The granddaddy of them all! Come on out for our joyous annual celebration in wine country. We’ll be open Friday & Saturday from 10-4 with a great line-up of Scott Paul Pinot and Burgs to taste, including your chance to taste and buy 2007 Audrey Futures.

 

Author John Winthrop Haeger will be here on Saturday, signing copies of his exciting new book “Pacific Pinot – a comprehensive winery guide for consumers and connoisseurs.” A copy of this excellent book is yours FREE with the purchase of a 6-pack of Audrey futures, or a 6-pack of 2006 La Paulée, or any mixed 12-bottle case throughout the weekend. (John will only be here on Saturday, but the free-book deal is good Friday thru Sunday.)

 

$10 fee is refundable with a purchase of 3 bottles or more, and includes a selection of cheeses, patés and charcuterie. We’ll resume regular tasting room hours on Sunday the 30^th from 11-4.

 

 

Always one for accessories and enthusiastic drama, Pirrie needed to dig out a hat from the costume box before lending a hand in the kitchen.  She made, virtually unaided, one of the desserts that we are taking to the Neskowin (Oregon Coast)  home of our friends, the Kemps.

 

There’s no holiday with stronger food memories and traditions than Thanksgiving.  Traditions are a funny thing.  You carry some with you into a marriage and create some new ones.  Sometimes you don’t know you have one until you inadvertently skip something one year.  And someone groans.  What?!  No artichoke stuffing?  No cranberry mold?  These are two that were staples in my childhood, whether my family hosted or we carted these items to an aunt’s home.  (The cranberry mold was a cold, ice-cream like affair, with marshmallows, cranberries, cream and pecans, and was served right along with the turkey and stuffing).

 

 

 

In a world and even in a city that is far more transient than the one that I grew up in, it is tempting to wonder if our child is being surrounded by…comforted by…enough traditions.  Maybe we should spend Christmas in New Orleans and go to big family parties and see lots of people, I mused out loud.  Pirrie appeared struck in the stomach.  I want to have Christmas in my home, she declared.  And go to tea at the Heathman and see a play.  It’s our tradition.  As usual, she righted my upside-down thinking, and I was made aware of our growing traditions. 

For our feast tomorrow, I’ve prepared some cheese puffs that we’ll pop in the oven and serve warm with Champagne.  That is a recipe of my mother’s, a favorite at New Orleans cocktail parties in the 60s and 70s.  It’s as good as ever, as long as you don’t mind guests stalking you, waiting for the next batch to come out of the oven.  I also made a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust which is a nod to my days working with Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, aka the Too Hot Tamales.  The recipe is from a book that I helped them produce, and it sends Scott into orbit. 

 

We’ll drink some 2002 vintage champagne from Marc Chauvet, the new ’07 Chablis 1er Cru from Frédéric Gueguen, a ’99 Charmes-Chambertin from Taupenot-Merme, and perhaps some assorted other goodies - and we’ll toast our extraordinary blessings, which include sharing our wines and wine adventures with you!  Happy Thanksgiving!

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 ½ tsp. grated onion

8 T mayonnaise

2 T chopped chives

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

4 T parmesan cheese

1 loaf white bread*

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

 

Combine first six ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Cut bread into rounds using a jigger or aperitif glass (these crimp the edges better than a biscuit cutter will).  Mound a teaspoon of cheese mixture on each bread round and spread evenly.

 

Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Serve warm.  Recipe can easily be halved and freezes very well.

 

* good ‘ole gummy, American white bread works best.

He’s ba-a-ck. The return trip was uneventful. Long, but uneventful. There’s nothing better in the world than having Pirrie leap into my arms as I trudge off the plane at PDX.  I’m pretty much back on Portland time, but my body seems to still be a little confused around one or two in the afternoon - that’s 10 or 11pm in France, and crawling into bed feels like a very good idea for some reason!

 

It was great to see everyone at our pre-Thanksgiving weekend event at the winery - we poured a bunch of great Champagne and several offerings from Chambolle-Musigny. I was blown away by the size of the crowds over the weekend. The weekend before t-giving has become almost as much of a tradition here in Oregon wine country as the holiday weekend itself.

 

Please plan to join us this weekend - it’s the only weekend of the year that we pour all three of the Scott Paul Pinots, along with a nice selection of white and red burgs that are nice choices for holiday giving and entertaining. The sales of our 2007 Audrey Futures has been robust since we first announced the offer a couple of weeks ago - if you’re interested please get your order in as soon as you can - it is likely we’ll be sold out by the end of the t-giving weekend.

 

Also this weekend - we’re excited to host author John Haeger in our tasting room all day Saturday - he’ll be signing copies of his new book “Pacific Pinot”, which is yours free this weekend (while they last) with a purchase of a 6-pack of 07 Audrey futures, a 6-pack of 06 La Paulée. or any mixed 12-bottle case. (Or you can buy it straight out for $25, but then you’d have no wine to drink while reading it!)

 

I was also amazed last weekend at how many of you are reading the blog - it seemed like every other person that popped in over the weekend mentioned something from a recent post. Thanks so much for following my adventures and ramblings here. I really enjoy doing it, but even more so knowing that it’s actually being seen!

 

Looking forward to seeing you here this weekend (10-4 Friday & Saturday, 11-4 on Sunday.) And don’t forget to pick up the book -

 

Champagne vineyards in the village of Rilly-la-Montagne

 

The weekend before Thanksgiving has become a wine-tasting tradition in its own right here in the Willamette Valley – especially for those who want to get out ahead of the holiday crowds. We’ll make it festive all weekend with new Champagnes from Marc Chauvet, and a selection of newly arrived Burgs from my favorite village of Chambolle-Musigny – including bottlings from J-J Confuron, Hervé Sigaut, and Taupenot-Merme. And our own Scott Paul goodies will be here too, of course. We’ll be open 11-4 both days – tasting fee is $10 for this event, refundable with purchase. 20% discount on Featured Burgundies during event.

6:30 am – live from the TGV on the way to Charles de Gaulle. I drove up the N74 to the station in Dijon this morning in the dark – sad not to get a last look at the Côte as I passed by, saying my good-byes to Vosne, Chambolle, Morey & Gevrey. After who knows how many times, it’s still a little dicey finding the train station at this hour. Could have something to do with the brain not functioning fully at 5am, I suppose. It’s also never really clear where you’re supposed to leave the rental car – they change it every time, so I just stash it somewhere fairly obvious and pop the keys in the drop box. I’ve never received a notice that a car was missing, so I’m assuming they’ve always been found and returned to their rightful owner…

 

While waiting on the platform, I bumped into and chatted with Philippe Pacalet, one of Burgundy’s most talked-about and controversial winemakers. Philippe has a small negoce operation based in Beaune – he makes some delicious wines from Gevrey, Chambolle, Pommard and others I don’t recall. The controversy stems from his non-use of sulfur. He claims to use no sulfur whatsoever throughout the process. I’ve tasted with him in his cellar, and can attest that the wines are indeed beautiful and well made. How they travel and how they age is the question. Without any sulfur to protect the wines, one would normally expect a rapid oxidation process and some very premature browning. I suspect (as do most folks I know) that he is actually adding at least a bit of SO2 prior to bottling. He sells most of his wine in Japan, and I can’t imagine the wines surviving the voyage to Tokyo without some protection. He is sitting directly behind me on the train as I write – we joked that this must be the “voiture des vignerons” (the winemakers car.)

 

I am most grateful that the railroads did not go on strike again this year – last year’s strike forced me to drive to Paris from Beaune, which took 6 and a half hours instead of the normal 3 due to the extra traffic. I understand that this year’s strike is still possible for this weekend – in protest of the fact that they are considering changing the retirement rules, letting one retire at 65 if they want to rather than the current mandatory 60. Apparently they don’t want the option to work 5 years more. To the French, that’s five whole years of missed vacation, and you know this place is all about vacation. Work here is seen by most as something you do to kill time between vacations…

 

Excellent dinner at Caves Madeleine last night – escargot stew in a salty, garlicky broth and perfect duck leg confit, followed by killer Valrhona chocolate and salt-caramel ice cream. Yum! We had a 2004 Lafon Meursault, 2005 Mugnier Chambolle Fuées, 2001 de Vogüé Chambolle 1er, and then a 2004 Coche-Dury Meursault Rougeots with the cheese. All in all, not a bad night!

 

So, from here it’s a train, two planes, and lot’s of waiting between them all, and then Martha & Pirrie will be at the airport in Portland to pick me up and bundle me home a mere 25 hours after leaving the guest house in Volnay. My heart is unbelievably happy in Burgundy, but always even more ecstatic to be home with my girls. Perhaps the best part of the trip is getting home and seeing Pirrie’s joy in opening her little presents (which of course always include some chocolates from Madame Bouché!) Au revoir, la Bourgogne – je reviendra bientôt!

I started my last day on the Côte with what is always a most entertaining tasting and visit – at Lucien Le Moine in Beaune. This micro-negoce produced outstanding wine from 60 different appellations in 2007 – but only a barrel or two of each for a total of 100 barrels. We didn’t taste all 60, but about half of them all together. I won’t run down the entire list here, but I should talk about the very illuminating tasting of 10 different wines from Vosne-Romanée – 6 Premier Crus and 4 Grand Crus that were an amazing illustration in terroir.

 

First the Beaux-Monts – very pretty fruit backed by earthy, firm tannins. Then the Suchots – rich fruit sweetness and firmer tannins. That was followed by the Petits Monts – all elegance and refinement and pretty red fruits. Next was Malconsorts, very balanced, long, and simply yummy. Then the Gaudichots – very savory, notes of grilled meats, and perhaps the most complex of all the 1ers. Echezaux followed, very Suchots-like but deeper and a little rougher around the edges. Then Grands Echezeaux, full of minerals, red fruits and a very refined purity. The Romanée-St. Vivant is a study in elegance, with complex fruit and some delicious mocha/coffee notes. Richebourg was a fitting finish – my tasting notes simply read “great wine”!

 

The whites were also stunning - none more so tham the intensely minerally Meursault Perrières - the best white I tasted here all week, young or old.

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to the ‘07s at Buisson-Charles in Meursault. They’ve done it again. The whole range has just been racked prior to bottling, but they were showing very well – especially the Bouches-Chères and Goutte d’Or (although M. Buisson preferred the Charmes today.)

 

Aleth Girardin has also nailed it in ’07. From the Vignots to the Rugiens her wines are showing intense minerality and power – excellent but completely different expressions of Pommard from those chez Thierry Violot. Her Clos des Mouches today was the best I’ve had from her in the last 3 or four years – a rich fruit sweetness in the mouth and excellent length…

 

And that wraps up the tasting for this time around – I’m off to dinner at Caves Madeleine (and perhaps to plunder Lolo’s cellar for a good bottle), and then it’s an early-to-bed for me – the train leaves Dijon at 6:30 tomorrow morning. More soon from the road!

It is so rare in our world these days for reality to actually exceed one’s expectations. My expectations for the Paulée in Beaune every year are impossibly high, yet the event manages to blow me away every time.

 

Lunch was again this year prepared by Michelin 3-star chef Jacques Lameloise from Lameloise in Chagny. It was quite simply superb – most notably his preparation of foie gras and duck breast, the scallops with truffles and potato purée, and the grilled venison dish was nearly orgasmic.

 

In attendance as far as vignerons were the Mugneret sisters from Mugneret-Gibourg, Jean-Nicolas Meo from Meo-Camuzet, Louis Liger-Belair, Jean-Luc Pepin from de Vogüé, Louis-Fabrice Latour, Dominique Lafon, François de Nicolai from Chandon de Briailles, and of course our hostess Véronique Drouhin. Burghound Allen Meadows and a group of serious Burg-geeks rounded out the room of 50 for a nice little 7-hour lunch.

 

 

 

 

Oh yes, there were some wines. In the order they crossed my table –

 

The Whites

 

2004 Montrachet - Drouhin

1996 Puligny Clavaillons - Dom. Leflaive

1972 Chassagne Morgeot - Ramonet-Prudhomme

1995 Chevalier Montrachet - Dom. Leflaive

1976 Vosne-Romanée Pinot Blanc - Meo-Camuzet

2000 Meursault Bouches-Chères - Roulot

1971 Puligny Combottes - Ampeau

1992 Chevalier Montrachet - Latour

1995 Bienvenue Batard Montrachet - Dom. Leflaive

1993 Meursault En la Barre – Jobard

2005 Meursault Charmes – Colin-Morey

1970 Chassagne Morgeot – Ramonet-Prudhomme

1949 Clos des Mouches – Drouhin

1992 Chassagne Ruchottes – Ramonet

1982 Montrachet – DRC

2003 Montrachet – Amiot

1992 Montrachet – Drouhin

1999 Montrachet – Drouhin

1993 Montrachet – Ramonet

1983 Montrachet – Lafon

1989 Montrachet – Remoissenet

1996 Montrachet – Lafon

1992 Meursault Genevrières – Lafon

1989 Corton – Chandon de Briailles

1989 Chavalier Montrachet – Geo. Deleger

 

Somewhere around the time the ’82 Montrachet came by, Jean-Nicolas Meo announced softly, in his heavily accented English – “I am starting to be happy!”

 

 

 

 

 

And then a few Reds…

 

2000 Musigny – Mugnier

1988 Griotte Chambertin – Ponsot

2000 Nuits-St. Georges Murgiers – Meo-Camuzet

1976 Chapelle Chambertin – Trapet

1972 Echezeaux – Mugneret-Gibourg

1993 Musigny – de Vogüé

1996 Corton Bressandes – Prince de Merode

2000 Chambolle-Musigny 1er – de Vogüé

2000 Clos St. Jacques – Rousseau

1993 Amoureuses – Mugnier

1990 Corton – producer unknown

1996 Chambertin – Bretagna

1999 Clos de la Roche – Ponsot

1978 Bonnes Mares – de Vogüé

1990 Griotte Chambertin – Ponsot

1990 Chambertin – Rousseau

1987 Chambertin – Bourée Fils

1993 Echezeaux – Henri Jayer

1999 Corton Dr. Peste – Hospices de Beaune

1999 Vosne-Romanée Brulées – Meo-Camuzet

1966 Romanée-St. Vivant – Marey-Monge/DRC

1966 Corton – LeRoy

1993 Nuits-St. Georges – Henri Jayer

1983 La Tâche – DRC

1971 Bonnes Mares – de Vogüé

1988 Chambolle Fueselottes – Mugneret-Gibourg

1964 Clos Vougeot – Mugneret

1937 Richebourg – DRC

1974 Musigny – de Vogüé

1985 Au dessus de Malconsorts – Noblet-André

1952 Echezeaux – Emile Mugneret

1947 Bonnes Mares – de Vogüé

1942 Latricières Chambertin – no producer indicated

1961 Puligny-Montrachet Rouge – Chartron

 

 

 

 

Some amazing rarities here.  The ’42 Latricières – there was very little wine produced that year, as they were still in the middle of the war and all of the men were away. This was probably made by a group of women and girls in the village, but from whose property is not known. I have never seen a Puligny Rouge – the ’61 was actually quite nice. The ’85 Au dessus de Malconsorts was then a village parcel, is now classified 1er Cru, and was made by the short-lived domaine belonging to M. Noblet (winemaker for DRC) and his wife. Also notable for rarity was the ’76 Pinot Blanc from Vosne-Romanée by Meo-Camuzet – all the blanc has long ago been pulled out there, but this wine was rockin’! Nose of petrol like a reisling, and a complex and rich palate like an old Meursault. Great stuff!

 

 

 

 

My wines of the day were the ’66 RSV, the ’64 Echezeaux, and the ’49 Clos des Mouches – but many many more were right up there. What an amazing afternoon!

 

This all ended at about 7:30pm – so of course being hungry and thirsty a bunch of us headed to Ma Cuisine for dinner and Champagne. A light meal of Foie Gras and duck breast, washed down by a nice bottle of Selosses Brut, and we finally called it a day.

 

Needless to say, it’s on my calendar already for next year. Huge thanks and deep appreciation to Véronique Drouhin for putting it all together, and to everyone who came and shared these magnificent wines – I am honored to be among you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another full day of tasting up and down the Côte today – starting at Anne & Hervé Sigaut in Chambolle-Musigny. I guess this is as good a time as any to reveal the big news – for the first time ever there will be a Scott Paul wine produced in Burgundy! One single barrel of 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Bussières is now resting in barrel (a twice-used Remond barrel from Tronçais, btw) in the Sigaut cellars, awaiting bottling in December 2009 for release in early 2010. You might know that I’m a confirmed Chambolle freak, and to have the first Scott Paul Chambolle is very exciting. It has lovely red fruits, a nice perfume to the nose, and rich sweet fruit all the way through the lingering finish. Watch this space for more details as things develop.

 

The whole range of 07s at Sigaut was gorgeous – today I thought the Chatelôts and Sentiers showed exceptionally well. I hope that soon the Sigauts will get the recognition they deserve as one of the top-level producers in Chambolle. The wines are simply drop-dead gorgeous.

 

Ditto for the sublime 07s at Jean-Marc Millot. What can I say? There may not be  prettier examples of Echezeaux, Grands Echezeaux and Clos Vougeot elsewhere. There is simply such a fine, beautiful line running thru these wines – purity of flavor, transparency of terroir, and laser-like minerality. As they say over here – Miam-Miam (their version of yum-yum!)

 

Double ditto for the 07s at Thierry Violot-Guillemard. The most elegant expression of the great terroirs of Pommard you will ever find. His tiny monopole 1er Cru Clos de Derrière St. Jean continues to blow me away. Being that a swimming pool is smack in the middle of the clos, it was suggested today we should call it a mono-pool!

 

I wound up the day with a great tasting and dinner at Taupenot-Merme in Morey. They have also done well in 07 – tonight the Mazoyères Chambertin was one of the most attractive young Grand Crus I’ve tasted in a long time. The entire family hosted me to a delicious dinner in their lovely home, followed by hours of lively conversation – which in France always turns to politics. It is exciting to see how excited they are about Obama. The world is truly wishing him and all of us well. We have the goodwill of the world right now – it’s wonderful knowing he won’t waste it like the last guy.

 

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year – La Paulée! I’m off to bed to rest up for a day of serious tasting (tough work, I know!) I’ll leave with a shot of the Sigaut’s kitty “Phoebus” (god of the soils) romping in their cellar in Chambolle…

 

 

 

Dinner Friday night was at l’Auberge de Vieux Vigneron in Corpeau – a tiny little hamlet just below Puligny. They do great grilled meats right in the fireplace in the middle of the dining room. I split a huge Côte de Boeuf with Jordan Mackay – it was grilled to perfection and very tasty…

 

Saturday morning kicked off with a walk around the Beaune market (which they moved out of the center of town this weekend due to the auction tomorrow and the massive human traffic in the village), where I ran into Dominique Lafon buying some oysters. Dominque will be joining us at the Paulée on Tuesday, with perhaps a good bottle or two in tow…

 

I joined up again with Jordan and his sommelier buds from SF – Jason & Mark – and we partook of the killer street food on offer around the Place Carnot in Beaune.

 

Here’s Jordan with his oysters and a tumbler of Chablis –

 

 

Wine writer Jordan Mackay in Beaune

 

 

 

And here’s the real character who was frying up plates of frogs-legs and hollering “à la Grenouille, à la Grenouille” (to the frog, to the frog!) They were deliciously garlic-y and lip-smacking good.

 

 

 

 

I took the crew on a vineyard tour up and down the Côte – stopping off to walk thru Montrachet, La Tâche, Romanée-Conti, La Romanée, La Grand Rue, Richebourg, Romanée-St. Vivant, Musigny, Amoureuses, and all of the Gevrey Grand Crus. Here’s a shot of the Drouhin parcel of Musigny…

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was a snack of some Comté and a foie gras mousse from Moron in Pommard, my favorite charcuterie shop here. Just a little something to tide me over until dinner! Good thing, because no food hit the plate until about 9:15 last night at the “Souverain Bailliage de Pommard” dinner and ceremonies. This was where I was inducted into the confrèrie last year. It was fun to be back as a returning member. This was a special anniversary edition of the event, which was started 25 years ago by one of our great Pommard producers, Aleth Girardin. They did a special powerpoint presentation during dinner, with photos of highlights from past years, including the attendance of French cinema giant Gerard Depardieu at the first dinner in 1983.

 

The food was great, the singing of Burgundian drinking songs was spirited, and a good time was had by all. Especially the gentleman sitting across from me, who specializes in getting inducted into confrèries all over France. (Every region, village, wine, foodstuff or special ingredient has its own festival and confrèrie in this country.) Here he is during the induction process, wearing the ceremonial costume from the Royal Order of the Haricot de Saucissons (A large, big as your thumb bean that they like to eat with small sausages - I kid you not!) I recorded some of the songs and merrymaking during the course of the evening for a future podcast – should be good stuff…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was the first one to leave at about 1:15 am – they like for their dinners to run late here – and I crashed back in Volnay until about 10am.

 

Today was overcast and cool, but warmed by the thousands of people descending on Beaune for The Auction – otherwise known as the Hospices de Beaune. I met up with wine biz heavyweight Raj Parr (wine director for the Michael Mina group of restaurants) for a great lunch at Bistro de l’Hotel – mesclun salad with shaved parmesan and a blanket of fresh Burgundy truffles, followed by an awesome grilled ribeye and frites. We had a ’99 Clos du Chateau Des Ducs from Lafarge that was inspiringly excellent, and a killer ’06 Chambolle les Feuselottes from Mugneret-Gibourg that was showing absolutely beautifully for a youngster. I’m looking forward to seeing the Mugneret sisters at the Paulée…

 

I’m back in Volnay now resting my stomach for the next assault – dinner tonight at Michelin-starred Le Benaton with Thierry & Estelle Violot-Guillemard. In the meantime, here’s Aleth Girardin’s daughter Anne-Charlotte, one of our sommeliers last night…