What's Pressoir Drinking? Champagne Savart

By Jaime Dutton

January 20, 2021

Today is a historic day as we inaugurate the 46th President of our country, Joe Biden, to the White House. To mark the occasion and welcome this new day, we will have a bottle of Champagne Frederic Savart l’Ouverture - Premier Cru.

This is one of my favorite growers in Champagne, located in Pinot Noir territory in Eceuil, a Premier Cru village in the Montagne de Reims. Fred’s wines never disappoint especially this cuvée, l’Ouverture, which overdelivers for its price in its richness and depth. It is delicious and offers so much precision and light.

What's Pressoir Cooking? Latkes (better late than never)

by Max Goldberg Liu
Wednesday, January 13, 2020

Hannukah is a favorite time of year for my family, and while we were not able to gather over the holiday itself this year, we got together after the new year to make latkes, a family favorite.

There are two schools of thought on latke preparation revolving around the form of the potato. The other ingredients remain the same - onion, matzoh meal, egg, and salt.

As far as I know, the “traditional” method involves basically whirring everything together in a food processor to make a sort of paste that is then shallow-fried. Simple and delicious.

The other method, which I asked my family to try out a few years ago, uses shredded potato and the result is similar to a swiss rösti. It is more elegant but in my opinion refinement isn’t everything with latkes.

I have never been an apple sauce person (alone, yes, but not with latkes) - instead, we order a variety of fish and roe from Russ and Daughters and use the latkes as a vehicle. A hot crispy latke with sour cream and salmon roe or caviar is a perfect bite, especially with a glass of Blanc de Blancs Champagne!

A “traditional” latke with an appropriate amount of salmon roe

The shredded version

What's Pressoir Drinking?

By Eléonore Lafarge
01/13/2021

In my family, the Christmas holidays always mean good food paired with amazing wine. On the 25th of December, we usually share bottles of Champagne, then some whites before opening old bottles of Lafarge to celebrate the end of the year. Burgundy is our favorite region but no one is opposed to trying something different as well!

Due to the current situation, I didn’t celebrate Christmas in Volnay this year. So I had my first Christmas in the USA. Christmas 2020 was no exception to the good food and good wine rule shared with nice people. Being away from home and family is not easy during the holidays but opening a bottle of Burgundy always helps when I feel homesick.

One of the bottles I had the chance to taste this Christmas was a Taupenot-Merme Corton Rognet Grand Cru from 2006.

The wine had a charming floral nose and palate. I did not expect such a long finish in the palate and was nicely surprised. I haven’t had a 2006 in a long time, I was happy to try a nice vintage from the Côte de Nuits.

 Even my friend’s puppy wanted a glass, proof that the wine was good!

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!

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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)

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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.

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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

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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!

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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… :)

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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!

What's Pressoir Drinking? (Club Member BYO Edition...)

Raj Vaidya

12/17/2020

Cheers to all who joined us for our last (virtual) BYO of the year. You guys really pulled out all the stops, when DJ and Edouard suggested a wine for ‘celebration’ you really came through. If only I could taste all of them! Next year I suppose…

Here is a list of what was tasted (I threw in Bijan and Laurent’s not-so-blind half bottle to make us all a little more jealous.

Raventòs i Blanc, Conca del Riu Anoia Brut Rosé 'de Nit' 2017 (Catalunya)

Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blancs ‘Cuvée Initial’ NV (Champagne)

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru 1992 (Burgundy)

Domaine Claude Dugat Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2005( Burgundy)

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph 2014 (Rhône)

Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017 (Rhône)

Dominus Meritage 1992 (Napa)

Domaine Fourrier Griottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2011 (Burgundy)

Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru ‘Clos des Bouchéres’ 2011 (Burgundy)

Château Lafite-Rothschild Pauilliac 1966 (Bordeaux)

Emmanuel Brochet Extra-Brut ‘le Mont Benoit’ 2014 (Champagne)

Domaine Lafarge Volnay 2011 (Burgundy)

Domaine Gérard Julien Nuits-Saint-Georges 2015 (Burgundy)

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru ‘Clos des Chênes’ 1999 (Burgundy)

Domaine Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 2018 (Burgundy)

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bourgogne Blanc 2012 (Burgundy)

Maison Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2016 (Burgundy)

Cantalupo Ghemme 2006 (Piedmont)

Happy Holidays to all from the entire Pressoir.wine team!

What's Pressoir Cooking?

December 16, 2020
by Justine Puaud

Italian feast!

Last weekend, we had a Christmas dinner with my wine loving friends. We love to pick a theme and this time we decided to head to Italy! We cooked for about 4 hours in my friend’s tiny kitchen and prepared wonderful dishes.

The menu:

Aperitif : Focaccia with burrata and French porcini mushrooms

Appetizer: Homemade ravioli filled with ricotta and parmesan, grated black truffle

Main course: Osso Buco with Milanese Risotto and Gremolata

Cheese (you know I’m French…)

Dessert: Traditional Tiramisu

For those who don’t know, gremolata is a green sauce made of chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It is the standard accompaniment to the Milanese braised veal shank dish ossobuco alla milanese. We changed the recipe a little bit and added some olive oil. It was my first time with gremolata and I have to say it really balanced the dish and brought a lot of freshness without adding too much acidity.

For the Osso Buco, we used Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s recipe. If you get big veal shanks like we did, I recommend that you cook the dish for 3 hours and not 2 hours.

We paired this traditional Milanese dish with a Ronchi di Cialla 1996 wine made with 100% Schioppettino, an indigenous grape variety located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It was superb! There was an elegant bouquet of spicy notes mixed with soft fruit aromas. The 1996 vintage was a good year in the Cialla area, perhaps slightly warmer and drier than usual.

What's Pressoir Drinking?

Domaine Chapel Beaujolais Villages 2017

by Raj Vaidya
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

Last week I recapped our Club Member dinner at Daniel featuring the wines of Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg. After the dinner, Chef Daniel was kind enough to invite Daniel, Edouard and myself to have a quick bite and to do a little raiding of the cellar I had the honor of building over the last eleven years. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to taste a bottle I have been thinking about all summer. This was the first vintage of Beaujolais Villages for the Domaine Chapel, a small winery founded in 2016 by David Chapel (son of famed Michelin starred Chef Alain Chapel) and his wife (and my dear friend) Michele Smith. Michele and I worked together at Thomas Keller’s Per Se back in the mid-2000’s and I’ve been buying the wines since the first vintage enthusiastically. This was a chance to taste a delicious, albeit humble wine from the Domaine which has had a chance to mature a bit. Typically Beaujolais Villages is all slurped up within the first year after release so this was a rare opportunity…

The wine had retained its juicy fruit forward mid-palate but had gained in complexity. The stony mineral character had really developed and the wine was distinctly more salty than it showed upon release. Cherry, spiced berries, and a hint of smoke on the palate rounded it out beautifully. And yet it remained true to Beaujolais, and extremely drinkable, as we polished it off in no time!

There are still a few bottles in the restaurant’s cellar, be sure to check them out next time you visit their outdoor (heated) cabanas!

Grands Crus from Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, at Daniel

About last night… An overview of the Mugneret-Gibourg lineup from a memorable Pressoir.wine dinner at Restaurant Daniel

By Raj Vaidya and Edouard Bourgeois

December 8, 2020

Last night we were all thrilled to get the opportunity to taste five vintages side by side from 2 prestigious Grands Crus, Ruchottes-Chambertin and Echezeaux, all from the famed Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg. (By the way, I want to remind you that the recording of the interview with Lucie Teillaud Mugneret from Domaine Mugneret Gibourg is available for you Club Members with your login access on our website).

Starting with the difficult 2011 vintage, the two wines expressed the signature of that challenging harvest, showing notes of root vegetables, dirt and a hint of a vegetal character. In my opinion, the Echezeaux outperformed the Ruchottes-Chambertin. I really found the fruit of the former to be very pretty and airy, while the latter appeared sturdier and more serious. A nice pairing with the sunchoke velouté, and a nice way to ease into a terrific series of wine pairings with the elegant menu designed by Daniel Boulud.

What followed was probably my favorite flight. Paired with an incredibly tender wood fired octopus, the 2014’s shined as bright as you could have hoped! While 2015 may steal the show with higher scores and overall praise for its muscular energy, I often prefer the more delicate character of the pinot noirs from 2014. That year, Mother Nature did throw a few curve balls though, starting with hailstorms, mostly concentrated on the Cote de Beaune, and later on, the apparition of a damaging fruit fly, the Drosophila Suzukii, apparently only interested in red grapes, thus not affecting Chardonnay grapes… However, the quality of fruit was impressive and so pure.

As interesting as it gets, we also opened a Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 2008 from the domaine. The wine was juicy and perfectly balanced. Lighter on its feet than the grands crus from the same vintage for sure, but with enough personality and depth.

~ Edouard

After our little speed bump of the 08 Gevrey 1er Cru (which was actually the young vines of Ruchottes, bottled thus labeled for a period in the mid aughts), we dove into one of my favorite vintages for the Domaine, the bright and ethereal 2008’s. The Ruchottes held a clear edge of quality between the two wines, more precise without a touch of austerity, while the Echezeaux exhibited a bit more of a meaty edge while still being a bit blockish. After an hour or so the Ech’ caught up in quality, but by then we’d moved onto my favorite vintage of the current century thus far…

We paired the 2010’s with a spectacular dish of Pintade, or guinea hen, roasted and served with mushrooms, truffles and spelt. The wines exhibited the signature density and finesse of the vintage, and were incredibly long on the palate, perfectly balanced between pleasurable dark red fruit and the beginnings of earthy, tertiary flavors and aromas which melded perfectly with the truffles.

We finished with a selection of perfectly ripe cheeses and a pair of 99’s. The prodigious 1999 vintage produced wines with incredible depth and complexity. These bottles did not disappoint, though they were not as fleshy and precise as the 2010’s they followed. More of an earthy style, even a tad bit more rustic than the polish of the more contemporary bottles preceding. But the length was tremendous!

A glorious night of delicious Burgundy, what’s better than that?

~Raj

What's Pressoir Cooking? Creole Red Beans and Rice

by Max Goldberg Liu
December 9, 2020

This extremely easy to prepare and satisfying dish has become a staple in our recipe rotation and brings the warmth and energy of New Orleans to the cold Northeast. Louis Armstrong loved the dish so much that he would sign his letters “Red beans and ricely yours, Louis Armstrong.”

Like so many dishes in the Creole and Cajun repertoire, this one starts out with the “Holy Trinity” of aromatics - onion, celery, and bell pepper (a variation of the French mirepoix which has carrot instead of the pepper).

After crisping sliced andouille sausage in the pot, sweat and cook down the aromatics in the rendered fat. Then you add the rest of the flavors - garlic, tomato paste, and cajun seasoning (paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic, onion, celery seed) - and then the beans and chicken stock. Cook for another 30 mins or so and that’s it! I like to mash up a third or so of the beans to amp up the creaminess of the sauce, which really compliments the smokiness of the sausage and heat from the generous amount of cayenne pepper.

To go with the Red Beans and Rice, we drank a bottle of Champagne Philippe Gonet “TER,” a blend of Chardonnay from “Les Hautes Mottes” in Le Mesnil, “Vozémieux” in Oger, and “Les Corrigniers” in Ludes. Fresh, saline, and lively, this was a great pairing, although I must say I would have been equally as happy with an ice cold Abita Amber lager to keep the New Orleans theme going.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Red Beans and Rice

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup rice

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced

• 1 medium sweet onion, diced

• 1 green bell pepper, diced

• 2 celery ribs, diced

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

• 3 (15-ounce) cans red beans, drained and rinsed

• 3 cups chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

• 1 bay leaf

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves or scallions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, add sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes; set aside.

3. Add onion, bell pepper and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

4. Stir in tomato paste, garlic and Cajun seasoning until fragrant, about 1 minute.

5. Stir in red beans, chicken stock, hot sauce, bay leaf and sausage; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover; continue to simmer until reduced, an additional 15 minutes.

6. Using a wooden spoon, mash beans until slightly thickened, if desired; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

7. Serve immediately, topped with rice and garnished with parsley and/or scallions , if desired.

What's Pressoir Cooking? Or eating...

Orleans, MA - harvesting oysters from Pleasant Bay

December 2, 2020

By Jaime Dutton

With Thanksgiving behind us and the holidays in sight, the festivities at the table continue. In Cape Cod, where we spend a lot of our time, the waters are cold and the oysters are aplenty. Our family shellfish permit gets a lot more use at this time of year. Starting in October, it can be used for oystering and we are allowed to pluck oysters out of the chilly waters in Pleasant Bay. The day after Thanksgiving, weather permitting, it is our family tradition to gather oysters and enjoy them fresh around the fire pit. Nothing better to accompany them but a cold glass of Chablis or Champagne.

Can’t get more fresh than this!

What's Pressoir Drinking? Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc 1999

by Edouard Bourgeois
Tuesday, December 2, 2020

Along with a great bottle of Beaujolais I mentioned in my last Press article, I wanted to open a real treat from Burgundy for this Thanksgiving turkey. It should be noted that my culinarily talented wife and brother in law prepared a Korean version of braised turkey thighs so, I thought a great white wine with depth would perfectly match the rich, savory flavors of the dish. Also inspired by the then upcoming Thirst class on Beaune (I hope you were there for that yesterday!), I chose to open a jeroboam of Joseph Drouhin’s iconic Beaune 1er cru Clos des Mouches Blanc from the 1999 vintage. The dish and the wine did not overwhelm each other, making for an irresistible and harmonious match. Frankly, at first I was a bit worried about possible oxidation in the wine as the color appeared a touch dark but it ended being sublime. After all, we’re talking about a 21-year-old wine here. A golden robe is completely normal. And what matters the most anyway is how the wine performs on the nose and the palate and this was a wow moment. We were really pleased with the complexity and absolute generosity in the wine. An opulent style yet lifted by a powerful mineral structure that elevated the wine on a solid limestone pedestal. Going back on oxidation though - I will say that this wine was saved by its large format, delaying the oxidation process. I would be more concerned tasting the same 1999 from a regular size bottle today…

A tasting of the 2018 harvest from the Marquis d'Angerville in Volnay

by Daniel Johnnes, Max Goldberg Liu & Raj Vaidya
Tuesday, December 2, 2020

Tasting the D'Angerville 2018s was exciting and filled with anticipation as it was one of my first post bottling tasting of this vintage and I wasn't sure what to expect. Often a wine can shut down post bottling but these were true to my early impressions of the wines in barrel. It was a sunny vintage but these wines avoided the heavy, raisiny character that can show in a hot summer. They were rich and textured but had a lovely balanced freshness. Two wines stood out for me, punching above their weight class, starting with the Volnay 1er Cru. Although from several fine 1er Cru climats, this one had terrific breadth and class.

The other over-achiever was the Volnay 1er Cru Champans. This is always a charmer but in this vintage I found wonderful depth and complexity that I don't normally get. The Taillepieds, Caillerets and Clos des Ducs came in just where you would expect them to be - Superb! Bravo Guillaume…

~Daniel

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A takeaway for me from this tasting is that these wines really characterize how many growers in Burgundy (and especially the crème de la crème like d’Angerville) have mastered these warmer vintages in making wines with superb balance between richness and freshness. All of the wines were delicious and open for business but a standout was definitely the Volnay 1er Cru, which is around 2/3 Mitans and 1/3 Pitures. A clear step up in density and depth from the Volnay Village, the Premier Cru blend is only around 15% more expensive, making it a no-brainer value.

~Max

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I was also concerned about this vintage showing too much ripeness or a lack of precision but my fears were quickly put at ease. A few cuvées had some unusual weight to it but all in all the range was quite balanced. Guillaume told us that despite the slightly higher alcohol on some of the cuvées the wines of great pedigree found harmony easily, and I’d agree. As Daniel noted, the Champans stood out as superlative for its place in the line up, usually a wine which I think of as inferior (albeit slightly) to Caillerets, Taillepieds and Clos des Ducs. But the ‘18 seems on par with these in quality. I had a special affinity for the Caillerets, as I often do, being that it is the stoniest. Tremendous showing!

~Raj

Wines we tasted:

Volnay
Volnay 1er Cru
Volnay 1er Cru Fremiets
Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Angles
Volnay 1er Cru Champans
Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets
Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs

What's Pressoir Drinking? (Turkey Day Edition...)

November 25, 2020

Raj Vaidya - Ulrich Stein, Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2013

I’ve long been a proponent of drinking whites with fowl rather than leaning into the habit of picking a red, and while I think turkey is a pretty blank canvas for pairings, I like to pay more attention to pairing wines with the rest of the spread on the Thanksgiving table. With the smokiness of the sausage in my stuffing (shamelessly purchased from Restaurant Daniel rather than making it myself), the grilled squash I plan to serve and the sweet and salty cranberry jelly, I like to drink a slightly off dry Riesling from Germany, so I’ve picked one of my favorite producers, Ulrich Stein’s Kabinett Feinherb from 2013. Delicate, super mineral, with the weight of a feather and the palate reminiscent of rainwater, the perfect wine for tomorrow’s festivities…

Justine Puaud - Domaine Huet, Vouvray “Le Mont” Sec 1993

I always love to pair poultry with a juicy and elegant Pinot Noir. But this year I will go for something different. We chose the wine based on the stuffing. For this Thanksgiving holiday, we will stuff the turkey with raisins, prunes, nuts and a little bit of foie gras (as always!!!) and decided to open a Chenin from Domaine Huet Vouvray “Le Mont” sec 1993. I bought this bottle from our good friend James of restaurant Popina. My husband and I are Chenin lovers and are looking forward to discovering it.

For many wine insiders, Le Mont is one of Vouvray’s greatest vineyards. Some people even say it is indisputably a Grand Cru vineyard. With age, Le Mont develops strong perfume, great length and finesse. The richness of this age worthy Chenin Blanc will pair perfectly with the dry fruits in the stuffing and the saline aromas and notes of petrol will go superbly with the foie gras. My mouth is already watering….

Max Goldberg Liu - Domaine Didier Fornerol, Côte de Nuits Villages Rouge “La Rue des Foins” 2013 en magnum

While our Thanksgiving table will be a bit smaller than usual this year, the wines we drink can give back some of the warmth of being with family and friends. I’m looking forward to sharing this magnum from a winemaker friend, Didier Fornerol - it’s more generous and fruit-driven than many 2013 Red Burgundies I’ve had, but still has the vintage’s trademark cranberry or grapefruit-like tanginess that I think will be a great foil for the turkey.

J

aime Dutton - Champagne Chartogne-Taillet Les Barres Extra Brut

As I was picking out wines for our Thanksgiving  festivities, I went straight to Champagne this year. Not just for the celebratory moment of the holidays but because I love Champagne and I love the wines of Alex Chartogne and I cannot wait to pop this bottle tomorrow! This year we will just be 6 at our table and 2 of them prefer sparkling cider, so I am very happy that I will be able to enjoy this Champagne not only at the start of the evening but also when we sit down to the table.

As our plates are filled with turkey, stuffing, fresh Cape Cod cranberry sauce, sweet potato and squash all doused in gravy, I can imagine there is nothing better than enjoying more than a glass of Chartogne’s Les Barres.

This bottle is from the 2011 harvest and is 100% Pinot Meunier.

Eléonore Lafarge - Domaine Trapet, Gevrey Chambertin 2017

I will celebrate my first Thanksgiving this year. Since this is a time to enjoy with your family, I wanted to feel like I was at home during these festivities, so I decided to drink a Gevrey Chambertin from Domaine Trapet from 2017. My family has always been close to the Trapet family, so enjoying a bottle of Trapet always makes me feel at home.

I am going to enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving menu, so this bottle should pair perfectly with the turkey. I am already hungry and thirsty when I think about tomorrow!

Daniel and Sally - Domaine Simon Bize, Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru Les Guettes 1993.

Our small family gathering this Thanksgiving will enjoy a magnum of Domaine Simon Bize, Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru Les Guettes 1993. Not only will the wine pair perfectly with the flavorful heritage turkey raised by our neighbor upstate but it is another way of giving thanks to friends and family. Patrick Bize was one of my dearest friends in Burgundy and this wine will remind me of how thankful I am to have known him and enjoyed so many great times with him.

Edouard - Domaine de la Grand’ Cour Fleurie Lieu-dit “Champagne” Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2017 from Dutraive

For those who know me, my wine choice for Thanksgiving may not come as a surprise. Yes, I love Beaujolais. An often, this wonderful wine is considered the best companion for turkey, so I couldn’t resist. I’ve been wondering how the cliché of Beaujolais for Thanksgiving was born. Is it because of timing? Probably. Beaujolais nouveau is celebrated on the 3rd Thursday of November while Thanksgiving happens the week after. Or perhaps people found out that a juicy, delicious Gamay was the perfect answer to an often dry bird meat (not everyone masters turkey roasting like Julia Child…). Anyway, for me, Beaujolais has its place on the table everyday, with arguably all sorts of food, if any!

The wine pictured here was made by winemaker Jean-Louis Dutraive, an incredibly generous and talented man I had the chance to visit him at his domaine in Fleurie, Beaujolais. I was also around when, during a Paulée in NYC a few years ago, he opened some of his old bottlings from the 1990’s and the crowd, sipping on Pinot Noir from DRC and Chardonnay from Leflaive, dropped their jaw as they experienced the incredible freshness from such old wines, and on top of that, from Beaujolais!

Jean-Louis’ wines are easy to recognize among others. First, simply by looking at their robe. Because they’re never filtered nor fined, they usually appear slightly cloudy, with an intense light ruby color splashed with hints of fuchsia. I found his wines to always be incredibly expressive, almost exuberant at times. Aromatically, I guess the name of the appellation “Fleurie” has the psychological power to suggest scents of flower but I do find the aromatic palette to be loaded with violets, tulips and roses. The smell of wine may be called “bouquet” for a reason.

Whenever I serve Beaujolais to my guests and friends, I really enjoy watching them take a sip and immediately see an irresistible grin light up their face.

What's Pressoir Drinking?

November 16, 2020
By Raj Vaidya

Last weekend I had the opportunity to celebrate a friend’s birthday, Last year for his 40th I was mostly absent on account of being busy with work and La Fête du Champagne 2019, so I was excited to share a special birth year bottle with him which I had been saving for the occasion. 41 is more worthy of a celebration anyway, I figured!

The wines from Bartolo Mascarello, especially from this era, are truly classic expressions of reductively vinified Nebbiolo. The wines undergo fermentation in large Botti or upright wood casks, always old wood, never affecting the wines with oak flavors. The aging is slow and undisturbed for the most part, the lees (or sediment of yeasts from fermentation) remain in the wood tanks the entire time and the wine is never racked or removed from the sediment. This produces some reductive aromas and flavors, which when the wine is mature can express themselves in some ways easily confused as oxidation when in fact the opposite is the case. Such was the effect on this bottle.

It started out with notes of tar, balsamic and tree sap, but underneath that there was a distinct minerality, which promised the wine would evolve in the decanter. An hour later, aromas of celery salt, mushrooms and pine resin came to the forefront. Finally, the floral notes shined through and all those madeira or cooked and oxidative notes fell away. Dried rose petal, jasmine, incense and cranberries, with such a mineral elegance that the wine (despite a fair bit of tannin) felt completely weightless on the palate. Old Barolo is as close to Musigny as one can get outside of Burgundy, I’ve always held. This bottle proved my theory perfectly.

“Ode to La Paulée de Meursault”-Highlights

“Ode to La Paulée de Meursault”-Highlights

by Edouard Bourgeois

11/18/20

It is always difficult to pick your favorite wine when the lineup is as impressive as it was at our wine dinner at Daniel on Monday. On that day, the 88th Paulée de Meursault should have been celebrated in Burgundy but was obviously recently cancelled. We were thrilled to welcome some of you for a celebration of this legendary bacchanalia. Great bottlings from Domaine des Comtes Lafon and Domaine Michel Lafarge certainly did the job!

Not a single bottle was off in this pitch-perfect lineup. The first flight of village level Meursault from our friend Dominique Lafon was a mouth watering attack to the menu, delivering wines of sharp acidity, still in their youth but starting to develop their teenage personality.

Moving to red wines with wild Scottish pheasant, we chose to focus on the iconic and noble Pinot Noir expressions of Domaine Michel Lafarge in Volnay. The winery, a pioneer in bottling wines under their own name since the 1970’s, did not disappoint. The highlights? I would certainly mention the bright and incredibly juicy 2008 Clos des Chênes but also the 1999 vintage from the same vineyard. I really enjoyed the touch of rusticity from that concentrated vintage.

I skipped the second white wine flight only because that is the one I was most impressed with therefore I want to save it for last: a horizontal flight of three top premier cru climats of Meursault, all from the 2010 vintage. “Charmes”, “Genevrières” and “Perrières” were impeccable. This was the perfect terroir study and a true Burgundy experience. The “Charmes”, with its unmistakable roundness and well fitting “charming” character. The “Perrières”, screaming with minerality, offered power and lip smacking persistence. Lastly, the “Genevrières” really appeared as the sibling of the other two, marrying generosity and freshness.

What's Pressoir Cooking? Sneak Peek of the Next La Paulée Selection

by Max Goldberg Liu
November 18, 2020

We spent today filming for the third La Paulée Selection, whose theme will be “Holiday Reds.”

The three wines we selected were perfect for the first truly cold day of the year here in NYC - Domaine Jasmin Côte-Rôtie 2011, Couly-Dutheuil Chinon “Clos de l’Echo” 1997, a rare chance to enjoy a mature Loire red, and Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011, whose bright ripe fruit was like chicken soup for the soul on such a chilly day.

What to pair with these rich wines? We thought it was the perfect time to try our hand at preparing game birds - this time beautiful pigeons from D’Artagnan prepared three different ways, including this delicious Pigeon en Salmis that was a divine pairing with all of the wines, and especially with one of them. Grab this La Paulée Selection pack to enjoy all three bottles, access Daniel’s tasting notes and commentary, try your hand at the recipes, and find out which of the three paired best with the Salmis!

La Paulée Selections “Holiday Reds” goes on sale Wednesday, December 2 www.lapaulee.com/lpselections

What's Pressoir Drinking?

November 11, 2020
By Eléonore Lafarge

I feel very honored and privileged to live in New York. Even though 2020 is not an easy year, it is filled with historic moments and I am happy to be able to witness all these important moments that are happening in the US from the inside. This weekend the city was filled with euphoria and excitement so it seemed like a great weekend to (safely) celebrate and enjoy a nice bottle of wine.

 As a Burgundian, there is no better way to celebrate than with a bottle of Burgundy. So, I decided to enjoy a bottle of Clos de la Chapelle. Opening a bottle of Burgundy always makes me feel at home, even more when the bottle is from my parents’ neighbor!

 The very nice weather that we enjoyed this weekend called for a nice Chardonnay. I opted for a Domaine du Clos de la Chapelle, Beaune 1er Cru Les Reversées 2016. This Domaine du Clos de la Chapelle 2016 was very enjoyable even though the vintage was not the easiest due to the frost in Burgundy. There are not a lot of producers of Beaune 1er Cru Les Reversée blanc, so it was nice for me to discover a new wine. I enjoyed the bottle as an “aperitif” to warm up for dinner.  The wine was very fresh, deep and full-bodied. I liked the finish that was nice and lemon-flavored.

Domaine du Clos de la Chapelle, Beaune 1er Cru Les Reversées 2016

Celebrating La Paulée de Meursault "At Home"

November 11, 2020

Les Trois Glorieuses (Three Glorious Days) is the November trilogy of events in Burgundy beginning with the wine auction at the Hospices de Beaune followed by a dinner at the Clos Vougeot and culminating in La Paulée de Meursault, the famous BYOB lunch in the Château de Meursault that normally hosts around 750 guests but sadly had to be canceled this year.

In honor of the event that inspired our own Paulées de New York & San Francisco, we are drinking Meursault all week!

Follow us on Instagram to see what bottles we (and some special friends from Meursault) are opening.

La Paulée @lapaulee
Daniel @danieljohnnes
Jaime @jwestd
Max @maxgoldbergliu
Edouard @sommbody
Raj @rajvine
Justine @ju_puaud
Eléonore @eleonore_lafarge

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!

"Wine & War" - reflections on Veterans Day/L'Armistice

by Max Goldberg Liu
Wednesday, November 11

Every November 11th at 11 am, one can hear church bells ringing throughout France (and Europe) to commemorate l’Armistice - the end of the First World War - which claimed the lives of nearly 1.4 million Frenchmen and 15-22 million soldiers and civilians overall, scarring the involved societies so badly that the young survivors would be known forever after as the “Lost Generation,” coined by Gertrude Stein and popularized by Ernest Hemmingway in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

Visit any town in France, from its largest cities to the tiniest hamlet and there will inevitably be a monument marked with the names of inhabitants who died in the conflict. Indeed, even the romantic world of wine was inexorably caught up in the gears of history, as one can see in the town squares of Vosne-Romanée, Volnay, Puligny-Montrachet, and everywhere else in Burgundy.

World War II also had an immense impact on France’s wine industry, as documented in the great book Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don & Petie Kladstrup, which describes the attempted looting of France’s greatest chateaux & domaines by the Nazis, as well as the participation of many French winemakers in the Resistance.

I have had the good fortune of hearing one of these stories directly from Véronique Drouhin, whose grandfather Maurice Drouhin lived an extraordinary life, both as an esteemed winegrower and a French patriot.

Maurice was a veteran of the trenches in World War I, served as liaison officer to the American Expeditionary Force and (then) Major Douglas MacArthur and his Rainbow Division, and was awarded the American Distinguished Service Cross for his courage in a battle in Côte-de-Chatillon towards the end of the war in 1918. His citation is still on display in the Drouhin offices:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain Maurice Drouhin, Army of France, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving as Senior Liaison Officer, 84th Infantry Brigade (Attached), 42d Division, A.E.F., during the capture of Hills 2898, 242, and the Cote-de-Chatillon, France, October 14 - 16, 1918. When communication service had been broken between the brigade commander and the two front-line battalions of his brigade, due to the enemy's terrific fire which made it impossible to maintain either Signal Corps installations or runner service, Captain Drouhin at the critical moment volunteered to make his way across a gap between the two battalions in order to carry orders to the commanding officers thereof. His services on this occasion cannot be over-estimated and were accomplished voluntarily and only at the most deadly risk to himself.

Maurice Drouhin

Maurice Drouhin’s citation

Maurice Drouhin again served his country during World War II, when he worked with the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. Arrested and imprisoned in late 1941 but then released after six months due to a lack of evidence, Maurice continued his clandestine work despite being under constant suspicion. On June 7, 1944, the Gestapo again knocked on his door on the Rue d’Enfer in Beaune in order to arrest (or summarily execute) him. This time Maurice was prepared, with a “go-bag” under his bed. He escaped through the maze of cellar tunnels underneath his house and through a door to the Hospices de Beaune (Maurice was Vice President of the Hospices since the 1920’s), where he was successfully hidden by the nuns until Beaune was liberated in September 1944. That door in the Drouhin cellars has since been known as the Porte de la Liberté or “freedom door.”

To thank the Hospices for courageously hiding him, Maurice and his wife Pauline donated more than two hectares of vineyards in Beaune to the Hospices which would become the “Cuvée Maurice Drouhin, a blend of parcels in Avaux, Champs Pimonts, Boucherottes, and Grèves. Since 1961, the first year the cuvée was bottled, the Drouhin family has purchased the entire production at the Vente des Vins nearly every year.

So, this Veterans Day / Armistice Day, I raise a glass to Maurice Drouhin and all the winemakers who risked their lives and livelihoods for the cause of freedom.

La Porte de la Liberté