Fascinating and delicious

I'm glad to say that things gradually improving here. I've been out for a couple of very welcome meals and hosted my first indoor lunch party for a very long time. Now I'm just waiting for the USA to open up so I can get over to Pennsylvania and see my beloved. But in the meantime, a lot of fine wine is getting drunk so time for another update. Reds this week, whites next week. 

This Beaujolais le Ronsay 2019 from Jean-Paul Brun was one of those low-sulphite numbers that I adore. It had a glorious nose of cherries and marzipan, and was fresh and fruity, despite being served slightly too cold (tsk, G). It was crying out for a baguette and a bit of pate. I'm informed that it cost less than £15. If I was still buying wine, I'd be stocking up!

This Givry 1er cru la Grande Berge 2015 from Domaine Ragot also went down very well. It was glossy, with a pleasing garnet colour, and the nose was absolutely gorgeous - summer fruit compote or even a fruit tart, as there was hint of creme patissiere. It was more serious on the palate, succulent with hints of cigar box and blackcurrant on the finish. As G said, "the nose is glorious, the palate merely excellent." We wondered if it needed more time, but I'd be a little anxious about the nose losing its freshness if one kept it too long. We gave it a 9. I think Givry is definitely a village to watch as this wine was quite a steal for what it was.

These days I don't always bother making notes on wines which I've reported on before, but this Chassagne 1er cru Morgeot 2010 from Domaine de la Choupette continues to provide a lot of pleasure. We detected various colours of currant on the nose - not sure I knew pink currants were even a thing -  and it had an enticing juicy sharpness. The notes of redcurrant made it an excellent pairing with venison and the finish was also wonderful, with a peacock's tail burst of black cherry and even a little chocolate. "Not for amateurs" said G. It's been a consistent 9.

I didn't get a photo of this one, but one night last week as we watched the rain pouring down on the Scottish football fans outside (which didn't stop the chanting, sadly), G poured me a mystery glass of something which I promptly misidentified as a gamay, as it was very purple. It turned out to be a Beaune 1er cru Cent Vignes 2017 from Jane Eyre. It was exuberant and lively, very fruity and a little frivolous. I found it slightly croquant and G detected a rather agricultural stemmy quality. Anyway, he told me it cost £58, which is rather a lot when you can get Coteaux Bourguignons for a third of the price. Apparently Jane is quite a cult producer, hence the ambitious price tag. We gave it an 8 but wouldn't be rushing back to buy more. 

Prices aren't what they used to be!

Earlier in the week, we succumbed to this Trefethen Napa Valley pinot noir from 1983, which had been lurking in my cupboard for a long time, part of the excellent lot I got at auction a couple of years ago. The cork initially looked good but then crumbled spectacularly. The wine itself looked mature, with a lot of brett on the nose initially which fortunately blew off, and a generous hand with the sugar bag. Or maybe they didn't need the sugar bag in California. Anyway, it was silky, with lovely autumnal fruit and was described as "fascinating and delicious" hence the title of this blog post. We would have thought it was from Burgundy if we hadn't known it was Californian. A real pleasure to drink.

Then on Thursday, G raised the bar yet again by producing this Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Sentiers 2012 from Domaine Arlaud. I had a good feeling about this one.

While he was doing stuff in the kitchen, I swirled it around my glass and started chortling at the sight of these impressive legs. What a wonderful glossy wine. The nose elicited groans of ecstasy - it was absolutely divine with sweet, heady fruit. "Oooh that's absolutely fooking gorgeous" said G in a camp northern accent. On the palate, it was congruent, silky and complex with mouthwatering fruit. Griotte cherries, loganberry, plum skin and dark chocolate were all mentioned. It was very sensual and typique, seriously sexy pinot noir. 2012 can be a little on the burly side, but this was not. Top notch Chambolle from an excellent producer. We thought it was at the beginning of its drinking window and if we were lucky enough to find another bottle there would be no rush, but no particular need to wait either. There was some debate as to whether it was a 10 but in the end we settled on a high 9. The kind of wine that reminds us why we drink Burgundy.

Action shot!

And finally, a real rarity. I was joined for lunch by G, ACC and the Baron a couple of weeks ago and G produced this magnum of Clos de Vougeot from Jean-Jacques Confuron which he got at auction. The vintage was unknown, and we had hoped that it would be revealed on the cork but it was not to be.

It was plummy in colour with a light rim and great legs, and looked pristine. For me, it was very old school - fragant, rich and powerful with incredible length. It didn't have a huge amount of fruit, but ACC said that Clos de Vougeot often has mocha chocolate, which was certainly the case here. We thought it was at least 35 years old and apparently most of the other wines in the lot were from 1978 so there's a very good chance that this was too, but we'll never know. There was no problem getting through the magnum between the four of us - what a treat! Thanks G.

Lunch at Le Bouchon du Palais, Dijon, 27th June

On Tuesday morning, there was just time for a final trip to Mes Bourgognes to pick up some goodies to take home, and then we packed up our belongings and travelled slowly in convoy down to the station, fortunately only a five minute walk. We caught the train to Dijon and then attempted to make sense of the left luggage situation. Fortunately the boys had prior experience of this, which involves buying a ticket at the station but then depositing the actual luggage at a hotel a couple of minutes' walk away.

Duly unburdened, we strolled into town to our lunch destination, Le Bouchon du Palais. ACC and G discovered this place last year, and had raved about it, so I was intrigued. It's tucked away in a sleepy little square behind la Place de la Liberation, and there were tables set outside, so we decided to sit at one of those.

First up were some aperitifs. I foolishly went for a glass of cremant, while G ordered a Pontarlier which turned out to be an extremely superior anis and much research since we've been home reveals that it's not available in the UK, sparking dreams of starting an import business.

We had a pot of white wine with our starters.

G had this house terrine...

...but I was thrilled to get this fried camembert which was absolutely huge, in case you can't tell. And this was a starter! It was cooked to perfection, all gooey inside.

For our red, we had this Beaujolais Le Ronsay 2015 from Jean-Paul Brun, which is one of these very pure, natural Beaujolais which I particularly enjoy.

As a main course, I went for this chicken dish which I'd heard was the thing to have. The waiter asked me if I knew what it was, and as I wasn't entirely sure, he then explained it to me. It was a chicken supreme swimming in a cheesy sauce made with three different cheeses. Amazing.

For pudding, G had ice cream, while ACC and I went for profiteroles, which was scarcely necessary in my case, but I justified it to myself on the grounds that we weren't going to have time for dinner that evening.

We lazed around for a bit in the sun and watched a little dog wandering around the square. I had spotted a sign for "Luxury Flat in Dijon" on the wall behind us and it appears that they have three flats right next door. The temptation to pack it all in and just move there was very strong!

We also spotted an open window into some legal offices and ACC reminded me of the scene in Engrenages when Monsieur le Juge had his diary stolen. I was just waiting for Josephine Karlsson or Pierre Clement to walk past, but we were a far cry from that gritty series.

In case it's not obvious from the above, I loved everything about Le Bouchon du Palais. The drinks, the food, and the relaxed yet charming service were all perfect and this was possibly my favourite meal of the entire trip.

There was time for a wander round Dijon before catching the TGV back to Paris. I'd made the schoolgirl error of booking the Eurostar before booking the TGV and then finding that there wasn't a TGV that gave us a comfortable time to get across Paris, so there was a crazy rush involving the dystopian RER system, followed by the dystopian passport control at the Gare du Nord, but fortified by cheese, chicken and profiteroles somehow we made it onto the Eurostar train with seconds to spare!

Many thanks to ACC for organising yet another fabulous trip. We packed so much in to a short space of time and as always it was great to be in Burgundy, the place where the magic happens. Until next time...