foodwineclick

The Cote d’Or is one long set of vineyards on the eastern slope of this old mountain ridge

French #Winophiles Linger in Burgundy
I love Bourgogne wines and we drink plenty of them at our house. Lucky for me, our French #Winophiles group is lingering in the region for both May and June! In May, we’re focusing on the northern reaches, including Chablis and the Cote d’Or. Grilling and barbecue are not exactly typical French cooking methods, but the wines are very adaptable, so come along on the journey! Don’t forget to look farther down in the post for other great suggestions from my fellow Winophiles.

Rabbit cooking in the Primo Grill on indirect heat. Don’t like rabbit? Substitute chicken and all will be good!

Chablis Region
The Burgundy geographic region is located in the center of France. Most of the Burgundy wine region is located on a long strip of land on the east side of an ancient low mountain range running between Dijon and Lyon. That is, except for Chablis. Chablis is definitely claimed as one of several sub-regions that make up the entire wine region, but it is physically separated from the rest of Burgundy’s vineyards lying about 150 km, or about 100 miles west of Dijon. Not surprisingly, the Chablis region is named after the town of Chablis at the center. The soil in this region is an old seabed, it is composed of large amounts of limestone and even fossil seashells. The region makes only white wines, made from the Chardonnay grape. If your Chardonnay experience is limited to the buttery/oaky sort, then you are in for a surprise in Chablis!

Chablis region courtesy of bourgogne-wines.com

Domaine du Colombier
Domaine du Colombier is a member of the Vignerons Indépendants, an organization of small, independent French winegrowers. I picked up this wine at the Salon (wine buying show) in Lyon in 2015, and I’m happy to report it’s available in the US! The Mothe family has owned the property since 1887, but only started bottling and selling their own wines in the 1980’s. The region is cooler than the main Burgundy region, and the soil imparts unique characteristics in the wines. Additionally, the Chablis traditions do not involve using much (or any) new oak on the wines. These wines are typically very dry and lean with high acidity. However, I found that the Domaine du Colombier wines are allowed to go through malolactic fermentation, so they are a bit softer and less bracingly acidic than many Chablis. They are aged in stainless tanks, so they don’t take on any oaky notes whatsoever.

Domaine du Colombier Chablis Premier Cru from the Fourchaume Climat (vineyard)

Domaine du Colombier Chablis 1er Cru “Fourchaume” AOC 2014 ($20 online)
Eye: Clear, pale lemon yellow
Nose: Clean, briny coral and chalk, lemons, aroma has some depth to it
Mouth: Dry, medium body, high acidity, medium + finish. Flavor includes lemon rind, some chalk. While the acidity is high, there is a softness in the body of the wine from having gone through malolactic fermentation. I absolutely loved this wine!

Côte de Nuits
The Côte de Nuits forms the northern half of the Côte d’Or, the most famous part of the Burgundy wine region. The Côte de Nuits features a soil and microclimate most conducive to red wines made from the Pinot Noir grape. No blends here! There are a few white wines made from Chardonnay, but not many.

Côte de Nuits map courtesy of bourgogne-wines.com

Our Domaine Robert Gibourg Story
We came to this wine by one of those accidents with a happy ending. Our plan for the day around Morey-Saint-Denis included stopping for a quick lunch at the artisan bakery in town. When we showed up a little after noon, to our shock, the bakery was closed for the rest of the day with a little sign put up that morning. Oh no! We quickly jumped in the car and drove down to the D-974 to see if there was anything close by. There was nothing obvious within sight. We saw sign we didn’t quite understand, so we pulled in. A young woman opened a second floor window and asked (in French) if she could help. They were a winery, not open that day but they did have some leftover bread and cheeses from the weekend tours and she offered to host us. We had a wonderful time as she practiced her English and we practiced our French. We thanked her, paid for lunch and bought one of their nicer bottles to take with us – here it is!

Domaine Robert Gibourg Morey-Saint-Denis Clos de la Bidaude. A “Clos” is a vineyard enclosed by a stone wall.

Domaine Robert Gibourg Morey-Saint-Denis Clos de la Bidaude AOC 2013 (25€ at the winery)
Eye: Clear, very pretty pale ruby with a ruby edge
Nose: A bit of barnyard funk immediately on opening, but it quickly settles to a nice subtle level. Clean, medium intensity.  Bright red cherries, cinnamon, a bit of floral hiding in the background, roses? Fruit is balanced by the other aromas, not purely fruity.
Mouth: Bone dry, medium body, medium+ acidity, medium- tannins. Overall, lean, subtle fruit and herbal mix of flavors. Medium finish. A very nice village level wine.

Rabbit is a common choice in France, you’ll need to do a little searching to find it in the US.

Chablis or Morey-Saint-Denis with Rabbit?
Our rabbit recipe features a whole rabbit roasted over indirect heat on the grill, with just a bit of smoke. The rabbit is finished with a delicious sauce of cream, mustard and cornichons. I was initially thinking the Chablis would be a bit too austere for the creamy sauce. I was pleasantly surprised by the Chablis – it had been through malolactic fermentation, so it had a bit more body and was less tartly acidic.  It was excellent with the rabbit in cream sauce. Also, the Morey St. Denis was excellent, it helped that the wine more earth driven than fruit driven. Fruit forward American Pinot Noirs would have been a bit of a miss with the fruit out in front. The better pairing boiled down to whether you prefer drinking a white or red wine.

Burgundy Ideas from the French Winophiles
Take a look at what our Winophiles group has cooked up for our virtual visit of Chablis and the Côte d’Or. If you see this in time, join our chat on Twitter at #Winophiles on Saturday May 20, 10-11am CDT. We love visitors!

Jeff Burrows of foodwineclick lures us to “Northern Burgundy Served Up With Rabbit.”

Jill Barth of L’Occasion schools us on “Thomas Jefferson in Burgundy.”

Michelle Williams of Rockin Red Blog tipples towards “A Journey Through Burgundy, Part 1 Chablis and Côte d’Or.”

Lynn Gowdy of Savor the Harvest hosts “Saint-Aubin in Burgundy Invites You To Dine.”

Martin Redmond of Enofylz Wine Blog  throws down “Back To Back White Burgundy; Chablis vs Côte de Beaune”

Gwendolyn Lawrence Alley of Wine Predator serves up  “Chablis and the Sea.”

L.M. Archer of binnotes mulls over “Burgundy: Wines of Intention.”

…and Jane Niemeyer of Always Ravenous ladles up “St Aubin Premier Cru paired with Corn and Lobster Chowder”

When you bring wine hope from France, you have the pleasure of reliving a bit of that experience at home.

The recipe was written for the oven, but I wanted to add a bit of smokiness.

There’s something about cooking outdoors

Pan drippings, mustard, cornichons and cream make for a delicious sauce

Burgundy mustard, too. We found a Minneapolis shop which stocks our favorite Fallot mustard.

Local Sources:

• Rabbit purchased locally at Clancey’s Meat and Fish, supplied by Singerhouse Rabbit Farm in Wisconsin.
• Edmond Fallot mustard is the only family owned mustard house remaining in Burgundy. After we toured the mustard factory, they are now our house mustard, as they are available locally at Surdyk’s Deli.