OUCH. That would have been a bit hectic… That said Giacosa would be more than ample motivation.
Apologies for not updating sooner everyone. Below is the next instalment.
Part 4:
Monday finally arrived and my excitement was palpable. It was finally time to commence all the domaine visits organised for us in Burgundy. The lion’s share of visits were organised by Domaine Wine Shippers (thanks Kalli!). They have a substantial and impressive portfolio of Burgundies they import here in Australia and were very helpful in organising visits for us. Next up a tip of the hat must go to our very own board legend Jeremy Holmes. I’ve been purchasing Burgundies (both release and aged bottles) through his d’Or to Door retail shop for nearly 3 years now. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy I can tell you right now that he’s a top bloke. He basically told me to let him know once I had my schedule locked in and he’d help fill out the gaps with visits to domaines he direct imports into Australia. Finally in late October I attended the 2015 Burch Family International Pinot Noir Tasting down in Margaret River. After the tasting I had the pleasure of meeting Pascal Marchand who’s 2012 Marchand Tawse Echezeaux happened to be my top wine on the day. I mentioned to him that I’d be in Burgundy a few weeks after the event and he was kind enough to offer a visit.
On Monday morning we departed Pommard early to ensure we weren’t late for our 10am appointment at Jean-Claude Boisset in Nuits St Georges. Jeremy had kindly organised this tasting for us and we were greeted by JC Boisset’s vigneron Gregory Patriat upon arrival. Gregory is a very charming and enthusiastic individual and his an extremely competent English speaker. Here’s a shot of the exterior of the premises in NSG.
The Boisset Cellars are truly a sight to behold. The amount of aged gems in their cellars are enough to get any Burgundy enthusiast’s heart racing. Here are a few photos of the goods. Sadly we weren’t offered a tasting of any of these wines.
After the tour of the cellars we were treated to a tasting of JC Boisset wines. The format was four whites and five reds. Surprisingly we tasted the whites first.
Here are my notes in order of tasting.
2013 JC Boisset Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune – Hint of mineral, good fruit, excellent acidity. A touch simple but quite excellent for a Bourgogne.
2013 JC Boisset Auxey-Duresses Les Crais – Larger but still very tight and acidic. Hint of oak still present but excellent balance.
2013 JC Boisset Meursault Le Limozin – Excellent richness with good fruit supporting. Just a touch of oak on the palate, less than the Les Crais. Quite long.
2013 JC Boisset Puligny-Montrachet Le Trezin – For me this was easily the pick of the whites. Jodi really enjoyed it as well. Very mineral palate with amazing acidity. Long, judiciously oaked with wonderful fruit purity holding it all together.
2013 JC Boisset Nuits Saint Georges Les Charbonnières – 50% stem inclusion. Rose, bright red fruits. Good supporting tannin and quite elegant for a NSG.
2012 JC Boisset Chambolle Musigny – More elegance and finesse when compared to the NSG, which is to be expected. Still tight with more acidity and less tannin than the NSG. The nose displayed impressive florals and spice for the level of wine.
2013 JC Boisset Beaune Les Grèves 1er Cru – 50% stem inclusion. Nice florals, spice, and red fruits on the nose. The palate is quite big compared to the other wines tasted and displays excellent acidity, tannin, and good length. I’ve always been a fan of Grèves and this didn’t disappoint.
2013 JC Boisset Gevrey Chambertin Les Murots – 50% stem inclusion again. Rose, florals, and spice on the nose. Good minerality on the palate underpinned by fine tannin. Very tasty.
2013 JC Boisset Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes 1er Cru – Beautifully elegant nose. Good acid, not overly tannic but somewhat tight. Very young but lovely none the less.
After the tasting Gregory was kind enough to take us on a quick tour of the new premises they’re constructing at the moment. The scale of the building is something else and the comment was made that the grandeur of the facility seemed more suited to Napa than Nuits St Georges. Still, when it’s finally done it will be an incredibly impressive facility. Here’s a shot of Gregory in front of the roof, the plan is to plant vines across it once construction is complete!
And while it doesn’t capture the size exceptionally well here’s another shot of the outside of the building.
And finally here’s a picture of the vine inspired window from inside the facility.
And with that the tasting was concluded. We thanked Gregory for his hospitality and departed for our lunch booking at Ma Cuisine.
Ma Cuisine is exceptional but at its core it still has the feel of a family establishment. Maybe it’s the size of the intimate surroundings, maybe it’s the warm welcome by the proprietors. Regardless there’s a level of comfort that’s palpable in the restaurant. I started by perusing the wine list which is quite exceptional but expected given the amount of trophy bottles that are proudly displayed in this fine establishment.
In the end we thought a white and red with lunch would make the most sense. I made the final call and we chose a 2011 Coche-Dury Meursault to start with and followed that with a 2012 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaumonts. The Coche was quite a treat as it’s the first time any of us had had the pleasure to try one as they’re both rare and quite expensive here in Australia. There’s something pretty special with how it is able to balance richness and power with elegance and purity. The nose had good fruit richness and a touch of oak that added to the experience. The palate was wonderful with its combination of richness, elegance, minerality, and acidity. After a glass it’s pretty obvious why this domaine has the reputation it does. If I could afford it I’d drink these wines regularly. That said I was even more impressed with the Hudelot-Noellat Beaumonts. This was just a terrific young bottle of Beaumonts. I’ve always enjoyed wines from this vineyard and this didn’t disappoint. It displayed the stereotypical elegance that Hudelot-Noellat normally delivers but the aromatics demanded attention. There’s just a touch of toast on the nose to add intrigue as well as bright red fruits. The palate’s depth was really quite impressive and I found the wine incredibly satisfying, especially with our food.
In hindsight I probably didn’t take as many photos of the dishes as I would have liked. That said here’s a few of the plates that reached our table. I can state there wasn’t a bad dish brought out to us. It’s easy to see that Ma Cuisine has the reputation it does for good reason.
Here’s the Jambon Persillé.
The pigeon is stupid good. Easily the best I’ve ever tasted.
As mentioned previously I’m not a huge dessert fan. That said the Almond cake at Ma Cuisine is without a doubt the best dessert I had on the trip. Seriously good stuff.
Finally I should mention a couple more observations. First off, I immensely enjoyed the photos of celebrities being in the toilet. I don’t know if there was an underlying message in the placement of those pics, but I like to believe there was! Also, the empties displayed around the restaurant are a literal who’s who of top Burgundies. I’ve never seen more empties of DRC in my life.
After Ma Cuisine we retired to our rental house in Pommard for the afternoon to recuperate from the morning. In the early evening Cos and I hopped back into the car and took off for our 6pm appointment at Confuron-Cotetidot in Vosne Romanée. We arrived at the appointment and initially were at a bit of a loss as it appeared Yves wasn’t there. So we knocked on the other door of the house and were greeted by a friendly old man who spoke no English. I suspect it was Yves father Jack. Anyway, I fumbled in English and resorted to showing him the appointment print out I had in hopes he’d put it all together despite my lack of effective communication. He gave his best “Oh, I understand” response and disappeared back behind the door. A minute later he re-emerged and relayed the message that he’d made a phone call to Yves and he was a couple minutes away. And sure enough in less than 5 minutes Yves nearly had his little Volkswagen van airborne as he drove onto the sidewalk and parked to greet us.
I say greet, but maybe that’s not the right word. Yves led us to the other door of the house, gestured for us to come in, and disappeared to collect glassware without muttering as much as a word. Initially I was concerned that my lack of French was going to severely hinder our interactions. Luckily I was wrong, Yves speaks English quite well, he just took a bit of time to warm to us. That said I do believe Cos and I either wore him down or won him over; either way in the end we were chatting away with ease.
This entire tasting was us looking at the 2014’s out of barrel. It was our first look at the 2014 vintage and I must say we were really impressed with how well it was showing. All of the Confuron-Cotetidot wines have 100% stem inclusion and are also exceptionally tannic. That’s probably worth repeating, so I’ll say again, the wines are exceptionally tannic. I can’t help but think these are more rustic and traditional red burgundies than what is the norm today. Yves had a bit of a rant about this, specifically how most producers these days were making wines that were really elegant as that’s what the critics and press were after. Imagine a burly Frenchman repeatedly saying the word “elegant” in a French accent whilst gesturing with his hand from his mouth outward in a linear motion. “Elegant, elegant” he would say while gesturing repeatedly. He then said he prefers to make wines that have not only length but also width. He’s after an expansive palate, not elegance. He even went as far as to say “I make Pinot Noir, not Pinot Nouveau!”
Here are my notes from the barrel samples we tasted.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Nuits St Georges – Very NSG typicity in terms of richness of fruit. It was showing quite well.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Chambolle Musigny – Bright red fruits, florals, and minerality. My pick of the three villages.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Gevery Chambertin – More darkly fruited but more restrained when compared to the NSG. Stem spiciness featured prominently.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne Romanée Les Suchots 1er Cru – Definite step up in quality when compared to the villages. Excellent purity of fruit, great length, and an expansive palate. Very high quality 1er with lovely spice and floral aromatics.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Echezeaux Grand Cru – Closed/reductive nose. Very little in terms of aromatics. On the palate though there’s an explosive red fruit hit on entry. It has very good concentration without the feeling of being overworked. I’d love to look at this again once the wine is in a better spot and the nose is more giving.
2014 Confuron-Cotetidot Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru – Unlike the Echezeaux the Charmes Chambertin’s nose was open and ready for business. Beautiful red fruit aromatics, spice, and stem notes. The palate followed the nose and was absolutely stunning with a combination of depth of fruit and minerality. It was long, expansive, and exceptional. A very good Charmes Chambertin in the making.
I didn’t take any really good photos of this visit and I’m somewhat kicking myself that I didn’t. Ah well, maybe next time!
Coming up next: Domaine visits to Henri Gouges, Domaine de La Vougeraie, and Marchand-Tawse.
Andrew, a question: there was a negative review of Thomas Keller’s Per Se restaurant in New York in today’s New York Times, and Ian Dorin started a WB thread on the topic. Part of the focus was the extraordinary price ($325 for openers, and then all manner of surcharges, including $175 a person for white truffles) for what was a less-than-perfect experience. Do you recall, ballpark estimate, what you paid per person at Bovio? (I have not been in a while.) If the truffles were per shaving, do you recall what that cost is? (20-35 euros seems typical these days.) Even an all-in price per person, including wine, might be a useful benchmark for comparison purposes.
Your first French meal seems no slouch as well. I am on my way next month, and I am thinking about popping into restaurants and just mentioning the name “Jeremy Holmes” and seeing what it gets me. (Restaurants, not bars. Based upon what I read here, I worry that invoking his name in bars could get me thrown out before I have a drink, but I do not know for sure… 
)
Great photos and write-up. I love Ma Cuisine!
Barista Bill, let me know if you would like an introduction for Maison Ilan. Ray is very welcoming. Cheers Mike
Yes, but I would have to catch him in the country. Maybe I will just drop Ray’s name at various establishments in Burgundy…
I hear he is very good friends with Aubert de Villaine’s wife, if you want to use it there.
Now you are talking!
Great pictures of the Boisset cellars.; thanks for posting.
Hi Bill. I saw that thread Ian Dorin started yesterday and wanted to make a quip about not throwing the baby out with the bong water but I wasn’t clever enough to put one together! I was very blown away by the costs associated with dining there, I’ve never been to Per Se but I never expected a $325/person as an opening cost would be what they’d charge. Ballpark per person at Bovio was roughly 85 euro each. Our bill was 480 euro and that included the 2010 Cappellano Barolo Piè Franco Otin Fiorin. And yes, I would have been charged extra for the truffles your ball park of 20-35 euros seems about right given the generous helping I was given. Here’s their menu in pdf and as you can see the pricing is quite reasonable given the dishes they deliver. Specifically the degustation I opted for was 45 euro.
http://www.ristorantebovio.it/cgi-bin/menu/menu%20web.pdf
As a further data point, and I am jumping the gun a bit here, but one of the last meals we had on our trip was a Sunday lunch at Ristorante de Cesare. It was the best meal I’ve ever had, we had three bottles with the meal, were seated at 1pm and when we left it was dark. Total cost for the four of us was 807 euro and I’d do it again in a heartbeat given the opportunity. I also just checked on the Ma Cuisine cost and that was 514 euro for the four of us and that included the Coche Meursault and HN Beaumonts.
Sounds like a plan if you ask me! You might want to turn the lights off and say “Jeremy Holmes” in the mirror three times. If you’re lucky he might magically appear in Burgundy and get you all sorts of top tier domaine visits!!!
Andrew, I believe I’ve been seated at that very same table at Ma Cuisine, if memory serves. I am enjoying your posts. Thanks for contributing!
Exactly what I was looking for, Andrew. Thanks. To my mind, Bovio is a better, more authentic, less pretentious dining experience than Per Se for $640 less per head. (I doubt that you would be drinking 2010 Pie Franco at Per Se, either. 
) I am delighted that you got to experience Cesare. There is a long and fascinating history there (including Cesare telling the Michelin folks to keep their star and get stuffed, and putting a sign outside his original place telling prospective diners that, if they had come for the Michelin star, they should get lost!), but it is a sui generis experience, more akin to having a private chef cook for you than merely dining in a ristorante, and almost being given away at 200 euros. Thomas Keller does not possess the imagination or the soul to cook as well as Cesare.
Anytime Bill. As mentioned I can’t do any direct comparisons as I’ve never dined at Per Se but I can state that Bovio was completely devoid of pretension. I had my 17 month old son with me and we were there for over two hours and no one gave us a sideways glance. Another party brought their dog to lunch. I don’t believe young children or pets would be as equally welcomed at Per Se.
As for Cesare, man oh man. I can easily imagine him telling Michelin to sod off. And you’re right, it felt more like dining in someone’s home instead of a ristorante. He’s an incredibly friendly soul and completely down to earth. Our group was so lucky Cos speaks Italian so we could easily communicate. In fact I distinctly recall Cos asking Cesare if he spoke any English. His response (in Italian of course), “English?!? I can hardly speak Italian!”
Great travelogue Andrew. Man I need to get back to Piedmont and yes those '12 Hudelot-Noellats are rather nice.
Bill, we ate at Bovio on the second of January, 2016. The truffle degustation menu was EUR 200 a head. We shook the truffle shavings from our clothes as we left.
Had you called me, Anthony, I would run over with one of those miniature silver-plated hand brooms and dust pans that are sometimes used to brush crumbs from the table before dessert and brushed down your party…and then asked Gianfranco to have the kitchen bring me one of those egg-yolk filled ravioli…
Given the absurdly high truffle prices this season, 200 euros for the truffle menu is damn near giving them away. Roughly $218 for a full, multi-course truffle menu versus a $175 truffle surcharge for a single plate at Per Se? I well grasp the huge difference in overhead, etc., but at $750 per person all-in, one has to ask at what point it makes sense to start shopping for cheap plane tickets!
This is not the appropriate forum, I suppose, but at the suggestion of an all-knowing Piemontese friend, I recently had zabaglione covered with white truffles for the first time. Wow! It takes a deft touch, and I suspect that I might have done a bit better than the chef who tried this for the first time, but one uses Moscato d’ Asti instead of Marsala and less sugar than usual. Zabaglione delivers the two essentials of a great base for truffles: eggs and warmth!
Sounds like you had a great meal and experience there. My wife and I also had a wonderful meal at Bovio in summer of 2014 - the prices for both the food and wine were excellent (could have ordered any of a dozen or two dozen bottles off their list and been thrilled) - and we were lucky that it was a beautiful evening and so our table overlooking the countryside was priceless.
Andrew, I’ve really enjoyed reading about your adventures and lookin at the pictures. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Let me add some thanks as well. I’m hoping to visit Piedmont this year or the next, and your pictures make me want to try for this year!
I had to move from being a lurker to signing up for an account just to say thank you for posting this with such great detail (and pictures!).
Heading to Piedmont myself for two weeks in March, cant wait.