Wine Drinking In Burgundy Is Good

We were about to rendezvous with William Kelley at Au Fil du Zinc in Chablis. Patrick asked me how I knew William. Having explained that I met him in an online wine chat room, Patrick responded with ‘that is not good cyber safety daddy’.

When we arrived at the restaurant it was a balmy 2 degree Chablis day. Patrick was wearing shorts, much to the delight of the manager. He got us seated and we strapped ourselves in for a terrific lunch, of Japanese fusion food and a trio of classic bottles.

Much like Le Soufflot, there is a page of ‘big hitter’ bottles, where you can select a single bottle for the table from. We chose a 2011 Raveneau, but the manager suggested a 2010 that wasn’t on the list. Brilliant suggestion! The 2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montmains has tightened considerably over the past 24 months. Smells of oyster shell, mint and citrus blossom. It is dense, layered and intense. Loaded with citrus and finishing with outstanding cut. Grand Cru length!

Having not technically had a wine of the ‘greedy page’ yet, William thought he’d try his hand at extracting a Ramonet from it. His conversation with the manager headed towards aged Ramonet territory. I think he was mis-heard, and we ended up with a bottle of 1986 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux, again not on the list. It poured out glistening and bright, with a green rim. Fabulous aromas of Ligurian honey, lavender, beeswax and preserved lemon. Full, round, textured and spicy. There’s a hint of vanilla and some cinnamon. There is just a hint of white mushroom and the finish, whilst relatively low in acid, was fresh and invigorating. It is complete wine of great character and thoroughly engaging the whole bottle through.

There is a handy little selection of Rayas at very reasonable pricing. We opted for a 2008 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve. This is an elegant rendition of Rayas, that draws you in with its subtlety. It smells of decaying rose, black earth, red berry and blood. It is mid-weight, beautifully balanced and plays in that perfect space between sweet and savoury. There’s a hint of coffee and structural elements are present but gentle. It possesses sneaky persistence.

The luncheon menu started with fresh oysters, spring onion and mirin with pickled leek. There was a delicious boudin noir that looked like a black river stone. Green asparagus soup was creamy rich and intense and followed by two beautifully cooked spears, one done in a tempura batter. There was an intriguing dish of lobster that had a meat jus that bound it together. The dish of the day was a braise of lamb in a light reduction of pan juices. It came with crunchy new season root vegetables. Strawberries and cream with meringue completed the menu.

Au Fils du Zinc is an outstanding restaurant. Spacious, lovely setting. Attentive, friendly service and food that is cooked with passion and a light hand. The wine list is killer!

Yummy , I want to go there . And check out that list

+1, Herwig! Btw, is this the place that Francois A. frequents?

+1

Thanks for posting this - it’s made me green with envy (the part about Chablis wine and food not the comment lol).

I have some '08 Rayas. Sounds good! Looking forward to opening one soon.

My wife made a similar remark about “meeting men on the internet”

Had a brilliant bottle of 1996 Dauvissat Forest last night, next time you’re in Chablis you’ll have to stay longer, Jeremy.

Very much looking forward to our June visit!

Jeremy and William,

We missed you at Au Fil du Zinc by just a few days. What a memorable dinner! We ordered the 2010 Raveneau Chapelot, which was great, as well as the 1986 Raveneau Butteaux that you also enjoyed, served to us blind, and it was amazing. We also had the 2010 Raveneau Mont Mains as you ordered, the prior evening at the sister restaurant, Trois Bourgeons.

I took some notes on the 1986 Raveneau Butteaux, per Fabien the manager, which may add color to your tasting note: 1986 was a very sunny year, with a beautiful end of season. Raveneau decided to do an experiment and let the grapes get a little more ripe (“mûr”), and then he put the wine in two barrels of new oak. After he tasted it, he decided it was “too weird” and he couldn’t sell it, so he bottled it with extra sulfur to make it last. He put it aside in the cellar for years until he let the restaurant have it, recently. It’s never been sold.

I found the wine to intriguing, complex, unlike any Chablis I’ve ever had, very savory, brothy, secondary, tertiary, long in the mouth, honeyed, with some wintergreen and brothy notes.

Thanks for your excellent trip notes, Jeremy.

I will definitely stay longer in Chablis next time, William. Was the Dauvissat a magnum?

May thanks for the info, Asher.

In Burgundy, perhaps, but in Paris when the Notre Dame is burning, maybe not so much.

That is right, and I have had this special bottling a few times before, but each bottle is a bit different and the bottle Jeremy and I drank was actually almost indistinguishable from the regular bottling of 1986 Butteaux (and very typical of the vintage in Chablis as a whole). In the past, I have seen people waxing lyrical about it and been a little skeptical, thinking it was more of a curio, but on this occasion I was certainly hearing the music.

Last night was a 750 ml, tomorrow will be the time for magnums.

Quick lunch at Le Soufflot with a couple of tasty whites.

2016 Coche-Dury Bourgogne Blanc. It started with relatively simple peachy aromas and flavours. With air more spice became apparent and it tightened up. There’s good depth and it could do with a few years bottle age to develop more complexity.

2011 Domaine Roulot Meursault Les Narvaux: Relatively tight, bound up by its sulphur. It had plenty of citrus fruit, good volume and a fine, chalky mineral quality. The finish was cut by grapefruit-like acidity.

A longer lunch at Le Terroir with a couple of very tasty whites and a delicious red.

2015 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Combes: It pours out so fresh. It is elegant, pure and stony. There are green apple and citrus fruits and plenty of mineral. It is compact and linear with great drive and superb cut. An atypical ’15 of frenetic energy.

2011 Domaine Roger Belland Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, Grand Cru: Had a gorgeous nose of ripe orchard fruits, aniseed, butter and mint. It is rich and heady in the mouth, with layers of flavour. It tightens somewhat in the glass to display florals and more spice. It finishes with precision and is supremely long.

2010 Hubert Lignier Morey St. Denis Tres Girard: It had an exact, precise and highly perfumed nose of cherry, rose petal and blueberry. There are delicious fruits, underpinned by vibrant acidity. Texture is fine and lacy, and it possesses outstanding persistence.

Includes purchased grapes from the Mâconnais, interestingly. Raphaël looked for sources that hadn’t been frosted.

William, is this included on the bottle - I would think it should be as this is a “négoce” activity and people should know?

j.0.z.€.f w. (is this your real name?).

The Bourgogne was labeled as Coche-Dury and not Domaine Coche-Dury.

Best Regards
Jeremy

Thank you Jeremy. Haven’t seen this particular bottling yet, but the pictures on the internet indeed mention “Coche-Dury” for the 2016 and “Domaine Coche-Dury” for for instance 2014. Subtle difference…

Best regards,
Jozef

Jeremy gave you the answer! You can find the full story in The Wine Advocate now that you have a subscription

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