Burgundy’s Route des Grands Crus or literally, “Road of great wines”. Is it just some wine street in France or is it an enchanting road through and along some of the best vineyards in all of France? As stated in a favorite French movie – “it’s all about perspective!”. I’ll describe it and you can decide for yourself.

In the Bourgogne or Burgundy region, as it’s known to many people, the French vignerons grow grapes that are well known to most wine drinkers – mainly chardonnay and pinot noir. However, while those grape varietals are grown elsewhere, they do not produce the same magnificent wines. There’s no magic involved in making the wines, but there is the terroir, which is unmatched anywhere in the world.

What is terroir and why are the French hoarding it?

Terroir is everything about growing grapes, besides the grapes themselves. It’s the soil, the amount of sunshine and wind, the position of the vineyard, the slope of the vineyard, the amount of rain, and the temperature. These all factor into the growing of the vines and the grapes they produce. It’s that certain something that is everywhere, but not quite the same anywhere. I’m not a scholar, but you can read more about terroir if you are interested.

Back on topic, back on topic. So the Route des Grand Crus…

This fabulous area in France that grows these wonderful grapes is called the Côte d’Or. It’s literal translation is the “Golden Hillside”. It stretches from Dijon in the north to Santenay in the south. It’s a 60 km long route that winds its way through and between 37 wine villages centered by churches with soaring steeples, wineries and distinctive chateaux with their tall turrets and beautiful gardens.

Not to be overlooked between and around every town, village or hamlet are the vineyards growing grapes that will become some of the best and most expensive wines to be enjoyed in the years to come.

We are visiting in late September. The harvest has been completed, so the vineyards or Climats as they are called in the Bourgogne are resting, having done their job. Now the winemakers take their turn to craft the grapes into wonderful wines.

We four started our journey by driving north from our base in Beaune to the area known as the Côte de Nuits and more specifically, the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. It’s a small village, but boasts some mighty fine wines.

After a short walk through the village, we stopped at Domaine Philippe Leclerc for a little breakfast tasting.

Before our wine tasting, we took a short tour – not of the winery, but rather of the eclectic Antique Winemaking Equipment Museum and wine caves in the cellar.

With our tour complete, we went back upstairs for the wine tasting. They produce red wines of both ‘Village’ status and Premier Cru. They’ve had a tough couple of years with both drought and frost issues. Sadly, I wasn’t really overwhelmed or even whelmed by the wines. But, we did like the man who led our tasting. He was straightforward and burdened with their wine problems.

There were many people riding bikes along the route and all I could think was “I’m gonna get to the next tasting first!” Sorry, just a brief digression.

Leaving the village, the next one we came to was Morey-Saint-Denis. We drove through the narrow, twisting streets before continuing on to the next village of Chambolle-Musigny.

Just a little bit down the road we came upon Vougeot, home to the famed Clos De Vougeot.

My excitement was building as Vosne-Romanée was only 3 km away. It is the home of the Domaine Romanee Conte, and some of the most sought after Burgundy wines in the world. This would be the most incredible almost wine tasting I have ever participated in. While we couldn’t taste their wines, we did stop to see their vineyards.

Before exiting Vosne-Romanée, we needed to get some lunch. We went to a very unique place called La Cuverie de Vosne. They have a wine bar, an organic grocery store, hotel rooms and conference rooms. We opted to taste a wine and shared a charcuterie board and a cheese board. It’s really a great place to relax and unwind with excellent wines and good food. We did stop in the store before leaving to take a peek.

Back on the road, we headed off towards Nuits-Saint-Georges passing by more wonderful vineyards. Some people find beauty in trees or flowers or rainforests, I just think that vineyards are right up there with the other flora.

Aloxe-Corton arrives a bit down the route and was our first stop in the Côte de Beaune. We made a point of passing by and gazing up at Corton Hill. It is the home to so many awesome white wines.

We cruised by Savigny-Les-Beaunes on our way back to Beaune. We couldn’t stop everywhere along the route, but we saw enough vineyards and wines for one day.

So, just a wine street in France? Hardly!

A pilgrimage route for lovers of red or white burgundies? Definitely!

Everyone we encountered along the way was extremely nice and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Tasting fees at the wineries can cost anywhere from €5 to €75. The higher fees usually included tasting of Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines. There is an anticipation that you will purchase a bottle or two of wine, so many times the fee will be waved if you do buy a few bottles.

After resting up for a while, it was time for dinner. Dinner this evening was at Ma Cuisine. It’s a cozy little restaurant serving traditional burgundian dishes and they have a 20,000 plus bottle wine cellar. Unfortunately, Jan was a bit under the weather and wasn’t able to join us.

Sue and I both had the boeuf bourguignon and Dave had a salmon and cod dish. I also started with a seared duck foie gras, while Dave had a terrine. Sue just got an extra plate and sampled from both our plates.

We did manage to find one or two we liked that happened to pair well with our meals. A Chassagne-Montrachet and a Nuit St. Georges – Lucky us!