Burgundy Wine Festival Nov 2010

It was the 150th annual Hospices Beaune charity auction last weekend - a 3-day festival held in Beaune, France. Drove 3+ hours out from Paris on a Sat afternoon. It was dark by the time we reached (since the sun now sets at 5pm) so we thought there wouldn't be much to do until the next day. As luck would have it, we managed to catch the last tasting tour at a wine house called Bouchard Ainé & Fils. While rushing there, we walked past the Basillique Notre Dame which was beautifully lit up by a series of light displays. Stopped to admire for awhile...

Due to the event, only a special dégustation (prices jacked up of course) was available. Felt kinda ripped off at first but as the tasting went on we were comforted by the rather unique experience. 5 white & 5 red wines, of which half were paired with small seafood bites. Own time own target, we walked through the cave, stopping by various stations to taste the wines and listen to the servers' explanations. Too bad most of them were French so we understood like only 10% of what they said. Nonetheless, glad to have had the chance to taste a 59-year-old wine!

Next day at 8.30 in the morning, we queued outside Hospices de Beune for their wine dégustation! Because of the auction (held by this house) taking place later on at 1430h, the tasting was only available from 0830-0930. Another unique experience - tasted 20 wines ALL straight from the barrel!

At 10.30, we headed to Sensation Vin for another round of 6-wine tasting, this time with English explanations. Not bad but I think the 10-wine option could have been better.

The auction. For a start, the barrels go at an average price of 5000€. I don't know how high it went that day.. Interesting but I think not really worth queuing to go in. You can look from the outside :)

And here's a restaurant recommendation for you: Le Relais de Saulx. Cheap & surprisingly good