Debbie Miller Nelson's Trip to France, Part 9

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 9th installment of Debbie’s trip.


After leaving Domaine Lamarche, we drove to Gevrey-Chambertin to see Dominique Gallois, my dining companion from the night before.

But, first an aside. While driving through the vineyards, we pass the vineyards of Le Tache. It is here that one of the most prestigious, rare and collected producers have some vineyards. Domaine Romanee-Conti or DRC as it is commonly referred to made me very excited! The cross behind me is the famous cross that marks this vineyard site. I am privileged to be able to offer these wines to my clients when they do arrive. Sorry, none available now!


Now back to Domique Gallois. We chatted about dogs the other night at dinner and I learned that he had just lost one of his dogs and acquired a new puppy. I got to meet them both. By this point in the trip, I was feeling a little homesick missing my two mutts, but this was nothing a few cute dogs to pet couldn’t cure. Domenique’s puppy kept trying to follow us down into the cellar, but he was obedient at last when Domenique scolded him to return back upstairs and he waited at the top of the stairs for us to finish.

It is here that I realize what everyone has been talking about – production in 2010 is down 20-40%. Domenique’s cellar was not even half full.



I thought to myself, “this is all there is?” We tried to taste 2010 barrel samples but there was a lot of CO2 in the air and this made it tough to taste. One barrel was stacked high and hard to get to, so with Domenique’s permission, John, my trip host climbed up top to get the thief into the barrel and pull a sample.




A Kodak moment! Domenique’s style is more concentrated than Nichole Lemarche’s. His 09’s are quite muscular and age-worthy.

Next Stop Alain Burguet’s house!
Available at Joe Canal’s:
Domaine Gallois Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combes Aux Moines 2009 $81.99/bottle