“Bourgogne and I” : PM Chan

Since 2000, Hong Kong-based PM Chan and her husband, David Hall-Jones, have steadily built a “Pinot Noir empire” across two hemispheres, driven by their passion for Pinot Noir. The couple spotted the opportunity to acquire a piece of land in the Lowburn area of Central Otago in New Zealand, and named it Domaine Thomson, after David’s explorer great grandfather, John Turnbull Thomson, who was scouting the region in 1860s.  Today, the 14-hectare vineyard is farmed biodynamically and produces red and rosé Pinot Noir wines.  While waiting for the first vines at Domaine Thomson to bear commercially viable fruit, the couple took on another project – the restoration of an 18th Century vigneron house in Bourgogne – precisely Gevrey-Chambertin.  The opportunity to further strengthen their commitment to Bourgogne came when over a coffee in the local café, they overheard that vines were for sale in Gevrey!  For these two Bourgogne lovers, it was impossible to pass on such a rare opportunity.   The excitement to finally own some vines in Bourgogne!!  The road to build their Pinot Noir empire did not stop here…..it led to further acquisition of other parcels of vines in Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, including some Chardonnay vines.  The parcels in Bourgogne are farmed by reputable local vignerons. The team in Central Otago has benefitted much from the exchange of viticultural techniques with their counterparts in Bourgogne, not least on climate change.  Despite the challenges inflicted by the pandemic, they opened their brand new Cellar Door in Central Otago in 2020 where visitors can taste their wines from both hemispheres.

I spoke to this Francophile Singapore-native about her epiphany moment with Bourgogne wine, why she admires the ‘other’ black grape variety in Bourgogne and where she looks for value white Bourgogne wines for drinking with family and friends.

IN: Describe your relationship with Bourgogne.

PM: Before I first came to Bourgogne in 2000, I was already a fan of the wines, both red and white. When I was fifteen, my father gave me my first taste of Bourgogne wine, it was a red Nuits-Saint-Georges, with a wonderful bouquet. I have strong memories of this wine.

IN: Which descriptors would you choose for Bourgogne wine: sophisticated or contemporary; simplistic or enigmatic; dynamic or traditional; serene or schizophrenic; monotone or colourful?

PM: I would say that Bourgogne wine is very reflective of its terroir – so territorial is the word I would use. Each plot reflects its own taste, so for example, if you take Romanée Saint Vivant or Clos de Vougeot, each climat of which has several owners, each domaine’s wine tastes different.

IN: Has climate change been a good or bad thing for Bourgogne?

PM: Climate change has both advantages and disadvantages. The challenge is more heat, which causes stress to the vines – bearing in mind that in Bourgogne, vines are not irrigated. Also as the winters get shorter, the growing season starts earlier, which means that if you have a frost in April or May, the risk of frost damage is higher as the growth is more advanced.

The advantage is that the warmer temperatures will allow areas which were more marginal in the past to make better wine. So I would expect that as time passes, the quality of the wine coming from higher sites such as the Hautes-Cotes, will get better and better.

Another advantage is the increase in sugars. It’s not so long ago that some vignerons were using sugar to boost their wines. Chaptalisation is allowed in Bourgogne. However, with the advent of climate change, the sugar levels have gone up. However, too much sugar can dilute the elegance of the Bourgogne wines, so this is an area to watch.

IN: Market forces have driven some Bourgogne wines to unattainable levels. Is this a threat or an opportunity? Which is your best value-for-money Bourgogne wine buy ?

PM: I suppose whether it’s a threat or opportunity depends on whether you are a consumer or producer! Taking this seriously, wine is made to be drunk. It doesn’t last forever. So if certain wines become so expensive that drinking them is prohibitively expensive, and they can only be traded via auctions, that is ultimately a loss to the consumer. However, I know many producers who would rather their wines stay at reasonable prices and remain accessible to the consumer.

Overall, we can see that the prices of Bourgogne wine have risen over the years for the prime appellations eg Grand Crus and Premier Crus. There has been a knock-on effect for AOC wines in the well-known villages too.

I think some of the best value white Bourgogne wines are those coming out of the Mâconnais. There are some very good producers there who make high quality wines. However, as the Mâconnais is less well known, the prices are still reasonable.

IN: Have you tried the wines made with the “other” grape varieties of Bourgogne? Aligoté, Gamay, César, Sauvignon Blanc, etc?

PM: I have tried both Aligoté and Gamay.

Aligoté is made into Bourgogne Aligoté and is also blended into some Bourgogne regional appellation wines. Personally, I find that some of these are very refreshing in terms of taste and blend. The Aligoté grape tends to have higher acidity and this can add a freshness to a blended white, where sometimes 100% Chardonnay seems too rich. In Bourgogne, it’s customary to drink Bourgogne Aligoté when you have jambon persillé, a cold white ham cut into cubes and set in a white wine jelly, sprinkled with parsley, garlic and shallots. This is an excellent food match and particularly refreshing in the summer.

Gamay as a grape was banned by Philip the Strong, one of the Burgundian Dukes from vineyards in the Côte d’Or in 1395. Hence it is found mainly in the Saône-et-Loire, where it goes into a number of really good wines eg Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, and Brouilly in the Beaujolais. I find that more and more excellent wines are being made with Gamay. It has a different taste from Pinot Noir, and interestingly, has Pinot Noir in its parentage. I find it more fruity in nature, and also more tannic. As winemakers focus more on this grape, I find that the wines made from Gamay are more refined. A good bottle of Gamay is excellent with cold ham or roast chicken.

IN: The climats of Bourgogne were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2015. This represented a crowning moment for Bourgogne, through the convictions and efforts of its men and women.  If you could think of another milestone achievement for Bourgogne as a region, what could it be?

PM: I am really looking forward to the opening of the new Musée du Vin in Dijon. They are renovating a very beautiful 18th Century building, which is 10 minutes from the Dijon railway station. When this is completed, it will be fabulous, and will be easily accessible to travellers from Paris, Zurich, Lausanne and other destinations, who only need to take the TGV to Dijon. We very much need this to put Bourgogne wines on the travellers’ map. I am hoping it will do for Dijon what the Cité du Vin has done for Bordeaux.

IN: Is meeting the demand for its wines a challenge for Bourgogne as a region? What do you suggest to balance the demand?

PM: Overall, I believe Bourgogne is not having a challenge meeting the demand for its wine. If we look at the high end, there is obviously lot of demand for the famous Grand Crus (though I am not certain that the demand is for wine to drink – or to trade). At the AOC level, there remains plenty of good wine for the consumer. With Covid 19, lockdowns, curfews and the travel restrictions, the challenge for the smaller less known producers is reaching the market, as there are fewer visitors to Bourgogne, hence developing a strong internet presence and sales would be important going forward.

IN: Is there a personality from Bourgogne you most admire?

PM: There are two personalities from Bourgogne who I very much admire. The first is Aubert de Villaine, who I had the chance to meet at DRC for lunch during an NZ Burgundy exchange event in 2017. He has done a great deal for Bourgogne as a whole, and not just in the wine world, particularly with supporting the application for the Climats de Bourgogne to attain UNESCO Heritage status.

The second was Jean-François Bazin, a dear friend and neighbour whom my family and I have known since 2001.   Sadly, Jean-François passed away last year. He was a former President of the Conseil Régional de Bourgogne, as well as a well-known writer and a real fountain of knowledge of Burgundian history, including wine history. He has written many books on wine, and one of his last books, Le Vin de Bourgogne, is an excellent combination of information about the different terroirs and the history of Bourgogne wine.

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