This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files , our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here. With one of us sitting in the passenger seat of Youri Lebault’s Mercedes sedan and the other in the back, Burgundy ’s preeminent tour guide asks if there was anything he could do to make our day better.
“Everything is fine, but if I had a glass of Corton-Charlemagne in my hand right now I would be just a little bit happier,” one of us says with a chuckle. “Consider it done,” Lebault replies. We insist it’s a joke, but before we could say anything more, Lebault is on the phone with a contact in Beaune as he casually makes a U-turn and guides us to a wine boutique in the center of town.
Someone appears from inside the shop, pulls away the “No Parking” signs and chain out front and ushers us to the store’s interior. A bottle is presented, two long-stemmed crystal glasses are procured, and we are back on our way to tour the vineyards of the Côte de Beaune in no time. That, friends, is the magic of traveling with someone who is connected.
And in Burgundy, that magic is needed now more than ever. Just a few weeks ago at a wine tasting in New York, an acquaintance who imports several notable Burgundy brands mentioned that his producers are closing their doors to anyone but actual wine buyers, distributors, or importers. When pressed for a reason, he explained that due to arcane wine regulations in the U.
S.A., many of the wineries he works.
