Lunch in Paris
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 9:45 am
SF Ed was visiting Paris this week, and we were able to catch up with Francois and his friend and wine enthusiast Luc for lunch.
I arranged the reservation at Le Gaigne, where I have gone with other visitors. I had delivered my wine the day before, and Francois arrived early to open our wines ahead of time, as per the Audouze method.
Unfortunately I was late caught in traffic, but they were kind enough to wait for me before pouring the first wines. I am not as good with notes as others, but I will do my best:
We started off with a 69 Waris & Chenayer Blanc de Blancs. This was a gorgeous Champagne, fully mature, still quite a few bubbles. On the mouth it was nutty and creamy, and the taste seemed to linger on and on. We had quite a discussion about aged Champagne, and Luc was describing how the 60's produced high quality champagne almost every year.
Next we moved to a 69 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne. The color was yellowish-gold, not at all indicative of its nearly 50 years. The nose was beautiful, pure Chardonnay. It surprised me how fresh it was. Deep and rich on the palate, I could have been content to just drink this for the rest of the evening.
Onto the reds, we had a pairing of 1964 and 1961 Figeac. Francois commented that when he opened the 64 two hours ealier it didn't have a great smell. However, after the slow oxygenation, it came alive. The nose on the 64 was sweet and floral, very right bank. It had the complexity, although fell a bit short on the mouth. The 61, on the other hand, was more powerful, even though I didn't find it as pretty on the nose. It was more of a charcoal, tobacco notes, and a bit more muted. The power came through in the mouth, though, and it seemed almost young. Francois described a previous visit to Figeac where they had separately bottled the three varietal components of the 64, which he tasted individually and then as the final blend. Between the two, I actually preferred the 64, but others liked the 61 better.
Enough with the young wines, onto the old stuff. Francois and Luc had planned to do a theme around 1934, and so we ended up with five wines from 1934. We started with the Bordeaux: 1934 Gruaud Larose and 1934 Latour. The Gruaud Larose seemed to show its age more, and seemed like a typical fine aged claret. On its own, it would have been great. But it was really difficult next to the Latour, which was absolutely stunning. It's difficult to describe such an emotional wine, especially shared with people who not only appreciate but also experience the same pleasure. This was a big wine, deep red color, and just wow.
We moved on to some 1934 Burgundies. First was a Chambertin Charles Viénot and second was a Reserve de la Chevre Noir. These were lighter in color, most people observed that the Chambertin had a caramel aspect to it. I had a slight preference for the Chevre Noir, although I was unfamiliar with the producer. Francois described how he had acquired the Chambertin at auction years before. This was also the best pairing with the food, as we had it with an Entrecote and Morilles.
Moving to the cheese course, we began with a 1934 Chateau Chalon from Jura. 1934 is considered a legendary vintage for Jura, and Chalon is the top of the top. And the wine did not disappoint. Ed was trying to figure out how to maximize the small piece of Comte on the plate with the Chalon, as he described it as the perfect pairing, which Francois solved by asking the server for more Comte. We also opened the final wine, a 2002 Gosset Celebris, and Francois had us do a little experiment, moving between the Champagne and the Chalon and then to the Comte.
Overall an amazing gathering that lasted almost four hours. The food was great but not necessarily the ideal wine pairing food, and Francois discussed with the chef about building a wine-friendly menu. We shared quite a bit of wine with the staff and with some of the other tables, as ten bottles was a bit much for four people, even with a spittoon. It was great seeing the enthusiastic interns tasting through some of these older wines. And of course it was great to get together again with Ed, Francois and meeting Luc.
A very special lunch!
I arranged the reservation at Le Gaigne, where I have gone with other visitors. I had delivered my wine the day before, and Francois arrived early to open our wines ahead of time, as per the Audouze method.
Unfortunately I was late caught in traffic, but they were kind enough to wait for me before pouring the first wines. I am not as good with notes as others, but I will do my best:
We started off with a 69 Waris & Chenayer Blanc de Blancs. This was a gorgeous Champagne, fully mature, still quite a few bubbles. On the mouth it was nutty and creamy, and the taste seemed to linger on and on. We had quite a discussion about aged Champagne, and Luc was describing how the 60's produced high quality champagne almost every year.
Next we moved to a 69 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne. The color was yellowish-gold, not at all indicative of its nearly 50 years. The nose was beautiful, pure Chardonnay. It surprised me how fresh it was. Deep and rich on the palate, I could have been content to just drink this for the rest of the evening.
Onto the reds, we had a pairing of 1964 and 1961 Figeac. Francois commented that when he opened the 64 two hours ealier it didn't have a great smell. However, after the slow oxygenation, it came alive. The nose on the 64 was sweet and floral, very right bank. It had the complexity, although fell a bit short on the mouth. The 61, on the other hand, was more powerful, even though I didn't find it as pretty on the nose. It was more of a charcoal, tobacco notes, and a bit more muted. The power came through in the mouth, though, and it seemed almost young. Francois described a previous visit to Figeac where they had separately bottled the three varietal components of the 64, which he tasted individually and then as the final blend. Between the two, I actually preferred the 64, but others liked the 61 better.
Enough with the young wines, onto the old stuff. Francois and Luc had planned to do a theme around 1934, and so we ended up with five wines from 1934. We started with the Bordeaux: 1934 Gruaud Larose and 1934 Latour. The Gruaud Larose seemed to show its age more, and seemed like a typical fine aged claret. On its own, it would have been great. But it was really difficult next to the Latour, which was absolutely stunning. It's difficult to describe such an emotional wine, especially shared with people who not only appreciate but also experience the same pleasure. This was a big wine, deep red color, and just wow.
We moved on to some 1934 Burgundies. First was a Chambertin Charles Viénot and second was a Reserve de la Chevre Noir. These were lighter in color, most people observed that the Chambertin had a caramel aspect to it. I had a slight preference for the Chevre Noir, although I was unfamiliar with the producer. Francois described how he had acquired the Chambertin at auction years before. This was also the best pairing with the food, as we had it with an Entrecote and Morilles.
Moving to the cheese course, we began with a 1934 Chateau Chalon from Jura. 1934 is considered a legendary vintage for Jura, and Chalon is the top of the top. And the wine did not disappoint. Ed was trying to figure out how to maximize the small piece of Comte on the plate with the Chalon, as he described it as the perfect pairing, which Francois solved by asking the server for more Comte. We also opened the final wine, a 2002 Gosset Celebris, and Francois had us do a little experiment, moving between the Champagne and the Chalon and then to the Comte.
Overall an amazing gathering that lasted almost four hours. The food was great but not necessarily the ideal wine pairing food, and Francois discussed with the chef about building a wine-friendly menu. We shared quite a bit of wine with the staff and with some of the other tables, as ten bottles was a bit much for four people, even with a spittoon. It was great seeing the enthusiastic interns tasting through some of these older wines. And of course it was great to get together again with Ed, Francois and meeting Luc.
A very special lunch!