The Aesthetics of 2013 Crus

The 2013 Crus turned out to be one of the delicious vintages in my recent memory. The 2013 vintage did not start well and was difficult.  It was cool and grapes struggled to ripen.  As with great wines, the vignerons, who cared their vineyards and not pushed what the vintage had to give, produced beautiful Crus in 2013.  It was so much work in the vineyards that I think the vignerons were exhausted by the time the elevage was finished.

When first bottled, our vignerons themselves did not know how the vintage would turn out. It may be a surprise to readers, but our vignerons themselves do not always know how the wine will evolve. They, of course, have a reasonable trajectory but not always certain. The uncertainty lingered after the wines were first bottled.  After a year in bottles, the Crus evolved to be have what I call ‘French aesthetics’ – pretty and perfumed. The Crus, not lacking intensity, are low in alcohol with stunning nose and freshness. Subtlety and nuances, which I appreciate the most in wines, are abundant in the 2013 Crus. The differences of terroirs are clearly etched in 2013.  I can’t think of another wine that brings so much joy at my dinner table.

Cheese Plate – A French Experience

Cheese plates in France are, well, just awesome.  I remember eating at Chez Michel in the 10^th Arrondissement in Paris a few years back.  The table next to us ordered a cheese plate, which always follow after the main entrée.  A dizzying array of cheeses arrived in a huge wooden cutting board.  A proper cheese plate always has a brick of butter and is always accompanied by a basket of crusty bread.  I wanted to order the cheese plate but I was just so full. At Chez Michel, like many fining restaurants throughout France, the cheeses arrive in tranche, round, or brick.  The idea is to help yourself to cheeses.  It is simply spellbinding to see the French devour cheeses after main entrée with aplomb.  It is rumoured the French have a separate stomach for this separate dish.  Now, when I am in France, I enjoy a cheese plate as a part of dinner.  And I always lose weight when I am in France.  It is a mystery.

Pictured above is the cheese plate at Jean Foillard in Morgon during my last visit to the domain.  Jean and Agnès Foillard make the cheese plate look so effortless.  Jean and Agnès also serve butter with their cheese plate – of course.  White wines are generally better accompaniments to cheeses.  I personally like Loire or Jura white wines with a cheese plate.  I noticed Jean and Agnès Foillard served the whites from Thierry Puzelat of Clos du Tue-Boeuf in Loire with their cheese plate.

By the way, LesAmis du Fromage has awesome cheese selections.  And Les Amis is where I shop every time I have a French craving for a cheese plate.

Gamay – Celebrations at Dinner Tables

Recently, I had the pleasure to meet a sommelier from Quebec.  She was staying for a few months in our town.  She has worked a few harvests in France with the vignerons whom I respect.  While enjoying a few bottles of wines with her and other friends over a dinner, she blurted out: “Gamay is my favourite.  It accompanies foods so well.”  She went on to say: “Gamay creates an ambiance at a dinner table that no other wines can.” Those are meaningful words that are difficult to describe in words.

With her declaration, I noticed that every bottle on the dinner table was Gamay or a Gamay blend: Noella Morantin ‘Mon Cher’, Puzelat-Bonhomme ‘Le Tel Quel’, Clos duTue-Boeuf ‘La Butte’, Christophe Pacalet ‘Fleurie’, Jean Maupertuis ‘Les PierreNoires’, and Jean Foillard ‘Morgon Cuvee Corcelette’.   Unconsciously, I had brought-up all Gamay and Gamay blends from the cellar for the dinner.

My love for Gamay and Gamay blends know no bounds. Gamay grown in the volcanic hills of Beaujolais and its 10 crus are generally fuller than the Gamay grown on the limestone hills of Loire. Gamay, made with care, has butt-naked exuberance and deliciousness that no other wines can match.  And the prices are so reasonable.

Perhaps, it is the butt-naked exuberance that is translated to the ambiance at dinner tables.  Such ambiance is palpable at my favourite neighbourhood restaurants in Paris: La Nouvelle de Marie, Le Comptoir, Bistro Paul Bert, Le Bratin and Les Pipos.  All restaurants have numerous Gamay and Gamay blends.  Once you experienced such an exuberance evening at one of the restaurants, that joie de vivre will stay with you a lifetime.  Our great local restaurants (L'Abattoir, Pied-A-Terre, Tableau Bar Bistro, La Regalade, Wildebeest and The Acorn - just to name a few) now also carry Gamay and/or Gamay blends from great producers.  

There are more profound wines from other appellations in France, but I cannot think of another varietal that speaks so joyously at a dinner table than Gamay.  Every time my family has a bottle of Beaujolais, Auvergne or Loire Gamay over a meal, I swear there is a hole in my wine glass.  It is empty every time I look at it.

A Canadian Mosaic Dinner - A Korean Dish That Actually Works with Wine!

I was born and raised in Korea.  So, I can declare that this dish actually works with a wine.  As much as I like Korean foods, they are full of peppers, vinegar and pickled-flavours.  Kimchi with Bordeaux or Riesling? I don’t think so. The flavours often fight with wines.  So, it is rare to find a Korean dish that tangos with a wine.  Here is my recipe (serves about 4 people).

• About 1 pound of flank steak
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup of dices onion
• 1 green onion
• 3 table spoon of quality soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil
• 3 to 4 table spoon of brown sugar
• Dash of black pepper
• 1 or 2 pinch of course grey salt
• 1 cayenne pepper (optional)

First, pour yourself a glass of wine. Cut the flank steak into about 3 by 6 inch sizes.  Set the meat in a non-metal container large enough to hold the meet in one to two layers.  Place the rest of ingredients in a mortar or an electric mixer or blender.   Blend for a few seconds until the mixture is roughly smooth.  Pour the mixture into a bowl. Dip your finger into a mixture (in the bowl and not in the blender/mixer - for safety) and taste.  It should be somewhat salty, sweet and hot with a whiff of sesame seed oil fragrance. Adjust salt & sugar, if necessary.

Mix the marinade well with the meat.  Marinate the meat for 2 to 3 days in a refrigerator. Turn over the meat a couple of times.  The flank steak needs long marinating because it helps to tenderize the toughness of the cut – although it is one of the most flavourful cuts.  Fire-up your BBQ. Meanwhile, place a plate in the oven at 150F to warm and to rest the meat after it has been cooked. BBQ the meat to no more than medium rare.  Place the cooked meat on the plate and into the oven.  Turn the oven off and let the meat rest for about 20 minutes.  Slice against the grain about ¼ inch.  

Good with plain short grain or jasmine rice. Even delicious with baguette or roasted potatoes.  Serve with a salad.  Or how about a pasta dish and some stirred-fried vegetables with the meat.  I am in Canada after all, blessed with riches of ethnic foods – no need to stick to a formula, hey. 

The dish goes well with Cuvee Granit from Domaine de la Pepiere of Marc Ollivier or Crus (Descombes, Foillard or Pacalet). The spicy, sour-cherry Le Telquel from Puzelat-Bonhomme is a fine accompaniment.

The leftover meat makes a wicked sandwich.  Just splash some mayo, hot mustard and instantly-pickled onions (sliced onion with some salt, sugar and vinegar – mix & soak for about 1 hour or overnight).

     

A Bistro Dish in Comfort of Your Kitchen

If you go to the Paris Bistro like Paul Bert, this dish (pictured below) is on the menu.  It is one of Bistro dishes that I like eating when I visit Paris but, somehow, I don’t remember to cook it at home.  So, when I was reading the blog , I immediately, of course, had to try the dish.  By the way, if you like French foods and wines, I strongly recommend the blog by Wendy Lyn – who is ex-pat from Deep South.  I coincidentally bumped into her at another great Paris bistro Les Pipos during my wine buying trip last autumn.

The dish is easy to make and very satisfying.  The richness of cream is cut by cognac.  As Wendy mentions, please spurge and buy a good quality cognac for this recipe.  Remember to reduce the cream sauce for a few minutes to get the right consistency.  Please remember to flambée the cognac away from your stove fan for safety.  Simply move the frying pan away from the element when igniting the cognac in the pan with a match. Pictured left is my version of the dish.

I buy my meat from Famous Foods, near where I live, because the grocer carries organic and hormone-free meats.  While you are there, you can also pick a bottle of cream from Avalon, which comes organic and in old-fashioned glass bottles.

The dish is very wine-friendly.  I usually drink Beaujolais from Georges Descombes, Christophe Pacalet or Jean Foillard.  Try enjoying the wine cool (1/2 hour in the fridge or 10 minutes in the bucket with ice + water will do).  The cool temperature really accentuates the freshness and perfume of artisanal Beaujolais.  In fact, when I visit the winegrowers, they serve their wines cool straight from the cellars. 

The Foillard Connection

When I was visiting the vignerons last autumn, happy coincidences kept happening.  I was beginning to believe the universe was conspiring in my favour.  It all started when I was visiting Jean Foillard in Morgon.  As I was visiting a number of vignerons in the region, I decided to stay at the bed and breakfast of Jean Foillard for a couple of days.  By the way, if you love France and wine, not to mention the beautiful villages, I strongly recommend Jean Foillard’s B&B.

 An Autumn Scene Steps from Jean Foillard's Domain

Back to the story…Well, Monsieur Foillard asked if I wanted to join the family for a lunch.  Oui!  In the middle of having a delicious lunch that Madame Foillard prepared for us, Monsieur Foillard stood-up, disappeared and returned with a bottle of white wine, declaring that the meal begs for a glass of white.  There was already a bottle of Côte du Py on the table.  I barely kissed my lips on the Côte du Py that Monsieur Foillard poured for me to taste enjoy.  The bottle of white was no other than Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf Pinot Gris.  Crisp, minerally and delicious.  There were now two glasses of generous pours in front of meal.   BLISS CONSCIOUSNESS!  I chuckled and informed Monsieur Foillard that I will be visiting Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat of Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf in a few days.  A pause, then Monsieur Foillard glanced at me in a different light.  I am not certain but I think that was the moment when Monsieur Foillard decided to give me some allocation to import. 

 The Entrance to Jean Foillard's Tasting Room. Also Used For Harvesters to Enjoy Meals

Then, I was visiting Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat at their Le Clos du Tue Boeuf.  During a tasting, a sample of Pinot Gris was poured.  The very cuvée that Jean Foillard had poured for me at his domain only a couple of days ago.   I chuckled and told Thierry about the Pinot Gris at Jean Foillard.  A pause, then Thierry glanced at me in a different light.  I am not certain but I think that was the moment when Thierry decided to give me some allocation to import.

With Thierry Puzelat at Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf Amongst the Vines, Surrounded by Diversity of Forests 

Then, I was visiting Jean Maupertuis.  After a tasting, I followed him to his personal cellar for a tour.  What a cellar! Well, what do I see among the wines?  Jean Foillard’s ‘PI-π’ – a wine only made in certain vintages.  I chuckled and told Jean Maupertuis that I just visited Jean Foillard the day before.  A pause, then Jean Maupertuis glanced at me in a different light.  I am not certain but I think that was the moment when Jean Maupertuis decided to give me some allocation to import.

Jean Maupertuis among the Vines at Le Guillaume Vineyard (500 m above sea level on limestone)

Then to top it off, I was visiting Noëlla Morantin.  When I arrived at her domain, she had nothing to sell.  All her bottled wines were sold out.  Generously, she had to dip into her personal stash to give me a taste.  A conversation led to many things and Noëlla asked what other vignerons I was visiting.  I told her all the names.  Apparently, Noëlla just returned from Jean Foillard.  I am not certain but I think…

 Noëlla Morantin Pouring Generously in her Beautiful Chai/Cellar