I made a dinner, once again, by the restaurant of Hotel Bristol. Virginie, a pretty and efficient sommelier will help me to prepare the ceremony of opening of the wines. A Canadian wine lover who lives in USA had wished to attend this special moment, before attending the dinner with his wife. He wants to know how I proceed. The corks come very easily, even if, for one of them, I had to fight as it was firmly stuck to the glass. Every cork, even breaking into pieces comes completely out of the bottle. The smells of the wines do not frighten me. The only uncertainty comes from the Latour 1943 which could have an unpredictable evolution. The Romanée Conti 1974 has a very high fill in the neck. We should normally enlarge the surface to let more air in contact with the wine, to let it breathe sufficiently. One can easily imagine that it is only by pure self-sacrifice and dedication that I suggested to Joe that we consent to drink a few drops of this cherished wine, just to obtain the optimal oxygenation!
The guests are nearly all on time and while I explain how to enjoy at best the dinner, we drink a champagne Charles Heidsieck put in cellar in 1997 which surprises me a lot. This is a very elegant champagne with evocations of pink flowers and soft fruits. It is not too much dosed, and it plays exactly its role which is to prepare us for a dream dinner.
Eric Fréchon worked with his sommelier Jérôme Moreau to prepare an absolutely wonderful dinner : Royale de foie gras fumé, écume d’oseille / Noix de coquilles Saint-Jacques contisées à la truffe blanche d’Alba, gnocchis au jus de roquette et parmesan / Sole de petit bateau farcie aux girolles, sucs d’arêtes réduits à peine crémés au vin jaune / Faisane de foie gras, topinambour et truffe / Comté 18 mois / Stilton / Dégustation autour de la poire.
We go to our table installed exactly in the middle of what I consider as the nicest dining-room in Paris. The carved wood and the Aubusson tapestries give a specific atmosphere in this purely elliptic room, to which must be added the kindness of the service. Some “amuse-bouche” arrive, and show immediately the extreme sophistication of the talent of Eric Fréchon. The course which comes is a special one that I had asked to include, as I had been in love with it. It is a foie gras which is intensely smoked, and with a delicate mousse of sorrel. The tastes are so enigmatic, unusual, that it is exciting. Probably one of the best preparations for me for this year. By consequence, the Dom Pérignon 1985 has not the first role. It is not the star of the show. But this champagne is sufficiently intelligent to adapt itself to the recipe and show how polite it can be. A great and sophisticated champagne, completely wrapped by a puzzling recipe.
The Corton Charlemagne Verget 1993 is a white which has no age. No one could say if it is young, mature or old. It is so. Completely reassuring, it gives a frank pleasure. The white truffle is not very powerful even if the smell is invading our nostrils. What strikes me is the combination with the sauce made of mashed rocket. Rocket is a salad that I normally exclude of my dinners as it has an extremely intense taste which devastates the palate. But tonight, this combination is amazingly provocative and sexy.
The Château Latour 1943 has a colour of a soft red going towards pink (claret). The nose is extremely structured. The taste requires a great attention to capture all the finesses. It’s elegant, subtle, of a great interest. But we are all attracted by what happens in the glass which is on its right. What is funny is that I had talked some minutes ago about the qualities of the wines of 1929. And in our glass, the Château La Gaffelière Naudes 1929 is absolutely extraordinary. The bottle has an original cork, checked by my Canadian friend, and its colour is the colour of a wine of 2003 which would just be filled from the barrel. The density of the wine is immense. It evokes for me some great 1961, and it has some similarities with the Cheval Blanc 1947 that we had on a previous dinner with one of the guests attending the dinner of today. The wine has no age, has a balance which seems incredibly natural. It is a great wine full of perfection. Among us, there are a father and his son who love to cook. They are extremely impressed by the wine, and they say : “this experience cannot be explained to anyone. When you told that 1929 is great, we listened to you. But it is impossible to convince anyone when he has not drunk by himself”.
I had added a wine which was not announced so I put it between two courses, with no food. The Vosne-Romanée Les Genévrières Charles Noëllat 1969 makes us enter in the world of Burgundy, with a charm with is typical. The wine is of a great year, and our Canadian friend explains that this Genévrières has been bought some years ago by Lalou Bize-Leroy, one of the most influential Burgundy winemaker, and it indicates that this land must make a great wine if Lalou bought it. Our glass confirms that it is true. The wine has the enigmatic charm of Burgundy.
Now come two very opposite Burgundies. The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques Clair Daü 1961 had given the greatest nose when I opened it some 6 hours before. I was expecting something great. It was the case. This wine is not famed but it is from a great year. And it is convincing, generous, happy. This gives a contrast with the Romanée Conti, Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1974 which is the pure romantic elegance. My glass is served first in order that I check the wine, and the wine is very light, of a pale red. And I am served with the end of the bottle, completely dense, nearly black but with no sediment – just concentration -, and I have a pleasure of a great magnitude. Because all the complexity of RC is there, but as it is a light year, it is offering every of its aspects in subtlety. The votes will indicate that many guests have understood this complex wine. I explore the spices, the different tastes that make of this wine something special, and I recognise some aspects of the RC 1967 that we have drunk some 20 days ago. A propos, it is interesting to see that for the two dinners in a row there was Latour 1947 and now Latour 1943, and there was Romanée Conti 1967 and now 1974.
When Aubert de Villaine knew which years I would open for these two dinners, he was sad, because I open mainly secondary years. There is a reason for that. In auctions, when I bid for the most prestigious years, contrarily to what happened in the past, the bids go too high for my personal appreciation of a possible price. So I am forced to pass, when on less famed years, it is always possible to win the lot. Anyway, I am pleased to have drunk two expressions of Romanée Conti, and apparently my guests too.
Now it’s time for very classical combinations. The comté that I have asked with only 18 months, as a 36 months which was proposed would have been too strong, goes with a Château Chalon Jean Bourdy 1955 which is one of the best that I have drunk from this year that I love. Classical elegant combination, followed by a Stilton with Château Filhot 1986. If I have put such a young Sauternes (a kid !) whose taste is clearly expected and does not create any surprise, it is because I want to avoid competition between the wines. So the Château Rayne-Vigneau 1947 has the scene for itself to deliver a perfect “one Sauternes show”. I am in love with this perfect Sauternes full of personality with evocations of mangoes, pink grapefruit and candied fruits. The dessert, as it happens very often when the chef creates a dessert, was absolutely not in agreement with the Rayne-Vigneau, except a candied pear which went very well.
As I want always to make a surprise, I had brought a Rhum circa 1890 of an extreme perfection, which left speechless a Rhum 23 years of age of the restaurant.
The votes were more concentrated than usual. Four wines got a vote of first, Romanée Conti getting four votes of first, the 1961 Gevrey getting 3 votes of first as the La Gaffelière 1929. The Vosne Romanée got one vote as first.
The consensual vote would be : Romanée Conti 1974, La Gaffelière Naudes 1929, Rayne Vigneau 1947 and Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques Clair Daü 1961.
My vote has been : 1 - Château La Gaffelière Naudes 1929, 2 - Rayne Vigneau 1947, 3 - Romanée Conti, Domaine de la Romanée Conti 1974, 4 - Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques Clair Daü 1961.
The most extraordinary recipe has been the first course with foie gras smoked and a mousse of sorrel. The most exciting combination has been between the Corton Charlemagne Verget and the sauce with rocket. We have had the benefit of a great chef, an excellent service, and, as usual, wines which perform at the precise moment when they have to. A great dinner.