Apologies for the delay in this second installment but Christmas is a very busy period. Anyway we had an appointment at Louis Latour 
at 2pm. We headed for rue des tonneliers to meet with Anne and head for Corton. Corton is probably a 15 minute drive from Beaune and one of the more distinctive landmarks in this area is the Chateau de Corton.
We were visiting Chateau Corton Grancey which is owned by Louis Latour. The vintage had finished 2 weeks previously so the cellars were a hive of activity. The winery is built into the hill of Corton so uses gravity to its benefit. We climbed up the stair to see a track where all the bins full of grapes can travel between vats. One thing about a winery during fermentation is the number of fruit flies everywhere – makes sense really. The free run juice had already been pumped into some of the blending vats so we saw workmen forking the grapes into bins to go to the presses. There is a fan in each 
vat to circulate air to disperse the CO2. We then walked the floor and went to the presses in time to see grapes being loaded into a vertical press. Great to actually see the theory in practice. Off to the tasting room.
Started with the whites and I was pleasently surprised to note that the majority of the white wines wines do not see any oak ageing. We has a considerable line up in front of us.
11 white wines and 5 red. Considering my hangover was making me tetchy I was initially reluctant to taste them all but then when will I get this chance again? The list of whites were as follows. Louis Latour Chablis 2010, Chablis 1er Cru 2009, Macon-Lugny Les Genievres 2010, Pouilly-Fuisse 2010, Meursault 2009, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2009.
Reds Marsannay 2009, Cote de Beaune-Villages 2009, Aloxe-Corton 2009, Chateau Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2009. We got a good appreciation of the Louis Latour portfolio and the wine highlight was the Corton Grancey.
We headed back into Beaune and then out for the night. For dinner we went to Le Gourmandin. I have been here before and enjoyed it previously. In future I would steer clear. The food was average and the waiter complied to the stereotype of rude, French waiter, in short he was a w**ker. I should have gone with my instinct and headed for Ma Cuisine. After dinner we headed for Bistro Bourgignon and tasted through a number of wines. One of the the staff gave us a free glass of a white from the Challonais which they thought we would like. It was quite heavy on the oak however but just goes to show some people’s perception of what they think tourists like to drink. We also got chatting to an American couple; the wife worked in NASA and the husband had changed career to become a scuba instructor. They had been travelling for a month through Europe. Not jealous.
Next day was Saturday and Ireland v Australia in the Rugby World Cup. It was 10 am so we had coffee 
while we watched. There were some Aussies watching the game beside us and as I was a bit groggy I could not understand why they were cheering for Ireland. Turns out they were kiwis, Watson. What a morning. We had to have some Cremant to celebrate. This was to be our last day in Beaune and we had an early start the following day. It was lunch time and we strolled around looking for somewhere nice to eat and we came upon a delightful restaurant which I can’t remember the name of but if I do remember I will post it because the food was inexpensive and really good.
After a relaxing lunch we headed to Marches Aux Vins. Now some people might think this is just a bit gimmicky and for tourists but I always go when I am in Beaune because it is good fun and the wines were actually good with maybe one or two exceptions.
Sorry for the delay in putting this together but hopefully I will be posting with some regularity soon.
Vinotheque 