La Paulée Des champs ~ Maison troisgros

June 6, 2024

Raj Vaidya

Our team is slowly getting back into the groove of ‘business as usual’ after a tremendous few days working alongside the team at Maison Troisgros outside of Roanne, France. We hosted three days of festivities during our second edition of La Paulée des Champs, a Burgundy extravaganza that spanned the course of two dinners and two lunches, including a La Paulée style BYO, and as I begin to come down from the high of the weekend I thought I should share some of the vinous highlights.

The first evening kicked off with a tasting of the 2022 vintage, a really stellar and delicious introduction to what will surely be an excellent range of wines for decades to come. We followed this up with a dinner focused on the 2017 vintage (a nice corollary to the ‘22’s, similar in many ways) at Le Central, the family’s casual bistro. The following day kicked off with a Delamotte lunch and several bits of fun entertainment, a classic French quartet, pétanque and lots of merry-making. Friday evening was the main dinner, featuring Cesar Troigros’ delicate and nuanced cuisine at its finest.

The six domaines in attendance (plus Champagnes Delamotte & Salon) put their very best foot forward with the wine selections. The absolute highlight for me were the flights of Roulot (Charmes 2011 and 2008 from magnum) and Roumier (Bonnes Mares and Amoureuses 2007 from magnum) but every wine showed incredibly well, and contributed beautifully to the ambience of a very fine evening.

Saturday was our La Paulée BYO lunch, and the attendees and vignerons (with many of the new generation) came strong, with some truly memorable bottles, some highlights of which are represented in photos below. Too much great wine!

A couple of fancy bottles shared on Friday evening.

A pristine bottle of ‘72 Clos des Chênes

Impromptu vertical tasting of Roumier Chambolle Villages

Another wonderful Lafarge, this time not direct from the domaine but in amazing shape!

It was truly a magical weekend. Thanks to all of you who joined us and can’t wait to do it again!

What's Pressoir Drinking? A vertical of Montrachet with Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Daniel Johnnes

March 6, 2024

The grand finale to La Paulée 2024 brought us back to New York after a week in Los Angeles celebrating all of Burgundy. It was a fitting finale as it proved to be one of the most historic dinners of La Paulée since the first one in 2000. The punctuation point on this Paulée featured one of my closest friends in Burgundy, Dominique Lafon, with wines from his best vineyard, Montrachet.

Dominique retired two years ago but will still make appearances for special occasions celebrating his family domaine and to support his successors: his daughter Léa Lafon and nephew Pierre Lafon. 

When we use the phrase, ‘once in a lifetime’ it would not be much of an exaggeration when talking about this dinner. Even Dominique says he drinks a bottle of the domaine’s Montrachet only once or twice a year at Christmas and Easter and the only other time he reached deep into his cellar like this for a public event was at La Paulée about 20 years ago.

Montrachet is considered by many to be the greatest dry white wine on the planet. The early 20th century gastronome Curnonsky identified the world's best white wines as Coulée de Serrant, Château Grillet, Château Chalon, Château d'Yquem and Montrachet.

Montrachet is 7.99 hectares, divided nearly equally between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet. The Lafon parcel of just about a third of an hectare (.76 acres) is the most southerly plot located on the Chassagne side. His parcel dates from 1918 when Dominique's great grandfather Jules Lafon purchased it for almost nothing. (Jules was also the mastermind behind La Paulée de Meursault which he created in 1923 when he was the mayor of Meursault).

Our dinner took place at Legacy Records in the Hudson Yards district, where Chef Ryan Hardy prepared an exquisite meal respecting and honoring the nuance of the wines, allowing them to take center stage.

The first flight of wines, 2015 and 2014, was a great start and a perfect display of time and patience while contrasting vintages and their effect on the wine. 

2015 was an example of why great terroirs and great vintages need time. Its stature was clear but it was shrouded in a nearly impenetrable coat of armor. It was only after several hours that it started to show its beauty. The 2014 on the other hand was a peacock, proudly displaying its glorious noble aromas and texture. We were off to a strong start with youth and vigor.

The second course of crab was accompanied by a trio of fascinating vintages:  2013, 2012, and 2011.

2013 was the last vintage to be late harvested in October and its cool profile showed. Not voluptuous, a bit steely and minty with a good deal of reduction due to a difficult growing season that required multiple sulfur treatments. Nonetheless, the terroir shined through.

The next two wines were among the most fascinating for me. 2012 is one of my favorite vintages chez Lafon. The wines have power and definition. This one surprised me by its lack of expression, AT FIRST. The 2011 was open, seamless, textured even if it was a bit “loose”. I loved it for its approachability. However, after revisiting the 2012 an hour or so later, it had shifted gears to become a wine that could compete in a formula one race and maybe even win it!

For the third course, Chef Hardy prepared an uni and truffle dish for the 2010, 2009, 2008.

2010 - Two bottles not showing well on this day.

2009 - This wine was nearly perfect in every sense. The only downside, if you can call it that, was its youth. When thinking about the different stages of maturity, this wine is an adolescent with many years ahead of it to develop nuance and complexity. It’s all there now but not on full display.

2008  - My notes on this wine might be different from others. When It was served, Dominique called out in the room, “Daniel hates this vintage!” “Not true”, I responded. But actually maybe I do. Hate is too strong; I just find it flawed. It was basically an underripe vintage that found its ripeness through concentration from north winds and low yield. Almost every time I taste an ‘08 I find off flavors, mushroom being the most prominent. Sometimes oxidation. This one had a wonderful truffle aroma that married nicely with the dish but isn’t it a bit young for truffle aromas??? My two cents

2007 - Notes by Edouard Bourgeois: The wine almost reminded me of an American Chardonnay, with explosive aromas, very rich and opulent. The palate was layered and incredibly deep, a reminder of true Grand Cru material.

2002 - Notes by Edouard Bourgeois: Amazing, powerful nose. Almost meaty. Gorgeous, sexy palate with seducing sweetness.

1993 - Notes by Edouard Bourgeois: it was a large and ripe harvest struck by rain that gave hints of roasted hazelnut and fresh butter. Impressive and balanced. Daniel told me he had the wine 25 years ago at a Montrachet dinner and it was the wine of the night. 25 years later, it may not be the wine of the lineup but he was amazed to see how gracefully it has evolved.

1988 Notes by Edouard Bourgeois: Although a difficult year, I loved the wine. The nose suggested delicate mushroom aromas while the palate showed incredible freshness. Perfectly matured, old school white Burgundy.

1986 - A 38 year old white wine reaching its adulthood and showing little signs of decline. Majestic expression of Chardonnay planted on the most magical slice of planet earth where all the stars align to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. Genius!

Next week, notes on a remarkable tasting of mature Domaine Leflaive wines. Stay tuned.

What's Pressoir Drinking?

January 27, 2023
by Justine Puaud

2013 in burgundy

This week was clearly epic. I had the chance to follow Daniel, Raj, Max and 4 sommeliers on our Sommelier Scholarship trip on fantastic visits in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. We were really fortunate to taste the 2021 vintage. It was maybe the only time I would be able to taste 2021… but my article this week is focusing on a different vintage! I think if we have to sum up what we tasted over the last 4 days we would say that the 2021s are incredible, delicate and fine wines. We were also all shocked how the 2013 has evolved and in such a good way. Every time we talked about vintages during the tastings, the winemakers and our team agreed on how well the 2013 wines are drinking now.

2013 was not an easy vintage but it is one of the great ones now because it surprises everyone and the winemakers are really happy about it.

Here is a quick overview of the 2013 vintage in Côte d’Or - marked by a difficult spring, 2013 was characterized by a production volume well below the average (approximately 20% less). The flowering was affected by rains and cool weather. Despite a pretty hot summer which favored good ripeness, the harvest only started at the end of September and ended, in some vineyards, in mid-October. These are the latest harvests in a quarter of a century. Nevertheless, these remain historically traditional dates for Burgundy.

Our first surprise was at Domaine Jacques Frédéric Mugnier when Fred Mugnier ended his 2021 tasting with a blind tasting… It is always difficult to say your thoughts to the winemakers. You don’t want to say Chambolle-Musigny Village if Fred just opened Les Amoureuses. For this one we all gave wrong answers, Echezeaux, Bonne-Mares … it was actually a Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées 2013. Great concentration and good structure with florals, spices and dark cherries. .

Still in Chambolle, we went to see Charles Van Canneyt of Domaine Hudelot-Noellat. We did a vertical Les Suchots from 2021 to 1996 and we ended with Richebourg Grand Cru 2013. Definitely a cooler, red fruited vintage. The Richebourg was lighter, silky with a lot of elegance.

I will finish with THE Meursault Les Perrières of Domaine Jean-Marc Roulot 2013. Unbelievably focused nose displaying concentrated ripe yellow fruit. On the palate, it was incredibly rich yet pure. A big scale wine with a very good balance.

What's Pressoir Cooking? Coq au Vin

November 11, 2020

By Jaime Dutton with guest chef Tony Warnke

As we amble into fall, its time to pull out the Dutch ovens and make warming stews and one pot meals. Over the weekend I visited a good friend in the Hudson Valley for a fall getaway. It was such a treat on so many levels to take a little space and breather in the beautiful countryside.

I had the fun job as sous chef to my friend Tony and we prepared a take on Julia Child’s Coq au Vin. Following his directions, I chopped onions and garlic, peeled carrots and cleaned and sliced mushrooms. We picked herbs from his garden and chatted over the bottle of Vacheron Sancerre that we opened during the At Home Session with Jean Laurent Vacheron.

We started cooking around 12pm and placed the lid on the Dutch oven around 3pm when we popped it in a low 250 degree oven where it stewed until we ate dinner around 7pm. Tony accompanied the meal with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad.

We were spoiled with fantastic wines that Daniel brought and great company. Lots of laughs were shared as we heard Julia chuckling in the background while we cleaned up the mess.

We pretty much followed this recipe from PBS to a t with just a few additions - a bunch of fresh carrots in the end when we put it in the oven and tons of fresh herbs. In addition to the rosemary, we added fresh thyme and oregano.

Bon Appétit!