Volnay & Pommard on the Holiday Table

I am beginning this bi-weekly journal with Burgundy because it is a touchstone region that is easy to love, yet difficult to know.

A Burgundian wine does not have to be from Burgundy at all. Very often it is an ideal, a poetic model winemakers the world over use as a guidepost. It is a quality most wine lovers can identify, especially those who have had the good fortune to taste a benchmark pinot noir from the Côte de Nuits or chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune. Burgundian wines possess elegance, balance and finesse. They are neither crass, nor monolithic, nor weighed down by the artifice of high alcohol or excessive oak treatment. Most of all, Burgundian wines prepare us for the pleasure of the real thing, the aha moment when you bring a glass of Premier Cru Volnay or Pommard to your lips and realize, or remember, what all the fuss is about.

How do you move from appreciating the wide sweep of wines from Burgundy, and bottles from around the world that capture its spirit, to knowing the unique expressions of Burgundy’s individual towns, called communes or climats. Reading will only get you so far. Tasting one bottle at a time, however lovely, will not provide a reference point. Comparative or technical tastings often seem stilted in a home setting.

Holiday meals, however, especially more intimate gatherings or holiday season dinner parties, offer a stage ripe for exploration of wines that may stretch the budget in other circumstances. The table is set. Someone, maybe you, is already cooking a multi-course seasonal meal. Instead of just pairing wines and foods, why not use the opportunity to take your guests on a journey? A couple of well-chosen bottles of Burgundy can certainly elevate a celebration.

Which brings me back to Volnay and Pommard. Perhaps no two communes illustrate terroir in Burgundy as clearly as these neighboring villages. Like Barbaresco and Barolo in Piedmont, they are unmistakably feminine and masculine expressions of the same grape variety, in this case pinot noir. Drive or bicycle south from Beaune on the Route des Grands Crus and you will arrive in Pommard, an appellation whose relatively low elevation, underground spring water, and sediment composed of a heavy mix of clay and iron yield wines of deep color, intensity and structure. These are appealing, powerful, ageworthy wines that will be especially attractive to fans of collectible cabernet sauvignon.

Upon crossing Pommard, the road makes the gentle climb up the limestone and chalk hill to the village of Volnay. The appellation comprises two such hills with a valley in between and stretches on a north-south axis from Pommard to Meursault. Volnay is home to a cadre of superb producers and more than half of its vineyard land is designated Premier Cru. Its east-facing vineyards produce refined wines with silky tannins and floral bouquets. In the hands of skilled vintners, Volnays more than make up for what they lack in power with lacy complexity and a strong point of view. It is as if, upon crossing a border, the wines reflect the sky instead of the earth.

This year, we will serve Volnay and Pommard at our second Thanksgiving meal, the one we celebrate at home on Saturday evening with friends or family we missed the first time around, the one I shop for on Black Friday after the crowds have left the markets. We will begin with a Volnay from a classic producer such as d’Angerville or Lafarge served alongside a butternut squash soup infused with cardamom. It will be the Volnay’s first act. I am already dreaming about the way the wine’s red berry and violet aromas will mingle with the soup’s sweet spices of the orient. We will be sure to pour it judiciously so that enough remains for everyone to have an ample second glass later in the night. 

It can't be stressed enough that in Burgundy the producer of a wine matters as much as designation or price. Be it village level, Premier or Grand Cru, the wines of the the best domaines are marked by vitality: an integration of acidity, tannins and fruit that awakens the senses. Vitality can be present in a quiet wine or one with an explosive flavor profile. It is a quality you feel in your mouth and crave once it is recognized.  Some very expensive wines from Premier Cru vineyards taste good but still seem heavy and dull. These wines tend to be less interesting on the third sip than on the first. A wine with vitality will give the impression of being lifted and multidimensional. It will hold your attention over the course of the entire meal.  

With the main course we will bring out a Pommard, likely a Les Fremiers from Domaine de Courcel, to go with our small turkey, a gravy made from the jus, herbed stuffing and cranberry-shallot compote. The hope is that the wine’s firm tannins and darker fruits will bring a level of sensuousness to this classic dinner without overpowering its understated flavors.   

The turkey will be followed by a cheese course, at which point we will pour the remainder of the Volnay. Volnay is a wine that transforms in the glass, especially younger vintages. Once the bottle has been opened, it undergoes a kind of alchemy. After an hour or so of exposure to oxygen, the wine often seems substantially fuller and more brooding.

I asked Laurent Drouhin, the US Market Director for Joseph Drouhin, why this happens. He explained that when you open a Volnay, you get very refined and delicate fragrances. Then, as the wine integrates, those fragrances give way to deeper aromas of dark flowers and rich fruit. While the backbone of the wine and the structure of the tannins remain constant, the wine grows more harmonious, giving the impression of being a bit fuller and more intense.  

My hope is that by lingering over these wines at the end of the meal and experiencing the grace and power of the Pommard alongside the increasingly complex and harmonious Volnay, the impressions gleaned from savoring these benchmark wines will be etched into the memory of everyone at our table.. That way, on a cold winter night when looking for something deep and meditative to go with a tagine, perhaps we’ll pull out that Pommard tucked in the back of the cellar. Or maybe we will turn to the ethereal perfumes of a Volnay instead of sake next time we venture out for sushi.

On the practical side, just being able to communicate our experience of these wines to a sommelier or wine merchant will help them guide us toward other wines we might enjoy from Burgundy and beyond. Within the region, the feminine qualities of Volnay are amplified in Chambolle-Musigny and the muscularity of Pommard takes on another dimension in the wines of Gevrey-Chambertin. That is the classic extension of the conversation. Once we begin to have reference points, there are so many unexpected directions it can go in.

Some outstanding Volnay producers include: Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, Domaine Michel Lafarge, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Domaine de Montille, and Joseph Drouhin.  In Pommard, exceptional wines can be found from Domaine de Courcel and Domaine Comte Armand. Keep in mind that many of the top Volnay producers make wines in Pommard and vice versa. If you are drawn to the style of a particular domaine, it’s worth trying an array of their vineyard designate wines and their wines from across the appellation's border. 

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10 Wines for the Holiday Table

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Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay, 2009, $66

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Domaine Marquis D'Angerville, Volnay 1er Cru Champans, 2011, $95

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Domaine Marquis D'Angerville, Pommard Combes Dessus, 2010, $109

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Domaine de Courcel, Pommard 1er Cru, Les Fremiers, 2009, $89

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Joseph Drouhin, Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chenes, 2009, $90

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Cardamom Infused Butternut Squash Soup  

Just as a wine is only as good as the harvest, a soup is only as good as its stock. Preparing the vegetable stock for this soup couldn't be easier. Simply simmer the vegetables in a pot of water while the squash is roasting, and this recipe will yield a pure, clean, satisfying soup that will fill your home with the warming aromas of cardamom and ginger.  

Serves 4

For the squash:

• 6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the stock:

• 10 cups water
• 3 carrots, peeled
• 2 celery stalks, cleaned and trimmed
• 1 leek, cleaned and trimmed
• ½ yellow onion, peeled

For the soup:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cardamom pods
• 4 peppercorns
• ¼ inch square fresh ginger, peeled
• ¼ cup dry white wine

Preheat the oven to 375° F

1.  In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, olive oil and sea salt. Using a slotted spoon, gently mix the ingredients. Pour the squash onto a sheet tray and roast for 35 minutes. 

2.  Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the stock in a large pot over high heat.  Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Let the squash and the stock cool while you begin the soup.

3.  Place a large pot over low heat. Add the butter. While the butter melts, use a mortar and pestle to remove the cardamom seeds from their papery shells and grind the seeds to a powder. Add the cardamom to the butter along with the fresh ginger root. Use the mortar and pestle to grind the peppercorns to a powder as well. Add the ground pepper to the pot. Raise the heat to medium.  When the spices become fragrant, add the wine and turn the heat to high. Whisk constantly until the butter takes on the glistening texture of a smooth sauce. This should take about two minutes.  Turn off the heat. Add the roasted butternut squash and use a slotted spoon to toss the squash until it is evenly coated with the butter and cardamom mixture. 

4.  Add 5 cups of stock to the squash. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let the mixture cool before puréeing with an immersion or countertop blender.  

5.  Whisk in up to one cup of additional stock into the soup, to adjust the consistency to your liking. If you prefer a finer texture, strain the soup through a sieve.

6.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve warm.

7.  The soup is exquisite on its own. If you would like to serve it as a light meal or a more substantial first course, the ginger shrimp garnish is easy to prepare and makes for a winning counterpoint.

For the ginger shrimp garnish:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ inch square fresh ginger root
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
• 1 sprig thyme
• ½ lb rock shrimp or 8 large shrimp
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Warm a medium-sized sauté pan over low heat.  Add the olive oil, wait 30 seconds then add the ginger root, garlic, and thyme. Let the aromatics steep in the warm oil for two minutes. 

2.  Raise the heat to medium. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, place them in the pan and sear each side for three minutes, until just cooked through. 

3.  Mound even portions of the rock shrimp in four empty soup bowls (if you are using large shrimp, cut the cooked shrimp into ½ inch pieces and do the same), then ladle a cup of warm soup around the shrimp.  Serve immediately.   

“You taste and you taste and you taste until you see the light!”

How does one understand Burgundy? According to Jacques Lardière, who spent forty-two years as Louis Jadot’s technical director before officially handing the reigns to Frédéric Barnier in 2012, “You taste and you taste and you taste until you see the light!” It’s a deceptively simple aphorism that cuts through the usual wine jargon to underscore the essential truth that a wine can only be known through your senses – seeing the color, smelling the aromas, tasting the wine and experiencing how it feels in your mouth.

Sampling enough Burgundy to begin to know the wines requires a strategy for sourcing bottles that are both affordable and compelling. Wine from the high-integrity producers in Burgundy’s southern appellations, the Mâconnais, Côte Chalonnaise and Beaujolais, are an excellent place to start. The Domaine Leflaive Mâcon Verze is a chardonnay of exceptional complexity and finesse. The Domaine Francoise & Jean Raquillet Mercurey exhibits the classic wild strawberry and violet aromas associated with Burgundian pinot noir. The Cru Beaujolais of Stéphane Aviron are lucid expressions of vineyard site. When choosing wines from marquee villages on the Côte d’Or, the négociants Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin consistently offer value and quality, both are major landowners throughout Burgundy and leaders in organic and biodynamic practices.

Chablis: Chardonnay for Champagne Lovers

If you gravitate toward Champagne and Sancerre and prefer your chardonnay without overt flavors of oak, vanilla or butter, try Chablis. The eponymous wine of the most northerly appellation in Burgundy, Chablis is pure unadulterated chardonnay cultivated in Kimmeridgian limestone, a type of ancient (Kimmeridgian period) soil containing fossilized seashells. Combining the juiciness of the chardonnay grape with the fresh dry mineral qualities of wines from Sancerre or a Champagne Blanc de Blancs, the wines are delicious without being showy.

There are four levels of Chablis: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. The wines grow weightier and more complex as they scale the hierarchy. A good quality Petit Chablis, such as Domaine Seguinot-Bordet, tends to be refreshing with citrus and mineral flavors. Wines at the Chablis and Premier Cru level, such as Domaine Romain Collet Les Pargues, have more weight, body and structure, yet retain all the liveliness and gripping mineral flavors of their siblings. In recent years, young producers like Thomas Pico of Domaine Pattes Loup have brought organic and biodynamic practices to the region resulting in Chablis’ of remarkable clarity of flavor. Meanwhile, Grand Cru Chablis, such as the Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Valmur are among the world’s most age-worthy white wines. Not only do they develop attractive almond and caramel flavors after a few years in the bottle, once opened, the wines evolve in the glass in a way normally associated with Burgundy’s best pinot noirs, growing richer and more nuanced with each passing hour.

Because of its high acidity and restrained fruit character, Chablis is an extremely versatile food wine. It makes for a delightful aperitif served with fresh goat cheese or a nutty hard cheese such as Emmental. It holds up well in the face of salad dressing and asparagus, and will enhance any meal that features oysters, seafood, poultry or pork.

The Genesis of Louis / Dressner

When Long Island son Joe Dressner met Burgundy native Denyse Louis at NYU, the two were studying for their masters’ degrees in journalism. At the time, they had no idea that one day they would start a wine importing business together. Yet with their partner Kevin McKenna, they have created one of the most influential wine portfolios in America. Today, Louis / Dressner represents over a hundred properties, mostly in France and Italy, but also in Spain, Portugal and Croatia. Advocates of organic and artisanal practices long before it was fashionable and simply because the practices made wines taste good, they have introduced some of the most characterful wines available in the country. When they imported the Didier Dagneau Pouilly-Fume Silex, it set a new standard for the level of complexity one dared to expect from a Sauvignon Blanc. With Arianna Occhipinti they revealed the potential for Frappato and Nero d’Avola to capture the wild elegance of southeast Sicily. Their Alice et Olivier de Moor A.O.C. Chablis “Bel Air et Clardy” is ethereal in its clarity. Dressner passed away in 2011, but his spirit is very much alive in the catalogue of passionate vignerons he assembled during his lifetime.