Burgundy Week: 2005 Saint-Romain Blanc

Burgundy Week treks on with our second wine review from the wine-producing village of Saint-Romain in France. The Saint-Romain village is located on a rocky hillside perch in turn making the vineyards the highest in altitude in all of the Cote d'Or area.

Know I know I just got some of you in over your head. You're likely asking, "W-T-F is Cote d'Or?" And it's not a silly question at all. Let me break it down in simpliest terms possible:

• Cot d'Or - literally means "golden slope" in French. It refers to the "sweet spot" in Burgundy with fertile land blending from the Cote de Buis in the north (where most of the pinot noir is grown) and the Cote de Bueune in the south (where most of the chardonnay is grown). Get it? Its sort of like the holy land for all things red and white.
  

Now back to the matters at hand... given the altitude in the Cote d'Or region, the white grapes (particularly Chardonnay grapes) tend to ripen better because of the stony soil and cool climate. This is turn gives the wines a lighter, refreshing and also crispy taste. This appellation produces about 18,000 case of both red and white wines per year.

The 2005 Maison Bertrand Ambroise Saint-Roman Blanc retails for about $28/bottle... and sadly, I'm going to say that it can stay $28. Again, I reiterate that wines are subjective. While I personally am not attracted to the strong smoked-bacon aroma or mineralistic taste of this particular wine, it doesn't mean that you may not find it delectable. Trying to thinking optimistically (after have just a few solid swigs of this Oscar Meyer-esque vino), I would suggest to pair it with a gruyere cheese to offset some of the acid flavorings. The taste, I admit, was crisp... just not my #1 pick... ever!