Last night, a buddy of mine who doesn't speak French was received snottily, of course, by Philippe at Le Baratin. He was directed to one of the bar seats, despite some empty tables. After an incredible dinner, made humid by glasses of delicious 2008 Pithon-Paillé Coteau de Treilles and 2009 Foillard Pi, this happened, in my friend's words:
When I had eaten my dessert (Crumble aux Pommes et Framboises recommended by Phillippe, no longer as haughty), I saw a guy at the bar serving a 2010 Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2010 by somebody called Yann Durieux. The strawberry Kool-Aid color caught my attention. Clearer than anything I've ever seen. I grabbed the bottle and was shocked: 11% alcohol. I turned to Phillippe? "This doesn't exist! What craziness is this?" He replied: "But this is normal in Burgundy." I said "Normal where? Everything is from 12.5 to 13.0%, in some cases 13.5%." He replied: "You've been drinking the wrong burgundies .... you’ve been drinking the chaptalized ones!" Damn, that hurt ... truly a slap in the face. Good for me, who thinks he knows something. This producer is a real find. Someone to watch closely. When I put the wine in the mouth, I felt the most extreme level of glougloubility ever, quite something for anyone seeking a well-made natural wine. Fruit in its most pure expression, without that annoying grass I often get with HCdN. Here it's all about clean fruit, drinkable at breakfast, such is its lightness. It was my best Hautes Côtes de Nuits ever.
So, while one swallow does not a summer make, I say to you, fellow disorderlies, that a specter is haunting Europe: the specter of non-chaptalization. Wine lovers have nothing to lose but their blinds. They have an honest wine to win. Wine lovers of all countries, cast off your sugar and unite!