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of thofe wines ; which orders, that the commiflioncrs 

 fliall take one fol per livre for as much as comes to 

 fixty livresi and for what exceeds this fum, they 

 fhall not take more than fix dcniers per livre. Thus 

 a private perfon who fliall receive for fix "hundred 

 livres of wine French money, Ihall pay three livres 

 to the commiiTioner for what he fhall have fcnt above 

 fixty livres ; and for the five hundred and forty which 

 are over and above, for which he is to pay the com- 

 miffioner, he fliall not deman4 more than 'fix deniers 

 per livre," which will be the fum of twelve livres 

 fix fous J which being added to the rhree livres above, 

 make the fum of fifteen livres ten fous';" a fum which 

 would amount to' twelve or thirteen fliillino-s, accord 



And it ought to be ob- 



ing to the exchange ; and for this fmall profit, the 

 commiflloner is obliged to advance his money 'to' the 

 citizens of whom he buys the wines j and that too, 

 when he does not receive his payment from' tHe per- 

 ■ fons to whom they are fent, as itfometimes happens. 

 And the commifiioner that fliall be convifted of tak- 

 ing more, whetherVbyfootd or other proofs, ^villbe 

 punifhed as has been laid above. /■ ■ \ 



The commiffioners having pu'rchafed and proved their 

 wines according to the orders they have received, they 

 caufe the tuns be new hooped, and put bars furround- 

 ed with pins of wood of the Afpen-tree, and mark 

 them with the town mark. 



ferved, that no other country has a right to imitate or 

 counterfeit their fecond hooping ; and for the greater 

 ilirety, they put upon .ea.Qh qaik the fii*e maiTc, which 



-■ is a B on the top, two inclies in length, with the cy- 

 pher of the year in which the "caflcs we're fent from 

 Beaune to go to any other place. - /- "•■ ' ' -^ -■ '•' 

 Thefe are the precautions that are taken in Beaune, 

 by which the wines 'ttiaf^come ifrom" tlicnce cannot 

 be mifl;aken i a caution Qtherwife not very neceflary, 

 fince iti'ey manifeft themfelves fo plainly by their de- 

 licacy ahd fuperibritylabove all the "wines in the uni- 

 verfe. They are befides very beneficial and proper 

 to cftablifia and preferve health; in this furpafling 

 the wines of Champaign, which flatten 'the tafl:e, 

 and grate the palate ; but which weaken and exte- 

 nuate, enervate, and render dull, as one may lay, 

 the mod healthful bodies ; and which alfo, according 

 to fad experience, and the writinor of the learned, 

 which I have read, breed the gravel, the gout, and 

 tne uone^^.^^,.^^^ ,,^,.^,^ . . _ ^. .., - 



After having given an account of the fituation of the 



. town of Beaune, and the" hills which produce the 

 wines of Burgundy *, after having related the manner 

 of cultivating their vineyards, and of making their 

 wine, of proving, chufing, and buying it, I fliall 

 next explain the different qualities of the wines which 

 thefe divers hills produce ; and in order to this, I fliall 

 divide what follows into three fmall articles, by treat- 

 ing firft of the forward wines ; fecondly of the wines 



' de garde, or for keeping ; and thirdly, of white wines ; 

 and conclude in giving inftruflions for 'the 'different 

 methods that are to be ufed in brinj^inp; the wines of 

 Burgundy to London, and advife how the Beaune 

 wine may be fent to London in bottles. . ' - 





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The firjl article cf the wines ofprimeur^ or the fc 



wines. 



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They call that wine of primeur, which will not keep 

 good more than one year, or that can be kept but a 

 'few months of the fecond year, ,* . ; 



The firft wine of primeur grows at Volnet, which is a 

 village iituated about three miles froni Beaune, upon 

 a defcent of a mile in height at leaft, and two miles 

 in length on the fide which is expofed to the rifing 

 fun. This village, as well as Pomard, have their de- 

 pendence on. the city of Beaune. Since the citizens 

 have been their lords, as I have faid before, thefe two 

 plots of vineyards have been obliged to receive the 

 law of their vintages from the magiftrates and fages 

 named for this purpofe. > , 

 This hill produces the fineft, mofl: lively, and moft 

 delicate wine in Burgundy. , The bunches of Grapes 



i T 



of the vineyards of Volnet are very fmall, as well a^ 



the berries. 7>.e branches rile fcarce above three feec 



high, through tne wliole year. The Grapes cf it arc 



fo delicate, that they will not bear the vat more than 



twelve, fixteen, or eighteen hours ; for if they be fuf- 



fered to Hand longer, they would take the tafte of 

 the ftalk. 



_ 'it ■ 



This wine is in colour a little deeper than the eve of 

 a partridge ; it is full of fire, flirong, and light -, it 

 is almoft all fpirit, and is in fliort, the mofl excellent 

 of all Burgundy'; which by reafon of its violence, is 

 ;. not traded in, but its intoxicating quality' is foon 

 difiipated. ^ The duration of the wine is from one 



- vintage to another, though it pcriflies at the begin- 

 ning of the dog days, after which it changes it5%- 

 lour, and is turned, but yet I doubt not but that it 



- - would keep longer in very cold vaults.' . The fineft of 

 , their vats is drawn from a canton of vineyards that is 



■-.. called Champan. - ^ ~ 



. pomard is the fecond plot of vineyarcls of the pri- 

 meur ; it is fituaced between Vohict ahd Beaune, not 

 quite fo high as the firft, and a little higher than 

 Beaune. It produces a wine that has a little more 

 body than the preceding, is of the colour of fire, and 

 has a great deal of perfume and balfani ; it v^illhold 

 '. good Ibme months longer than that of Volnet ; it is 

 . more merchantable, and better for health t if it be 



4^1- ' I < 



. kept above a year, it fattens, ropes, waftes, and be- 

 comes of the colour of the Ikin of an Onion. The 

 beft vat is that of Commeraine, which will fome- 

 ,, times keep eighteen months, but that is according as 

 ^^ the year is ._ „ . ;,.,.-,. : ^., „, 

 -The city or Beaune contains one very confiderable 

 plot of vineyards; it contains only four hills, which 

 . a.re about four miles in length from Pomard to Sa- 

 " 'vigny. v.The firft of thefe is called St. Defire, thefe- 

 ; cond the JVJqntce Rouge, the tljif d Les Grevcs, and- 

 the fourth the Fountain of Marconney. ■ Thefe diffe- 

 rent foils produce wines which participate of thofe of 

 Volnet and Pomard, without the faults of them ; 



ittle more colour, many good qualities, 



and laftingnefs. r... ,- - ; ,. .. - 



The wines of Beaune laft fome more, and feme lefj, 

 but they do not laft above tw-o years ^ they arefweet- 

 .er, more agreeable, and more merchantable, than 

 the two preceding, and much better for health. T^e 

 colour of thefe wines is not equal, becaufe that de- 

 pends much upon the manner of making itierrij or 

 that they let it remain more or lefs hours in the vat^ 

 according' as 'the diftiatc is more or lefs delicate' where 



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it is made._^: There are in thefe four hills, certain in- 

 clofed cantons, which are in great reputation. The 



Feves, Cras, Grevcs, as alfo the king's inclofures, are 

 .^very dehcious. . «. . r- . - 



Alofle is the fourth vineyard in the primeur ^ it is fi- 

 tuated upon the declivity of a hill about three miles 

 'From Beaune. .This valley is an afcent foorentle, that 

 one can fcarce perceive that one afcends, till one has 

 come to the top of it. This little village produces 

 .wines of an extreme delicacy ; they are lefs brifk than 

 the former, but of a tafte more flattering. The 

 colour is a little more foft, and lefs fparkljng, but 

 fine i and like the hill that produces it, the wine is 

 too little elevated, and too much declining j it par- 

 takes neither of the firmnefs, nor ttiffnefs, of the 

 wines of the height of the hills ; it has all the tender- 

 nefs, none of the hardnefs, and of confequence is fub- 

 jecl, in a little while, to grow ropy, and to take the 

 bad quality of fweetnefs ; neverthelefs, it is fent to 

 foreign couatries ; but it requires much choice and 

 judgment. ■' ^ - ,.; 



Pernand, which is between the laft vineyard and the 

 grand vineyard of Savigny, is of a greater extent, but 

 is of fmall account, the wines not being very delicate. 

 They are of the quality of the preceding vineyards, 

 but harder and firmer, becaufe they are produced 

 upon a hill that is higher and fteeper. There ,are 

 fome vats very delicious, and thefc go into other coun- , 

 tries, but under the name of Beaune wine. •,- - - - 





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ChafTagne 



