Burgundy is a special place. Like most of Europe millions of years ago, it was covered by sea. This prehistoric circumstance left the soils of Burgundy complex in minerals, with variations of limestone and clay which make it prime for growing vines. If we could travel through time, we’d see the assorted inhabitants of Burgundy from Celts to Romans and eventually our modern-day eastern France. But, before we get to the now of it all, around the 1300s or before, Cistercian monks began making wine in Burgundy, taking over for the Benedictine monks of Roman times. They were making wine for Mass, but they took it seriously; they were serious guys! 

Burgundy’s mineral-rich soil was (and is) a vine-growing goldmine and the Cistercian monks its dutiful miners. The gold was struck through experiment and rigorous note-taking rather than hammers and picks. The monks were working the land because it was part of the pledge of their order- giving up material things, performing manual labor, getting down to the essence.  What they did for the posterity was lay a studied foundation of all the elements that do (or don't) lead to wines of integrity, longevity, sometimes as close to heaven as they might have aspired to be. They created the code that all the winemaking world either abides by, plays with, or eschews.

Below are two wines from Burgundy that we love. They're both drinking beautifully right now. 

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