Domaine Bertagna

Premier Cru’s of Burgundy

Vougeot, Burgundy, France

Wine Style: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Average Price: $$ / €€

Overall Rating: 96 points

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

**A full article and index glossary of restaurants, wines, recipes and travel for 

Wine Dine and Play are in the pages section above, or by following these links:

By Cuisine  /  By Country

Château or Vineyard Owner:

Eva Reh-Siddle

Domaine Bertagna was the second stop on my Burgundy wine tour of four Châteaux and part of the Village Appellation of the Côte de Nuits district (Dept. of Côte-d’Or). This appellation includes 4 Premiers Cru’s to include the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée Vougeot which Domaine Bertagna is a part of. The commune of Vougeot also produces a Grand Cru appellations. This day I enjoyed the 2006 1er Cru Clos de la Perrière, my favorite of the tasting. 

Red Vougeot has close affinities with its illustrious near neighbors in the Clos de Vougeot, Musigny, Chambolle-Musigny, and Les Amoureuses. White wine growing, uncommon in this area, but has a long history going back to the Cistercian monks in the 12th century.

I visited Domaine Bertagna in 2010 as part of a tour, that also included Dijon and other sites. I enjoyed the wine owner walking us around the property, showing us the winemaking process, and tasting several wines in his cellar. He also gave me several blind tastings when I accidentally mentioned that I was studying and wanted to learn more about wines. It will still be along time before I’m ready for a Level One Sommelier test, but all the same, the blind tasting was a lot of fun, since he gave me some reserve wines to try as well. They have fantastic Pinot Noir, some of the best I tasted in my two days tours of the region. 

Some Information on the Domaine: 

AOC - Appellation Vougeot Premier Cru contrôlée.

Terroir - “MONOPOLE”

Between the Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru and the Musigny, there is well drained and stony soil.

Grape Variety - Pinot Noir 100%, 

The density of the vines: 10,000 stocks/hectare. 

Cultivating Techniques - Organic farming and strict yield control (green harvesting and de-budding).

Fermentation - Slow and soft vinification in thermoregulated tank Using only natural yeast from the grapes. Extraction by manual punch downs.

In the tank for 21 to 28 days.

Aging - French oak barrels of which 50% are new oak. 

Aging - 16 to 18 months

Total produced - 800 cases 

Wine & Grape:	Nose (Bouquet):	Palette Experience:
2006 1er Cru Clos de la Perrière	Winemaker Notes:   black fruits aromas, truffle, and spices	Winemaker Notes: Intense with grilled almond and underwood hints, with a nice minerality. Tannins are delicate and silky which gives a very nice character to this wine

*** NOTE TO THE READER ***

I refer to myself as an oenophile though, oenophilia is defined as “a disciplined devotion to wine, accompanying strict traditions of consumption and appreciation.” In a general sense, oenophilia also refers to the enjoyment of wine, often by a layman - which I am, and not qualified as a professional. I just enjoy drinking it, so my rating is based on enjoyment and the overall experience, not the science of an expert.

Overall Star Rating:	96 points 5 of 5 Stars:  An Extraordinary Tasting Experience
Robert Parker The Wine Advocate	89 points for 2003 86 points for 2006
Decanter World Wine Awards	95 points
Wine Enthusiast	94 points for 2003
Wines Produced	Red: Pinot Noir White: Chardonnay
Regulatory	Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Other French wines or Châteaux on Wine Dine and Play:

Château Prieuré-Lichine Quatrieme Cru Tasting, Margaux AOC Cantenac, France

Château Toinet Fombrauge A Saint-Émillion Grand Cru Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes

Château Lanessan  A Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Cussac-Fort-Médoc, Bordeaux

A Few New World Favorites:

Pillitteri Winery Award-winning ice wines  Niagara-on-the-Lake

Argyle Winery Enhancing the Spirit of Pioneer wines Dundee, Willamette, Oregon

Yarra Yering Famous battle named blocks  Gruyere, Yarra Valley Australia

See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary”

Bottle Prices 

(excluding taxes)

$£€¥ -                Under 50.00 (inexpensive)

$£€¥ x 2 -          51.00- 99.00 (moderate)

$£€¥ x 3 -          Over 100.00 (pricy)

$£€¥ x 4 -          Over 200.00 (expensive)

$£€¥ x 5 -          Over 400.00 (very expensive)

**Currencies reflect the world’s major wine countries and connoisseur’s** 

Wine Selection:	Currency rates in the top wine producing & wine purchasing countries:	Price Chart :
2006 (750 ml) 1er Cru Clos de la Perrière
€70.00	European Union (EUR)	€€
$80.00	United States Dollar (USD)	$$
$102.00	Australian Dollar (AUS)	$$$
£61.00	Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)	££
$101.00	Canadian Dollar (CAN)	$$$
¥542.00	Chinese Yuan (CNY)	¥¥¥¥¥
$109.00	New Zealand Dollar (NZD)	$$$
R 1041.00	South African Rand (ZAR)	R

Currency rates as of July 2017 

Domaine Bertagna:

16 Rue du Vieux Château 

21640 Vougeot, France

Tasting Room Information:

Website:	Domaine Bertagna
Tasting room:	+33 3 80 62 86 04
Fax:	+33 3 80 62 82 58
Email Contact:	Contact Winery
Tasting Room hours: France Standard Time (GMT, Zulu, or UTC - BST Offset + 1:00)	Fri - Wed:  10:00 am - 12:30 pm 1:30 pm - 5:45 pm Thursday: Closed
Social Media:	Instagram

****

The worlds best restaurants is a subjective list of who is writing it and changes on a regular basis. The Wine Dine and Play best experiences are based on my highest rated stared restaurants, meaning that the visit was an outstanding or extraordinary experience. From cafés, chains, mom + pops, hole in the walls, to fine dining including a few Michelin spots. Visit the Top 100 page to see the entire list.

A few to tease you with…

At.mosphere  High Rise Fine Global Dining, Highest Restaurant In The World Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE	Vue de Monde Elegant Modern Australian with Molecular Gastronomic dining  Melbourne, Australia	La TABLE de Joël Robuchon Haute French Restaurant Paris, France
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud Impeccably prepared French fine dining  Dublin, Ireland	The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français Contemporary, African-French Tasting Journey Franschhoek, South Africa	Alinea Highly creative new American molecular gastronomy tasting menus Chicago, Illinois, USA

Other Pictures:

“I like cooking with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”

TTFN

Château Lachesnaye

Lanessan’s Baby Brother

Cussac-Fort-Médoc, Bordeaux, France

Overall Rating: 3/5

Tasted in October 2010

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

**A full article and index glossary of restaurants, wines, recipes and travel for 

Wine Dine and Play are in the pages section above, or by following these links:

By Cuisine  /  By Country

Château or Vineyard Owner:

Hubert Bouteiller

The Bordeaux wine region contains about 7,000 Château’s and accounts for one-third of quality French wine. The region is located in the southwestern portion of France near the Atlantic coast. It spreads 60 miles around the city on the biggest estuary in Europe along 3 rivers, the Gironde, Garonne, and Dordogne. Château Lachesnaye is one hour from the city of Bordeaux near the town of Cussac-Fort-Médoc, the home of Lachesnaye Castle, owned by the Bouteiller Family Estate since the 1960’s, who’s leading wine estate is called Château Lanessan, thus Lachesnaye is the baby. As part of a wine tour in 2010, this and Château Lanessan were two of the stops we made for wine tastings. This is the review of Château Lachesnaye and the castle. 

The Bordeaux wine region is defined as the area around the city of Bordeaux within the Gironde department of Aquitaine. The Bordeaux region is divided naturally by the Gironde River into a Left Bank area which includes the Medoc and the subregions of St-Estephe, Pauillac, St.-Julien, and Margaux and a Right Bank area which includes the subregions of Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Bourg, and Blaye.  Additional wine regions include the area of Graves, southeast of the Médoc and include the sub-regions of Pessac-Leognan, Sauternes, and Barsac. Across from the Graves, on the Right Bank, is the Entre-Deux-Mers area between the Garonne River and Dordogne River. At first, it all sounds very confusing, but over time you get to know the differences and what wines come from where. If you are a modest wine drinker then you will be happy with the name Bordeaux Red on the bottle.

All of Bordeaux's wine regions have their own appellation and Appellation d’origine controlee laws that mandate the composition of their vineyards, time of harvest and yields as well as winemaking techniques. The AOC Haut Médoc, where Château Lachesnaye is located, kisses the most prestigious Médoc appellations (Pauillac, Margaux, St Estèphe, St Julian, Listrac, and Moulis.) They account for the majority of the wines produced here. The remainder is produced under the more general Haut-Medoc title.

The Lachesnaye Castle was built in the English style in the nineteenth century.

In 1793, the field Lachesnaye, with his parish church Sainte-Gemme, originally belonged to the family Caupène until the purchase by Hubert Bouteiller. 

Château Lachesnaye produces a medium-bodied, smooth and dry Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend.  From the winemaker and tasters notes of Vivino and a few others they have mentioned that if left to breathe for 30 minutes, the nose of vegetable-cellar-mustiness went away, revealing an expressed animal tone, a few sweetness, oak notes, and the berry motive was slightly shown. In additional half of an hour, there were notes of anise, coriander, bacon, and in the final aroma of damp fallen leaves. In the taste, the initial animal passes into a tart red mountain ash and dried cherry, where the wine wakes up, comes sourness, and the tannin is ripened. It is light, tart, and softly envelops. Aftertaste is very long, bright, with red berries, animal, slightly wood, a little bit rough, a hint of fallen leaves.

Now let's see how I and the critics rate the wines, plus give you some tasting, cost, and general winery information….

Review basics:

Wine, Dine, & Play’s Rating	3 of 5 Stars:  Exceeded All My Tasting Expectations
Regulatory	Appellation d'origine contrôlée

This tasting was very nice, as were all the others on the tour that day. It reminded me of some wines from South Africa that are heavily influenced by the Meritage style of Bordeaux such as Meerlust Winery in Stellenbosch, and Steenberg Vineyard in Constantia, South Africa.

Food pairings:

This wine will go well with beef tenderloin, foie gras of goose, duck shepherd's pie, roast beef, a grilled white meat, or truffles.

Other Bordeaux wines or Restaurant articles on Wine Dine and Play:

Bordeaux - A Sip and Taste Wine tours and restaurants in Bordeaux, France

Château Lanessan A Cru Bourgeois Supérieur in Haut-Médoc AOC, France

Château Prieuré-Lichine Quatrieme Cru Tasting in Margaux AOC, France

Château Toinet Fombrauge A Saint-Émillion Grand Cru in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, France

Clos du Marquis A Saint-Julien AOC BY Domaines Delon, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, France
Restaurant Le Gabriel Haute Gastronomique French restaurant & bistro in Bordeaux, France

See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary”

Bottle Prices 

(excluding taxes)

$£€¥ -                Under 50.00 

$£€¥ x 2 -          51.00- 99.00 

$£€¥ x 3 -          Over 100.00 

$£€¥ x 4 -          Over 200.00 

$£€¥ x 5 -          Over 400.00 

**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s** 

Wine Selection:	Currency rates in the top wine producing & wine purchasing countries:	Price Chart :
2005 (750 ml)
€30.00	European Union (EUR)	€
$33.00	United States Dollar (USD)	$
$43.00	Australian Dollar (AUS)	$
£27.00	Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)	£
$44.00	Canadian Dollar (CAN)	$
¥223.00	Chinese Yuan (CNY)	¥¥¥¥
$46.00	New Zealand Dollar (NZD)	$
R459.00	South African Rand (ZAR)	R

Currency rates as of October 2016 

Vineyard and Tasting Room address:

33460 Cussac-Fort-Médoc

Tasting Room Information:

Hours:	Monday - Sunday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm France or Central European Standard Time  (GMT +1)
Tasting room:	+33 05 56 58 94 80
Fax:	+33 05 57 88 89 92

Who is John Galt?

TTFN