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| La Fete du Bouzeron |
16 Apr 2012: Just before our main trip to Salzburg during Easter, we managed to squeeze in a few days of visit to Burgundy. We had some great tastings of the 2010 vintage at a few domaines, including Dujac, Meo-Camuzet, Patrick Javillier and Lejeune, and a few delicious meals at our favourite restaurants, including Lameloise (I loved my frogs' legs dish !), Ma Cuisine and Caves Madeleine, whose warm salad of red cabbage and bacon remains a highlight throughout the entire trip.
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| The Frogs' Legs dish at Lameloise |
We also did something a little bit more interesting this time. We went along to La F
ête du Bouzeron et du Persillé de Bourgogne on Sunday, 1st April (I looked up the local website prior to our trip and spotted this interesting Sunday activity!). For the price of 7.50 Euros per person, we each got a souvenir wine glass, 6 tasting coupons (for either wine or jambon persillé) and a lucky draw ticket. Bouzeron is an appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise, specifically dedicated to the much less glamorous cousin of Chardonnay, Aligoté. If not for the gusty wind, which could be quite tiresome, it was a fine spring day, with bright blue sky and warming sunshine. We thoroughly enjoyed the festival, which involved walking through the village, sampling wine (Bourgogne Blanc, Bourgogne Rouge, Crémant and Bouzeron) and jambon persillé at different stands, as well as other goodies,such as caramelised peanuts, macarons, chutneys, French fries and steak sandwiches, etc. A band of colourfully-attired musicians also partook in the festivities and delighted onlookers with their cheerful tunes.
A brief word on Bouzeron and this wonderful form of charcuterie. The brochure described it as a springtime wine - "un vin de printemps". It has an aromatic richness, with a nose nuanced with minerality, as well as notes of acacia, white flowers and hazelnut. On the palate, there is freshness and roundness, revealing the typicity of the terroir and the grape variety of Aligoté, which is so unique to this appellallation. As for jambon persillé, it is a Burgundian speciality of charcuterie, made with ham, parsley, garlic and Aligoté (amongst other ingredients). The natural marriage of these two products has thus made this festival possible.
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| A&P de Villaine watching the musicians at the Bouzeron Festival |
Monsieur de Villaine and his wife are both great supporters of the village and it was really nice seeing them taking a stroll round the festival, showing their support. 13 domaines exhibited their wine at the stands, including Bonnet, Borgeot, Briday, Chanzy, Chaussin, Cruchandeau, de la Mugnière, André Delorme, de Villaine, Jacqueson, Lechenault, Chateau Saint-Michel and Moreteaux. We didn't really have the chance to taste all the wines from the different domaines but from the ones we tried, we felt that the de Villaine Bouzeron clearly seemed the superior Bouzeron....(perhaps we were just biased!).....
After the visit, we took a lovely stroll back to Chagny, on a hiking path named La Folie!
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