In Northern Burgundy, there’s this little village just southwest of Chablis called Irancy. At 47°42’51.7″N, it is one of northernmost villages in Burgundy, and its Wikipedia page calls it one of the northernmost regions that produces still red wine in the world (in comparison, Niagara is only around 43° North).
Irancy is the home of one of the rarest grapes in the world – Cesar. There’s less than 2 hectares of Cesar in Irancy, where it is practically the only place where this grape is grown. Irancy is the only appellation in Burgundy that uses this grape (up to 10% permitted), where it is mostly used to add a bit of color and body to Pinot Noir.
Hence why when I saw this bottle pop up at my government liquor store, I just had to try it. Although the LCBO’s website listing doesn’t actually confirm the presence of Cesar – the listing only says “up to 5% Cesar”.
On the nose, this is classically Burgundy. There’s cherry, and cranberry with perhaps a bit of cloves and other herbs. No Cola. This wine is light bodied for a red, fresh and lively, with notable, but not excessive acidity. The finish is perhaps a bit more tannic than the average pinot noir, but not excessively so.
Did I finally get to taste one of the rarest grapes in the world? I’m not sure honestly, and honestly, even if this wine did contain 5% cesar or something, it didn’t stand out enough to make it drastically different compared to other pinot noirs, perhaps a bit more tannins on the finish?
Regardless, I paid $36 CAD (manufacturer sells it for 19 Euro on their website), and at this price point, this is a pretty decent Burgundy.
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In Northern Burgundy, there’s this little village just southwest of Chablis called Irancy. At 47°42’51.7″N, it is one of northernmost villages in Burgundy, and its Wikipedia page calls it one of the northernmost regions that produces still red wine in the world (in comparison, Niagara is only around 43° North).
Irancy is the home of one of the rarest grapes in the world – Cesar. There’s less than 2 hectares of Cesar in Irancy, where it is practically the only place where this grape is grown. Irancy is the only appellation in Burgundy that uses this grape (up to 10% permitted), where it is mostly used to add a bit of color and body to Pinot Noir.
Hence why when I saw this bottle pop up at my government liquor store, I just had to try it. Although the LCBO’s website listing doesn’t actually confirm the presence of Cesar – the listing only says “up to 5% Cesar”.
On the nose, this is classically Burgundy. There’s cherry, and cranberry with perhaps a bit of cloves and other herbs. No Cola. This wine is light bodied for a red, fresh and lively, with notable, but not excessive acidity. The finish is perhaps a bit more tannic than the average pinot noir, but not excessively so.
Did I finally get to taste one of the rarest grapes in the world? I’m not sure honestly, and honestly, even if this wine did contain 5% cesar or something, it didn’t stand out enough to make it drastically different compared to other pinot noirs, perhaps a bit more tannins on the finish?
Regardless, I paid $36 CAD (manufacturer sells it for 19 Euro on their website), and at this price point, this is a pretty decent Burgundy.