Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 2

All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.

In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 2nd installment of Debbie’s trip.

It happens to be a holiday on this day Monday, June 12th - All Saints Day. The Wildman group had to juggle their usual schedule around to accommodate who would actually see us today. Off we head to Maison Olivier Leflaive in the town of Puligny about 20 minutes away. The winery produces about 80,000 bottles every year – mostly white and unbeknownst to us, we are in for an amazing day with a cast of characters.

At Leflaive we are met by Cellar Master Franck Grux who recently is recovering from a soccer accident playing with his son. He looks a little like actor Tim Curry and Franck is anxious to show us the ropes.

But first a side bar on the vineyards in Burgundy. You know how you visit a winery and there is a big house with their vineyards in the back? This is not the case here. In Burgundy, think of a big piece of land like a park that is owned by 50-60 people. Each person has a different sized piece of property and each is responsible for maintaining their own land. One owner might be able to plant 7 trees and other 50 trees while the owner right next to him may only be able to plant one tree. The house the owners live in and work in is somewhere else. This is Burgundy.

We piled into the van so that Franck could take us on a tour of the vineyards. It is here that I finally “get it”. All the vines of all the owners are in one plot. This guy owns a few rows, that guy a few plants, but I get it now. And I could walk across the short street, 10 feet or so to walk from Bougorgno Rouge across the street to Montrachet. Cool.

I learned that Leflaive uses no technology at all. All the oak is French and the grapes are hand picked and the wine is made as organic and natural as it can be.

After the tour, we head over to the winery for a 2010 barrel tasting and work up quite an appetite. When the tasting ends we bump into none other than Patrick Leflaive, Olivier’s brother for a brief hello while he smokes outside and bid him farewell until later. We were having dinner at his house that evening.

Lunch was outside at Le Montrachet, a short walk from Leflaive. At lunch I was able to taste current vintages of wine of Leflaive wines paired with wonderful light cuisine and of course, cheese.

Stay tuned next time for a visit in Beaujolais!





Deb’s Spotlight
Olivier Leflaive Les Setilles Bourgogno Blanc 2008
A buttery nose with citrus, hazelnuts, pineapple and pine cone. It is full and creamy with a zingy acidity that could cut through a creamy dish like lobster bisque or corn chowder or just the lobster with drawn butter.

Debbie Also Recommends
Olivier Leflaive Batard Montrachet 2006 $299.99
Olivier Leflaive Batard Montrachet 2004 $174.99
Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet 1er Clos St Marc 2005 $61.99
Olivier Leflaive Chablis 2008 $20.00