+1 on both posts. Great to meet “webbed” people at such events, but, like Bob too many people (and for me, more than 7-8 special wines), and I’d rather skip such events. Sensory overload and intellectual frustration. Disrespecting great wines by putting them in gladiator extravaganzas…is a real turn off for me. Even if I spit and take notes, and appreciate the generosity involved, I always regret going…other than to meet people. (Worse than creosote!)
I was in town, but not for Burgundy. I was at a Madeira event. Don’t think anyone was disappointed in our little get together.
About 40 people per table.
Huh? How and why would anyone put 40 people on a table? 8-round is probably the max for real conversation. Even 10 or 12 on a rectangular table leads to separated ends. I guess they just want to pack as many people in as possible. Lends some credence to Andrew’s complaint.
Ken, I think they are trying to emulate the La Paulee de Meusault with these long skinny tables. They certainly are not conducive to talking, except for the person directly in front of you. Also Don who was at the other end of my table might as well have been at another table.
Nice wines Andrew. However people have to realize that you are in a room full of heavy lumber, some of the heaviest in fact and that a top wine from the likes of DRC or Rousseau etc., from a good vintage is the key to maxing out your Paulee experience IMO.
Larry sitting next to me brought a Savigny, two 2004 reds from average producers that were green and a mediocre 2006. Jim sitting across from me had 2001 Jayer Cros and 1993 Mugnier moose.
Paul, just like in real estate location, location, location is the most important. Without that you can be the best house on the block, which isn’t good for you overall.
Just curious, if you have a crew of Burgheads of say a dozen give or take, can you ask the organizers to sit all of you together?
You were in the Location, la Paulee Gala Dinner attended by Aubert d V, C roumier, JM Fourrier and some of the top collectors in the world. You have 4 people out of 400 sitting next to you.
You can ASK (as I did; as Andrew did) but in our cases, it didn’t work.
One memory I have is of Robert Parker being at the event when I was there–when we were on friendly terms. I went up to Bob with my bottle of DRC Richebourg in hand, to offer him a taste/glass. I remember his reply. “Normally, I’d jump at the chance to taste that, but tonight with so many legends, I just have to say no.”
I concluded that it really wasn’t my scene.
Wow. Regardless of the wines, this sounds like an easy pass. I would rather have some say over what I tasted and who I met. Mitch Hersh put together a 2-day event a few years ago that was much more my style as there were actual themes and more serious organization.
This kind of free-for-all makes more sense in Burgundy itself.
Easy pass for me. I had two terrific dinners with guys in town for La Paulee on Wednesday and Friday. I would much rather do an eight people dinner with great wine that we bring at 1/10th of the cost of that gala dinner.
Yes. In general, I think Daniel, Bethany, Shelley, et al try to do this if at all possible.
I have very mixed feelings after going to a La Paulee. It was a great experience, but it’s a noisy, frantic evening. The wines are superb, the food very good (amazingly good considering the number of diners) and it’s a chance to catch up with old friends. It’s also a mega competitive night, and a chance to share bottles of great interest and value. The problem is that there were so many goodies around, that you do stupid things like pour away La Tache 1972 because somebody offers you an old Musigny. The number of extraordinary wines which are lost, poured or passed over is horrific. Sadly, there is far too much wine and it’s hard to appreciate everything in that one crazy night. You try everything from the humble to the majestic, and at the end you can’t remember any of them, and your notes have regressed from the neat to Rorchach ink blots, and later are utterly indecipherable.
At the end of the evening, I staggered out looking for the loo, and instead found myself in a small room where the corked wines had been taken. DRCs, Leroys a Jayer or two, plus incredible and lesser name wines which would be prized if I opened them even for a special occasion. Also there, were the Cote de Beaunes from lesser vintages, and nice drinking wines from good negotiants. In other words, exactly the kind of wines served at La Paulee. All corked…wish I believed in screw tops.
Like many other New Yorkers, I went to a simpler dinner with some beautiful wines, and left feeling incredibly happy. For me, a chance to linger over some lovely wines beats the scrum of the La Paulee. But I missed it, and have been hearing from friends how good it was this year. It has been many years, and I think I will do another, but probably a little more wisely and slowly than the first time.
Some of my personal lessons from going to this event several times.
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Lots of fantastic wine is going to be poured and then poured out. If you are wanting to have an extremely contemplative bottle poured, save it for one of the small dinners with a few guys. It will
be a waste at the the big event unless you are willing to forgo other experiences. If you are extremely wealthy and own a ton of great bottles, this won’t be so important. -
Bring excellent wines you will enjoy at your table and then be happy with anything else that comes around or you are willing to chase down. There will always be something. We had 1971 Lafon Meursault Perrieres and 1985 Dujac Clos de la Roche both cellar direct and amazing. I don’t need DRC at this event although it is a joy to taste. Enjoy the people. It might be your only time to see them. There will always be more great wine in the future. BTW, sometimes wines surprised. We had a 1983 Rene Engel Clos Vougeot that was close to the best wine I tried all night. It was our wine and it was magic! (N.B. Andrew. I wished I got a chance to give you some of this personally. I did to the Jobards. That was my fault for not coming over. It was a 750 and didn’t last long. )
3.Understand that it is a Paulee which is a party. The finances of this evening will not make sense no matter how you slice it. Don’t even try. (I drilled this into the heads of my 6 friends from ATL who initially made the fatal mistake of thinking that all the wines should be supplied for that price. It is a Paulee by definition. If you try to justify the price, you will never attend. ) In order to enjoy it, you have to surround yourself with like minded souls and just enjoy the experience. It is an amazing experience. Festive and friendly. Very much like the Paulee de Meursault in many ways which I have attended once.
Hope this helps some who might consider going in the future. It can be a great event. You just have to have your expectations met. That requires some mental planning or if you are lucky, knowing the right folks. FWIW.
^^^^ Don summed it up as best as possible. It is a really crazy, really fun night, but only if you let go of (a) the cost and (b) the expectation that it is an evening of contemplation. It is a wine orgy, and like other types of orgies, you will be disappointed if at the end you are saying “I wish I had spend more time with that one person.”
I was at your table, because I definitely came to talk to Jim and got a pour of the Cros P.
The 93 Bouchard La Romanee was really, really good. How big was that bottle, 6L?
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the food. The snails dish by Chef Ramirez of Brooklyn Fare was fantastic, and certainly like nothing you would ever see at a banquet. All of the chefs were in the house, by the way, so even if they didn’t plate every single dish, it was their food you were eating.
Actually, you just have to get up and move around. This was my first Paulee, I was sitting at a table with literally only two people I knew, but I managed to try some ridiculous wines. Almost all of my wines of the night were from the complete opposite end of the room. Grab your bottle and hit the road trading pours.
Too much work cruising the room for tastes.
I’m sorry your expectations weren’t met.
But your expectations didn’t match the nature of the event.
This thread should be required reading for anyone thinking about attending.