelles with salt and pepper, garnished with some parsley, and relished a dish of perfection.
Chanterelles: A bowl of one of my favorite foods. (Photo by The Brockhaus)
Provence. Saying that word makes me happy, because I’ve spent some great days and nights there, days and nights that included, of course, some superlative food and wine (not mention landscapes and views). Escargot, lamb, saladeniçoise, soup au pistou … merely typing the names of those foods causes my mouth to water.
Today I’m writing about a recent tasting I conducted that was all about Provence, and while I was unable to venture to France, I did make some food to pair with the three wines that took my taste buds to the beloved region.
The wines — two bottles from Côtes de Provence and one Coteaux Varois en Provence AOP — were opened and tasted on the same evening, and I paired them with a variety of cheeses and olives, duck sausage, a bit of basil pesto and bread, and grilled lamb chops.
First up, Domaine de la Sanglière‘s Prestige Blanc, made from 100 percent Rolle. The Domaine de la Sanglière is a perfect apéritif, and is full of citrus and floral loveliness, bouquet- and palate-wise. Pale straw in color, redolent of honeysuckle, a hint of red grapefruit, and a nice touch of vanilla. The Sanglière sees six months in oak, and it seemed made for the chèvre we served. Its generous, agile mouthfeel proceeds to a crisp finish. Serve this around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and drink now.
From Provence come some fine wines.
Next up, the 2015 L’Oratoire from Domaine Saint Andrieu (AOP Coteaux Varois en Provence), which is made of 51 percent Syrah and 49 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. If you are fond of spicy notes, then you’ll want to get a bottle of this wine. The soils from which this one comes are dominated by clay and limestone; a mild and wet spring, followed by a hot and dry summer, led up to a September 2015 harvest. The duck sausage we paired with the L’Oratoire was an inspired choice; the earthiness of the duck was lifted by the spicy richness of the wine, and the flavors of both were enhanced. This wine is drinking well now, so open and enjoy.
Domaine Saint Andrieu is certified to be High Environmental Value by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, so if that is something on which you place value (and we all should), that’s another reason to try a bottle. According to French guidelines, HEV encompasses biodiversity conservation, plant protection strategy, managed fertilizer use and water resource management. It aims to identify and promote particularly environmentally friendly practices applied by farmers and winegrowers. The certification ensures that the “factors for biodiversity, such as hedges, trees, strips of grass, flowers and insects, is widespread throughout the vineyard and that the stress applied to the environment through farming practices is kept to a minimum.”
Finally, we come to the 2014 La Bravade from Chevalier Torpez (AOP Côtes de Provence). It was born for the lamb chops we grilled (pan-seared with nothing but salt, olive oil, garlic, and a touch of butter). This wine is 50 percent Grenache, 20 percent Syrah, 15 percent Carignan, and 15 percent Mourvèdre. In the glass, the La Bravade is deep cherry in color, nearly black. Aromas of cherry and other dark stone fruit dominate, with an undercurrent of raisin and a hint of cinnamon.
Like kirsch? Then this wine will be on your “keeper” list, because that profile is remarkably evident on the palate. Mouthfeel here is rich and satisfying, and the tannins are supple at the finish. This vintage is reaching its peak, so drink now.
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