IWFS Kuala Lumpur visit to Champagne, Burgundy and Alsace September 2016 - Day Four

Our morning route. Joy.

Tuesday, 27th September 2016

Morning: walk to the vines to see Vendange
Bus to Domaine Leflaive
Lunch: Maison Leflaive
Afternoon: Beaune, Bouchard wine taste
Evening: Domaine Taupenot-Merme
Dinner: Castel de Tres Girard

Woke up around 7am. The room was a bit cool from the aircon and the bathroom floor was positively freezing underfoot. Brrrr….   now I remembered why I do not like winter, nor the prospect of it. Too darn cold for humans. Birds have the right idea - fly south. But at least it was dry with a prospect of sunshine. Always a good sign. Couldn't find the slippers so suffered the morning frostbite on the feet and jumped back into the warmth of the duvet for a quick defrost ahead of the shower, dress and ready for the off. 

As said previously, this was to be an early up and at 'em which would involve a brisk morning walk with Fabrice to the vineyards where the harvest was taking place. Well, brisk in theory and ultimately only for some of us - the rest would take the thing a bit more leisurely in the crisp September morning Burgundy air. 

The gentle rolling slopes of the Cote de Beaune

Following a swift and light breakfast of coffee and croissant, the doughty and devoted pilgrims had all gathered in the chill but still morning air with Fabrice outside the hotel entrance. The less devoted had clearly remained in their warm beds. All seemed in various shades of either wakefulness or hangdog from the previous night, but otherwise in good spirit. The sun had yet to come out to burn off the morning chill which actually made it perfect walking weather. The appointed time came and off we tramped toward the line of vans and cars we could see bisecting the Beaune slope. 

Fabrice Amiot with the Pilgrims

The village of Chassagne-Montrachet

There is something about the slopes of the Cotes de Beaune which is so easy on the eye. Rolling greenery of precious climats sectored off by stone or slate walls into the distance and punctuated by pretty towns and steeples. Somehow ageless and deathless. 

The pickers take a break, the Pilgrims take a photo

The walk was pleasant and easy and all cameras started clicking when our group came upon the first gang of pickers who had decided to take a quick snack and wine break. They were all European, it being apparently the law that French employers like Fabrice cannot hire non EU workers (which will really screw any itinerant Brits looking for work once Brexit kicks in). Seeing all the Malaysians taking the photos of the white folks picking the grapes, it struck me that were this about fifty or sixty years ago the positions would be reversed - would have been white folks taking photos of Malaysians doing the work. Strange how the world turns, eh? Someone remarked that the survivors are always those who best turn with it. Not wrong there.

The Pilgrims Communing with the Grapes. Om.

Walking along the lines of vines, there was a great sense both of nature and cycles and vintage and place and…. a moment. A sense that though the Vendange had been repeated annually for centuries, this was MY moment to be here for this picking and harvest of the 2016 Montrachet grapes. Or what was left of them after the bastard April frost that had apparently killed about 70% of the buds according to some estimates. God and itinerant meteors willing, these fields will still be farmed long after I and my fellow pilgrims are gone. Be that as it may, as said this was a timeless and eternal moment for me. Total location and connection with the place and the time. Om. 

"Ai can sell you zis field, 'ow much you want for paiy?"

After a reasonable lurk around the vines and more photos, we took a leisurely walk back to the hotel to grab a quick shower, pack the bags and check out. The sun was now well up in the cloudless sky and making for another glorious day. Napoleon was very quiet today, sheepishly grabbing the bags and wordlessly loading them into the bus. Probably figured best not to say anything to either person or handphone - his end of the trip tips were in clear jeopardy. There did not seem to be much of a rush today - people seemed easy and free and just chilling in the shade. Beautiful light at this time of the morning, which for some reason I failed to take much advantage of in terms of photos. Must have been the early morning walk - the Brian is not built for such extensive exertions at such unreasonable hours of the day. 

Waiting for the bus at Le Montrachet

For some reason no one made the choice to walk to our next destination, the nearby Domaine Olivier Leflaive. Perhaps it was a fear of getting lost, though the winery was apparently just up and around the corner. The herd instinct mentality can be a powerful force. As often happens, the five minute walk became a twenty minute drive due to one way roads and narrow strips and corners that took some negotiating. We disembarked in front of a restaurant that would prove our lunch venue, where we joined a couple of other tour groups that had assembled to go on the winery tour. 

Outside Le Maison d'Olivier Leflaive with the man himself

Leflaive is booze of legend. Their Pulignys are massive fruit bombs that whack and sing and fill the mouth with amazing tastes. The Leflaives were one of the first wine families to recognise and introduce Biodynamism and rode the wave of first movers as it stormed the world of wine drinking. Lenglui and I got turned on to Leflaive some time back and have supped a number of the Puligny vintages over the years. So where Bollinger was a pilgrimage for the fizz lovers, this was a bit of a pilgrimage for us. It was also a chance to say a quiet prayer for winemaker Anne-Claude Leflaive, who sadly passed in 2015.

Freshly harvested from the vines

At the assembly point, we were met and greeted by a farmer-like country gentleman who turned out to be M. Olivier Leflaive himself and who would personally be conducting this tour of his winery. Wow. Following a few words of welcome, we were told to follow him down the road and round a few turns to get to the winery. Which would indeed turn out to be around the corner from Le Montrachet. Herd instinct. There you go. 

We all stopped outside the winery for a brief intro to Leflaive and its history. Everyone else always seems to be able to politely stand and take all this in. I get very restless and miss much of what gets said. I think I heard something about extensions to the winery sponsored by someone in the USA. Lenglui borrowed my seatstool to rest the legs. Very useful device this - folds up to be a walking stick then folds down to become a stool. Pain to carry around and get through airports, but hugely useful on tours like this. Then we all went inside to look at the steel and pipes and ogle at the vintages in the wine storage area. 

Olivier explaining his wines to the Pilgrims

Lenglui needed the toilet so we went off hunting and thanks to my schooldays French was able to communicate this to an employee who directed us accordingly. Lenglui had also had enough of standing so I left her parked with the stool near the staff entrance and returned back to the group back inside the winery. The tour ended back at the front of the winery where we were introduced to a machine that was making the first press of the 2016 Vendange. M. Olivier grabbed a couple of plastic cups and filled them with the juice so that we all could get a taste of the 2016 direct from the press. It was fantastic - sweet and grapey, like grape juice concentrate but with a hit of apple cider. I brought some of the juice along to where Lenglui was waiting for her to try. She also liked. Real highlight for a Leflaive pilgrim like me - can say I tasted the first press when we get the 2016. Can't wait for the finished wine!

Tasting the first press of the 2016 harvest 

Strolling back to town to lunch was a bit warm in the growing midday sun. As said, the restaurant was the place where we had all earlier assembled. It was located in the town square, where two Cenotaphs stood to honour those of the village who lost their lives in both the World Wars. Lot of character in the place, lot of both Leflaive and Puligny history. There was a cute elderly wooden bespectacled Grandmere with a tray outside to welcome everyone into a smallish place with narrow doors, stuffy rooms and tight seating. Actually make that very tight seating. Getting in and out would be difficult. Lenglui figured a pre lunch bathroom visit would be a good idea which it was - she darn smart like that. 

The walk back to lunch

We scrambled and climbed into our tight seats for lunch and a tasting of some Leflaive lovelies. The restaurant does a food menu for Euro30 but if you tack on a tasting of either 6 or 9 wines to taste then this was either Euro60 (labelled "Emotion") or Euro75 (labelled "Passion") respectively. There were also tastes of the Premier and Grand Cru wines at various prices. I think we had a combo of Emotion plus a couple of the 1er Crus. 

Tightly seated in Le Maison anxiously waiting for the booze...

The nice though marginally effete Frenchie with the bottles and the irritating and somewhat snotty "ai am ze expert 'ere, eef you pleeeze oncle, just dreenk when ai tell you" attitude poured us the first three to be going on with. We started with the 2013 Bourgogne, which was fresh and light and tasting of crisp apple with throat dry sucking acidity. Second was a 2011 Saint Aubin Village which, although a wine that ticked all the boxes didn't really pop the cork in intensity terms. And the third was a 2011 Saint Aubin 1er Cru "Chateniere" which did the same only with more, er, intensity - crisper in the mouth, bigger apples, more power in the mouth and finish and sweeping the throat like a draught of frosty spring water. Lovely drop.

The Chicken - love the plate with all the names of the Burgundy regions

The cheese choux was a bit on the dry flaky side, full of air and salt and sticking to the top of the tonsils like sellotape. The Chicken was pretty good, firm and fair taste whilst the apple and celeriac gave crispy sweet and subtle heat. There were also some brown crispy tobacco looking bits which gave some spice and crunch - not sure what these were. In matching terms, wine 1 felt the better of the three - its large acidity got tamed which let some big fruit bombs come through. Wine 2 gained a degree of class when tasted with the food. Got more complexity and clean sleek throat and finish. Good pairing. Wine 3 must have got seen off as I have no note. 

Yasu and Allie

During lunch, someone of an architectural bent passed observation that the extensions to the Leflaive winery felt a bit "bolt on" rather than having been thought through and better integrated into the existing structures. The resulting building felt a bit "factory" rather than Chateau, which he said kind of turned him away from buying the wines. If no thought goes into integrating things into the building, or visibly preserving the heritage of the winery and its pedigree, what else might follow from this? Becomes a question. Is a profit motive looming larger in the boardroom? Will some of the quality seams start to stretch as this push toward larger volumes takes hold?

Vanessa and Tony

Whilst not entirely sure that the logic follows in all that, it does not seem an unfair observation in its context - here we were sucking on Leflaive's best in a Leflaive restaurant and getting sold on the romance of the Leflaive name. And the cash till kept ringing its roll-out-the-bottle song. To which I contributed by buying a couple of the Pulignys. Because they are lovely wines which friends and family enjoy and would be some of the last to have been made by Anne-Claude. Actually no - my friend Julian pointed out that Olivier Leflaive has his own operation separate from the Domaine and we were sucking his wines and not the usual ones we buy. Bugger. Never mind. Gives a good reason to go back there and do the place I assumed we were doing. Bloody French.

M. Le Snot came back with two Meursaults - a 2012 Village "Vireuils" and a 2010 1er Cru "Boucheres". The Village was limestone fresh on the nose, with oak and butter also to the fore. Heavy mouth texture on this one, and somewhat harsh cheek squeaky citrus acidity. Bit thin on the finish. The 1er Cru was also limestone fresh but richer, rounder, smoother, and leaner though still with large oak and butter. And still with a tear jerking lemon squeak acidity that brought tears to the eyes. I think these boys might dissolve kidney stones. 

Salut!!

The cod was nicely roasted and full of firm fish taste. Potatoes were fine, lightly boiled and crunchy and adding light and milky Creme Fraiche made for three great companions on a plate. And all seasoned lightly though with an added hint of cardomom. I just wish it all could have been hotter. Not sure if this was the style that Chef was seeking to display to us punters, but I would think that Roast Cod requires some warmth. Perhaps the kitchen might have been suffering from lack of staff to get 40 plus dishes out on to the tables. But hey, if you're laying on tours for visiting pilgrims every day and offering food and tastings at your outlet, you need to make sure there's enough staff to get the food out fast and hot. There's a need to maintain the standard here, else the whole brand suffers as a result. Perhaps my architectural friend might already be right.

The Roast Cod with Potatoes and Cream

Anyhow, matching wise, Meursault 1 gained a gut turning acidic belt resulting in a Metallica fierce finish. Yuck. Meursault 2 fared somewhat better, certainly less harsh, but the food seemed to suck most of the character out of the wine and turned it into springwater. Very pleasant springwater, but springwater nonetheless. 

Pannacotta. Very French. Oui.

I think Dear Leader decided we needed some of the top class to try because out came a 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. Not sure if he bought by the bottle, but we all got a decent slug of it. Hugely tight nose - I thought I got a hint of kipper but my nose was pretty whacked by this time. Eventually got a bit of raisin and perhaps hazelnut aromas. Tastewise, it was like sucking on a tin of mixed fruit - peaches, cherries, orange, pineapple and all doused in that thick sinful syrup the doctors say is analaptic shock in waiting but which we greedily pour down our throats anyway. Nice and tasty, though not convinced it was enough to shell out Euro100 for a bottle. And having it before the youthful and frisky 2011 Pommard Village rendered the latter tannic and acidic and setting the teeth on enamel stripped edge. The cheese helped the Pommard slightly, though not enough to save it. "Grim and harsh" say my notes. Though the cheeses were excellent. Someone came round to take orders for tea or coffee. Someone responded with a "More wine, please." Don't think we got any - M. Le Snot was charming another group into buying up the souvenir booze. 

Our lunchtime tastings

On the way out, I bought a Leflaive T Shirt and, as said earlier, splurged on two bottles of the 2011 Puligny Montrachet "Les Folatieres" at Euro73 a hit which is still a good whack below what we would pay to get it brought up from Singapore after tax and duty. I recommended it to The Money who strongarmed a more pleasant bottle man (M. Le Not Snot) to give her a glass from which I managed to snag an extra sip whilst she was swooning over it. It is good. Will make sure these survive the trip, unlike that poor Italian that never made it past Paris CDG. Overall, if you're a Leflaive fan, then this pilgrimage is a must. If not, perhaps do lunch at Le Montrachet round the corner for the Michelin stars. And the wider space between the chairs. And the hot food. Though you won't have Grandmere to welcome you. Nor M. Le Snot. Non vraimant.

May with Grandmere Leflaive. And my booze.

Food Menu

Gougeres

Cheese choux pastries

Blanc de Volaille marine au citron, celeri et pomme verte

Marinated chicken breast, celeriac and green apple

Cabillaud, pomme de terre grenaille et raisin blanc, creme a l'echalote

Roasted Cod, grenaille potatoes, white grapes and shallot cream

Trio de Fromage regionaux fines par A Hess

Regional chesses matured by Alain Hess

or

Panacotta pain d'epices et coulis de cassis

Spice bread Pannacotta with blackcurrant coulis

La Maison d'Olivier Leflaive

10, Place du Monument

21190 Puligny-Montrachet

Tel +33 (0)3 80 21 37 65

maison@www.olivier-leflaive.com

Back on the bus for a fifteen minute drive to the Ibis Styles in Beaune to dump the bags for an immediate out and tasting at Bouchard Pere et Fils. Lenglui along with the majority decided against this one, opting instead to walk around the town and have a little looksee around the shops. For those who have not visited, Beaune is hugely pretty and wonderfully walkable. Lots of little shops selling wine and booze paraphernalia, and charming patisseries inviting you to sit for coffee and cake - well worth a couple of hours to meander and shop.

Checking in at Beaune Ibis Styles

There were four of us who set off to the Bouchard winery from the Hotel, and we would be joined by three others who got initially detoured by the craving to spend on necessaries like Truffle Mustard and sunblock. It was becoming quite a hot walk to get there, but thanks to Dear Leader's GPS we managed to navigate a scenic route in the cooling shaded streets of Beaune. We got to Bouchard about ten minutes late but still in time for the tasting. I remembered the building from my last visit on a rainy Sunday in August 2013 - peering through the wrought iron gates in the drizzle to take a photo of a long Town Hall like imposing structure that was saying "non, yoo cannot come in 'ere on a Sundaaaiy - whay are yoo not een church?" In the sunlight and open gates it looked way more friendly and indeed Dear Leader got warmly welcomed by the lovely Mmselle and young Monsieur who would be our guide. We took a  brief five minute look at the treasures underneath the building, and then got straight to the tasting. I think Dear Leader might have mentioned we were a bit time pressured. It is always good when you get an understanding guide, n'est-ce pas?

Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils

Bouchard was founded in 1731 and has a collection of some 150,000 bottles, some of which date back centuries. It was taken over by the Henriot family of Champagne in 1995.  The vineyards of Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils cover around 130 hectares (320 acres), of which 12 hectares produce grand cru wines and 74 hectares grow second-ranking premier crus. Our guide proudly shared that some Maison Bouchard Pere et Fils vintage burgundy were sold at auction in Hong Kong in September 2016, one of which was an 1846 vintage from the Meursault-Charmes region which (in what was described in a report as "enthusiastic bidding") sold way above its estimate of HK$80,000 for HK$134,750 ($17,451). The bottle was described by Christie's as the oldest bottle in the Bouchard cellars, with a pale golden colour and a honeyed character (seemed they opened, tested and recorked the boy).  

I must confess to never having been a great fan of the Bouchard wine style. Perhaps a massive over generalisation, but on the whole I have found them a bit on the meagre and thin side, lacking firm body and bite (though perhaps this is the result of only tasting the introductory levels). I do like a bit of meat and whack in my wine. Of today's tasting, I have nothing in the way of notes other than the names of the wines. It all went by in a blissful sunny bright haze of delightfulness. There truly is nothing like sipping the fruits of a winery's labours in the comfort of a well appointed and comfortable tasting room, with little in the way of apparent parsimony in the offerings. There were some lovelies being poured, though none of which ultimately passed the wallet test. 

Some of our tasting wines

We had a 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin, a 2011 Premier Cru Beaune du Chateau, a 2012 Premier Cru Beaune Clos De La Mousse and a 2011 Vigne De L'Enfant Jesus. The whites were 2013 Saint-Veran, 2011 Premier Cru Meursault le Porusot, and a 2012 Premier Cru Puligny Montrachet "Les Combettes". I found the concept of a wine of the baby Jesus somewhat amusing in a Catholic kind of way (I was apparently baptized one).  It was Holy Water indeed. Not sure whether the Vatican would wholly approve, though presumably such a naming does not cause offence. No fire and brimstone raining on the Bouchard roofs. Yet.

Bouchard Pere et Fils

15, rue du Chateau

21200 Beaune

Tel +33 (0)3 80 24 80 24

contact@bouchard-pereetfils.com

Heading back to the hotel we lost one of our number so Dear Leader went back to search for him. Seems he was choosing some Bouchard booze to buy and we forgot about him. Lenglui had a successful shopping trip to the Pharmacy in Beaune, having found a skin creme which cost 60% less than home prices. We lazed for a little while before a shower and dress and down for the bus to Morey St Denis and a winemaker's dinner with Romain Taupenot of Domaine Taupenot Merme. Originally the dinner had been scheduled to take place at the One Star Jardin Remparts, a pretty chateau like 1* star restaurant right in the centre of Beaune and five minutes walkable from the hotel. Dear Leader shared that when Romain saw the menu he took it upon himself to liaise directly with the restaurant Madame to change the menu to better suit his wines. Seems the Madame took some offence at the implication that she could not match her food with the wines. After some back and forth across the email ether, both agreed to disagree and parted the ways. Not sure if she told Romain to go elsewhere, but that is what he did. So it was we loaded onto the bus at 6pm to drive to the place that Romain booked, the Castel de Tres Girard. This was also in spitting distance from Romain's Domaine and allowed us to get a brief tour of the winery before our winemaker's meal with him (can't resist it - Romain's Domaine). Dear Leader says if he ever tries to book the Jardin in the future, he will use a different name. 

Outside Domaine Taupenot

Driving through the single lane roads of the Cotes de Nuits was pleasant, passing road signs of legend and desire. The somewhat fierce setting sun necessitated sunglasses, and the reddening sky indicated that it should be a hot one tomorrow. It took us about an hour to reach the Domaine - as memory serves Napoleon took a wrong one somewhere and we had to re-route. I think he was following a French GPS. But of course.

Domaine Taupenot courtyard and well

Romain was there to greet us as we stepped off the bus into a well appointed property that seemed to loom four storeys high but was only two. About 40 plus in years at a guess, very warm and talkative in a mild manner, he kept us standing in the courtyard while he talked about his winery and the climats. As he was doing, a car pulled up and after an awkward bit of parking a vivacious lady stepped out and conversed quite informally with Romain. Everyone assumed they were married. Bit of a shock when he revealed it was his mum - very sparky and stylo. Lenglui was most impressed.  

Mum also became the cue to head off to the cellar, which we did. I need to add at this point that someone had decided it would be a good idea to fine anyone Euro50 who asked a question of Romain. The aim being to shut certain people up and so get to the dinner and the booze faster. Which actually turned out to be quite rude - there was Romain telling us all about his booze and how he made it and all he was getting from the assembled was stonewall silence.  He was indeed starting to sweat a bit by this impassive bunch of pilgrims. I asked a question to give him some relief and offer a way out, which worked - the tour drew to a fast close after it. Then when someone tried to impose the fine on me I flatly refused. Both the premise and the concept did not reflect the standard I would expect of the IWFS. I feel we should be above such schoolyard nonsense. The Queen would be most unamused.

Winston and The Money

As it was, we got to the booze soon enough. The venue was a short drive to the Castel de Tres Girard, an old style cottage place with a roaring fire in the bar and a large room for the restaurant with open area seating available to visitors. We would all be sat on one long table which, in the low light of the place, seemed to stretch away into the distance.  Whilst the fire and grate looked glorious, one consequence was that the place got a bit stuffy if you were sat near that end of the room (and guess who was so sitting…). Seems a Malaysian chef was operating the place but was away on the night we were there.

At the table at Castel De Tres Girard

Castel De Tres Girard is associated with the Chateaux & Hotels Collection, a "regrouping of hoteliers who didn’t feel comfortable with the merger of Relais de Campagne, Relais Gourmands and Châteaux-Hôtels".  They say the hotel and restaurant are housed in an old 17th century wine press, whilst the restaurant "celebrates inventive gourmet cuisine accompanied by exceptional wines."

Both the hotel and restaurant get pretty good reviews on Tripadvisor, and the mention in the Michelin guide looks and reads positive. The place looks very pretty in sunlight on the website, though not much information on the history of the place - doesn't help that the website is in French. There may have been an English version but it was not immediately apparent. Never mind.

Romain telling us about his wines

We all got seated and the wines started to flow. Number 1 smelt like cow poop but tasted wonderful, like tropical fruits - put me in mind of Cigku, that purple-black rock hard skinned little beast of a fruit we see in Malaysia. But when someone remarked that Wine 2 smelt the same, Dear Leader got suspicious and came for a sniff. He immediately ordered fresh glasses - there was something wrong with the ones we had and suspected the early ones were not fully rinsed of soap. On fresh glasses being brought to the table, I got passed over and notwithstanding asking for a glass ended up having to trudge to the kitchen to get one for myself. Also got one for Lenglui to spare any future blushes. 

I must have been Mister Glass Window Cellophane on this evening, because in addition to getting passed over on glasses, I would get passed over on food - twice. Some cutlery issues in all of this as well. Staff were pleasant enough (all men) but clearly not too attentive. Though it must be hugely difficult to retain decent staff in a village in the middle of France, notwithstanding the beauty of the place. Given the quality of the wines we would drink, I'd work there. Train the buggers up and pay them in wine. Though I might be too drunk to do decent food service. Sommelier - that will work. I can handle a corkscrew.

First dish was the somewhat over-salted egg which had been positively buried in truffles. They had this woody kind of quality about them which was new - a kind of a bark-like texture to them which melded beautifully with the egg and all of it slopped up with the wheaty bread and farmhouse butter. All of this worked well with the Saint Romain Blanc, cutting through to reveal citrus, mango and melon. Nice. Stinky due to the bad glass, but nice.

The 63degree Egg and Truffles

Wine Two (also in stinky glass) was Village Gevrey 2012, apparently a low yield vintage. As said, same stinky cow poop smell but the taste was fantastic. Clean crisp cherry, total terroir, bit of toasty oak, minerality and veering toward complexity (winespeak for "things beyond the vocabulary of the witless writer"). When transferred to a non stinky Burgundy glass, the sucker sang - beautiful nose, wonderful mouth and finish, beautiful wine. 

Snail Ravioli

The Snail Ravioli was a bit odd in texture, but pairing with bacon and some fava beans in a Ragout sauce kind of worked. Never seen snails in ravioli before. I have vague memory of them being somewhat crunchy. Naturally the sauce was amazing with the bread and butter. 

Lobster Curry. Allegedly.

My Lobster Curry seemed to lack any hint of curry, my Lobster was mushy and undercooked and I dam near cracked a tooth on a chunk of shell. Strange looking dish, though the rice tasted okay. Dare I say, it would have benefitted from a splash of chili sauce... no one asked for any.

The Morey Saint Denis was another great wine - full nose, pepper cherry mouth, medium body and a wonderfully long finish. Snagged a couple extra glasses of this one. This felt like the good stuff.

Pilgrims communing with the booze

It was at this point that I seemed to notice a preference for the food on the dishes to be located more on the left side of the plates. Not sure if this was artistically intentional or whether the chef might be left handed, but it did seem a shade OCD. 

Finally a dish to sing about - the Charolais Beef was excellent. Great taste and amazing texture, with such an easy tender bite on it. Equally with the Foie Gras - smoky, gunky and utterly brilliant. So so good. 

Charolais Beef. Yum.

And the 2006 Corton we were supping with it was equally delightful. Rich black forest fruit, berries and an endless finish. This was followed by a 2006 Chambertin made from grapes planted during WWII. Such an elegant wine, terroir nose, sweet fruit, a wonderful finish and absolutely perfect with the Charolais. The restaurant had redeemed itself. Well worth a return for this beef and this booze. 

Cheese Platter

My notes were suffering in the face of all this wonderful booze and the generous toppings we seemed to be getting. Lots of drunken swear words in my notes extolling the wonders of all the wines. And most of it for the 2006 Chambertin - four repeated praises with different coarse and colourful words that do not bear repeating here. It must have been very, very good. Got a later note which says "Leave it in the glass and - wow. Nose gains intensity, all green fields and forest and herbs - thyme and oregano." 

Dessert

My note on the 2002 Mazoyeres has it as "powerful and intense, with firm acidity and tannins, youthful, colour of a two year old wine, nice length. Tremendous balance across fruit, alcohol, tannins and acidity. Silky powerful - total race horse wanting to get out of the starting gate." The good stuff clearly brings out the lyrical in me. Oui.

Yin-How with (L to R) David, Romain and mystery wine winner Dr Rajan

So… for me the service was pretty grim - missing my cutlery on the table, missing my pourings and glasses, missing my food - twice. The staff were clearly stressed in having a table of 22 to serve all at once and keep the other punters in the restaurant happy. Notwithstanding the wonderful wines and generous pourings I can't quite forgive the restaurant for the first two rounds of dirty glasses some of us received. This completely messed up my sniffing of the wines, thereby killing one of the main elements of the evening. Not sure if others had this, but I certainly felt I got the short end on this presentation by the restaurant. 

Outside of this it was a wonderfully enjoyable evening. Romain was in great form talking about his great tasting wines, and I got him to do a sell job to a neighbouring table that had bought his wine from the restaurant's wine list. One of the diners saw my medallion and asked if I knew anything about the Taupenot-Merme they had on the table. I said not really, but said that the chap who made it was on our table and maybe I could persuade him to speak about it. Which he did. Always good to make connections with the punters, eh? Maybe he can give me a job. I can handle a corkscrew. 

The Domaine Taupenot Merme wines

The Castel de Tres Girard would not get a Michelin vote from me on this performance. Though I would go back, if only to buy some of Romain's wines and drink them there with him and Lenglui and the excellent Charolais beef - and relive a wonderful memory. Maybe next time we'll persuade him to bring his mum.

Everyone drunkenly dozed on the bus back. Can't remember much. Perhaps there was some brief attempt at singing. No memory. Fell into the Ibis bed, slept like a pig.

Ai laike zis waine! Ooo la la!

Castel de Tres Girard Restaurant Hotel Menu

63o Eggs, Button Mushrooms, Sesame, Burgundy Truffle

Saint Romain Blanc 2013

Snail Raviolis, Onion, Bacon, Red Wine sauce

Gevrey Chambertin 2012

Malaysian Lobster Curry, Black Fried Rice

Morey St Denis 1er Cru "La Riotte" 2012

Charolais Beef Filet, Pan Seared Foie Gras, Seasonal Vegetables

Corton Rognet 2006 and Charmes Chambertin 2006

Cheese from our Region

Mazoyeres Chambertin 2002 and mystery wine

Michel Cluizel dark Chocolate, Red Pepper and Raspberry

Mignardises

Castel de Tres Girard Restaurant Hotel

7, rue de Tres Girard

21220 Morey-Saint-Denis

Tel +33 3 80 34 33 09

info@www.castel-tres-girard.com

IWFS Kuala Lumpur visit to Champagne, Burgundy and Alsace September 2016 - Day Three

First view of Bollinger

Monday, 26th September 2016

This was a well early start, with all of us checked out and on the bus by 8.30am for a morning drive and visit to Maison Bollinger en route to lunch at Chablis. Wasn't able to eat much for breakfast this morning - still hugely full from the day and night before - so it was just the Cafe 21 instant coffee in the room and downstairs to pack a cheese and meat sandwich in the dining room for the bus. With an upcoming breakfast of bubbles, it would definitely be important to eat something to line the stomach ahead of it. The Gastric Blues are easy to get but they ain't no fun on a moving bus. 

With the luggage all wheeled out and loaded, we were indeed off pretty much on schedule - the fear of fines seemed to be doing its job. One was never quite sure who was taking the notes on the miscreants - I suspected it was The Money. The members seemed pretty chipper and chirpy this morning. Brilliant bright sunshine can do that to people. I put on my sunglasses and tried to nap.

Maison Bollinger

Rolling up and down past and through the Champagne and Chablis countryside in late September sunglass bright sunshine made for some pretty vistas. Cresting one hill, we got one brilliant view of mists in the valleys that raised lots of "waaaaahhs" by the members and a general scrabbling to get photos. I missed it, but it sure was pretty. Like one of those Chinese paintings of distant hills poking up out of the mists. Very atmospheric.

Ms Moneypenny explains the plantings

We turned off the main road and another couple of turn offs got us on to madness one lane tracks and almost impossible corners to negotiate. Fair play to Napoleon the driver (my name for him), he got around them like a pro. Though we had to reverse back up a hill to park up when it was discovered that we were in danger of passing the winery. There would have been a wringing of hands and a strangling of Napoleonic necks should that have happened. Two of our members were positively salivating as they entered this particular Shrine to the Grape - the Bolly is their far and away tipple of choice. Total pilgrimage. Half surprised they didn't take off their shoes and prostrate themselves at the gate. 

There were two sides to the winery - the business end where the booze was made and the Chateau side where the booze was sold. The business end would prove more rustic and functional, with Farmhand and Factory types milling around and looking busy. The Chateau side was where the tasting would take place and was more regal and imposing. 

Stoned at Bollinger

Parking up outside the Bollinger winery, we got met and greeted by a most elegant French lady hostess who promptly took us to a smallish walled in one hectare patch where some of the Bolly grapes got grown. She was decked out in a Gabardine style raincoat and looked for all the world like she came straight from a James Bond movie - all femme fatale who would take no lip from 007 and who seriously knew her booze. I have a vivid imagination on occasion. The vines in this patch were unusually not in any pattern and growing a bit haphazardly compared to the neat rows we normally see elsewhere. There was a reason for this which eludes me at the moment. There was a big tombstone marking the patch as "Bollinger" but no other real indication that this was where the nectar was grown. Everyone seemed well happy just to be here in the sunshine and among grapes that go to make perhaps THE most iconic of champagnes. It certainly felt like a moment.

There was then a trip down to the cellar and the cooper's woodshed and a testing area. Some of the harvest was already in and they were testing for something and making serious notes about it. I think they were testing the weight of the juice and using some bits and pieces of laboratory stuff I vaguely remember from Chemistry classes at school. I was more interested in looking for photo opps - I really should pay more attention.

After a tour of the downstairs where the good stuff was stored, we congregated in a driveway outside the cooper's shed whilst the toilets got found and used before getting ushered off to our liquid breakfast in the Maison. This was where the Maison Bollinger started showing its greatness. Through the wrought iron gates into the totally grand (I think Georgian) chateau style courtyard. There is an amazing sense of primus inter pares - first among equals - about this place compared to Pommery and Ruinart. They just know that there is champagne and there is champagne and there is Bollinger, and they don't have to do anything to reinforce it.  The place just oozes and exudes class. Totally glad we did this place. 

The Pilgrims commune with the Vines whilst Ms Moneypenny talks to James through the MI6 earpiece

Having been suitably awed by the entrance, we got whisked through the door and into the tasting rooms, where the fizz had been prepared and the glassware set out on tables. We just needed to grab chairs and park ourselves and wait for the fizz. In theory - some couldn't wait and started pouring for everyone. I think it might have been one of our Bolly Pilgrims - I saw the tongue was hanging out in dehydration and possibly in the grip of the rapture. I found the toilet and hung up the coat and walking stick. 

David advising members to not leave anything in the tasting bottles because it is bad manners in France to do so

There were about 9 bottles in total for the 22 of us. Part of me was hoping for a fusillade salute of all the corks popping boom at the same time. Not to be - Ms Moneypenny had already opened some of them and did the traditional and professional "whisper" opening with the rest, and quite expertly so. 

Looking around the room, there was a lot of homage to James Bond. There were visuals of JB in Casino Royale and traditional From Russia With Love poses (there was one other for Bond and Bond Girl - possibly Skyfall or Spectre) and Members had fun poking their heads through the cut out holes and, er, Bonding with Bond as photos got taken.  I found myself being about six inches too short for the hole so my doubling chin was hanging off the edge. Not my best photo. Perhaps better as a Bond villain - M'sieur le Boozy Petomane - mai thunderbutt flatulence is lethal. Oui. 



Bollinger NV, Rose and La Grande Annee 2005. Breakfast of Champions. Oui.



We were tasting three Bollys - the Non Vintage, the Rose and the La Grande Annee 2005. The NV had a yeast nose with a bit of musty farmyard stink. Granny Smith apples in the mouth, slightly sour though brilliantly crisp. Great balance, fine bead, good scouring grip on the throat. The Rose had the same yeasty nose, though no farmyard. Light cherries in the mouth, good acidic spritz on the cheeks, less grip and a cleaner finish than the NV. Perfect for breakfast on the Corn Flakes. 

The 2005 was "The Great Year", hence the name. Far less yeast and way more biscuit on the nose, lovely bead. A hugely clean and lean drop of fizz, with citrus taste, some sweet grape with notes of almond and a fast racy finish like Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone. 

Breakfast is served

All three would clearly serve for different purposes - the NV was a chugger with friends, the 2005 needed food whilst the Rose was just delightful. I looked over at the Pilgrims and saw communion, engagement and contentedness - total Nirvana. I found a general clean-ness about the Bolly champagnes, a lessened sense of acidity and somewhat lighter balance than (for example) the Pommerys and Ruinarts, and less of a whack in the chest than many others. Slight differentiation in character perhaps - not bad, just different, and more in line with my preferences. Though quaffing the fizz still made me trumpet and thunder like a moose on the rut. Good thing the toilets were soundproof…

Datin gets cunningly distracted to let Dato' get another slug of the booze. Tony watches with hope for similar

All of the Bond paraphernalia led naturally to the question as to whether our hostess knew who the next Bond was going to be. Ms Moneypenny answered no. But felt for sure he (not she?) would still drink the Bolly - clearly a great relationship had been built up over the years and long it looked like continuing. One of our Pilgrims shared that the Bolly was his favourite and he had been drinking it for more than twenty years - the estimate was that he must have drunk about ten thousand bottles in that time. Another Pilgrim thought she might be catching up with this - she confessed to consuming a case a month by her reckoning. Whether such confessions were made in the hope of more holy liquid getting poured was not clear - in any case, it was unsuccessful. 



Chablis town

We said fond farewells to Ms Moneypenny and Maison Bollinger, and with various and many invites for her to come to Kuala Lumpur. And to bring James and a few bottles with her. Following a general bathroom visit, we were back on the bus and off to our lunch in Chablis. The ride would turn out to be quite a long one, and requiring a stop at some small cafe cum newspaper shop in the middle of nowhere which added about thirty minutes to the journey. 22 people with one single toilet at a minute a head - the math is pretty clear. Napoleon seemed to be happy with the break, spending most of the time talking to someone on his handphone. Some people wanted to sit down and try the food but got verbally smacked as incurring more delay. We picked up some snacks which got shared around the members as we drove off. 

We got to Chablis and found that a short walk along pedestrianised streets was necessary. I had never realised that there was an actual town with the name Chablis - I had always thought of it as an area. It felt a bit quiet and sleepy, though a fair bit of traffic seemed to zip along the main road through the town. The bus rolled up on the cobble pavement at a street just off the main and off we trundled.  

Thought this was the restaurant entrance...

We got to the restaurant just before 2pm and they graciously extended their lunch hours to accommodate us.  Our venue was named Au Fil du Zinc which Dear Leader had billed as "The most exciting restaurant in Chablis with whispers of a probable elevation to 1* soon with a highly regarded Japanese chef. An impressive wine list."  Au Fil Du Zinc is operated by Japanese chef Ryo Nagahama (ex sous chef Joël Robuchon l'Atelier in Taipei), spouse and pastry chef Vanessa Chang and Fabien Espana (7 year manager of Soufflot in Irancy). It does have a mention in the online Michelin guide which says it offers a neo-bistro reinvention of French Cuisine based on fresh (and seasonal) products in a cosy and friendly atmosphere. 

I remember a nice light and refreshingly airy ambience at lunchtime, with lots of natural light and fresh air breezing through the place. There was a small waterfall bubbling and rushing outside and underneath this renovated old mill which clearly helped bring the good "chi" into the place. Very pleasant. 

Another long table had been stretched out to accommodate us and down we sat to nibble on some pretty ordinary cheese bread and good clean water. Must say the French know how to do their bottled water - lots of brand choices and there do seem to be some slight minerality differences across them. Which got me wondering if there are water connoisseurs as there are wine connoisseurs. Champagne for breakfast can make you think these things.

According to the menu, the starter croquette was comprised of mushroom and Pig Feet - if this was indeed what we had. For me it felt like a tasty potato croquette speared with a, er, small spear to trawl the thing through some wasabi dip. Following this first dish was (apparently) some pan fried Bachalau (salt fish) paired with some lemon jelly and a cheesy cream mousse. My notes say the combo was excellent, with the deep salt fish and lemon cutting the airy whisk and milk of the cream - lot of texture and rasp versus whisk going on here. Great mouthfeels, cold creamy cheeks and salty citrus tongue.

Au Fil Du Zinc interior - light and airy

This was being paired with a Bereche et Fils Champagne, name of "Rive Gauche" from the Meunier district. I got a lovely oatmeal biscuit on the nose with sharpish apples in the mouth. Full firm finish that thudded as it hit bottom. Less refined than our breakfast tipple, but loads of character. Perhaps a shade heavy in weight for a starter fizz, but no one was complaining.  I stole Lenglui's speared croquette to taste with the fizz. It was perfect - light food and heavier weight biscuit fizz. Om….

Cold Corn Soup and Cromesqui de Foie Gras

Second wine was a 2010 Chablis Grand Cru from Domaine Francois Raveneau. This one seemed a bit familiar and Dear Leader shared that indeed we had drunk the 2009 during our lunch at Le Parc Les Crayeres the previous day. This one felt very nice and with a lot going on - melons, mango, lemon honey citrus, rich in the mouth, prickly cheeks and an endless finish. 

We were having this with a cold corn soup into which a "Cromesqui de Foie Gras" had been parked. Seems a Cromesqui is a little chunk of Foie Gras in a breadcrumb or other crunchy wrap (another croquette!) and heated so that the Foie Gras gets slightly melted. Kind of like Foie Gras Tonkatsu, I guess. The soup is creamy, milky and sweet, though I could not get much in the way of Foie Gras - lots of crunch and season and breadcrumb, but felt the FG was MIA. The salty cheese bread worked wonderfully with the soup to contrast the sweet with the slightly sour and salt - simple but so effective. 

Next up was the most delightful egg - poached and coddled like a half boiled egg from Jalan 222 it came with (I think) Salmon, Onion Jam, watercress and a Chablis sauce. The combo of somewhat salty salmon wine sauce with the most perfectly poached egg and crisp wafer bread is just excellent - got gunk, salt, carbo, goo and sweet - and the bitter watercress was genius. And naturally perfect when slurped off the plate with the remains of the baguette, all slurpy salt wheat bite, chew and butter gunk swallow. Total perfecto. 

We were on to a third wine by this time, a 2008 Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne out of Bonneau du Martray. I have no note except to say that the egg combo brought out a class in the wine that alone it seemed to lack. It tamed some acidity and brought it up to….  can't remember. Champagne breakfast can do that to you.

The wonderful Pork

Wine Four was a 2008 Premier Cru Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques from Domaine Bruno Clair. And it was a stunner. Firm in the mouth with good bite on the cheeks, dark forest berries and damson and slight hint of cherry, and loooooooong finish. This was a big, big wine - don't get many like this in Kuala Lumpur, and if we do they cost both arms plus the leg. O thank you wine gods for smiling on this poor humble group of pilgrims. 

And it was fantastic with the pork that came to the table adorned as it was with some light steamed veg, fried onion and beetroot jam. And a little chunk of pork belly done Siew Yoke style (crispy skin) which was absolutely brilliant in its taste. Perhaps the French invented Siew Yoke rather than the Chinese? (oooooooo….   open up a big debate here…). The pork hunk felt as if it had been done sous vide (steamed in a bag) and then lightly seared with salt to give a light crunch to combine with the moist taste and texture of the meat. Perfect bite and chew and with the beetroot jam adding a light sweet acidic slap on the tongue. Great dish. 

The Money communes with the Siew Yoke. Ooooooiiinnnnnnnkkkkkk...

Service throughout was friendly, efficient and fun. Glasses got topped when needed and table settings got replaced neatly and quickly. A number of members have since said that Au Fil du Zinc was one of their food highlights of the trip. Well and okay… for me it was fabulous wines and well prepared and presented food which perhaps needed a little more to really "get there". Good to very good, but not stunned as much as I have been elsewhere. Of course, what stuns me might not be what stuns others, and far be it from me to claim any superiority in judgement when others have far more refined palates than me. I did thoroughly enjoy the ranges of tastes and textures both throughout and across the dishes, all of which paired well with the wonderfully amazing wines that kept getting brought to the table. I think perhaps it was the fusing of the Japanese with the classic French that I didn't quite get on this outing, and perhaps I need a bit of gastro time to appreciate how the magic between the two happens. Notwithstanding, an excellent lunch at a well appointed eaterie and well worth a return visit. As Dear Leader says, definitely one to watch. 

(L to R) Suzuki, Tony, Chef Ryo, Allie and Yin-How

Au Fil Du Zinc Degustation Menu du Chef - 3 plats Euro32, 5 plats Euro45, 7 plats Euro60 - 5 and 7 need the whole table to order

Entrees

Mushroom and Pigfoot Croquette

Oeuf mollet / Sauman / Sauce Chablis

Champignon / Pied de Cochon / Croquant

Soup de Mais / Cromesqui Foie Gras

Plats

Magret / Figue / Poireau

Cochon Bio de Nitry / Legumes

Cabillaud / Aubergine / Olive Noir / Curcuma

Desserts

Assiete de fromages ou fromage blanc

Baba au Rhum / Ananas / Coco

Myrtille / Cheese Cake / Litchi

Chocolat / Gigembre / Poire

Wines

"Rive Gauche" Bereche et Fils Champagne, Meunier

2010 Chablis Grand Cru, Domaine Francois Raveneau

2008 Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau du Martray

2008 Premier Cru Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques, Domaine Bruno Clair

A gentle stagger back on the bus for what in theory should have been a straight punch through to Beaune and a tasting at the Domaine Drouhin. Theory, however, did not accommodate for a bus driver who spent much driving time on his handphone. This in France is not lawful and Napoleon promptly got pulled over just outside of Beaune by two of the local gendarmerie on their motorbikes. We saw him getting seriously booked and apparently breathalysed by two of France's Finest. Given that we were already late from our late and extended lunchtime, the extra forty minute delay caused by this escapade meant that the Drouhin tasting had been rendered no way possible. Dear Leader decided best to go straight to the hotel. For some reason still yet to be fathomed, the two Gendarmes gave our bus a motorcycle escort to the hotel. I guess they did not trust Napoleon - not many of us did at this point in time. I wondered aloud whether the Police might also give us a hand to unload the bags. They didn't.  Bloody French. Poor Napoleon had to do it all by himself, albeit a bit more sullenly and sheepishly than the previous unloading. I did feel for him a bit - it is never fun to get a ticket from the law. Others said serve le miserable right - not safe to drive when talking into a handphone. Also not wrong.

Napoleon getting a ticket

It had been decided for us to splurge and stay at the Montrachet Hotel (the same venue for our dinner that evening) for the convenience of being able to dress up and come straight down to the One Star Restaurant. Which worked extremely well - it felt so good not to have to climb aboard a bus and career off somewhere into the night. The room we had was wonderfully large, with Lenglui able to sprawl in the bedroom whilst I camped in the TV area and plugged in all the various adapters to recharge our increasingly necessary little communication machines. Got showered and shaved and after washing some smalls had time for a quick nap.  All our hotels to date had these hot pipes in the bathroom which means that you can wash the smalls and get them dry within a couple of hours. Fantastic for the light travellers like us. We normally prefer to stay in as few hotels as possible since this means not having to unpack and repack too often. Happy to relinquish this for the luxury that hotels like this one offer.  

Cremant Sunset

We got dressed in Jacket and IWFS Medallion as requested and sauntered down to the restaurant. Lenglui and I had been to the Montrachet on a previous visit in 2013 for a lunch, but as we entered little of it looked familiar. There was a partition between our dinner area and the main room which I could not recall, and the garden area seemed a bit bare (though it was getting late in the autumn). Nevertheless, it was on the verandah we all got gathered for sunset and fizz aperitifs before the feast.  The dinner was being hosted by Domaine Amiot Guy et Fils owner Fabrice Amiot who was also arranging the wines from his cellars for the evening. And (except for the fizz) all would be in magnum, including a rare Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2000 which would highlight the evening. 

The fizz would prove to be Amiot's Cremant de Bourgogne, which came across as somewhat light in weight and unfortunately a bit ordinary, though again the context is important - sucking on Ruinart, Pommery and Bolly for the past few days will do that to a wine. But it was nice to be out in the chill with the dark coming in and the table beckoning. And the menu all in English some more. Fantastique.

Chef Luc gets the Bird

We all got seated and the table dinner setting was opulent and impressive. Fabrice gave a quick description of the fields and wines. He proved amiable and charming and generous and great company. He also promised to take us up to where the grapes were being picked at 8am the next morning. O joy - nothing like an early morning walk to shake the bones and brain awake. Bloody French. 

At around this point Chef Luc came out from the Montrachet kitchen to show the Bresse chicken in its pot that would get done two ways. It looked already steamed and skin roasted and got photographed to death by everyone. I know they ban flash photography in museums, which got me wondering whether it does anything to food? Does the food absorb some ultraviolet or sub infra red waves from the flashing that cause cancer? Hmmm….

We started with an amuse bouche of Foie Gras mousse with shallots which would prove a creamy, smokey, onion oily bite to get the mouth in gear. It was excellently smooth and creamy with just enough salt intensity to tickle rather than bite the tongue and cheeks. This was very well done. 

The 2008 "Chaumes" was getting poured and would prove a total charmer, all lush honey apples and chewy fruit with dates and raisins in there somewhere. Felt and tasted like Christmas, all rich and pudding-like. In excellent balance with a nice bite and mid length on the finish. 

Grilled Fillets of Mackerel with Beetroot and Raspberry

One doesn't often see Mackerel on a menu in our part of the world and to see it in such an august setting as the Montrachet was a little odd. Mackerel was always the cheap fish, the one you bought in a tin from the supermarket and mashed it up in pasta for a cheap student dinner. Notwithstanding, these fillets were excellent and bereft of that oily fishy tang that a strong mackerel can often give off. There was still enough oil in the fish for taste, but not so much as to give that sensation of swallowing the gunk at the bottom of the supermarket tin. Given the almost perfect texture and feel, the suspicion was the Mackerel had been prepared sous vide for better control over the cooking time. It was lovely. The Beetroot and Raspberry gave natural fruit acidity to the fish yet did not overpower and the ensemble became a perfect blend of firm lightly omega 3 oiled texture with sweet acidity. My mouth is watering at the memory. 

"Dayveed, yoo are laike mai waine?"   "Tony, do I like his wine?"   "Yes you do."  "Yes Fabrice, I do. Oui."

The Chaumes didn't quite match for me. The beetroot and berry acidity seemed to fight the Christmas Day honleylush feel of the wine. Partly the same with the fish - didn't quite gel together. There you go - food was excellent, wine was excellent, but not a marriage made in gastronomic heaven. 

Wine Two was again a Chassagne Montrachet but from a different climat and year. The 2007 "Macherelles" was clean and lean and with a fantastic Opal Fruits raspy citrus whack in the cheeks. Very little oak, which let some honey and chewy toffee notes come through. Dear Leader thought it needed time - well and okay - I gave it ten seconds more and walloped the boy. O lovely - like a smell of spring bells ringing the air in the fields whilst mineral water tinkles and dances over the stones of the years. Wow - seriously transported by this wine.

Hake with Artichoke Barigoule. Yum.

It was well paired with the rich Hake, whose oil and salt countered the fruit and acidity of the wine. Well tasty. Most of the veg went untouched due to detecting a slight hit of capsicum on first nibble. But the artichoke was fantastic - crisp and full of flavour and taste. Seems Barigoule is a traditional Provencal dish where the artichoke is braised with onions, garlic and carrots in a seasoned broth of wine and water. Well wicked. Killed the wine, though….

Bresse Chicken breast

The Bresse Chicken breast felt a bit on the dry side, but still moist enough to let the taste of the bird come through. Firm and crunchy bite, helped by some wonderfully seasoned fatty chicken skin - combo is total yum. For me, the chanterelles and bits of green healthy looking leaves did little to help and hindered rather than helped the bird. So it goes. This was simply done and well done as a result. 

That 2000 Montrachet moment...

We were on to the big boy for the night, the 2000 Montrachet Magnum. And big boy it was. Crispily light body, and so many layers of aromas going on. I was getting honey, toast, cream - and a total sense of terroir in the nose. Never got this before. Kind of underlining and somehow validating the deeply imagined sense of how a proper White Burgundy of the local earth should smell. Strange - can't quite put the words here. Perhaps one needs to be drunk in Burgundy and drunk ON Burgundy to feel it. Endless honey on the nose. I was drinking greatness and it was beyond sublime. The total exquisite Business. But it had to be drunk quite quickly - left a bit in the glass for later and it seemed to gain a sharp sour note. 

The Bresse Chicken thighs had been finely chopped and loaded into ravioli like pockets, not unlike the big Chinese wantan dumplings we get at the hawkers, and floated with more chopped thigh in a consomme pond. The Chicken was a bit dry, and not enough season for me in either bird or soup. Hugely well prepared and presented, just needed something to give it moistness and more taste. 

Bresse Chicken, er, Ravioli?

The 2003 Les Chaumes Red being paired with it was yet again a belting wine. Excellent weight and supremely well balanced. Spice cherry mouth, black pepper, a full body with good fire, weight and whack, though a surprisingly short finish. Stays well in the mouth, though.

It was about this time that I felt the need to do a Mossie Dixon Sweeper and go in search of any remnants of stunning greatness that might have been left in the bottles waiting to be swept. And imagine my delight when standing on the table was an undrunk bottle of the Montrachet. Delight quickly turned to despair when Dear Leader shared that the boy was corked. We had a sniff and so it proved. Darn sad. Magnum some more. Dixon would have wept. But still probably would have had a glass to double check.  

Map Reading 101 - not recommended any time after aperitifs

I have notes on the dessert but to be frank no real memory of them. There was an amuse dessert of a caramel mint creme on pastry with a sugar candy chip. I was not sure why we were having this here. The cake style pastry and cream fell like lead into the belly and slapdashed the tonsils with that furry gaaaak coating that only whipped cream can give. But it did give a good reason to break out the Rose Cremant - proved an excellent stripper of tonsil gunk. 

(L to R) Rajan, Fabrice, Chef Luc, May, Yin-How and David

I think there was a change to the menu which read Apricots and Ice Cream because we got a kind of cheesecake topped with an almond toffee crisp with a caramel smear and a scoop of ice cream on the side. I think perhaps the apricots were infused into the cream and in the jam sandwiched between the biscuit and the cream. I kind of liked it, but the combo of apricot and almond didn't quite work for me. It was tasty enough, but maybe a bit too large a finish given the preceding dishes. 

It was similar for the Rose Cremant - nice enough but somehow not quite pairing with the food and having some very hard vinous acts to follow. Nice wine, perhaps wrong place. Though it seems that finishing with Bubbles is very Burgundian. 

All the Magnums. Magnifique.

Ewwww  alert - whilst I was sniffing the Rose I accidentally snorted some of the wine bubbles. For the first time I had fizz going up the nasal passages and connecting directly with the brain and sinus. The bubbles literally blew my mind and nose and brought tears to the eyes. Cleared a lot of wax from the ears too. My writing seems to be getting quite body function focused. Must be France. Or the Champagne breakfasts. Oui.

The delightful petit fours and coffee ended the night very nicely, though some had already left the proceedings to hit the hay. A most pleasant evening with great food and stunning wines. Looking back at this time, I can't truly say that I remember any of the tastes of the dishes.The notes and the photos bring them back but as alluded to earlier there was little of the "stun" factor that some dishes through the years have done for me. Would I go back? Probably not - if ever back in Beaune I'd go for the Bresse Chicken at the Hotel de Ville we had visited in 2013. Now THAT was a stunning bird. Great steak too. But the wines were magnificent.

And then the evening was done. As said, many had headed off to bed though a few remained to party on. We decided against and slunk off straight to bed for an earlyish night. Some of us had an early start on the morrow to go tramp the fields. I had been instructed to sleep because I would be one of them. Yes. Bon nuit….

My name is Bond. Short Bond. Six inches. Oui.

Le Montrachet Menu

Aperitif: Cremant de Bourgogne

Grilled fillets of Mackerel, Beetroot and Raspberries with Tarragon

Chassagne- Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Chaumes" 2008

Line-caught hake with olives, confit pepper, artichoke, barigoule

Chassagne- Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Macherelles" 2007

Casserole of Bresse chicken in two ways: 

- the breasts with chanterelles and fresh almonds

Le Montrachet 2000

- the thighs in consomme

Chassagne- Montrachet  "Les Chaumes" 2003

Fresh Apricots and Almonds, Ripple Ice Cream

Cremant de Bourgogne Rose


"And 'ere are ze Bolly grapes, but doo not touche or Monsieur Bond weel shoot yoo..."

Champagne Bollinger
16, rue Jules-Lobet – B.P.4 – 51160 Aÿ FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0) 3 26 53 33 66
Fax : +33 (0) 3 26 54 85 59
n° TVA : FR 19 334 594 777
capital social : 4480 000 €
n° Siret : 334 594 777 000 16
Contact mail : contact@champagne-bollinger.fr

Au Fil Du Zinc

18 rue des Moulins

89800 Chablis FRANCE

03 86 33 96 39

aufilduzinc@orange.fr

Hotel Le Montrachet

10 place du Pasquier de la Fontaine
21190 Puligny-Montrachet

Tel : +33 (0) 3 80 21 30 06
Fax : +33 3 80 21 39 06

info@le-montrachet.com

Au Fil Du Zinc Chef Ryo (right) with Pitt Lee, David and Suzuki