Pairing White Burgundy and Pinot Noir
La Paulée du Meursault Wine Pairing Lunch 2018
Imagine yourself a chef. Your mission is to present a four course food and wine pairing menu for the 2018 La Paulee du Meursault lunch.
The focus is always on pairing White Burgundy and Pinot Noir with food.
Most important, each dish must pair with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines from various regions in Burgundy (Bourgogne, in French).
The annual La Paulee du Meursault, focusing on pairing White Burgundy and Pinot Noir with Food is held in the village of Meursault, France.
This village is famous for its white Chardonnay wines from village and premiere cru vineyards.
For this lunch pairing White Burgundy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with food, tradition holds that each guest brings their own white or red Bourgogne wine to the lunch.
Pairing White Burgundy Chardonnay with Pinot Noir Food Basics
As a chef, what dishes will you prepare that can pair with the diversity of wines people will bring? After all, these wines can range from priceless Pinot Noir Grand Cru classics to younger, fresher expressions of village and 1st cru Meursault Chardonnay wines.
Some people call Meursault white wine “white Burgundy.”
While this is technically correct, Burgundy wine lovers prefer to be very specific as to the region the “white burgundy” is from, and its quality levels.
Such is the challenge Chef Dominique Dansard faces for the 2018 La Paulee du Meursault wine and food pairing lunch. The harvest celebration lunch takes place at the famous Chateau du Meursault winery. In this wine pairing situation, he will not have the luxury of tasting the Pinot Noir or Chardonnay wine guests bring on their own in advance.
Why Advance Tasting of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundian Food and Wine Pairing is Important
Both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are international grapes. They are made all around the world in many different styles. Many wine experts can blind taste a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay wine from diverse, broad regions such as South Australia or Sonoma, California and correctly deduce its origins.
But Burgundy is different. Though it is a very small region, each Chardonnay or Pinot Noir wine can taste different depending on its specific village. And within that village, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can differ dramatically depending on its quality level. Quality levels can range from a simple village designation to a Grand Cru. And even within that narrow range, the style in which it is made is producer dependent.
On top of that, the vintage in terms of weather can affect the taste and food pairing ability of the Chardonnay or Pinot Noir wine dramatically.
So as you can see, Chef Dansard must create a menu that will literally go with every Pinot Noir or Chardonnay wine that could be imagined.
History of La Paulee Du Meursault Wine and Food Pairing Lunch
The year 1923 sees the first La Paulee du Meursault. At the time, Jules Lafon of Burgundy’s Domaine des Comtes Lafon invites 35 of his vigneron friends to share in a post-harvest feast.
The Lafon family is well-known in Burgundy and now the world. This is largely due to the charismatic Dominique Lafon who so well carries on the legacy of his grandfather Jules.
Jules remains an innovative and personable figure. He is known for a passion for art and literature. He remains a major force in promoting the region and its wines. For this reason, by 1932, the La Paulee du Meursault wine and food pairing lunch is a regular event, growing steadily over the years.
Today the La Paulee du Meursault food and wine pairing lunch celebration is under the direction of Philippe Ballot. M. Ballot is President of La Paulée de Meursault, and an owner of Domaine Ballot Millot. A major focus of La Paulee today is to pay homage to the most influential writers and scientists each year. In 2018, author Irene Train wins the “laureate du prix” for La Paulee 2018 for her work with women’s rights globally
The Tradition of La Paulee Du Meursault Food and Wine Pairing
La Paulee offers attendees an opportunity to visit the cellars of the host winery, Chateau du Meursault. Before lunch, guests enjoy a glass of the new vintage of Classic Meursault Chardonnay. Guests descend down to the Chateau de Meursault cellar.
Though I visit hundreds of cellars over the years, few experiences can match the thrill of this ancient historical cellar.
Near one o’clock, guests find their tables and begin the food and wine pairing lunch feast. Between each of the four courses, the event’s honorees come up to the podium to give a short speech about their research.
Once the food and wine pairing meal resumes, Meursault wine producers visit each table to pour their wines. Friends “table hop” to greet one another, and a chorus sings “Le Bon Bourguignon.”
Each year, the La Paulee wine and food pairing menu has certain constant, classic dishes. Foie Gras. Crustaceans. Fish. Beef. Fromage. Dessert. Yet always with a new expression, presentation, or sauce.
The November 19, 2018
La Paulee Du Meursault Menu Pairing White Burgundy Chardonnay with Pinot Noir
1st Course Foie Gras de Canard
Petit epeautre de Sault et paleron confit. Cannelloni de celery et pomme vert releve au poivre Malabar
Of course, many meals in Burgundy begin with Foie Gras. The food and wine pairing twist in this course is the subtle spice and slight confit accent. A textural element is the “crunch” the crisp diced celery and green apple tucked inside the cannelloni provides.
Classic wine pairing with foie gras usually involves a sweet wine such as Sauternes, but this is Meursault.
Which means Chardonnay wine. Because of the contrast between the rich Foie Gras and the snappy “crunch” of the celery and apple, I really liked the 2016 Domaine LaFourge Auxey-Duresses from by my seat neighbor Gilles LaFourge.
Like many domaines in Burgundy, the LaFouge Family conveniently have their cellar, vats, and their barrels, built beneath their relatively modern looking home. The secret of the success of their delicious Chardonnay wine is their diligent approach to viticulture and their special Le Boutonnieres and La Chapelle vineyards.
2nd Course Navarin de homard Breton
Aux petits legumes et son cremeux au corail
This dish is Breton lobster, served with “coral cream” — heavy cream infused with tarragon, rich fish stock, carrots, and tomato paste.
Most guests at the tables choose to pair white wines with this lobster dish. As the winemakers circulate the tables with their bottles, a producer pouring a 1999 Les Genevrieres Meursault Premier Cru approaches. This is a 1st cri white wine from the Chardonnay grape.
With nearly 20 years of age, this Genevrieres Meursault Premier Cru wine has richness, concentration, and is a great pairing for this dish. This is especially true as the subtle sea brine nature of the lobster enhances the subtle salty minerality of the wine.
This said, I personally would prefer to try a red wine with the lobster as it is served with a red wine sauce. As I write many articles along the lines of “how to pair red wine with fish and seafood” I believe the way a dish is prepared makes it possible to pair with red wine.
So in this dish, the red wine sauce surrounding the lobster makes a red wine pairing possible. Here, a great pairing choice would be a softer, aged, more “feminine” Pinot Noir. This could be the 2005 Domaine Parent Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes from Domaine Parent. The vibrant acidity of this wine will cut through the crème in the sauce, while the infusion of tarragon in the sauce picked up on a certain subtle herbaceous quality of the wine.
3rd Course La daurade royale sauvage de la cotiniere cuite a l’etouffe, agrumes, avocat et coriander
Chef Dansard enjoys the discreet use of fresh herbs to give his dishes vibrancy. In this dish of fresh and simply cooked daurade, Chef Dansard adds punch with coriander and citrus.
This dish is best paired with white wine, and in this case the 2007 Meursault-Charmes 1st Cru, “Les Charmes Dessus” presented by Jean-Baptiste Bouzereau of Michel Bouzereau. Like all of this producer’s wines, elegance and purity are the signature here, especially with its long length of finish and concentration of fruit.
Pairing White Burgundy with Pinot Noir
4th Course Le dos de Charolais servi comme une cote de boeuf sur ses legumes du moment
“Charolais” is a breed of beef cattle that is very tall and muscular. Connoisseurs appreciate it for its special flavor and tender texture.
For this dish, Chef Dansard cut the beef in a fashion more typical of cote de boeuf. As you can see from the picture, the Charolais is served very pink and tender.
It was subtly infused with flavor from the delicious mushrooms that accompanies it. This dish demanded a fuller bodied wine, such as a classic vintage of Les Rugiens Pommard or Corton Grand Cru Les Renards.
Finale of an All-Day Food and Wine Pairing Event
Throughout the lunch, singers sing, speakers speak, and everyone has fun as they chat and enjoy the delicious food and wine.
I am sure Jules Lafon, its founder, would be proud of the international acclaim Chardonnay wine from Meursault now receives, and impressed by the food and wine pairing abilities of Chef Dansard.
Many thanks to the organizers of La Paulee du Meursault, including M. Philippe Ballot for keeping this beautiful tradition alive.