Pierre Yves was in LA for a tasting of his wines sponsored by George Derbalian of Atherton Imports, so George was generous enough to host a dinner at Bouchon for a few lucky invited guests. The dinner was at Bouchon in Beverly Hills and in the private room, so things were quiet and we could discuss all the wines. All wines were served in magnum. To begin was the 2004 Meursault Perrieres, my second time in less than a week with this one. This was still so fresh; young in color but very open aromatically with its touch of sulphur and minerals. So giving of all its flavors and aromas that it was hard to put this wine down - even the empty glass smelled awesome. Next up was the 2004 Montrachet - oily and viscous, with a little mint, but it took the good part of the evening for this wine to show its breed. A superior wine that needs some time but after a couple hours started to give some of its depth of flavor and potential. My WOTN, easily. Next was the 2005 Chevalier Montrachet - even younger still and clearly lighter in color than the Montrachet and even less forthcoming. White flowers and minerals here also with a little more fat than the 2004’s. But even so this will surprisingly take some time to open and show well its full potential.
The reds started with an 85 Faiveley Corton I think. THis wine was probably past its prime but had a nice sous bois nose although the fruit is fading. Next was a 1996 Hospices de Beaune Clos de la Roche with the elevage by Meo Camuzet… Lots of oak and as Pierre Yves said “dusty” and John Tilson said “earthy”. I Iiked it at first but after an hour or so it faded and showed its faults and clearly declined. Next was the 99 Lafon Volnay Santenots. This was my wine, but was requested by George Derbalian since he had never tried it. Very dark in color and certainly extracted to its fullest, this wine shows well in context with GC Burgundies. Lots of underbrush and dark fruits, this was a big wine and Pierre Yves commented that it was too big for a Volnay. Obviously he knows what he is talking about, but for us mere mortals it was a really nice wine. Lastly was a 2002 Joseph Drouhin Hospice de Beaune Mazi Chambertin Madame Collignon. George said for a long time that Frederic Esmonin managed the vineyard, but wasn’t sure whether they did so in this vintage. Good cherry fruit and surprisingly open for a 2002 - my second favorite red after the Lafon.
Another note to the great service at Bouchon by sommelier Alex Weil and is staff - just perfect. And the food was a great match to these wines - lobster quenelles with lobster bisque and coq au vin made with a two hour sous vide.
Thanks to George for hosting this and having Pierre Yves in LA again this year. I hope to get to Burgundy and taste at PYCM again. He is truly making some great white Burgundies.
The following night I tried the 2009 PYCM St Aubin en Remilly - just around the hill from Montrachet. This wine shows a little of the good sulphur that makes white Burgundies so enjoyable young and keeps them fresh. Hints of grapefruit showed with good depth, especially for a $30 wine. Hard to beat this wine for that price!!