The Meursault has landed
This past spring my supertaster pal Karl invited me to attend a wine tasting put on by Séguin et Robillard (the Canadian representatives for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti if you didn’t already know) to showcase the wines of Domaine Buisson-Charles of Meursault. Very interesting: I had a chance to meet the vintners Patrick Essa and Catherine Buisson and hear their thoughts about the wine and the terroir as each wine was presented. And while a few bottlings weren’t quite to my taste, several were and I ordered some to reanchor the whites in my cellar holdings.
Anyway, this month, Pierre Séguin announced that the Meursault has finally landed and was available for pickup. Even better, those willing to brave the drive to L’Assomption to pick up their orders could also re-taste the bottles. Karl had to pick up his allocation as well, so I suggested that we split the ride and try out what will eventually be approachable in a few years.
Since we were already going to pick up the bottles, Karl extended an invitation to have dinner à la bonne franquette with a couple of “petits vins”. I know what dinner is but I had to ask what the phrase à la bonne franquette meant. Loose definition is “without ceremony” so it goes along the lines of uncomplicated and easy-going. Okay. When I was in undergrad, some of my classmates in residence used to do these types of meals, but it meant that someone had dregs from a box of Froot Loops, someone else had a semblance of fresh milk and others had located a stash of semi-petrified dinner rolls from the cafeteria.
Obviously it wasn’t going to be something like this, but the idea is to have something that’s quickly thrown together without any fussiness. It turns out that Karl’s idea of à la bonne franquette is anything that isn’t the anal-retentive extreme that is my Butter Event risotto, as quickly thrown together without any fussiness turned out to be:
- confit of salmon with a warm potato salad (salmon slow-poached in olive oil served with a warm bacon, green onion and pan-roasted potato salad)
- medallions of pork tenderloin with a green pepper sauce and vegetables (the pork got some Maillard reaction deliciousness with help from just a little bit of butter)
- cheese(s)
And the little unassuming wines?
2007 Domaine les Pervenches Chardonnay Le Couchant. Typical Chardonnay nose of apples but very restrained and not fruit-forward like many New World Chardonnays. This wine was named after the part of the vineyard that is seen with sunset. This was a nice bottle to start off as an apéro.
2002 Michel Bouzereau Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs-Gain. Yes, when it comes to la bonne franquette, it apparently includes Puligny-Montrachet. I have had several Puligny-Montrachets before but not a Champs-Gain and certainly not this producer: the Bouzereau was very tight, but flinty with citrus and apple notes on the nose, with some caramel on the palate. It came around very slowly in the glass but paired nicely with the salmon, with acidity to balance the richness of the fish and potatoes and the citrus to play against the salmon. I saved a glass of this to drink with the cheese; after 40+ minutes in glass, the wine had opened up and exhibited notes of brioche and honey to go with the mineral undercurrent.
2007 Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py “James”. This was all violets and blackberries on the nose with a little bit of allspice and nothing but smooth blackberry on the palate, and was his endeavor to change the perception of a much-maligned wine region. Karl thought that it lacked the spiciness to match up against the pepperiness of the pork but I thought the fruitiness complemented it well. Regardless, it was a nice smooth-drinking (and pretty impressive) Morgon. After a wine like this, people definitely need to go out of their way to kick DuBoeuf and Beaujolais nouveau to the curb.
Photos
Aftermath
Pierre Séguin is a really interesting man who has a lot of anecdotes to share as well as excellent opinions on the wines of Burgundy. This was a very different person than the one I met at the tasting; that Pierre Séguin was really focused on ensuring that the tasting went smoothly and that the wines were well-presented. This Pierre was like a big kid hyped on up caffeine and sugar on XMas eve – it’s really someone who’s excited about his passion (that would be top-flight Bourgogne). It’d be nice to continue interacting with him since I’d learn quite a bit about the vintners of these domaines and what they’re really trying to do.
Karl? Well, I think it’s an understatement to say that he’s one generous dude. I often sometimes cringe when he mentions “des petits vins” but he’s really unassuming about pulling out these gems because there’s always this sense that he’s thinking ”oh boy! I get to try this!” when you watch him pop the corks. He definitely tops Pierre in terms of anticipation and excitement over great bottles. In the end I’m very happy and privileged to be able to taste these with him and to tap his encyclopedic oenologic knowledge to improve my own vinous appreciation.
Yep, that drive to L’Assomption turned out to be a really great day.
Popularity: 8% [?]
