The Team Attends La Paulée de Meursault!
DANIEL
On November 22nd I went back to La Paulée de Meursault for the first time since last year’s cancellation. It was a reminder of how wonderful this tradition is.
Not only did I return but I was fortunate to be able to bring several members of the New York Paulée team with me. Unfortunately, I could not get enough tickets for everyone.
The day started with an early train to Beaune from Paris. I kind of felt like we were a pack of campers heading off to camp. Good spirits, lots of anticipation and no concerns were the feelings of the day for me.
The first stop was a late morning aperitif at Domaine des Comtes Lafon. This was an extra special moment as were were siting with Dominique, his mother and his daughter Lea, nephew Pierre and their spouses who represent the next leadership at Lafon There we were with 3 generations sitting in a polite circle in this stately manner where the origins of La Paulee de Meursault started with Dominique’s great grandfather, Comte Jules Lafon.
After a couple of glasses of Meursault Genevrières 2011 we packed our jeroboams., magnums and bottles into the back of someone’s car and headed to the Château de Meursault for the traditional 6 hour “lunch” accompanied by hundreds of different wines brought to the party by almost every grower in the village.
There are rules in Meursault that we don’t have in New York. For example, the sharing starts with younger vintages of Meursault - with an occasional Puligny or Chassagne - but that is slightly frowned upon. The second course progresses to more mature vintages and higher appellations.
Certainly no red wine can be circulated until after the third course. I once found myself scolded by Philippe Ballot, the president of La Paulée de Meursault, for accompanying my guest that year, Eric Rousseau with a magnum of Chambertin 1976 during the second course. The dressing I received was this, “Mon cher Daniel, nous produisons du Meursault rouge aussi mais il ne faut absolument pas le servir avant le troisième plat” My dear Daniel, we also make Meursault red but you must wait for the 3rd course to pour some to your convives. I had to explain this to Eric, who was slightly amused.
Well, we did eventually get to the red wine but not before tasting stellar bottles from Francois Jobard, Comtes Lafon, Roulot, Drouhin and many many more.
The evening continued at an after party at Antoine Jobard’s home that could double as a discotheque, and then dinner at l’Expression and finally nightcaps at La Maison du Colombier.
One might say we were a little extravagant and did not know when to stop, but the “campers” finally surrendered to sleep for an early morning train back to Paris.
I’m sure the tradition in Meursault will continue for many more years and I hope to make the Paulee team trek to it an integral part of our little organization’s traditions as well.
MAX
It was an incredible honor to be invited to this year’s Paulée de Meursault, the 88th edition.
Our delegation consisted of Daniel, Jaime, Edouard, myself, and our guest, the winemaker Benjamin Leroux - a fine group!
We began with an apéritif (as if one really needs one before La Paulée…) at Domaine des Comtes Lafon with Dominique Lafon, his wife Christina and the next generation of Lafon winemakers - Léa and Pierre along with their spouses - as well as Madame Lafon, Dominique’s mother, which made for a rare and special moment. Hosting the pre-game is apparently something of a Lafon tradition.
On to the main event - La Paulée de Meursault was smaller this year in keeping with French regulations on crowd size, but was still a cozy-feeling 400 person affair.
We were seated at a prime table close to the stage, and following a welcome speech from the president of La Paulée de Meursault, Philippe Ballot, the Meursaults flowed.
One mustn’t forget that La Paulée de Meursault has always awarded a literary prize each year to a French writer, and this year’s laureate was Frédéric Beigbeder, a critic, editor, and apparently somewhat of France’s leading literary “bad boy.”
M. Beigbeder lived up to the hype, with a superbly witty and amusing speech shortly into the event, and then performing a stage dive during the grand finale around 6pm.
I have helped organize nine or so Paulées in New York and San Francisco, but it was incredibly gratifying to be a guest at the original event, and to see winemakers and guests walking around sharing bottles with everyone.
Of the countless wines I tasted, five were especially memorable:
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 1996
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 1983
Domaine Jobard, Meursault 1989 (my birth year!)
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu 1989 en magnum
Domaine Fornerol, Côte de Nuits Village 2015 en jeroboam (this was the vintage where I worked at the domaine and helped vinify the wine - happy to report that it is absolutely delicious!)
Fitting that the best wines at La Paulée de Meursault were all from Meursault!
An (incomplete) list of everything I tasted:
Benjamin Leroux, Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières 2015 en magnum
Champagne Veuve-Cliquot Grande Dame 1989 en magnum
Domaine Fornerol, Côte de Nuits Villages 2015 en jeroboam
Domaine Matrot, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2015 en magnum
Domaine Bachelet-Monnot, Saint-Aubin 2017 en magnum
Domaine Faiveley, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 1998
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault “Clos de la Barre” 2015 en magnum
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2010 en magnum
Domaine Henri Boillot, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère monopole 2009 en magnum
Domaine Génot-Boulanger, Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères 2014 en magnum
Domaine Ballot-Millot, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2010 en magnum
Domaine Ballot-Millot, Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières 2015 en magnum
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières 2014
Bouchard Père & Fils, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2009 en jeroboam
Maison Joseph Drouhin, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatières 2016 en magnum
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Bouchères 2014 en magnum
Domaine François & Antoine Jobard, Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières 2008 en magnum
Domaine François Jobard, Meursault 1989
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 2011
Champagne Vilmart & Cie, “Grand Cellier” en magnum
Domaine Simon Bize, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2016 en magnum
Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, Meursault 1er Cru Santenots 2016 mag
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2010
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres 1996
Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 1983
Domaine Faiveley, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 2001 en jeroboam
Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, Volnay 1er Cru Champans 1990 en magnum
Domaine Faiveley, Corton Grand Cru “Clos des Cortons Faiveley” 1972
Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2009
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu 1989 en magnum
Domaine Faiveley, Beaune “Hospices de Beaune” 1935
EDOUARD
It is cold and gray in Meursault. A timid but insidious mist of rain freezes our bones on this chilly Monday morning, but we know that a group of joyful bon-vivants is gathering and the comfort of their warm embrace awaits in the XIth century Château de Meursault. We enter the castle at around 12.30 pm, hungry, and thirsty as the singers, “Les Cadets de Bourgogne” finish setting up the stage. The dozen men and woman (yes, singular) choir sings the beauty of Burgundy, its wines and its people in a variety of beautiful harmonies, from joyful and humorous to solemn and emotional. They perform all their hits without a glitch, often inviting the audience to join in the famous “Ban Bourguignon”, a traditional tune that everyone learns to imitate quickly, hands in the air. Attendees take their seats at long tables named for the occasion after Meursault Climats such as “Perrières”, “Charmes” or the witty “Casse-Tete” possibly translatable to “head breaker”. As I sit down, I notice the multiple sets of silverware, announcing the delicious five-course menu about to be served. The foie gras lands and immediately ravishes our palate, primed with several tastes of Meursault people have already started to pour around the room even before any food was served. It is quickly followed by impeccably prepared scallops. Meursault and more white Burgundies are still being poured abundantly. The menu invites us to linger in the seafood world with roasted pike perch and a spicy aioli “a la Bourguignonne”. At this point, I’m thinking “I want red wine now!” Dominique Lafon gives me the green light. Volnay, Nuits-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin and other scrumptious Pinot Noir start flowing from every corner, matching the color of our wine glasses with our rosy cheeks. Frederic Beigbeder, the satirical, dandy novelist who is being honored for this 88th edition of La Paulée, has just given a hilarious speech, mentioning the glory of Burgundy wines and how it shines on people’s faces- in his story, he’s referring to a toddler who was given wine by her caring mother. Back to the food, a juicy slab of Charolais beef greets our table in a moment of apotheosis. I look at my notebook, I have kept track of the wines I’ve tasted so far, 48. It is slightly less than three years ago where I pinned 65 references. That year, Dominique father Rene Lafon indicated to me that a good average number of wines to taste at La Paulée was about 65. Mission accomplished.
Among my highlights this year, a magnum of Meursault Francois Jobard 1989 (poured by Francois himself), an impressively young Batard Montrachet Pierre Morey 1977, a grandiose Meursault Poruzots Jobard 1982 and a Lafon Meursault Charmes 2010 steal the show. But the party is not over, far from it. Cheese and dessert encourage more Burgundy and even a delicious bottle of Sauternes, a well-received surprise in this ocean of Burgundy.
How many wines, how many Ban Bourguignons or how many people are not enough to define La Paulée. What is unique about this traditional event, is the humility and generosity of its participants, despite the presence of illustrious winemakers pouring some of the finest wines on the planet.
JAIME
On Monday, Nov 22, I joined Daniel, Max and Edouard on a pilgrimage of sorts to attend La Paulée de Meursault to celebrate the 88th edition of this incredible event.
It was a marathon - starting with a train ride from Paris to Beaune, arriving in Beaune and being scooped up by our friend Charly who will gladly chauffeur you around Beaune when you know you should not be driving, taking us to an apero at Domaine des Comtes Lafon, the main event at the Chateau de Meursault which started at 12pm and ended at sunset. But somehow we managed to keep going with a stop at an after party at Antoine and Charlotte Jobard’s house, to dinner at L’Expression in Beaune and then of course the mandatory stop to end the night at Maison du Colombier. Somewhere along the way I stopped taking notes and lost track of all the amazing wines that I enjoyed, but the faces of our Burgundian friends and their wonderful wines that they shared were unforgettable.
The experience was highlighted by incredible wines (of course), the atmosphere was off the hook, and the unique spirit of sharing that is unmatched at any other wine event. But what struck me was the importance of family, sharing the experience amongst the domaines with their families and teams. We started the day at Domaines de Comtes Lafon where Dominique and his mother, Madame Lafon, invited us into their living room where we were joined by two of Madame Lafon’s grandchildren that now run the domaine - Lea Lafon and Pierre Lafon and their spouses. This was a magical moment that we shared with their family and to top it off they shared a glass of 2013 Meursault Charmes and then 2013 Meursault Perrieres.
At La Paulee de Meursault we were surrounded by other domaines that were there with their families to enjoy the festivities - Anne Morey was with her father Pierre Morey and her mother, Eve and Erwan Faiveley sat at our table together with their winemaker Jerome and a guest, the Jobard family, also at our table, shared with us some of the best wines of the day (and night) poured by both Francois and Antoine Jobard. Other winemakers shared the coveted seats with their teams, spouses and children. These memories will always stay with me and I am sure that the Burgundian winemakers feel the same.
Merci Daniel for sharing this with us.