Photos by Flore Deronzier
Domaine du Pavillon Albert Bichot
Discovering “Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” from Burgundy at Spec’s Wines
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By Virginia Billeaud Anderson
ver the years, I’ve had opportunities to toss back wine in other countries. It’s hard to imagine anything that’s more fun, and I’m looking forward to doing more of that. One day for instance, I want to travel in the Mendoza to taste Argentinian Malbecs. It’s also fun to experiment when I’m stuck in Houston. I select a wine-making region, then go shopping for a great-tasting but inexpensive bottle from that region. Part of the fun is to do a tiny bit of research into the wine’s origin, which I personally enjoy as much as knocking it back. For this reason, I strolled into Spec’s Wines in downtown Houston recently and told the sales assistant I wanted to see inexpensive reds from Burgundy. “What’s inexpensive?” Under $20 When the guy suggested a Burgundy Pinot Noir, I hesitated, because Pinot Noir sometimes lacks the full-bodied taste I enjoy. “Not this one,” he said, as he wrenched a bottle of “Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” from the shelf. The instant I tasted the Pinot, I knew I had scored. Full-bodied taste kicked my mouth, while the wine was smooth going down. I was drinking an elegant wine that was surprisingly inexpensive. I began my research by checking out 14 | HEIGHTS | January + February 2022
the words on the bottle’s label. “Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” revealed a couple of things. “Bourgogne” means the grape vines are grown in Burgundy France. The label lacks a “village” name, which indicates the wine producer purchases grapes from multiple villages in Burgundy. Lacking the premier cru or grand cru or village designation, the label tells me the wine is “regional.” Two words on the label helped me know more. “Vieilles Vignes” translates to “old vines,” so I checked the wine producer Albert Bichot’s product description on its website to know the age and location of the old vines. The product
description said my wine was made from Pinot Noir grapes on vines that are between 25 and 30 years old, located in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits section of Burgundy. I knew enough about France to know that together the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits make-up Burgundy’s preeminent wine region, the Côte d’Or. The word “Bourgogne” is often interpreted to mean grapes from anywhere within Burgundy, but now I knew my Pinot Noir grapes were from Burgundy's Côte d’Or. Regulated by the French system of Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC), Burgundy's Côte d’Or produces some of the most expensive wines in the world. Experts can glean additional information about the wine. Such as “terroir,” which is essentially how soil, slope, exposure and weather affect taste. Understanding of how fossil-rich subsoils from past geologic eras add complexity of taste is an example of terroir. Predicting how an abundance of frost affects taste is an example of terroir. Terroir is a complicated subject, about which I’m ignorant, yet I find it fascinating. When wine snobs discuss terroir to impress
