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One of my favorite series of tastings has begun in San Francisco and it's time to get to Fort Mason on Sunday for the Grand Tasting. The list of producers is staggering this year and this is one ticket that is more than worth the price of admission.
Please note that online ticket sales will close on Friday, June 26th at Midnight. Tickets will be available at the door for the Grand Festival on Sunday, beginning at 11am for the same price.
Leave it to my kids to pick such a foodie dinner for their first attempt at cooking dinner with no parents around! Chez Panisse's Goat Cheese Salad and Giada De Laurentiis'
Cappellini Aglio Olio. Both were perfectly cooked and they set a lovely table with linens, candles and a paper crown for me! I'm a proud Pop.
I was extremely fortunate to be invited to a brave tasting last night put on by Alyssa Rapp of Bottle Notes, Tim McGarr of Global Vintuition, and our hosts T.J. and Valeta Rogers of Clos de La Tech. Why Brave? It's one thing to pour a Pinot from a vineyard in Woodside, California next to examples of the world's best Pinot regions, it's another to taste it next to a 1987 Domane de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux. This wasn't a blind tasting, so the notion of Clos de La Tech vs. DRC in a head-to-head taste-off should be dismissed. The point was to showcase some great examples of Pinot around the world and see what markings are ones that Clos de La Tech is going for and see how it stands up. If you read no further, know that it stood up extremely well and should be considered strongly recommended if you can get your hands on some.
The connection to DRC is no mistake. Silicon Valley entrepreneur T.J. Rogers, CEO of Cypress Semi-Conductor equates good Pinot with Burgundy and good Burgundy with Romanée-Conti. He and his wife, Valeta, want the best of what DRC has in it: minerality, black fruits instead of bright cherry ones, mushroom/forest floor not oak, tension between fruit and acid. They visited DRC to pick Aubert de Villaine's brain as best they could and use that visit, the knowledge inside a great bottle of DRC, and the entrepreneural spirit of Silicon Valley to help guide them into producing world-class Pinot.
While lots of California Pinot producers strive for the same things, often they end up with a Pinot that is distinctly New World. Clos de La Tech wines are pushing to be part of the new Old World. And by picking impossibly steep terrain to plant on, like many of the best vineyards in the world, T.J. was forced to design some literally game-changing farming equipment that can make a real difference in the wine world. They worked with Clemens GmbH to design a cable-driven tractor built like a mars rover to handle super-steep terracing. This award-winning design will open the doors
to planting on slopes that were previously accessible only on foot or donkey. So do not dismiss Clos de La Tech as just some vanity project. Having the money to build machinery to solve not just their problems, but those that have plagued wine makers for centuries will make a real difference in the wine world and they are making serious, world-class Pinot.
On to the wines of the night:
My two favorites of the set were the 1987 Domane de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux and the 2001 Clos de La Tech, Domaine du Docteur Rogers for different reasons, but these were the two wines I could drink all night.
2004 Dry River Pinot Noir, Martinborough, N.Z. - stayed a tad closed through the tasting but was a dense, tightly woven wine with scents of strawberry-rhubarb pie with a touch of green stemminess.
2004 Giaconda Pinot Noir, Manua Vineyard, Victoria Austraila - Lots of mushroom/truffle aromas and pretty black fruits. A touch of barnyard funk on the nose and is also a bit green. Nice on the palate with a good long finish.
2000 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley - this one smelled like a freshly-baked cherry clafloutis, with the slighly burned cherry aromas and bits of bready aromas. This may have had a touch of brettanomyces as the nose had a funk one small step beyond. Also had a pretty strong SO2 scent at first, like a struck match which dissipated pretty quickly. Drink this up as I doubt it will improve any with age.
1987 Domane de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux - always a treat to try a DRC (Thanks, T.J. and Valeta!) and this one was really interesting. Because it was 22 years old, it had lost the fresh raspberry aromas that are in young Échézeaux and has settled into comfortable old age. It has acquired scents of mushrooms and ancient fruit along with black tea. Towards the end of the night, the scents transformed into something quite like beef. This came from a magnum and still the wine had dried out slightly, so you have 750s of this wine, I think this is the time to try one.
2001 Clos de La Tech, Domaine du Docteur Rogers -A stunner even after tasting the DRC right before it. There is still a hint of red raspberry fruit concentrated deep inside that points to New World, but does not immediately say "California". If I tasted this blind, I would think it was top Oregon Pinot, or Burgundy. It has a unique scent of mint/menthol (in a good way) mixed with forest floor and mushrooms. This is drinking perfectly now, but has the structure to evolve into something else entirely in the next 20 years. Highly recommended.
2003 Clos de La Tech Domaine Valeta - a dusty wonder. Bigger and denser than the DDRogers, its compass points a bit closer to California, but is certainly an excellent wine. The tannins have more grip and it seems like a riper wine in general. Lots of aromas of liorice, violets and dark black fruit. Recommended.
Extra treat: 2006 Clos de La Tech Domaine Lois Louise Tete de Cuvée - This has the same earthy profile as the 2001 DDRogers, but as it's still a couple years away from release, still has a youthful vigor and tension. Dark and brooding but not over-ripe in the slightest. I could smell lavender and white truffle. Others suggested crushed mussel shells. Very serious long finish with great secondary aromas. Another very serious effort and from a newer area facing the Pacific Ocean on super-steep slopes. There will be more of the Domaine Lois Louise vineyard designate wine, but only one barrel of the Tete de Cuvée produced. Keep your eyes out for this. Another stunning effort.
The plan was to try to visit a couple of producers in Burgundy and then head down south to Beaujolais but my travel companion O, and I could only get one proper appointment before we left the states and that was at a cave that neither one of us knew too much about other than having an excellent reputation: Mugneret-Gibourg. My readers will find a theme here as we go along, but this is not only made by women --two sisters, but the whole facility is run by women from Grandma down to the kids. Domaines Mugneret-Gibourg was started before WWII with a small plot of Vosne-Romanée and since then various plots of premier cru vineyards have been added to the domaine's holdings . We tasted with Marie-Andrée Nauleau mostly from their tiny tanks.
Domaines Mugneret-Gibourg
2007 Bourgogne - light, floral, tense in the mid-palate. This was from the original Vosne-Romanée plot but this parcel was declassified in 1935.
2007 Vosne-Romanée
Their basic Vosne-Romanée and it is showing very nicely with dusty bramble overtones.
2007 Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Chaignots" - a little softer than the Vosne-Romanée but super-clean in the finish. Beginning to get some nice raspberry character This is a very elegant wine. Very good.
2007 Chambolle Musigny "Les Feisolettes" - earthy firm tannins are characteristic of this wine with blue and black berry flavors. Such a sweet nose. Very good.
2007 Nuits Dt. Georges "Les Vignerons"- Darker and denser than anything so far with tighter tannins. This one should go the long haul.
2007 Echezeaux Grand Cru - my favorite of the tasting with raspberry scents. Deep and dense from two parcels so you get the minerality from the slope and the maturity from the floor. This is a fabulous blend and it is the same one that Marie-Andrée's grandfather put together first many years ago. Excellent.
Next up were two different Chambertins from the same basic plot but the first made from younger grapes that can not be called "Ruchottes" and the other from older vines still classified. The young vine wine is called "Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru" 2007. This is a hugely complex wine, layered, chewy and thick. the 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin "Ruchottes" has even denser levels of black raspberries and and earthy base. Very good.
2007 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru from a plot from 1954 was very floral, refined and pretty.
2006 Nuit St. Geroges 1er Cru "Les Chaignots" - a little bit darker and settled, but not quite as elegant as the 2007s.
After a little snack in Beaune, we were off to Beaujolais in search of great natural wines and two nights in a row at the amazing Auberge du Cep in Fleurie.
The plan was to stay at Chateau Thivin and use that as our base for two days, but when we arrived, we discovered that two members of the family had booked the gite to two separate parties and we were out of luck. They found us a place in Montmerle called Hotel Emile Job and after our tasting, drove us there to make up for the error. We were hosted by the family's daughter in-law, a young woman from a Swiss winemaking family with a good command of English. There were two wines that I particularly liked.
2007 Chateau Thivin Côte de Brouilly "La Chapelle" - this is from a plot of land from volcanic basalt with lots of minerals and clove spiciness. Big and round, it has the aroma of a rasperry claflouti.
NV Chateau Thivin Brut de Gamay - very lively mousse in the mouth with a lovely dusty, Gamay nose. There is more than a touch of sweetness to this for a nice aperetif.
Auberge Du Cep - First Time
A lot has been written, all gushing reviews, from the likes of Apple in the NY Times, and wine/food writers that have come through Fleurie about this restaurant and its' iconoclastic owner/host/chef, Mm. Chantal Chengny. She smiles behind her dark glasses and instantly makes one feel at home, in her excellent English or her soft French.
While we were absorbing the staggering amount of local cru Beaujolais on the list, she sent out some amuse-bouches that made us instantly fall in love with the place for its unique simplicity and attention to flavor. On the plate were three tiny canapés; sweet onion confit, the best tapanade I've ever had, and one with a smear of fois gras. On the side were some slightly bigger toasts to pair with the radishes, fleur du sel, and stunning butter.
My first course was a generous bowl of white asparagus velouté with a few simple stalks of tender green asparagus floating inside. It's the simple things that impress. She got the bowl exactly the right temperature so that the soup was hot to the last drop, but not cooked on the side of the bowl.
Mm. Chengny is famous for serving the best frog's legs, so I had to have them. Fresh frog's legs when cooked properly, they are a treat and these were the best I will probably every have. She butchers her own frogs and lets them relax on ice for two days before delicately frying them in butter and serving them en Persillade. Sublime --and one of the best things I had in France this trip.
I went for the cheese: perfect Comté, one-day-old local Chèvre, both runny and firm St. Florian (like an epoisse) so we could taste both, and an incredible Bleu de Bresse. Great with the Foillard Morgon 2000. We also had a fresh farmers cheese with a tiny bit of white sugar on top which was so fresh and delicious!
Dessert was local cassis sorbet and vanilla ice cream with a fresh black cassis sauce, as good as it sounds. Here's the menu. This is a restaurant worth any amount of travel to. We were so lucky to have reservations for the next night too!
First Day: Arrive in Paris
After sleeping off the effects of my overnight flight, the first stop on my gastro-eno-tour was a relatively new winebar called "La Cremerie" in the 6th, specializing in natural wines. If you want to go, and you should, call or email ahead and make sure you get a table for a snack and a glass or two of wine, as their license only allows you to have wine with a bit of food.
La Cremerie wine bar
Serge and Hélène Mathieu
Open tues. - sat 10:30 to 10 pm, sun 10:30 - 2 pm
Reservations (required) +33-01-43-54-99-30
ODEON
9, rue des Quatre Vents
75006 Paris
lacremerie@gmail.com
Many of the wines on the shelves were oddly familiar and it was obvious that Mr. Rimmerman from Garagiste must have tasted some of these wines before offering to us back in the states.
Speaking to Serge the owner (who grew up in America so his English is perfect), confirmed that he comes in there every time he's in Paris and hangs out. We got a couple glasses of wine as that is what we are here to do, no? Serge also recommended what turned out to be one of my favorite Beaujolais later in the week from Yvon Metras.
The first thing I had was totally new to me. 2005 Cour-Cheverny "Les Acacias" from Le Domaine du Moulin. (Pictured is the 2006) made by Hervé Villemade in the Loire. This wine is light in weight and texture with a great earthiness to it. Plenty of minerality too. Biodynamic and a grape I was unfamiliar with, Romorantin. I'll be looking for this in the States.
Next up was a red wine from Touraine, Loire: P. Sinoutti Vin du Table; This is 100% Gamay with huge clove overtones. The body is light but the wonderful spicy scents that come off the glass make me want to drink this all night. Delicious and a great accompaniment to the pork and rabbit terrine we had as a snack.
Then off to Chez Michel for dinner. Reservations are essential.
Chez Michel
10 Rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 53 06 20.
I was here back in 2005 on my first tasting trip to France and had my favorite dish I've had so far in France --brouillade au truffle. Since it's no longer truffle season, I went seasonal with poached asparagus in a warm lobster vinagarette. Both white and green asparagus were warm and cooked perfectly with a very lightly lobster-ish vinagarette. Then quite probably the best chicken I have ever had, called a CouCou de Rennes, from Brittany. Brittany is known the world over for having some of the best chickens, all free-range, with long legs and small breasts, and this particular breed is known as one of the best in Bresse. The preparation was amazing. First they bring out the breast/wing portion, crispy and topped with some great spices, floating in morel cream sauce, then when the legs are done, they bring out the earthenware crock with the rest of the bird, resting in the cooking juices, leeks, thyme and bay leaves. Two sauces are better than one!
Wine for this was a 2006 Foillard Fleurie that was delicious but served ice cold. Beaujolais should be served a little cool, but this was a mistake. Towards the end of the bottle it was showing beautifully, but it took easily a half-hour to get to the right temperature.
Warning: This is another personal post...
I left L'Avant Goût in Paris tonight with a feeling of elation, not just because the food was inventive and the wine was unknown and surprisingly excellent, but because I proudly got through another trip to Europe safely. For anyone that travels and eats in foreign countries, just walking into a restaurant, getting a table, and parsing the menu is tough enough, but add to it the need to express the importance of paying attention to a food allergy can be extra-intimidating.
French service is sometimes cool and it often takes a waiter a course or two to warm up to any American with limited French. You read it in all the guide books, but yes, if you work at expressing yourself in French you begin to make up for the hoards of Americans who bark English at everyone.
If you're used to being in good restaurants where everyone is on their best behavior, it becomes a struggle not just to be understood, but to be polite and I have worked really hard at ma politesse this trip. Saying please and thank you at the right time goes a long way, especially if you say it with a smile. I generally like a collaborative relationship with my servers and you can not do that in a foreign country without doing your best to be polite.
I was also left with a burning desire for my children to somehow feel this same kind of satisfaction someday with being on their own somewhere where they are not fluent in the language; navigating with maps and subways with purpose, ending up at home safely with a full belly and tired feet.
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