Dinner with Louis Jadot winemaker

[wondersofwine]

Attended a special dinner at Enoteca Vin in Raleigh, NC with Monsieur Jacques Lardiere, a winemaker for Louis Jadot.
We sampled four Burgundy wines and a Champagne with a five-course meal.
Taittinger non-vintage Brut--I am particular about sparkling wines but liked this quite well. Those more into Champagne were going back for seconds (and maybe thirds) so it was well received. Servers passed around delicous small cheese pastry puffs as we intermingled and drank the Champagne. First sit-down course was seared dayboat scallops with fennel and ruby red grapefruit paired with 2002 PULIGNY-MONTRACHET LES PERRIERES.
My table of five was divided on this wine. Three (including me) really liked it. The other couple thought it was pleasant but nothing special. My first sniff I got an off odor (sulphur? or general funk?) but no one else noticed and it quickly disappeared. The color was pale gold. I was immediately pleased by the vanilla cream flavor--almost like a candy--followed-up by a honeyed pear flavor. Despite the vanilla cream that suggests wood influence, this did not seem over-oaked and others at my table agreed
that the wood influence was subtle.
Monsieur Lardiere spoke to us about the importance of terroir, the lime {stone} in the earth that contributes to the wine, and that the winemaker tries to make what he considers as close to perfect a wine as he can and that others will also appreciate and want to buy.
Next we were served braised rabbit (tender, small pieces) with black trumpet mushrooms. The rabbit had been in a brine (herbs, citrus, garlic, etc.) overnight to absorb flavors--then was cooked the next day. It had a more than slight resemblance in taste and texture to North Carolina style pulled pork in vinegar dressing. The wine was 2000 or 2002 (will check my menu tonight and edit and also include retail price info) SAVIGNY LES BEAUNES LES VERGELESSES. Crimson color. Smooth mid-palate but somewhat drying on the finish. Pleasant match to the rabbit. I'm usually not excited by Savigny wines and this was no exception. Better with the rabbit than without food.
We move on to Wagyu beef shortribs with white runner beans and roasted garlic (in a wonderful sauce). While the shortribs were quite fatty, they had a wonderful flavor.
With two wines:
2002 JADOT VOLNAY "CLOS DE LA BARRE" and
2002 JADOT VOSNE-ROMANEE.
The Volnay was frothy when poured. It was a dark purple-red color (both denser and darker than the village wine). Medium body. Enough viscosity to form legs on the side of the glass. Pleasant--not a lot of layers. On first impression I liked it better than the Vosne-Romanee but soon I began to favor the Vosne-Romanee wine. The Vosne-Romanee was surprisingly delicate. The aromas and flavors did not evoke a particular fruit or fruits to me. While light-bodied, it stood up well to the beef.
Dessert was crepes with red wine poached pears.

I would say the Taittinger Champagne, the white Burgundy and the Vosne Romanee were my favorites. I generally really like Volnays and found quite a bit to appreciate in this one, but wasn't blown away by it. I'm considering ordering two bottles of a Jadot Santenay (which we did not sample) and will check the price of the Perrieres (probably beyond my budget).
Ashley's food was remarkable once again. We had a couple talented cooks at our table and they grilled her for her techniques when she came out to see how we were enjoying the dinner.





[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 01-27-2005).]

[hotwine]

Sounds great, Wonders.
The Taittinger NV Brut is my favorite sparkler. Price ranges from a low of $25 to a high of $45 in this area, so it really pays to know where to shop. (Saw it on a restaurant wine list last week for $90.)