I had so far the best wine pairing I’ve ever had at a restaurant while dinning at DiverXO in Madrid. I did the high end pairing called Danaus Plexippus while my wife did the basic pairing called Eruciforme. There were so many courses and so many wines I didn’t take tasting notes but here are the photos of the wines. One wines they did serve to me blind and I quickly identified it was probably the best Pinot I’ve ever had and once they revealed the bottle I realized why, it was a glass of DRC Echezeaux. Definitely a wine pairing worth getting as well as a very memorable dinner and top 3 meals I’ve ever had.
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Remarkable. I have to ask the price on the high end pairing that you chose. That has to be the highest quality wine pairing I’ve ever seen.
It is a great one, though quite expensive. Can range up to €900 depending, and they often, though not always, use it to clear out off vintages. But Tomas, the somm, is top notch.
It was €900 and the cheaper pairing my wife did was €300. Expensive pairing but it was worth it for us to get to try some of those wines and a lot with age on them as well.
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My opinion is that there are quite a few wines in that lineup that individually would cost multiples of the price you paid. Personally, it is rare for me to drink a whole bottle of anything, and I usually open several bottles at a tasting. So, to be able to tase a 95 Cristal, UC Maillons, 97 Roulot, Clos St. Hune, Lafite, a 21 Chambertin, DRC, d’Yquem etc for the price you paid, with a world class meal… I’d do it in a heartbeat.
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I don’t disagree with you, if that is your priority. For me, that many complex and interesting wines would be my last choice to pair with the food at DiverXO, which is incredibly varied, complex, and striking, moreso than almost any meal I have ever had. The food to me demands a simpler and more background pairing. But I have no problem with sharing two wonderful bottles with Jonathan over the course of a meal, perhaps even prefer it to tasting a dozen wines. And I have never wanted to throw the most complex win3 at he most complex food, it just doesn’t work for my palate or brain. But again, everyone has different priorities, and if one of them is to taste that variety of excellent wines, regardless of pairing, then this is a great way to do it.
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I can see both sides of that and we considered just doing a bottle or 2 but ended up with the pairing since I knew they were going to taste us on wines I wouldn’t buy by the bottle. Every bite was an explosion of flavor and definitely can get some sensory overload with those wines and the food but I’m glad I got to do it and took my time with each course to enjoy it all. It was a nice long dinner but we always take our time and book an early seating and usually end up as some of the last out at the end.
Many restaurants I don’t find the pairing worth the price and skip them. We did just do a bottle and cocktails at La Grand’Vigne instead of the pairing the next night of our trip - went with a bottle of 2022 chateau de beaucastel roussanne vieilles vignes.
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I think I understand your perspective well here. It’s internally consistent with other comments you’ve made in the past regarding pairings if memory serves. Pure, simple food to showcase the complexity of a special wine and vice versa. But yes, I like a great lineup, particularly if it scratches new itches on bottles I’ve never drunk.
It’s also true that this particular pairing is really one that highlights some blue chip classics rather than having any consistent theme. It’s almost like they said, “what’s the most wine impressive lineup we can possibly put together?” Frankly, the less expensive wines (vin jaune, 78 Boal) were probably crafted more thoughtfully to fit their respective dishes. I’d also point out that the other pairing was no slouch! (young Roulot, Lalu, Trevaillon Blanc, etc). Those wines seemed a bit “simpler” but there were just as many of them, and at some point, the sheer volume becomes distracting (whether food or wine for me).
But, to see a restaurant this focused on creating an over the top wine pairing, at what seems to me an incredibly reasonable price is encouraging and well worth posting about. I was in Madrid last fall and had looked at dinner here but I think the availablilty didn’t match our itinerary and we were anticipating Michelin fatigue at that point. Having said that, we had a fabulous 1* meal at Saddle, which I would happily return to. Will definitely put DiverXO at the top of our list.
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thats an incredible pairing, chapeau