A visit to Domaine Jean Francois Rapet ets Fils, Bourgogne
bistro on the Place Carnot, Beaune
I recently went to Bourgogne for the first time and have fallen in love with the place. I’ve always liked the wines but once you go there it does cast a spell on you. I suppose I was lucky that the weather was warm and sunny, which always helps!
lunch on the Place Carnot, Beaune
I was visiting on a press trip with the EU funded initative Discover the Origin and I can say I certainly did do a lot of discovery while I was there.
on the Place Carnot, Beaune
We stayed in the northern part of Burgundy, being based in the pretty little town of Beaune. A medieval town that was founded centuries ago, it is the home of the Hospice de Beune and the centre of town is full of well preserved buildings. Wandering around the ancient buildings and the cute little town square, it was hard to drag myself away from the sidewalk cafes and get out to the vineyards but go we did.
lawn and house of Domaine Rapet
We visited quite a few domains while we were there but one of the first was Domaine Jean-Francois Rapet. This domaine has been in the same family since the 1870’s and the current generation of Rapet’s are carrying on the family traditions. It’s not a large domaine but still family owned and run. We visited their main house in St. Romain. They have vineyards in St. Romain, Volnay, Pommard, Auxrey-Duresses, Ladoix Blanc and Meursault.
Rapet cellar/tasting room
hoses in the winery
Rapet still use the old cellars underneath the family home and have a small winery which they are busy expanding at the moment. We had a small tasting after our short tour of the cellars.
Myriam at the tasting table
One of the more interesting wines was the Coteaux Bourgogne which was introduced in 2011. They use grapes from Beaujolais to round out their blend. Their rouge Coteaux Bourgogne 2011 is made in stainless tanks and doesn’t see any oak at all. They result is a cheerful, fruity wine meant to be drunk young. It had a savoury note to it but was still very fresh. They’ve only produced 900 bottles but hope to ramp up production in the future.
1983 Auxrey Duresses
As a special treat, Myriam, our host, opened up a 1983 Auxery-Duresses that they had laying around in the cellar. She wasn’t sure what to expect as they hadn’t opened one of those bottles in a long time but it was drinking wonderfully. Complex and evolved with plenty of structure and acidity and even some fruit still left on the palate. A nice way to end the tasting.
cellar dweller
Domaine Rapet’s wines are not currently available in the UK but if you find yourself in Burgundy, be sure to look them up.
barrel room