Chronicle 159: Champagne Gosset 1985, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er cru Champ Gain 2008, Clos Saint Hune 2007, Ridge 2009 Monte Bello, l’Eglise Clinet 2008 Pomerol, Richebourg 2005 from Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Yquem 2004

We apologise for the late delivery of this chronicle, which is due to unexpected circumstances making it difficult for my translator to respect the usual deadlines. We hope that its late arrival does not detract from your enjoyment. Best wishes An outstanding lunch served with Champagne Gosset 1985, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er cru Champ Gain 2008 from Domaine Leroy, Clos Saint Hune 2007 Alsace, Ridge 2009 Monte Bello California, l’Eglise Clinet 2008 Pomerol, Bonnes-Mares 2009 from Domaine de la Vougeraie, Richebourg 2005 from Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Yquem 2004 Sauternes Chronicle 159 (3 December 2013) Here is an account of a moment of sheer delight organised by my friend Patrick D. an excellent taster and incredible cook. What follows will no doubt give everyone some great ideas for Christmas. For real taste enthusiasts, the best time to enjoy a fantastic meal is at lunch time rather than dinner time, when our taste buds begin to shut down at the end of the day. Outside temperatures also play a role: if it is a little cool outside, the pleasant warmth of the dining room is appealing. If the room is well lit and the light from outside is attractive, we benefit a little more from the decoration and the visual impact of how the meal is served. Everything flows smoothly against a well-defined background. To start, Patrick chose to offer the wines for tasting blind before lunch, then to taste them again with their respective dishes. What a brilliant way to really get to know them in every circumstance! First service Ridge 2009, Monte Bello vineyard, California versus l’Eglise Clinet 2008, Pomerol . So ¾ Cabernet Sauvignon in the American wine compared to ¾ Merlot in the Bordeaux right bank wine. As always the colours of the Californian red wines are dark and intense. This particular wine has a ripe, fruity, but not very elegant nose. The vintage is young, but there is already a slight hint of oxidation and it lacks sparkle. As is often the case in California the fruit is lively, it caresses the palate, while its texture is still quite grainy. It finishes on a sensation of warmth and I’m afraid it has a little too much volatile acidity. Ordinary length. (16 // 90). It won’t be a great sensation during the meal. In comparison l’Eglise Clinet has less colour, is more elegant on the nose with its ripe fruit and lovely overall distinction, although I find it a little shy. (17.5 // 95). It really isn’t easy to say which area this wine comes from. Obviously it feels like a Bordeaux, buts its slim structure, more apparently Cabernet Franc than Merlot, doesn’t make me think of Pomerol. At least for now. It will be more obvious a few hours later. I identified the Californian wine more for its excesses than its subtleties. Subtlety conceals origins behind the complexity of the sensations it triggers. Excess signposts origins. My definition of a great wine is one which waylays the taster and loses him/her on the route to identification. Those who taste with me know my ritual question: “What is missing in this wine, which would make it a greater one?” In this case a more unusual question came out: “What does this wine have too much of preventing it from being a greater wine?” And yet Ridge Monte Bello is usually reputed to be well balanced amongst its peers. Imagine! L’Eglise Clinet displays a mouthfeel of great quality, commanding body and a subtle tannic texture. On the finish, the DNA of this great estate emerges from its hiding place amongst the fine, yet sound tannins and its great persistence. Yes, let’s wait for it until 2018. Second service New glasses. Not decanted as I requested. I want to try these wines as they are without being upset or arranged by decantation. Bonnes-Mares 2009 from Domaine de la Vougeraie versus Richebourg 2005 from Domaine de la Romanée Conti. Wow! Just from the low intensity colours, it is easy to guess that both glasses have Burgundy in them. Confirmation on the nose. The first has truffle hints like a white wine. I wondered if white wine was probably fermented in that cellar. A multilayered nose of fruit and undergrowth with other subtle smells running through. The body melts and is airy, smooth, almost sugar-sweet as only a great vintage can be. The finish persists and is sappy. A hint of firmness, disconnected from the whole, makes me wonder if the harvest was de-stemmed or not. After the smoothness of the fruit this leafy touch is surprising. (17 // 94). I like this Bonnes Mares appellation that some call the poor man’s Musigny. However, I didn’t find the strength I had hoped for in this wine. The Richebourg (17 // 94) has a little more colour. Its very reduced, very animal nose does not appeal to the ladies present and the fruit seems almost too ripe. The palate is round, juicy and full from the outset. The taste, the flesh and fine tannins point the way to a long sappy finish. I still don’t know which wine it is, but I find its expression quite undefined. When I learn its name, I am not surprised by my comment. Twice in the Romanée Conti cellars, I experienced the same limit. A return to l’Eglise Clinet confirms its superiority as the stimulation of our senses unfolds. Third service Puligny-Montrachet, 1er cru Champ Gain 2008 from Domaine Leroy versus Clos Saint Hune 2007 by Trimbach in Alsace. This Puligny is pale in colour with an elegant, subtle nose, where pears, vanilla and truffle dance together and flirt with the nostrils. Very stylish feel on the palate. Its airy, yet commanding body, the way it melts and its aromatic finish reveal its nobility. The lively aromas of ripe fruit as it persists make it impossible to spit out. It just lacks a little strength for me (17.5 // 95), but should I ask for more? Here the very ripe Chardonnay is amazingly imperious and by no means teases the palate in a way that many are unable to emulate. Served at table, the balance of this wine comes to the fore. This is what makes it stand out. I will wait until 2015. Clos Saint Hune 2007 (18 // 96). The fragrances of the Riesling variety supersede the initial aromas of truffle and petroleum. The subtly meticulous sparkle of fruit and its mineral note spike my memory of Clos Saint Hune. Here is a great nose. The palate confirms the presence of its rich, crystalline, gracious texture with bursts of multilayered noble flavour. A lovely sensory experience, which for the moment does more for me than the Burgundy. Lunch is served As we discuss our tasting experiences, four appetisers are served. Red kuri or onion squash paste with Madras curry and parmesan toast. Smoked wild Norwegian salmon, then two mini-toasts: one with a mix of cod’s roe taramasalata, dill paste and Aquitaine caviar, the other with a quince compote, a slice of prawn and caviar. A Champagne Gosset 1985 (18 // 95) in much better shape than the Bordeaux wines of the same age that I have recently tasted, accompanies everything handsomely. Behind its amber colour lie a complex nose of ripe fruit and a hint of honey, perfect with the compote, not in the least oxidised. On the palate, the precision of the mouthfeel, aroma and sparkle brings me to my knees. What a mellow, delicious wine! The firm flesh of the salmon is a marvel for all. And surprisingly the caviar adds its own fragrance without being overpowering. Light shines out of it all. Everyone wants to know where Patrick does his shopping: on line from a source in south-west France: http://www.barthouil.com/ . The starter Roast Norway lobster and monkfish, leek hearts from the garden, cooked with a green aniseed broth, garden spinach and a sherry and honey dressing with a sweet onion paste seasoned with ginger and saffron. Our palates are in paradise! We are spell-bound by the depth of each characteristic taste and the sheer harmony of the combinations. At this point the Puligny Montrachet, so crystalline, literally takes off. It soars past the Clos Saint Hune, which is penalised by a touch of sugar, which simplifies it. I know it will take ten years for age to consume this sugar.Everything lingers so beautifully on the palate! We didn’t know, but the deepest and most subtle was yet to come. Two different types of meat, served side by side. Both exceptional, both contrasting and united, both breath-taking with the wines. Then came the roast pigeon supreme and the roast rib eye of BMS # 8+ Wagyu beef with vitelotte potatoes and a dash of truffled olive oil. (The Wikipedia articles on Kobe and Wagyu beef describe the origins and production of this delicacy. See also the article on Beef Marbling.) L’Eglise Clinet 2008 shares its hint of cream, so characteristic of Pomerol with the almost buttery creaminess of the meat. For pure gratification, I start with the meat. You can never eat enough! What I didn’t know is that alongside the best pigeon ever eaten awaited my attention. It turns out to be so well cooked, yet so soft without the slightest hint of dryness, that it leaves me speechless. It’s spicy and also complex taste unexpectedly marries graciously with the animal, reduced notes of the Richebourg . The gamey tastes of the pigeon and the wine eclipse each other. The fruit of the Richebourg triumphs with imperious strength. I increase its score to 17.5 // 95 and recommend it should be cellared until 2020. The vitelotte potatoes with their distinctive dark violet flesh came from Patrick’s father’s garden. Potatoes are the most loyal ally of the great red wines. Alexandre Dumas himself claimed that the vitelotte variety was the best of all. The colour brightens up the plate, while the potato melts in the mouth. A dash of truffled olive oil lifts it to the summit. The Bonnes Mares 2009 struggles to position itself in this trio. The substance of the other two and its youth relegate it. Wait until 2020. To accompany the end of the bottles, cooked and uncooked pressed cheeses, were served in thin slices, which is the best way when your guests have had enough. Then came the dessert, a homemade sweet with almond and hazelnuts and a fresh Iranian date and spice cream, Sweety grapefruit, pink grapefruit, orange and wild mango from Cameroon. A sauce made from golden kiwis, honey and Argan oil with some green raisins from Pakistan and dried white blackberries from Turkey. A deliciously fresh concoction, just as I like them to cap a fine meal without feeling too full. Patrick hands me a glass of wine blind. From the colour and the nose, it is a sweet white, which I am not mad about for dessert, as Patrick well knows. The nose is fruity, elegant, smooth, delicately roasted and wrapped in the purity and sparkle of the fruit; hints of pear, vanilla and exotic fruits: I think of Yquem. The palate reveals the aromatic world, which becomes a strength for tastiness. There is also the silky feel, which makes the sweetness light and airy. I thought perhaps Yquem or Nairac. In the end the hint of new wood and the grain of the texture make me lean more towards Yquem. It was in fact 2004 (18.5 // 96). A magical wine with exemplary precision, which is straight on the palate and even lean on the finish for a Sauternes. The wine is amplified by the freshness of the dessert and signs off this fine, taste-filled meal, which gave us so much enjoyment. Yquem 2004 is the best bargain to be made from this estate. Its present average price is around €180 before tax. Many thanks for this fantastic lunch with 8 guests. Happy reading! Jean-Marc Quarin _________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2010. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

2013 Chronicles

Chronicle 159: Champagne Gosset 1985, Puligny-Montrachet, 1er cru Champ Gain 2008, Clos Saint Hune 2007, Ridge 2009 Monte Bello, l’Eglise Clinet 2008 Pomerol, Richebourg 2005 from Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Yquem 2004

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