Chagny
Three-starred Michelin chef of La Maison Lameloise since 2007, offers his guests a truly gastronomic moment. In a classical and very classy setting, one humbly participates in a culinary mass – which France has to offer at its very best – mastered by a young but talented Chef, Eric Pras, who took over from Jacques Lameloise. Amongst the many dishes on the menu, thin crust of snails or the artistic pigeon roasted in almonds with a marmelade of apricots and chanterelles are to be recommended. High culinary art and immaculate service. Lameloise, Relais and Châteaux. 36, place d’Armes. Tel.: +33 3 85 87 65 65.
Cheilly-Lès-Maranges
Domaine Chevrot. The estate has been converting to organic farming since 2008. The brothers Pablo and Vincent, take pride in working their vines respectfully and maturing their wine in oak casks. They have a range of 15 certified wines spread over their 20 hectares of vineyards. The 2009 Marange vintage, on the Oak, intense and fruity was awarded a Gold Medal. The white Santenay wine from mono-varietal chardonnay grapes, a silky wine, with a slight aniseed aroma and a taste of exotic fruit. Tasting takes place in the eighteenth century vaulted cellar. www.chevrot.fr
Bouzeron
Bouzeron is a small production in Villages vintage. A sprite white wine, mineralized, lemony and sometimes said to be flinty. Its very distinct taste comes from the aligoté grape, golden, planted high up, on poor, shallow soil trained with the Gobelet system. Gobelet system.
A. & P. de Villaine Vineyard
Domaine A. and P. de Villaine. Aubert and Pamela de Villaine’s estate, to be found in the heart of the village, is run by Pierre de Benoist from the prestigious Romanée Conti estate. Pierre, as a true poetical artist of the vine, is a reference and living reminder of Burgundy traditions. Handpicked from the Bouzeron, Rully and Mercurey vines, the grapes are placed whole into the presses to preserve their freshness and aroma. A special tribute to the Burgundy Côte Chalonnaise, La Fortune, a wine from young vines both tender and fruity. A Rully, Les Saints Jacques, fine and subtle and a Mercurey, Les Montots, deep, ruby red, full bodied, which only reveals its true aroma after 5 to 7 years, a wine to put down. 2, rue de la Fontaine. 71150 Bouzeron www.de-villaine.com
Saint-Marcel Church. Dedicated to Saint-Marcel, first martyr from Chalon around the year 180, which is believed to date from the thirteenth century and was built by the monks of Chalon. The structure of the nave crowned by intercepting ribs is similar to that of Chagny. Inside one can see statues of Saint-Marcel and Saint-Vincent together with a pieta of folk art.
Rully
Le Domaine des Rois Mages. Trained as an oenological technician diploma at the University of Dijon, Anne Sophie Debavelaere combines both tradition and modernity, drawing from the knowledge of her elders and more recent technological advancement. From holding just one hectare to begin with, Anne-Sophie has built up her estate with vines over Rully and Bouzeron. Today she has ten hectares along the hillsides planted with chardonnay, pinot noir and aligoté vine plants producing very feminine, truly fine wines. A whole range of Rully made from plots and enclosed vineyards: Rully Cailloux, Rully Premier Cru des Pierres Clos du Mur. All express minerality and freshness. www.rois-mages.com
Mercurey
The finest wine from the hills of Chalon.
Chamirey Castle
Influenced by sixteenth century Italian architecture, this dwelling, surrounded by outbuildings and a box-tree garden, has been a family run, winemaking property for several generations. With a mutual passion for winemaking, Amaury and Aurore Devillard have followed in their ancestor, the Marquis of Jouennes’ footsteps. The estate’s 37 hectares of vineyards planted with pinot noir vine plants, 15 of which are planted on strips in First Growth Mercurey. The 2010 vintage is a full bodied wine bursting with primary aromas. The Château Chamirey Premier Cru, La Mission 2007, full and rich with a yellowy golden robe, woody nose, offers surprising fresh butter and white flower notes. The 2007 Les Ruelles Premier Cru blend, has a velvety garnet robe with spicy hints and underlying tones of dark fruit. The same family also owns the Domaine des Perdix in Nuits Saint-Georges and the Domaine de la Ferté in Givry. 71640 Mercurey
www.domaines-devillard.com
Domaine Le Meix Foulot. Situated below the ruins of the Château de Montaigu, a château that has been in the same family for over two hundred years. Paul de Launay, a pioneer in matters of winemaking using green harvesting methods, and sustainable culture, founded this estate in 1956. Back from the States, his daughter, Agnès, took over the reins in 1996 and relies on her father’s methods. 20 hectares of vineyards with a range of wine with different typicity depending on the soil that can be found at all the best tables the world over. Her Mercurey is only sold one to two years after bottling in order to leave it time to round off and express itself . www.domaine-du-meix-foulot.com
Restaurant at Château de Chamirey. The Chateau has just inaugurated a charming table d’hote as we like them! The seasonal menu is prepared by the awarded chef Laurent Peugeot and his team. And of course, the sommelier of the house offers various wines formulas in agreement with the dishes. It only remains to choose … and enjoy! Reservations recommended.
Tel.: +33 3 85 44 53 20
Couches
The Château de Couches. The medieval castle, said to belong to « Marguerite of Burgundy » oversees the Vieille valley. This old fortress from the Duchy of Burgundy has today been restored and is part of the winemaking estate producing Burgundy Côte du Cauchois vintages. Tastings, but also a whole range of events and cultural activities are organised throughout the year. www.chateaudecouches.com
In the Village de Couches, one can also discover the Templar’s house, the Guérin tower, and Epoigny menhirs aligned on an important Neolithic site.
Givry
The Domaine de la Ferté. Another estate belonging to the Devillard family with vineyards in Givry appellation, a hectare of which is exclusively for «Servoisine». This first growth, little known, appeared amongst the possessions of the monks in the twelfth century. www.domaines-devillard.com
The Château de Germolles. The château, national heritage site, is one of the rare palatial and princely residences of the end of the fourteenth century, and the only remaining pleasure dwelling of the Burgundy Dukes to have been protected and restored. Philip the Bold bought it in 1380 for his wife Marguerite of Flandres. The Duchess brought the best craftsmen from the Burgundy School to transform it into an agreeable and stunning residence. Château, chapel, farm, loggia and park are open for visit with the owners themselves. A cultural season is organized with conferences, thematic visits and concerts from October to June. www.chateaudegermolles.fr
Buxy
This is the zone of predilection of the Montagny appellation established in 1936. An elegant, fresh, white wine defended and promoted by the Union of Great Montagny White Wines, which federates the whole collection of vineyards. At the town hall. Tel.: +33 3 85 92 00 82
The Winemaker’s Museum. The art of wine making and cultivating the vineyards as well as the craftsmanship of past times in the Côte Chalonnaise. Enquire at the Tourist Office. Tel.: +33 3 85 92 00 16
The Buxy wine makers’ cellar.. Open all year round. Non-stop film shows uncovering the secrets of transforming grapes into fine Burgundy wines. Les Vignes de la Croix. Tel.: +33 3 85 92 03 03 Les Vignes de la Croix. Tel.: 03 85 92 03 03. www.vigneronsdebuxy.fr
Cormatin
Château de Cormatin. The seventeenth century château is one of the biggest in Burgundy and one of the most beautiful in the whole of France. Parkland, gardens and ponds, wide moats and turrets, Cormatin château was built in the seventeenth century at the request of the Marquis of Huxeles. It was supposed to impress the nobility and settle their prestige. The ‘Golden Rooms’, painted, sculpted, draped, and gilded from floor to ceiling are stunning even today! Open to visitors from April until November, each summer the castle hosts “The Cormatin gatherings”, a Theatre festival. Tel.: +33 3 85 50 16 55 www.chateaudecormatin.com
The former spinning mill. Situated on the river bank, this has been turned into an art gallery with artists’ workshops.
Chapaize
The village and its thirteenth century Roman convent with Lombard arcades is located on the route to the Clunisian sites. The 35 meter steeple was used in the Middle-Ages as a meeting point during the feudal struggles.
La Chapelle-sous-Brancion
Brancion Hamlet
The medieval city, perched high up, is one of the jewels of southern Burgundy. The feudal castle dates back to 944. It looks like an eagle’s nest, behind its three precincts. Between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, the powerful warlords of Josserand de Brancion, rivals of Cluny, were at the same time crusaders and looters.
The Roman chapel. A masterpiece of late roman architecture, it is decorated with murals from the end of the thirteenth century. The market hall is from the fifteenth XV century. Further down, in the fields, one can see the remains of menhirs, which seem to have been used as boundary stones. 71700 Martailly-lès-Brancion. www.chateau-de-brancion.com
L’auberge du Vieux Brancion. To stop for lunch as one is bound to want to linger a while longer in this timeless city. Tel.: +33 3 85 51 03 83
Le Château de Nobles. This Bed & Breakfast is magnificent house in the eleventh century, flanked by round towers, located in a valley and surrounded by vineyards. Françoise and Bertrand de Cherisey treat with care and affection their few acres of vines for wines they offer for tasting and for sale to their guests and visitors. www.chateaudenobles.com
