If you are interested in the history and story on wine in Burgundy this is the pale you must visit. Near the most famous wineries in the region and surrounded by some of the best wines in the region, this ancient monastery is where Burgundy wine tranditions began.
It's considered a must-see in Burgundy. And given its place in history, it's rightly so. After all, it's the birthplace of the legend, the Burgundy wine. However, the self aggrandizing of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin is excessive and comical. While the old cellar is now used as a banquet hall for their lavish parties, vistors are encouraged to watch a short film that says virtually nothing about the history of Burgundy wine but how awesome these "knights" are (with the lord of the rings soundlike) Do yourself a favor, skip the movie and go further down to Romanee-Conti's vineyard instead.
Beautiful and ancient building really well maintained and open to visitors for just 5 euro. Fascinating history of the monks wine empire but unfortunately there is no wine on site to sample or buy. Great spot for photos and a good way to spend and hour before wine o clock arrives.
Likes: * Historic (Thomas Jefferson visited)* Walk the vineyards surrounding the property* See how wine used to be madeDislikes: * It's nice but no more than 1 hour needed
I have been in wineries in Spain, California, Australia and South Africa. This is by far the worst experience I have had. Since we arrived, the attendant had a bad attitude and refused to do the wine tasting for us, claiming they were not a regular winery, that they were the best winery in the world and they didn't sell "drinking" wine like everywhere else. Their wines had to be aged for at least 10 years and she immagined we didn't have a cellar at home, unlike french people who she claimed "everyone in france" had one at home. We had to leave and never got to taste their wine. What an example of french superiority complex!
Nice chateau to visit. Presses are impressive. Well maintained grounds.Easy to find. While we visided, half the ground were closed for a conference.
We mad a bike trip from Chevrey-Chambertin to Clos de Vougeot. The Chateau is today a museum, but really interesting to see and learn about how they did produce their wine in earlier years. A Chateau in great suroundings in the middle of large wine yards. Lovely!
After phylloxera (a vine bug) nearly wiped out the French fine wine industry a group of winegrowers created a society to promote Burgundian wines. they called themselves les confreres du tastevin; dressed themselves in fancy robes and invited international celebrities to become members. Bingo, wines of the region became popular - and very expensive - again. This is where they hold their ceremonies. It is very grand. Surrounded by vines, and crammed with tourist buses every day so go early if you want to miss the crush. Worth half an hour or a glass of wine somewhere else.
If you've already fallen in love with the wines, a visit to Clos de Vougeot is a peek at the fascinating history of the region. It's well organised with impressive displays of equipment and a warm cinema to watch a movie that sums it all up nicely. The movie is actually interesting and entertaining. Such things I would normally expect to leave wishing I hadn't gone in but this was really very good. The entire centre is well done.
The setting of this Chateau is magnificent. When you visit from a young country such as New Zealand, the age of the cellars, the well, Vat house etc is amazing. The wine presses are incredible to see and the inside of the roof lines are a site to see with the workmanship. It is the largest fully walled vineyard in Burgundy.