A Valentine's Day Special with 2004 Ramonet and 1993 Musigny

14 Feb 2018:

A Valentine's Day special for us and two dear friends - we decided to venture out to Kowloon Bay to be pampered by Chef Edward Voon's creative culinary skills at Le Pan.

We started the evening with a glass of the menu champagne which was a Dhondt-Grellet Premier Cru Rosé NV, before we moved onto the main wine characters of the evening.

The two 2004 Ramonet wines were such contrasts that made them so perfect throughout the entire menu. We darted between them to find the best pairing with Chef Edward's dishes.

 

The 2004 Ramonet Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet was infused with bright minerality, lovely citrus and yellow fruit and frank purity, balanced with freshness and character. The caviar with langoustine tartare delivered a very just pairing with the Bienvenue, with the saline character of the caviar complementing the minerality of the Bienvenue and the acidity of the wine pairing very well with the richness of the langoustine tartare. The Bienvenue did an equally fine job pairing with the next course of oyster in a watercress velouté, with lemon compote.

 

Royal Oscietra caviar, Nordic langoustine tartare

Fine de Claire oyster, watercress veloute, lemon compote

The 2004 Ramonet Montrachet was initially very tight but slowly opened up in the glass to reveal depth, richness and an immense structure, with an exceptionally long finish. I found it an excellent complement with the opulent crab ravioli with sea urchin dish in an intensely savoury flavoured Vermouth sauce.

 

Atlantic brown crab ravioli, Savoy cabbage, sea urchin, Vermouth

The next course of Brittany lobster with the Granny Smith emulsion and the tartness of the crispy green apple slice, returned me to the Bienvenue which delivered the better pairing, in my view.

Brittany blue lobster, artichoke, Granny Smith apple emulsion

There was no question that the Ramonet Montrachet divinely showed off the chicken main course, with the crispy wafer-thin chicken skin atop a piece of perfectly executed Bresse chicken breast with black truffle and Albufera sauce. The pairing was exceptional.

 

Perigord black truffle, Bresse chicken, celeriac, Albufera sauce

I would have very happily stopped here with the tasting of the two sensational white Bourgogne wines. I guess for many a dinner would not be complete without a dash of red. Given it's a special occasion, we allowed ourselves to be a little indulged. We tasted two bottles of 1993 Musigny, although initially not quite side by side. The second bottle was opened rather as a second thought, seeing how urgently the first bottle was depleted.

 

The first bottle was a 1993 Louis Jadot Musigny. The second bottle was a 1993 Jacques Prieur Musigny which probably should have been opened earlier to benefit from aeration and appreciation over a longer period. The Louis Jadot Musigny had aged gracefully, showing predominantly tertiary character amid a lithe and still elegant structure, but the legendary understated power of Musigny was replaced by a mature but dignified languor. On the contrary, the Jacques Prieur still boasted abundant ripe blackberry and preserved prune fruit notes. While it was lush and opulent with the class and power dominating the mid palate and finish, it did not quite have the finesse of a benchmark Musigny.  We should have reversed the order of serving these two wines. For me, I would sip the Louis Jadot Musigny to contemplate life, but I would turn to the Jacques Prieur Musigny for immediate hedonistic pleasures. I think the Prieur could benefit from further cellaring (3 - 4 years) to fully unravel its layers of complexity.


Based on these two bottles, I would score the 1993 Jadot Musigny 16/20 and the 1993 Prieur Musigny 17.5+/20.

Harder to score the two 2004 Ramonets as they were both excellent in their own styles. I would give 18/20 to the Bienvenue and 19+/20 to the Montrachet.


Chef Edward's cooking has given fine dining a new definition in Hong Kong. A self-taught chef from Singapore, each dish was executed with talent, care and instinctive innovation.  Here's the menu to remind us of our indulgence:

Royal Oscietra caviar, Nordic langoustine tartare

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Fine de Claire oyster, watercress velouté, lemon compote

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Atlantic brown crab ravioli, Savoy cabbage, sea urchin, Vermouth

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Brittany blue lobster, artichoke, Granny Smith apple emulsion

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Périgord black truffle, Bresse chicken, celeriac, Albufera sauce

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Rosette

Rosette (so divinely light!)