KEY POINTS:
"It can sing like a nightingale, shine forth like a sapphire, intrigue like the most complex of chess problems, and seduce like the first kiss of someone you are about to fall in love with."
Who writes this stuff?
Clive Coates M.W. does in his definitive
epic Cote d'Or, A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy.
It's not all pinot noir in Burgundy - there are steely, unoaked chardonnays from Chablis that will bring you to your knees. The white wines, especially from Meursault and Puligny Montrachet, will, if not leave you speechless, at least have you struggling for superlatives.
But it is that picture-perfect stretch of highway from Beaune to Dijon that boasts a patchwork of vineyards revered worldwide by lovers of pinot noir. This is where you find some of the most expensive grape-growing sites on the planet, with bottle prices that defy imagination and the average wallet.
There is a lot of madness here too. Burgundy can be complex. Not all the wine is magnificent. Some shockers slip through the cracks and there is a lot of historic bad blood between families. It's not uncommon for one brother with a small vineyard to not speak to the other brother whose vineyard is 5m across a tiny gravel path.
There are an astonishing number of tiny sites and an artisan approach to winemaking - hands off as opposed to hands on.
Some years ago I spent a week during harvest-time wandering among these revered vines. Set on gentle slopes, in the midst of which old stone churches and rusty steel spires reach up to scratch the sky. The grapes are mostly harvested by hand. Wicker baskets are strapped on to the backs of young students who resemble a United Nations forum.
They sing and laugh, their purple-stained hands working with a gentle swiftness. This is not easy work, but the beauty of the vines and the playful light makes rural France in general, and the Cote d'Or in particular, seem like a surreal paradise.
In one of the world's smallest but most important wine villages, are found Gevrey Chambertin, Chambolle Musigny, Vosne Romanee, Nuits-Saint Georges and Morey-Saint-Denis.
For such a relatively small area, roughly 5500ha, this is undoubtedly the most loved, enigmatic wine region in the world.
Who knows, one day we may speak in such hushed tones of Martinborough, Marlborough, Waipara, Nelson, and Central Otago.
RECOMMENDED
2006 Coal Pit Central Otago Pinot Noir
Single vineyard on Gibbston Valley's north facing slopes. Spicy, herbal bouquet with Black Doris plums and cherries. Price: $36
2005 Lucien Muzard Santenay Champs Claude
Old vines, juicy black cherry fruit and earth, from a great vintage. Available from selected wine shops. Price: $48
