It was just under a year ago that Kim and I started discussing the possibility of the two of us traveling to Burgundy, which would be the first time for each of us. We enjoyed the wines, but had minimal knowledge of the producers and vineyards. Kim then immersed herself in the study of the region, as only she can, and we came up with an itinerary and a list of contacts in order to set up appointments.
We flew in and out of Geneva as suggested by a few people. All I can say is…never again! We stayed at Jardin des Lois, located on the ring road just outside of the Beaune city center, and an excellent location. It is highly recommended.
Our first dinner was set for Ma Cuisine. We were told to skip it, as it is not as good as it used to be, but we wanted to experience it for ourselves. We showed up about 5 minutes early only to find a locked door. We asked a passerby if he knew whether or not we could expect it to open, so now three of us were staring at the locked door, when suddenly, the curtains opened, the lights turned on, and Fabienne asked us to give them another 15 minutes. With our expectations in check, we probably had our best dinner there, even trumping dinner at Troisgros. We both ordered the same thing – seared scallops with herbs on a bed of salad greens followed by roasted pigeon and potatoes that must have been cooked in the pigeon fat. It was a fabulous dish. We drank a 2008 Dujac Morey St. Denis 1er Cru, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. At the end, Kim was invited to go to the back and select a dessert for us to share, and we had the most amazing almond cream cake, which was the best dessert of the entire week. At the table next to us was a young man dining alone. He overheard our conversation and leaned over and said he recognized us from the wine blogs. He was a buyer for Premier Cru and had just come from Piedmont, and was doing some tasting in Burgundy. He always comes to Ma Cuisine for the pigeon.
Kim’s nephew arrived from Paris later that night, and the next morning was spent at the Beaune market, where we picked up some bread, cheese, and dried sausages that kept us going for that day, and a few days after. Dinner that night was at Caves des Arches. We shared 3 appetizers – 2 that were fantastic and 1 that fell short. The best was the seared foie gras with caramelized apples that just melted in the mouth. We had a delicious escargot appetizer and a tasteless tuna tartare. Kim and I had a langoustine fricassee with oyster mushrooms and spinach in a shellfish broth, which was delicious. Anthony’s seared bass was good, but not as good as ours. A couple of desserts to share – crepes with oranges, and a semi freddo were a nice ending. We drank a 2008 Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint Jean, which turned out to be delightful with mineral, light citrus, and oak that stayed in the background.
Sunday, we had plans to meet up with American expat, Ray Walker, before driving to Roanne for a much anticipated dinner at Troisgros. Unfortunately, we missed Ray’s message of his need to reschedule the appointment, and when we arrived, no one was home. We got to see the cute town of Nuits St. George and then headed back to Beaune to pack for our overnight in Roanne.
The one thing I was certain of when planning this trip is I wanted to go to Troisgros. Dinner that night was a combination of highs and unexpected lows. Before being seated, we were shown the kitchen – that was it. I would have expected some discussion, but we just looked at the kitchen. Once we were seated, we ordered glasses of Champagne. After a sip or two, I began to wonder if something could be off with the Champagne, but how could that be in a place of this caliber? Wouldn’t they check before pouring a bottle of their house Champagne? As soon as I said it, Kim totally agreed and I asked to speak with the sommelier. Kim’s nephew had already guzzled down his glass, but I asked the sommelier if he had checked the bottle because I felt something wasn’t right. He immediately returned with a new and fresher bottle, saying the previous one was oxidized, and, no, they don’t check each bottle they open. Hmmm. We were served a plate of a delicious amuse, and each savory course was stupendous with the highlights being the plin with truffles, and a dish that was a cross between cheese and cream with a soft eggy filling, and the incredible bison dish with which we ended. Desserts were disappointing, and the best sweet was a piece of chocolate served in the lounge with espresso. We made a good wine choice with the 1999 Lafarge Clos des Chenes which was drinking beautifully. All in all, it was a great dinner, which lasted about 4 ½ hours, but that Champagne fiasco was annoying.
We left Roanne on Monday morning before dawn for our 10 AM appointment with Marie-Christine of Mugneret-Gibourg. She is a delightful woman who gave us a brief rundown of their vineyards. As with all but one winery, we tasted the 2010s in barrel. These were soft and delicious. She plans to bottle next February. We left for our appt. at Mugnier, and it was a different experience tasting these 2010s. They were raw with lots of energy and underlying material and without the softness of Mugneret-Gibourg. We were also given a taste of the 2009 Clos de la Marechale, but it lacked any finesse. Off to get some lunch before we visited Jean Marie Fourrier, we saw the cute restaurant, Le Chambolle, and realized we were hungry enough to stop there. Kim ordered the better dish, rabbit in mustard sauce, which she loved. My duck with figs was marred by a heavy sauce. Just a quick meal in order to be on time for our appt. Fourrier’s 2010s are fantastic across the board, and what a delightful host.
No dinner Monday night – we snacked on some of our purchases from the Saturday market.
Tuesday, we had a full day with our first appointment at Dujac. Standouts for me were the 2010 Malconsorts and Bonnes Mares, and a bottle of 1996 Clos St. Denis that we were treated to. It was a good tasting, but it was outdone by the sweetest visit of our trip, which followed Dujac. Domaine Arlaud was not on our radar but was recommended by a trusted source. We were met by Romain, who played host with his broken English. The wines astounded us, especially the 2010 Charmes Chambertin VV, and Bonnes Mares, but even the simple Bourgogne was lovely. Following this, our favorite visit, was our least favorite. But before that, we needed lunch, and we spotted a charming place, La Table de Pierre Bouree. Nice owner who is also a wine producer. Lunch consisted of a salad, filet mignon of pork with a mushroom sauce and rice. A glass of house Bourgogne blanc and cheese completed the meal. At our next stop, Domaine D’Ardhuy, the whole experience left us with the feeling of commercialism as opposed to the hospitality we felt at the other visits. Price lists were all over the tasting room, and here we were given 2008 and 2009s, but not the top bottlings, and no barrel tasting. The 2009s here and at Mugnier were heavy and clunky, and not what I look for in Burgundy. I was writing off this vintage. We had dinner plans at La Cabotte in Nuits St. George that evening, and we were fortunate enough to have been able to reschedule our visit with Ray Walker, and were meeting up with him just before dinner, so that we could just walk the couple of blocks from Ray’s to the restaurant. You have to admire Ray for bringing his young family and setting down roots and his perseverance in obtaining grapes from some prestigious vineyards. I didn’t get on his mailing list, but I do have some 2009s on order from Woodland Hills. His 2009 production is very small, but 2010 is miniscule, so I don’t expect to get any Maison Ilan from that year, which is too bad, because they are gorgeous. After spending a considerable amount of time with us, Ray needed to get back to his parenting responsibilites, so Kim and I left for dinner. La Cabotte is a real neighborhood kind of place with delicious food. We drank a 2001 Dujac Bonne Mares. We kept hearing how open the 2001s are, but this was tight and unyielding
Our last day and our morning appointment was at Clos des Lambrays. What a place! Beautiful gardens and a huge cellar. We were given the opportunity to taste the 2006, 2008, and 2009. Believe it or not, the 2009 was gorgeous and drank the best of the 3. The biggest surprise was how absolutely stunning the 2008 and 2009 whites were.
The production of whites is tiny and none were available for sale. Our last appointment of the trip was at Jadot. It offered quite an overview of the region, and I was impressed by the quality of the wines. Again, we tasted the 2010s, and the Corton Charlemagne was the white wine of our trip. The reds were all good, but this one white stood out. Our last dinner was at Cave Madeleine. I loved the wine wall and we brought a couple of bottles to the table to discuss with LoLo. Based on our conversation with Marie-Christine at Mugneret-Gibourg, we were leaning towards the 2007 Mugneret Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru. LoLo didn’t dissuade us, so that is what we drank. It took about 1 ½ hours to shine, but it finally became gorgeous. It was a nice, casual evening to end our trip….except we still had to get back to Geneva the next morning.
