TN: France Trip (Lafon, Roumier, Coche, Rousseau, Raveneau, Dujac, Leflaive, A-L, et al)

WINE TALK
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Just flying home from a whirlwind week in Beaune and Paris. Drank a lot of great wines and ate a lot of great food.

Overall I’d say that it seems wine list prices have increased on average 40-50% over the past couple of years. There’s still some good values to be found, but you have to hunt and it can be difficult depending on location. Across the board not nearly as much that one might consider “cheap” as it was even recently. And we didn’t really find a single deal on DRC on any list below auction price, hence no DRC TNs.

FRANCE 2024 - (6/23/2024-6/29/2024)

Sunday Dinner @ Bissoh

Monday Lunch @ Le Soufflot

  • 2014 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    Wide open and ready to go. Great cut and energy with a broad mid pallet and long finish.
  • 2017 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    Stunning bouquet. Lovely primary fruit with a touch of tannins. Surprisingly open right out of the gate, but benefited by an hour or so of air. Has a density and closed quality typical of Roumier's house style, but also a purity of fruit and broadness that you want. Very enjoyable and not only in a hedonistic way as many BM are wont.

BdM Visit

  • 2020 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    Great cut and tension. Very nice wine and drinking well.
  • 2017 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    A bit more linear, more acid and a bit less lush than the 20. Very good.
  • 2014 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    More layers of development here with the same acid precision, but more depth of flavor with the age. Excellent.
  • 2007 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (6/24/2024)
    Unreal layers upon layers of texture and fruit, floral notes, honeysuckle, butterscotch and caramel notes. Finish drives on and on and on. A very special wine if you can find it.

Monday Dinner @ L'Hotel

Tuesday Lunch @ Ma Cuisine

  • 2020 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru (6/25/2024)
    Quick decant. Singing on the nose right out of the gate with orchard fruits and stoney minerality. Palate took time to develop, but this is a powerhouse of clean white fruits, minerality and layers of Grand Cru level depth. Such precision and grace, everything is in balance. Looking forward to following this wine for many years to come. (96 points)
  • 2015 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru (6/25/2024)
    PnP. Perfectly ripe red fruits abound with lots of power and a nice backbone. Young now, but surprisingly open and approachable with good weight and balanced fruit. Mostly primary at the moment, give it another few years to continue to develop additional layers. (94 points)

Tuesday Dinner @ Au Fils du Clos

  • 2019 Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (6/25/2024)
    Punches well above its weight. This is a very good wine, lovely breadth and a lingering finish. Continued to improve with air. Very good lieu dit if you can find it at a good price. Not worth the secondary market tariff as there are plenty of better wines for north of $1k.
  • 2019 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru (6/25/2024)
    Nice, good weight, but a bit one dimensional and didn't have the electricity that you want. Might be partially the vintage.
  • 2012 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru (6/25/2024)
    Open this wine at your own peril or bring a blender. Ridiculous amount of reduction that clings heavy like gangrene. No doubt it will last at least 100 more years.

Wednesday Lunch @ Le Millésime

Dujac Visit

  • 2022 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Very nice, good depth and weight. Shows a bit better than the CSD today.
  • 2022 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Very similar to the CdlR in weight, but not quite as much bright fruit. Jeremy's preference this vintage, but I preferred the CdlR.
  • 2022 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Amazing depth of flavor, with open fruit. A classic in the making.
  • 2022 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (6/26/2024)
    Such power and grace. An amazing wine, very well done and will be fabulous in 15-20 years.
  • 2006 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos St. Denis Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Small taste, blind. I called 06/07 even though they are very different, as I always get those two confused. Very open and ready to play.
  • 2005 Domaine Dujac Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Small taste, blind. Amazing wine and drinking extremely well. Very 2005, but actually open for business and has a purity of fruit. I called Ech. The perfect combination of Ech / Dujac / 2005, this wine has it all in spades.
  • 2002 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Small taste, blind. Depth of development that seemed like it could be 97/98. Drinking absolutely fabulously and belies the typicality of BM being rustic and difficult to come around.

Wednesday Dinner @ Maison de Columbière

  • 2012 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    PnP. A great wine, but a bit of reduction that needed a few hours to blow off. The last time I had this wine I gave it a vigorous decant and some time before dinner and it was mind blowing all evening. This time we didn't have that luxury. The best sips tonight were at the end, but still a bit closed and reserved. Maybe this bottle got a harder hit with sulfur.
  • 2015 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru (6/26/2024)
    Also a bit of reduction and could have used a couple hour decant. Continued to improve with air and had a great depth and grace about it. Very good vintage and this is right when A-L started making large improvements in the vineyards and winemaking.

Thursday Dinner @ Troisgros

  • 2014 Coche-Dury Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet (6/27/2024)
    Opened and tasted 2 hours early. Tight on first taste, but opened to reveal a bouquet of floral white fruits on the nose with Coche flint and a layered palate with white fruit, minerality and a lovely finish. Very crushable.
  • 2013 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (6/27/2024)
    Opened and tasted 3 hours early. Seemed ready to go out of the gate, but put on weight and acidity with the air. Gorgeous minerality and texture with a full mid palate and nice length. Enjoyable but unsure why this cuvée goes for such a weighty sum.
  • 2011 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru (6/27/2024)
    Opened and tasted 4 hours early and decanted for one hour. Tight and unyielding on first taste and needed every bit of the air. Still a touch of reduction after the decant. Nose was bursting from the glass with white flowers, nectarines and slate. This is a majestic wine with broad shoulders, a dense and compact palate, chiseled texture and bright flavor that fans out into an imposing finish that lingers on and on. Amazing bottle. (98 points)
  • 2007 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (6/27/2024)
    Decanted and tasted 2 hours early. First sip was airy but you could feel the development. Added weight and depth with air. With a lighter frame, it's easy to look past this wine on a quick sip, but peeling back the layers you find a seductive depth full of tension and complexity. Everything is in balance and this is just in a beautiful place, drinking easily with lovely semi-mature notes. (97 points)
  • 2013 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (6/27/2024)
    Opened 6 hours early. Still a bit tight and young, this has great structure and energy, but needs time to come into form. Should be wonderful and close to Grand Cru level in several more years.

Friday Dinner @ Substance

  • NV Roses de Jeanne / Cédric Bouchard Champagne Blanc de Noirs Les Ursules - France, Champagne (6/28/2024)
    PnP. Nice creamy mousse and good acidity. Continued to open up with air and the nose just blossomed by the end of the night. A very nice wine ready to drink, but open early.
  • 2020 Domaine Bernard-Bonin Meursault Les Tillets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (6/28/2024)
    Quick decant. Bright acid and purity of fruit. A very dynamic wine that continued to gather weight over the evening. Better than most village lieu dits. (89 points)
  • 2007 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru (6/28/2024)
    Pop and taste. Great color, but almost nothing on the nose or pallet. Decanted and left for 2 hours. Tasted again and it's more open, but still shy. Double decanted again and followed over another couple of hours. Not a powerful wine, but full of balance and sensuality. Continued to fan out with more air and the last sips really lingered. A magnificent wine in a less than ideal vintage, but no hints of oxidation and for that we were supremely lucky and grateful.
  • 2010 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Aux Beaux Bruns - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru (6/28/2024)
    Quick double decant. A muscular and broad wine, this needed air to show and a bit more time than we had to give it. But it was lovely and in balance if a touch hedonistic at this point with black fruits and herbal notes. A very good wine in the making.
  • 2020 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Le Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru (6/28/2024)
    Quick double decant. Some reduction, but blew off fairly quickly. Good balance and weight and a very nice late night wine to go with the cheese course, but missing a bit of the pop you want to really make it a star.

Saturday Dinner @ L'Ambroisie

  • 2020 Lamy-Caillat Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (6/29/2024)
    Quick decant and chill. Very young and tight at first, but opened up with time to reveal lovely white fruit with great texture and precision. Still a lot in the tank, this is a powerhouse and should loosen up in another couple of years, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
  • 2020 Domaine Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (6/29/2024)
    Decanted for an hour. Great nose here with lots of structure and purity of fruit. Obviously very young, should gain some weight and complexity with age, but drinking well now.
  • 2016 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (6/29/2024)
    Decanted for 2 hours. Could have used a bit more time as there was still some reduction, but the fruit was ready to play. Less stem influence than you find Chez Dujac in the previous decade and more brightness. Jeremy said his 16s were drinking well now and this is a good candidate for an early taste with the right prep.
21 Likes
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Very effective plundering of the wine lists. :clap:

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Hell of a food and wine trip! Well done!

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Looks like a great trip.

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Excellent notes! If I had that many meals and wines, my weight would balloon and my sugar would skyrocket!

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I try to avoid pre-2011 Jadot with their switch to DIAM, too uch variability and too many wines that are good when they should be great.

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I gained weight reading. I think your BdM vertical
shows the power of aging. Corton Charlemagne shows so much more after 15 years than when young.

How was Troisgros? Spent 2 wonderful days there last year.

What a trip!

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Troisgros is wonderful. Amazing meal. And it was actually one of the less picked over and more fairly priced lists we encountered all week.

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Thanks Andrew. Looks like a great trip. Keen to get back to Troisgros, looks like it is still firing.

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nicely done!

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We’ll be in Burgundy in a couple of months for our annual trek, visiting many of those same restaurants and a few other favorites. Probably not near the same line-up of wines though.

I’m jealous!

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A lot of the meals were fairly light on food. We tried to do just one big meal per day and it worked out well. I never felt overstuffed and it was just the right amount of wine. Less than 1 bottle pp with the smaller meals and no more than 1.5 bottles pp with the larger meals. We only finally wore out on Sat after a big dinner on Friday and did a small lunch with no wine and limited the dinner wines. But that also made it easier for the early morning airport run.

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As an aside, with chef Moutet now at Au Fil du Clos (previously at Après du Clocher), anyone had experience with the “new Après” in Pommard?
Chef Rémi Genot gets a very favorable mention from Michelin.

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Well it sounds like a wonderful time!

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Interested also Bruce… Just got back from Burgundy and didn’t make it to Apres du Clocher this trip :(.

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Alan,
I was with Andrew. Troisgros was amazing. Cesar is doing some very interesting things with vegetables and balancing acid. I don’t really like that higher acid cuisine but we had some mindblowing dishes especially a green asparagus with flowers dish that was so delicious and wine friendly. Incredible balance and flavors. It was shocking to me. A gorgeous setting too. Michel is very proud of Cesar and his brother who carry on the torch for Maison Troisgros. The food is as good as ever.

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