Beating Back Burgundy Anxiety: 2000 Baron de la Charriere Volnay Santenots

Aahhh.

Now I see.

I just had my first encounter with Burgundy that was not in a restaurant or at someone's house where I couldn't think about it properly. Recently I bought a selection of red Burgundies from Chronicle Wine Cellar, all of which were Vincent Girardin wines labeled for European markets under the "Baron de la Charriere" brand. This was my chance to start drinking them.

What a good experience--and a reminder that we all benefit from getting out of our wine comfort zones once in a while, whether its drinking more/less expensive wines, wines from a different region, or wines made with a different varietal. We are creatures of habit, and it's easy to fall into ruts without realizing it.

Cautionary note to all readers: I am not well-versed in Burgundian wines, so take this as "notes from a palate in development." I do drink a lot of US pinot noir, but this bottle clarified the differences between French and US style wines made with this varietal--just as there is with any grape. The 2000 Baron de la Charriere Volnay Les Santenots ($19.95, Chronicle Wines) was an excellent QPR wine. It was bright ruby in color with a richness and opulence that was very attractive. It had aromas of herbs and cherries that kept coming from the glass in waves, right down to the very last drops. Flavors of cherries, fresh raspberries, rare roast beef, and a mineral twinge kept this wine interesting. There was a nice juicy finish. My overall sense of this wine was balance: it was fruity without being jammy, velvety without being syrupy, lush without being over the top, with its elements kept in perfect symmetry.

The miracles of podcasting made it possible for me to drink this wine while listening to part 1 of Grape Radio's interview with Allen Meadows of Burghound fame. It's an excellent show, and I learned a lot. If you are new to Burgundy, I recommend you check out this podcast from the American Wine Blog Award finalists at Grape Radio--even if you don't have a red Burgundy or pinot noir to sip with it.

I wanted something rustic, earthy, and warming to go with this wine, so with Allen and the Grape Radio boys playing away through my favorite Christmas present--the IHome under cabinet iPod player--I started cooking some roasted pork with blue cheese polenta. You were supposed to roast the pork in the oven with fresh figs, but they aren't in season right now so I threw a couple of handfuls of whole button mushrooms in around the pork and they were a good substitute. (I also substituted a pork loin for the pork tenderloin in the recipe simply because I prefer that cut--you can, too, but it will take a bit longer to cook so use a meat thermometer to make sure it's done before you pull it out of the oven.) The blue cheese tang of the pinot was a perfect counterpoint to the cherry flavors and aromas in the wine, and I think roasted pork is always great with pinots.

After this, I'm feeling much less generalized Burgundy anxiety. And I'm really looking forward to continuing to explore the wines of Burgundy.