Chateau de Pommard

Chateau de Pommard, located on the outskirts of Beaune, is an exclusive winery, and an entrance fee allows you a tour of the place, a visit to the underground cellar and also wine tasting. The wines here were expensive, ranging from 40 -100 Euros per bottle. The wines tasted pretty good though, but I guess for that price, it'd better be. The Chateau sells its wine onsite only, and you are unable to purchase any of its wines from bottleshops.

There was also a Picasso collection on exhibition in the gallery during the visit, however we were not allowed to take any photos. When Mr. Giraud bought over the chateau and winery, he placed two Salvador Dali bronze sculpture in the courtyard (this is apparently from his own collection while the Picassos are obviously on commission).  Beneath the chateau is the underground cellar- it was pretty massive. Some of the bottles were covered in a thick layer of dirt and the tour guide said that it was good for the wine as it blocked out any light (So I asked him why they didn't just cover all the bottles with dirt- he was NOT impressed, but it makes me laugh thinking about it now. And this was before the wine tasting, so I had no excuse!).

Winery behind the chateau

Salvador Dali

What else did I remember? Each oak barrel cost 600 Euros and they only use each one for 3 years. They do not water the vineyard as they let the natural climate affect the wine. They uproot vines and replant after a certain time (can't remember how long). Young vines produce young wine. That's all I can remember, which is not much, and I'm not sure if I'm all that accurate. Bern (or GQ, or whoever that is reading this), feel free to comment.

So dirty! Need a good clean...and dusting.