2020 in review - the team's most memorable bottles!
Daniel -
"It is ever so hard to choose a favorite wine of the year. I and my colleagues are so fortunate to taste many memorable wines of which many could make the "Best of Year" category.
This Volnay is my pick this year. A wine is great for so many reasons and most of them are not scientific. Why is a wine great? Because of ripe and healthy grapes. Well, not always. Perfect weather? It helps. A great winemaker? Yes, for sure. But, there is more context as well that influences the palate. Such as who are you drinking it with? What is the occasion? The season. The Mood. The time of day and much more.
Why Volnay? This small village is a favorite of mine. While the famous villages in the Cote de Nuits are renowned for their red wines, the Cote de Beaune wines are often celebrated for the glorious white wines of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. So, when a red wine from Volnay knocks my socks off, it rings the bell even louder for me.
This 1985 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or from Domaine de la Pousse d'Or rang the champion bell with near deafening pitch and length. As mentioned earlier, context plays a huge role in wine appreciation. I was fortunate to know Gerard Potel (former owner of Pousse d'Or) before he passed away in 1997. He was one of my favorite people who took the time to welcome me in his cellar and spend unlimited time talking about his vines and winemaking. He was also a mentor to other favorites of mine such as Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac. When drinking this wine I could almost smell his cellar and relive the moment with him.
1985 was an important anniversary year for me personally as it was the year Sally and I married. 35 years of marriage is certainly worth celebrating! We often celebrate without too much fuss with a simple wine and simple food (although we have celebrated benchmark anniversaries at many notable restaurants). For the 35th we chose none other than Daniel.
1985 was also the year I opened Montrachet restaurant with Drew Nieporent and launched my career and path to Burgundy and the idea for La Paulée.
And lastly, this wine, in spite of all the important context, was just plain great. It had everything. Mature (but not too mature) aromas, silky tannins, great depth of flavor and unlimited length on the palate.
Yes, great wine that can rival the best from the Cote de Nuits can be made in Volnay and given the generosity of the people who live there, the beauty of the surrounding hillsides and the memories they help create I won't be surprised if other Volnays make it onto my "Wine of the Year" list. Bonnes Fetes!
Jaime -
When I look back over this year and think about what happened when and where I enjoyed this wine or that, so much of 2020 seems like a blur. We did not have meals out, my regular trips to NYC stopped happening and we did not travel to new places to discover something or toast to coming together in places that we love, it all just did not happen this year. But the upside is that we opened a lot more wine from our cellar, bottles that maybe previously needed a celebration or a gathering, we just opened to bring enjoyment and real pleasure to our simple evening at home. Three that were memorable:
Domaine de Montille, Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds 2009
Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 2011
Champagne Emmanuel Brochet, Le Mont Benoit 2014 (with 20% reserve wine)
Edouard -
Diamond Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon “Lake” 1990
It may come as a surprise but one of the bottles that really impressed me this year was an American rare bottling from Diamond Creek. I tasted it blind along with Bordeaux legends from the same vintage, 1990. Diamond creek has long been a favorite of mine, and even though one may be more familiar with the winery’s 3 cuvees (Gravelly Meadow, Volcanic Hill and Red Rock Terrace), the Lake bottling, made from a three-quarter-acre site, is only made in years when the wine from that parcel is distinctive. Otherwise, the wine goes into the bottling of Gravelly Meadow, nearest to it. Since it debuted with the stunning 1978 vintage, some 10 bottlings of Lake have been made.
The 1990 represents the classic Diamond Creek style—sleek, refined, complex and elegant, with fine-grained tannins and complex cedar, cigar box and dried currant and herb flavors. It’s very much Bordeaux-inspired (winery founder Al Brounstein brought cuttings from Bordeaux for his vineyard), anchored by Cabernet, but also Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. One of this California winery’s strengths is that its wines do age well, and this one remains in tip-top shape.
Raj -
2020 will certainly remain in the mind for decades to come, and among the happy memories i’ll hold dear, of special note would of course be my joining the team of Pressoir and La Paulée and an evening spent this past summer with friends, neighbors and club members Kris and Gautam for a little al fresco dinner at Bâtard in Tribeca. What a great wine night! We started with the ‘42, at the time the holdings of Thomas-Bassot (today in the hands of the Rousseau family). The bottle was incredibly fresh and vibrant and stayed so even after 2 hours decanted. To imagine a war vintage like this harvested during Nazi occupation of Burgundy, truly a slice of history. The ‘72 was a superlative bottle, intended as a back up in case the ‘42 was off (or just tasting old, one never knows with mature wines) but the sommelier that evening insisted we open it! He just had to try it :). We finished the evening with the ‘12, and despite having had two very serious and beautiful bottles just before it, the pedigree of La Tâche shone through and clearly distinguished it as the wine of the night.
Domaine Thomas-Bassot Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru “Clos des Ruchottes” 1942
Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru “Clos Saint Jacques” 1972
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 2012
Max -
While the year 2020 has felt like 5 years rolled into one, I fondly look back at La Paulée in March as an amazing highlight. While I tasted an incalculable number of great wines that week, two wines stand out - not necessarily because the were the best wines I had at La Paulée - but because of the emotional context:
Domaine Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Ruchottes” 1989
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bourse d’Or 1993
I tasted both of these at a special evening at Daniel’s house the night before La Paulée began with six or so Burgundian winemakers, their companions, and our team.
The Ramonet was a pristine magnum, a great example of mature White Burgundy, a thing which has become rarer and rarer these days, while the Pousse d’Or was a delicious artifact showcasing the winemaking genius of Gerard Potel. Being able to taste wines like these is part of what makes La Paulée so special.
At the time, maybe we didn’t fully recognize how lucky we were in the moment to all be together, maskless, gathered around a table, sharing great wines, food, and laughs. I know we all can’t wait to get back to that emotion. Here’s to 2021!
Justine-
If I have to remember the most memorable wines or should I say the most memorable wine moments, I will only focus on the first 6 months of 2020:
The gala dinner of the 20th anniversary of La Paulée in March was by far one of the most spectacular wine experiences I had in my life. I had the immense pleasure to have a glass of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Richebourg 1990. I would like to thank once again Gautam for his generosity. It is so hard to perfectly describe this wine as it was so special and unique. I will just say three words: explosion, finesse and length.
As we couldn’t go out during the quarantine, we decided to spend more time in the kitchen, diversify our meals and drink “new” wines. One night was more special than the others. We picked a bottle of Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 2018. Delicious red natural wine from Sicily made from Nerello Mascalese organic grapes from old vines. I’m usually not a fan of nature wines but this time it was big!
I will finish my list with a spirit: Liqueur du Foudre 147. On May 1st I had to fly to France. My first dinner was in Burgundy at my parents-in -law’s house. We had a delicious blanquette de veau (veal stew) and finished with a rare Chartreuse made by the Chartreux Fathers. I remember really well this glass for 2 things: it was such a pleasure to be home AND I had the feeling I was pregnant so I pretended I didn’t know and decided to enjoy my last drink of alcohol… :)
Eléonore -
2020 was not filled with as much wine as I expected however some bottles stand out. The most memorable wines I had this year are:
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets 1990. This wine reminded me why I love wine so much. An amazing vintage made by one of the best winemaker in Burgundy, so you can imagine it was delicious.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Richebourg 1994. I had the chance to taste this wine at La Paulée Gala Dinner in March. This is memorable as it was my first Paulée and I cherish this memory of great people paired with great food and shared with great people. Plus I was born in 1994!
