L'Hostellerie de Levernois, 1952 Musigny Comte Georges de Voguë and a 2007 Coche-Dury

7-hour lamb at Levernois!

18 November 2010: David Boobyer treated us to dinner at L'Hostellerie de Levernois. I thought the vivacious ambiance and bright and modern décor at the dining room of the Levernois was a very welcome change from the rather dull dining room at La Côte Saint Jacques. Both Richard and I thought the food was much more inspiring at the Levernois. Richard said the lobster salad was one of the best he’d had! He was equally impressed by the 7-hour lamb! Howard had a tasting menu and every dish looked really tasty!


We started with a 2002 William Deutz Amour de Deutz. Refreshingly complex nose of pear, citrus,marzipan, acacia, honey and toast, with racy acidity and creamy mousse. A very fine champagne! 17.5/20

Our white wine of the evening was a 2007 Coche-Dury Meursault Chevalières. Despite its youthful and restrained existence, the wine was able to open up a little in the glass to add complexity of smokiness to a very taut citrus and mineral character. A long life ahead, 15+ years. 17.5/20



1952 Musigy de Voguë
bottled by Drouhin

 The contrast with the next wine couldn’t have been more poignant: 1952 Musigny Comte Georges de Voguë, which David had retrieved from our storage in the UK and brought it with him.  Bright garnet core. Beneath the whiff of volatility, the wine was the embodiment of elegance, grace, sensuous complexity. Sweet on entry, with flavours of caramel, chocolate, tobacco, leather, coffee, spices (cinnamon, cloves and ginger) lingering in the mouth for quite a few caudalies! Amazing wine and still holding its structure very well….19/20

It would be a hard act to follow after the 1952 Musigny…..so we picked a 2007 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procès Arnoux-Lachaux to go with our cheese course. Youthful and fresh in character, red fruit, mineral, floral and earthy……..a very well-made wine indeed! 17/20

Tastings at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne Romanée and Domaine Lejeune, Pommard - Day 2 of Visit to Burgundy 2010

18 November 2010: We drove from Joigny to Beaune, this time on the autoroute. We timed our arrival at Vosne-Romanée so that we could enjoy a small picnic lunch of ham and cheese bread rolls on the slopes of Vosne-Romanée, amongst the vineyards, before turning up at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux for a tasting. We arrived at 2:30 pm and we were told to wait in a wine bar area until Pascal finished his previous tasting. Pascal came and fetched us at about 3 pm, rather apologetically for the delay. This is an incredibly busy week in Burgundy and every popular domaine is totally inundated with visitors. Our group became rather numerous when we finally got started. We were joined by 10 other people, 6 of whom from New York and the other 4 from France.



Pascal Lachaux

 The domaine renamed in 2009 to Arnoux-Lachaux is now run by Pascal and Florence (daughter of Robert Arnoux), a very charming couple, with a good deal of business savoir-faire. Pascal led us down the steps to the cellars, which were in such immaculate and organized condition. We started with tasting of 2009 wines from the barrels. The first was Bourgogne Rouge, which was a nice simple wine with beautiful fruit. Following were 2 Villages level wines: Vosne Romanée and Chambolle Musigny. The average age of vines for the Vosne Romanée was 50 years old. He would rack this wine around end December and transfer to a stainless steel cuve before bottling around end of February. 20% of new oak was used for this wine. Premiers Crus would have around 40-50% new oak and 100% new oak for Grands Crus. The Chambolle Musigny tasted more tannic than the Vosne Romanée. Pascal said that his Chambolle Musigny vineyard was situated below the Premier Cru vineyard and as a result the wine did not taste as refined. Also, for 2009, they suffered from hail which reduced the yield by 40%. The grapes were smaller and the greater skin to pulp ratio gave the wine more concentrated phenolics. Next we tasted a few Premiers Crus, starting with the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets, very elegant, floral and beautiful fruit. The Vosne Romanée Chaumes was very approachable already, in a slightly more spicy style. The Vosne Romanée Les Suchots was a big step up, much more “flatteur”, concentrated, complex in style, with a nice long finish. Only 5 barrels were made. The first Grand Cru we tasted was Latricières Chambertin, which would typically spend 15 months in wood. A much more mineral style, more power than the Suchots, with much firmer acidity. Pascal finished the 2009 tasting with the Romanée Saint Vivant which was simply stunning! Aromatically incredibly complex, with a lovely balance between the “puissance” and finesse. Already a very harmonious structure with the grainy tannin, firm acidity and beautiful ripe fruit. Only 5 barrels made. (It seemed such a shame to be spitting out this gorgeous wine!)  My favourites?  Definitely the Suchots and the Romanée Saint Vivant, and I thought the Vosne Romanée villages and the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Corvées Pagets were very fine indeed!
We were then shown some 2008 from bottles. Echezeaux (very mineral in style), Suchots (powerful, spicy, quite earthy and tannic), and the Romanée Saint Vivant (harmonious, powerful, balanced, and in a lovely mineral style). Minerality seems to be a common style amongst the 2008, while the 2009 was already very approachable from barrels!

According to Pascal, 2007 was a vintage with less acidity, less austere, and in some ways more approachable now than 2006 and 2008. 2008 was more restrained, more “tendu”. 2006 was somewhere in between 2007 and 2008. Pascal believes that if one likes to enjoy young burgundies with plenty of fruit, then they are best drunk in the first 3 – 5 years of their lives, and for those who appreciate the mature characteristics, best to wait after 20 years of age……

From the immaculate cellars of Arnoux-Lachaux, we next visited a very small domaine in Pommard, Domaine Lejeune. We were received by the winemaker Aubert Lefars. It was very refreshing to meet someone like Aubert, who in all modesty and sincerity, told us that he’s a novice in the world of winemaking, how he had learnt everything from his father-in-law, a former professor at the Ecole Viticole in Beaune when he left the engineering firm Schenker 5 years ago. His wife’s family have been winemakers at this domaine for 7 generations. The domaine has holdings in 3 Premier Cru vineyards: Les Rugiens (the domaine owns 0.25 ha out of the 5 ha vineyard), L’Argillières (clay-limestone soil) and Les Poutures (more clay). They also own some village level vineyard in Trois Follots, as well as vineyard on the plain, for the making of Bourgogne Rouge. Total production is 40,000 bottles, 20,000 of which are Bourgogne Rouge. Aubert was very enthusiastic in sharing with us his father-in-law’s winemaking philosophy. The domaine uses a mix of alcoholic fermentation and carbonic maceration for their wines. This means that part of the grapes would be crushed (foulage) and part of the grapes would be left in whole clusters for the carbonic maceration which would be completed in 7 – 10 days. His father-in-law believed that this would help reduce the acidity in the wine, but care would need to be taken in avoiding over-extraction of tannins from the stalks in the whole clusters. Maceration would vary between 15 and 25 days depending on the year. 60% new oak would be used for Les Rugiens, 25-30% new oak for L’Argillières and Les Poutures. Bottling of the 2009 would take place between March and June 2011.

We tasted the 2009 from barrels, starting with Les Poutures, which was in a supple style. L’Argillières was a more mineral style, more elegant, with firmer acidity. Les Rugiens was much more concentrated, complex, showing some spicy and chocolate character on top of the ripe red fruit. 5 barrels of Les Rugiens were made by this domaine. Yield for 2009 was around 45 hl/ha. 2010 was much lower, at 35 hl/ha.

We then tasted some wine from bottles including a 2008 Les Rugiens, which was really spicy, earthy and mineral, yet to develop its characteristic animal, gamey notes.

We actually visited Lejeune because we chose them as the éleveur for our barrel of 2009 Hospices de Beaune Pommard Cuvée Dame de La Charité, which we tasted from barrel. We were really pleased with the domaine’s work – the wine tasted very well, with a lot of finesse, suppleness, minerality and ripe red fruit wrapping around the soft tannins and firm acidity. Classy wine.

We drove away, very happy that we had just done two really good tastings at two very different domaines!  One similarity was that they are now both run by a younger generation and both very impressive, in their own ways.

La Côte Saint Jacques, Joigny - Day 1 of Visit to Burgundy 2010



View from our room at
La Côte Saint Jacques



17 November 2010: 17 November: Our annual visit to Burgundy. We landed this morning and picked up a hired car from CDG Airport. I input Joigny into the SatNav and we found ourselves meandering across the country along charming country roads (departmental roads)…..quite a change from the monotonous autoroutes. I have always found autumnal landscape mesmerizingly enchanting - a palette of rich and warm russet, golden and copper colours, enflaming the lush rolling hills, still green at this time of the year. This natural beauty has a magical power to lighten your heart and free the soul!

We stopped for a coffee-break at the town of Sens where we also bought a just-baked giant gougère from a boulangerie at a street corner. It was just one of those gratifying moments: biting into this warm cheese puff, crispy on the outside and slightly doughy on the inside……with intense cheese flavours……so yummy! It was our lunch! We arrived at Joigny and checked into La Côte Saint Jacques. With only a modest lunch, we are really looking forward to dinner at this 3 Michelin star institution headed by Chef Jean-Michel Lorain (who spoke very good English!).



Cocktail canapés

 Wednesday evening - a relatively quiet evening at La Côte Saint Jacques. Only 19 covers in one of the dining rooms. It was quite evident that the restaurant was less well staffed. We started with some canapés to go with our coupes de champagne. The most interesting one was the chef’s modification on jambon persillé – in a cube, with a soft boiled quail egg in the middle, which softened the sometimes aggressive garlic flavours for this dish. Richard had a glass of 1999 Pommery Cuvée Louise and I had a very refreshing glass of Louis Roederer Rosé Vintage 2006!

Stuffed partridge, cooked in
a parcel of cabbage

Once at the table, we were offered a small piece of smoked seabass which was very tasty. I skipped the first course while Richard enjoyed a green salad. For main course, I had a fusion creation: skate wing slowly cooked in a coconut milk and lemon grass emulsion, with some egg noodles underneath. I really enjoyed it - very fresh skate wing, refreshingly lightly-spiced broth, with wilted vegetables topping the fish and mopping up the sauce. My only criticism would be that the noodles were a little over-cooked, not so interesting texturally…….perhaps they could be replaced with courgette or cucumber spaghetti? Richard had the partridge, stuffed with truffle, foie gras and other goodies, cooked in a parcel of savoy cabbage. Perhaps a little undercooked, Richard thought the flavours were really intense and rich. Then we both had a cheese platter: the brillat savarin and the soumaintrain were both chalky but I thought the Brie de Meaux, Maroilles and Tomme de Brebis were all excellent. They served the cheese with these delicious preserved apricots and figs, bilberry jam and walnuts……which served equally well as dessert for me! Richard on the other hand, made a really good effort with the petits fours – I particularly liked the Dagmar – a signature chocolate here, mixed with caramel! Yummy!



Skate wing in a coconut milk
and lemon grass emulsion



Our white wine of the evening was a half of 2005 Beaune Clos des Mouches, Joseph Drouhin. It was made in a rich and slightly fat style, lacking the minerality that one would look for in a high quality white burgundy, the acidity level was also on the low side, to give the wine sufficient balance for the richness suggested by its full body and character layered with peach, lanolin, butter, nutty and honey. Almost New World in style. 15.5/20



The 2005 Volnay Taillepieds Marquis d’Angerville was well-made, lighter in style than the Champans or Clos des Ducs, fruit-focused, elegant and refined, without the complexity, fruit concentration and structure of an ageworthy wine. Raspberry, red cherry, hoisin sauce, balsamic, wet leaves and mineral. Very smooth mouthfeel. Middle palate was weak and finish was relatively short. Drinking perfectly well now and for the next 4 – 5 years. 16/20

My comment on La Côte Saint Jacques. Ideally situated along the river, with very well proportioned rooms. The chef, like all chefs in France, is keenly looking for ideas to add elements of innovation and creativity to his cuisine and the results have been quite impressive. Service was professional and reasonably attentive but the entire institution lacked energy and the dining room seemed tired and soulless. The waiters only seemed to be there to do a job, going with the motion - they did not quite carry with them a sense of pride, joy or ownership, hardly letting on a half smile. More disappointingly, we had tried on a few occasions to engage the sommelier in a discussion about the wine selection (or was it because we did not choose an expensive wine from the list??) and his views, without much success. He did not seem interested in discussing anything with us – which really surprised us. When I think about what it is about restaurants that leave a lasting impression on me: certainly the quality of cuisine matters, but it is also our interpretation of the service and ambiance – somehow I think the latter two are even more critical in giving us reasons to go back again and again……

Visit to Burgundy 2010

17 - 21 November 2010: Richard and I just returned from our annual visit to Burgundy and I have taken some notes........and have listed them based on the highlights of the day......

Tuber Magnatum Pico Charity Dinner aka White Truffle Auction Dinner

14 November 2010: Whatever it takes to motivate people to donate towards a worthy cause – what an ingenious idea to make them bid for the ephemeral aroma of white truffle….I say this because I do not believe shavings of white truffle add to the texture of a dish……..therefore the addition is ornamental and sensory. So it was at the revival of the annual White Truffle Auction Dinner in Hong Kong, in aid of Mother’s Choice, a local charity organization whose mission is to find homes for deserted babies and to provide support for distressed mothers, where this idea originated. For years this white truffle auction dinner took place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel where Chef Bombana presided over the cuisine at Toscana restaurant and built his fame upon producing delicious cuisine based on the white fungus, exuding heady aromas. This dinner migrated to other cities when the Ritz Carlton Hotel was demolished to make way for another office block in Central. Chef Bombana and his team have found a new home at Otto e Mezzo and it has instantly become a favourite of local gourmands, who just cannot get enough of Chef Bombana’s cooking!


This year’s White Truffle Auction Dinner took place on Sunday 14 November. We were all told to arrive early for our Spumante so that we could be promptly seated at 6:30 pm. The reason for the early start was to coincide with the local auction in Piemonte, and so that Piemonte and Hong Kong could compete for the prestige of paying more for the giant truffle, the finale of the evening, and the scene at either location was telecast to the other so that Hong Kong, with our stomachs filled with Bombana’s cuisine and the delicious wines from Piemonte, could wonder at the vigorous waving of arms and excited pitches of our fellow bidders in Piemonte. Apart from the giant truffle which weighed in at 600g, diners at Otto e Mezzo also had the opportunity to bid on the smaller lots, which were no mean affairs, starting at 250g, I think. The event was sponsored by the Piemonte government and we were very lucky to have some really delicious wines from Piemonte! Tickets were rather limited for this exclusive event – only 9 tables of 12 guests per table. Needless to say, we had lots of bankers, lawyers, bon-viveurs, wine connoisseurs and gourmands amongst us, and naturally our two home-bred Masters of Wine did not miss this marvelous event!

I thought the dishes were all delicious, but my favourite was the risotto, something very comforting about a plate of piping hot creamy and al dente risotto, topped with a few shavings of white truffle, filling your nostrils with whiffs of earthy, intoxicating aromas. The chicken dish was also quite delicious but the flavours were so intense that I felt they overwhelmed somewhat the rather delicate white truffle. Anyway, the menu (and the accompanying wines with my tasting notes) is reproduced here for the foodies amongst you- all the dishes came shrouded with generous shavings of white truffle:

1947 Cheval Blanc and 1999 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet d'Auvenay

13 November 2010: I came home after teaching for the entire afternoon. James just left the house after an early evening cocktail with Richard. I was greeted with a rewarding glass of 1999 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet by Domaine d’Auvenay (Lalou Bize) – tiny production, only 292 bottles made with 0.06 hectare of vineyard. This rare wine, after having been opened an hour, showed much freshness, minerality and rather restrained character of lemon, spice, wrapped around with hazelnut and buttery notes. Further time in the bottle would probably add more weight , complexity and length to the wine. 17.5/20

Richard then sat me down to guess our red wine of the evening. Medium ruby core, garnet at the rim. Complex and mature bouquet of violet, rose petal, black fruit, blueberry, blackcurrant leaf, tobacco, lead pencil, cedar, cigar box and coffee. Silky tannin, reasonable acidity (perhaps with a little addition of volatile acidity from the age of this wine). Robust yet elegant, incredibly complex, and finishes extremely long. I was very pleased with my guess of Right Bank Bordeaux and eventually Cheval Blanc, but I was miles out in terms of the vintage…..1947. The wine still tasted so fresh that it was just incredible that it was more than 60 years old! Drinking at peak now, and will continue to drink well for the next 10 – 15 years? Class act! And it was bottled by a negociant (Calvet-bottled)! Apparently quite a common practice in those days. 19/20

Discover Tunisian Wine at HK Wine Fair!



Le M

 5 Nov 2010: I visited the HK International Wine & Spirits Fair this afternoon.  I do not quite understand the way the organiser split up the fair into two exhibition halls.  To be honest, my main purpose was to drop into the booths of a few friends from overseas.  One of the booths I visited was the UCCV booth: Les Vignerons de Carthage (http://www.uccv.com.tn/), the largest wine producer in Tunisia.  I spent some time with Dr. Belgacem D'Khili, the CEO and Chief Winemaker of the company and Monsieur Maher Toumi, in charge of export and marketing.  Very charming gentlemen, passionate about their wine and their culture, and eager to share their passion with wine lovers in Asia.  Their wines are now sold as much abroad as domestically, with France and Belgium being the most important European markets, and Japan as their first foray into Asia.  Bravo!

Of the wines I tasted at their booth, I was most impressed by the traditional method sparkling wine: Le M, so well named. I tasted a very youthful 2008.  A blanc de blancs based on Chardonnay, having spent 24 months on its lees before disgorgement.  A lovely straw yellow colour, showing persistent and fine bubbles. On the nose, it was a complex mix of citrus, grapefruit, jasmine, almonds and toasty notes, overlaid with just a hint of oriental spice and some earthy character.  An expressive and characterful wine, extremely well-made, balanced, and nice long finish.  Drinking well now and will benefit from some bottle age over the next 5 - 8+ years.  I also love the packaging and the design of the label - everything speaks of mystique and regal grace.  Quite a revelation for me as one would never associate Mediterranean Tunisia with production of sparkling wine!  Quite an achievement - this wine compares extremely well with commercial style champagne, the best Cava, and high end New World sparkling wine, and in some way tastes even better, when it is not packed with the rather pretty tropical fruit character I sometimes find in New World sparkling wine...... I did not enquire about the price but I know it will be marketed and sold in HK soon, and with a very competitive price tag!



The dry Muscat and
Le Vieux Magon

 Next I tasted the dry Muscat: Muscat Sec de Kélibia.  Light golden in colour.  An expressive wine, expressive of its terroir and its grape variety.  Lovely floral and honey character, with a hint of spice and minerality.  Medium body with just enough complexity, ripe fruit concentration and rounded character to make it an attractive food wine.  It will go well with salads and seafood, such as scallops, oysters, mussels and clams, even better cooked in the "HK Typhoon Shelter style" - for the foodies amongst you! 

Le Vieux Magon, AOC Mornag - 2/3 Syrah and 1/3 Merlot. Hand harvested grapes.  14 days of maceration to optimise the extraction of aromas and phenolic compounds.  Aged in seasoned oak for 12 months before spending some time in bottle in the grottos for further refinement prior to release.  I tasted the 2005 vintage.  Dr. Belgacem recommended decanting for an hour before serving. Deep ruby core.  Elegant and complex.  Spicy, chocolate, black cherries, plums, liquorice and a hint of vanilla.  Soft tannin, giving the wine a velvety texture.  Well-crafted wine, balanced, complex, definitely a wine to go with Mediterranean and North African cuisine, but equally well with intensely flavoured braised dishes in the Chines cuisine.   Drinking very well now and will continue to evolve over 4 - 5 years, with potential to age much longer. 

All above wines will be available in HK soon!  Watch out for these great value quality wines!

Congratulations to team UCCV!  I am very confident they will succeed in educating our Asian wine lovers about their wine, culture and cuisine, given their drive and passion!  This is what I love about the world of wine - you are constantly humbled by how much you have yet to learn about!