White Burgundies: Mature, Adolescent, and Young

WINE TALK
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I’ve had a few really, really nice White Burgundies recently, which showed me how wonderful they can be at different stages of maturity. A couple while on vacation in Paris, and one at home. I sometimes think that, when they’re good, White Burgundies may be my favorite wines on earth. That conclusion leads me to think both that (1) premox remains the biggest tragedy in the wine world, and (2) I’ve been too scared by premox and should be buying more White Burgs to drink young. Thought I’d share.

1993 Jadot Batard Montrachet

Breathtaking. My previous bottle of this wine was a little flat and bit tired. Not this one. This bottle showed what aged White Burg can be at its finest. A positively enormous nose of white flowers, exotic fruits, citrus, and nuts leads to a wine of great power, depth, and sense of place. The fruit is super concentrated and still fresh, the acids remain bright, the body is oily with an attractive viscosity, there is an opulent creaminess, and the deep, nutty, exotic tertiary notes take this over the top. This builds in the glass and may yet hit even greater heights, but I can’t really imagine much of a better experience than what it gives now. 96

2005 Raveneau Clos

Purchased off the list at Taillevent in Paris for 200 Euro, which is stealing. This is still young, still a little tight, and still a little glossy. But man, what a beauty. The nose is pure, with fresh lemons and minerals, but not completely open. On the palate, the uber-concentrated citrus fruits are almost overwhelming, except the’re not, because the fruit is held up by robust acidity and extremely fine-grained minerals and a refreshing salinity. The balance is impeccable. Still, this is not a shy wine, and there is no mistaking the power of this bottle, with real viscosity and dense fruit that is taken over the top by a squeeze of exotic, riper, more opulent fruit. But despite this praise, the wine still has a lot in reserve. This does not have extraordinary complexity at this point, and it shows no tertiary notes. The wine grew in the glass, and the last sip was the best. It will grow more in the cellar. So while this is really quite a sensational wine now, I’d probably hold off in anticipation of greater glory. 94

2010 Drouhin Beaune 1er Clos de Mouches Blanc

Out of .375 at Arpege in Paris. Delicious young White Burg. Nice but reticent nose leads to a beautifully balanced, beautifully textured, concentrated, fresh palate of white flowers, cream, spice, and citrus. Loads of dry extract. Not complex, but deep and lovely – and strikingly fresh and refreshing. I will be looking for more. 92

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Thanks Ryan.

Did you enjoy your meal at Arpege?

Cheers
Jeremy

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Yes, loved it. Really loved it. Here is the (very long, and more than what you asked for) description I wrote to a friend:

What a thrilling meal – probably in my top 3 all-time dining experiences. Arpege is a restaurant unlike any other. It’s small, a bit cramped, and a bit frenetic. The service is very, very good – and very sincere – but absolutely not perfect (there was even one affirmative, non-trivial mishap); it’s not precise, orchestrated, and flawless like you get at somewhere like Taillevent. Aside from the Lalique glass inserts on the wall, the army of wait staff, and the stratospheric prices, you wouldn’t know this was a *** restaurant. The wine list is good, not great. In other words, going to Arpege does not feel like going to Troisgros or Le Cinq.

But what Arpege lacks in polish it makes up for in soul and sincerity. When we entered the restaurant, Passard was working the room and immediately struck up a lengthy conversation with my wife and me about where we were from, if we cooked, what good ingredients Texas had, etc. He came by to chat several more times during the evening. His enthusiasm for the restaurant (which was full and brimming with energy) and his food was palpable. For example, he brought over a whole hay-cooked chicken to our table (that we did not order and were not served) for no other reason than to show us how magnificent it looked and smelled (and it did). For Passard to have this sort of passion and enthusiasm at this point in his career, and for him to maintain his lone, small outpost (when I’m sure he is bombarded with NY/Hong Kong/Macau/Tokyo proposals), is remarkable. And Passard’s passion shows in the food. We ordered the tasting menu (340 Euro), which lists about 16 courses but is really 20+. I feel like “chef-driven restaurant” has become a cliche without a lot of meaning, but it’s not a cliche for somewhere like Arpege (or Gagnaire is perhaps an even more extreme example). The food at Arpege speaks extremely clearly of Passard’s vision, and there was greater cohesion in this cuisine than just about anywhere I’ve been. Clearly, without Passard, there is no Arpege – and personally I would not want to go when he is not in the kitchen (ask ahead, but as a rule he is in house). Purity, freshness, delicacy, and genuine flavor spoke clearly in all the dishes. This is a cuisine of minimalism and of balance.

Of course, none of this would mean anything if the food weren’t good. Luckily, the food is spectacular. In terms of individual courses, the vegetables were (unsurprisingly) the highlights. The best courses for me were the vegetable raviolis in cucumber consomme (stunning, pantheon-level dish), the vegetable cous cous (same), and the gazpacho with mustard-celery ice cream (astounding freshness and purity). The egg of course was divine. The meat dishes didn’t reach the same heights, although the lamb course (which was massive and filling) registered an 11 on the deliciousness scale and the quality of the lamb was beautiful (even though the dish looked more like a steakhouse/bistro dish). Likewise, the lobster with vin jaune sauce was very nice and impeccably balanced. The aged comte is rightly legendary; ditto for the Bordier butter. The only outright dud was a tomato mozzarella course that, while perfectly tasty, was pretty pedestrian and not any better what you can get at casual places in Campania. In any event, when I go again (and I plan to), I may order the vegetable menu, as the vegetable courses really stole the show, or I may write ahead and ask if Passard will just cook a menu from what’s freshest that day, whether meat or vegetable (as opposed to the tasting menu, which is really a greatest hits).

Overall, this is clearly one of the world’s great restaurants. One of the finest dining experiences I’ve had, despite some idiosyncrasies.

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Thanks Ryan.

We had a splendid meal there a couple of years ago. The food was as good as I’ve eaten. The service was a little haphazard and they had run out of a couple of the wines we tried to order but I can’t wait to return.

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I took that 05 Raveneau clos to a dinner in HK a few months back. It was quite funny in the way that it just silenced everyone in the room! The locals seemed almost unsure how to react to the wine given how huge it is for a Chablis. Agree with your note though, it will be even better with more time but there’s certainly no harm to enjoy it now.

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Some excellent wines!

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Thanks Ryan - a great post and one that makes me want to eat at Arpege as soon as possible. Connecting with passion is always the best experience.

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Great post on some very nice wines.
Thanks for the notes.