From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, July 02 - Thursday, July 13, 2023. The tour started in Lyon and ended in Paris.
At Domaine Armelle et Bernhard Rion in Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, the visit consisted of two parts.
First, Melissa Rion joined us in the bus and took us on a tour of the vineyards of Vosne-Romanée.
Second, we returned to the domaine, where we did a cellar tour and sat down for a tasting with Armelle Rion.
The wines of Domaine Armelle and Bernard Rion are well represented in the Washington DC area via Elite Wines.
Domaine
Armelle and Bernard Rion
Domaine Armelle and Bernard Rion was founded in 1880 by Pierre Rion. His son Louis substantially enlarged the domaine. Fourth generation Bernard Rion now manages the Domaine Armelle and Bernard Rion with his wife Armelle and his daughters Alice and Melissa. Alice’s husband Louis is the vineyard manager.
Wine production is very traditional with a high respect for nature. Vineyard management methods rely on natural or very specific products. 'Pheronomes' are diffused around the vineyards to provoke sexual confusion in certain insects eliminating the need to use insecticides. The average vines are over 50 years old and their roots draw nutrition from deep down in the ground.
Alice Rion and Alice's husband
Louis Rion presented their wines at the French Embassy in Washington DC, USA (2018).
Bus Tour Through the Vineyards of Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, with Melissa Rion (2023)
Vosne-Romanee Wine (wine searcher)
wine searcher: Vosne-Romanée is a small commune in Burgundy's Côte de
Nuits district, known mainly for its red wine from the Pinot Noir
grape. Originally named just Vosne, the village took the suffix Romanée
in 1866 in honor of its most prized vineyard, La Romanée. It is often
grouped together with the neighboring commune of Flagey-Echézeaux;
while the villages are entirely separate, their finest vineyards are
clustered together immediately north of Vosne-Romanée.
The classic Vosne-Romanée wine is considered by many to have the
perfect balance of weight, structure, elegance and longevity. Tasting
notes often refer to a combination of tart red fruits (particularly
cherries and raspberries) and darker elements of undergrowth, licorice
and smoke.
The village has been a known source of quality wines for more than a
thousand years, since the arrival of the monks of the Saint-Vivant
monastery. Today, it makes wine almost exclusively from Pinot Noir,
although up to 15 percent of the local white varieties are permitted, to
allow for natural planting variations and mutations. The wines are
made under the Vosne-Romanée communal appellation (with about one-third
coming from premier cru sites) and six grand cru appellations, each
pertaining to a specific vineyard.
The entire surface area of Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru vineyards is only 27
hectares (67 acres – about half the size of the single Clos de Vougeot
climat just across the commune boundary). This is divided between six
individual sites: La Grand Rue, La Tâche, Richebourg, La Romanée,
Romanée-Saint-Vivant and the most famous, Romanée-Conti. Despite this
small surface area, Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru red wines are some of the
most respected (and most expensive) in the world.
Vosne-Romanée's best vineyards lie just above the village, on the
mid-slopes of the Côte d'Or; this is where the grand cru sites are
located. Around these prestigious sites are dotted the Vosne-Romanée
Premier Cru vineyards and some entirely unclassified land. The
difference between a grand cru vine and one deemed worthy only of the
regional Bourgogne appellation is sometimes a matter of a few feet.
Below this mid-slope section the slopes are too shallow to offer any
degree of elevation or increased exposure to the sun. On the higher
slopes, as the ground rises towards the spine of the Côte d'Or, the
mesoclimate cools slightly, reducing the likelihood of the grapes
attaining optimum ripeness and complexity.
Vosne-Romanée (Clive Coats)
Clive Coats: Nowhere is wine more noble than in Vosne-Romanée. Between
the Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru of Boudots to the south and the
walls of the Clos de Vougeot at the northern end lie the 240 hectares
of Vosne-Romanée vineyard: the most valuable piece of vinous real
estate in the world.
Appellation Romanée Conti Grand Cru: The Romanée-Conti vineyard
dominates the village, with its wines among the most expensive in the
world. It is a monopole of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Around 600
cases are made each year from the vineyard's 1.8 ha.
Appellation La Romanée Grand Cru: La Romanée is a monopole of the
Château de Vosne-Romanée. Only 300 cases are made each year from this
plot of 0.84 ha.
Appellation La Tâche Grand Cru: La Tâche is Domaine de la Romanée
Conti's other monopole, and its 6 ha consist of the vineyards of La
Tâche and Les Gaudichots.
Appellation Richebourg Grand Cru: The 8 ha of the Richebourg cru are
divided between 10 growers, including Domaine Leroy and Domaine de la
Romanée Conti.
Appellation La Grande Rue Grand Cru: The least-renowned of the six
grands crus is a monopole of Domaine François Lamarche, and was only
promoted from premier cru recently. Its 1.4 hectares lie between La
Tâche and Romanée-Conti.
Appellation Romanée Saint Viviant Grand Cru: Domaine de la Romanée Conti owns over half of the area's 9.5 ha.
Although unable to command the same prices as their grand cru
neighbors, the village is home to many excellent premier cru wines.
Fifty-eight hectares of this is premier cru, and there are 11 of these.
Five of them lie just above the grands crus, six on the same altitude
or a little further down the slope.
Bus Tour Through the Vineyards of Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, with Melissa Rion
Back at Domaine Armelle et Bernhard Rion in Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits
The tour of the vineyards of Vosne-Romanée ended at the domaine, where
we did a cellar tour and sat down for a tasting with Armelle Rion. This
will be covered in a separate posting.
Meeting Armelle Rion
Visiting the New Facilities
In the Old Cellar
Meeting Alice Rion
Tasting
The Wines
1987 Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion, Clos Vougeot, Grand Cru
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Burgundy (and Champagne) Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: From Lyon to Paris - Wine, Food, Culture and History, France
David Miller: From Lyon to Paris, Burgundy and Champagne Tour by ombiasy WineTours, July 02 - Thursday, July 13, 2023
Summary: From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
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