15 November, 2009

Foie gras en croute, roast filet of monkfish, roast tenderloin and Pommes Anna, Epoisses, Comté, Citeaux, and a perfect pear tart with almond ice cream. And then we had dinner! Just kidding – that of course WAS dinner at the Bailliage de Pommard last night. Lots of singing and dozens of Ban Bourguignons later, I happily walked home and slept like a baby. The walking home part was made possible be the fact that the annual celebration of Pommard wines was held this year in Volnay! This would have been unthinkable a generation or two ago, when the Volnaysiens and Pommardois were in a constant feud and were truly not friendly toward one another. Normally held in the cellars of the village of Pommard, those facilities are under renovation this year, so they had to move it to the neighboring Salle des Fêtes in Volnay. A fun event, no matter where it’s held…

During lunch yesterday with Thiébault and Marielle Hubert, we decided to make it a goal for all of us to run in the annual Hospices de Beaune semi-marathon next year. What was I thinking? I’ve never run more than four miles. The semi-marathon is a little over 13 miles. Yikes! I was encouraged, however, when I picked up the paper this morning to read that there is also a 10K version (just over 6 miles) – now that might be more realistic…

Friends at La Paulée de Meursault 2003

It seems like the entire world is here for Les Trois Glorieuses, as always. Every major wine writer, sommelier, chef, and Burgundy geek on the planet is here. The legendary chef Jeremiah Tower joined us at the Pommard festivities last night. He and some friends are in the middle of an “eating our way through France” tour. Rough duty, indeed. My friend Jordan Mackay from San Francisco is running around here somewhere, as is Raj Paar from RN74 – we will hook up later at the Paulée (although from following Raj on Twitter it seems that basically his life is one endless Paulée!)

I’ll kick off tomorrow tasting with Benjamin Leroux in his new cellars in Beaune – really looking forward to his range of ‘08s – every wine he touches is just so beautifully made. Then it’s off to La Paulée de Meursault! I will do my best to keep good notes, but as I discovered last time, over the course of 100 or so Grand Crus the quality of the notes (and the legibility) tends to suffer just a bit!

Salud is the Oregon Pinot Noir auction – 42 of the valley’s top producers make a single barrel of their best wine specifically for Salud – and the wines are sold at auction in case lots over the course of two back-to-back events every November. All proceeds go directly to funding health care for Oregon’s vineyard workers – the program is currently serving over 8,000 workers, in fact. We are proud and honored to part of Salud again this year, and urge you to join us for these great events (and to bid high for our wine in the auction!) Tickets and details at http://www.saludauction.org

Our La Paulée de Carlton meal at the Allison Inn & Spa, prepared for 50 attendees by Jory Chef Nathan Lockwood, was so delicious that I’m rolling around in the memory of it, not ready to let it go.  I just looked up the name of the bright-green olives that were served with the main course plate of Trio of Atherton Lamb.  These Castelvetrano Olives are a revelation, tasting exactly like delicious fruity olive oil, not briny or bitter.  The lamb loin was served rosy and tender, the shoulder was braised and fork tender (shredded really) and the ribs were grilled.  The roasted fennel was delicious.

The salad was beautiful and filled with succulent pieces of duck confit and smoked duck breast with sliced persimmon, and then cherries and pomegranate seeds sprinkled throughout.  That was paired with our 08 Audrey Pinot Noir, which we began serving the first tastes of this weekend in the tasting room.  (Hint for a no-cook meal at home:  smoked duck and duck confit purchased from a great butcher such as Chop are great kitchen cheats — already cooked and luxurious — not inexpensive but you don’t need much!).

The passed apps were delightful.  The thinly sliced beet was topped with a goat cheese, maybe with a touch of citrus?  There were skewers of grilled chicken with bacon and persimmon.  And endive “scoops” with a teaspoonful of rock shrimp salad.  With the apps, we sipped a Chablis from one of our favorite producers, Frédéric Gueguen — his 07 Côte de Lechet 1er Cru.

Set-up, clean-up and break-down?  That was handled by the able staff of the Allison.  Scott, Kelley, Kelly and I agreed that we could get used to entertaining this way!  I wish I had a photo of Kelly Karr seated, because she did indeed sit, relax and eat for the first time at a Scott Paul function.

Thank you to those who joined us.  Same time next year…first Saturday in November!

Guests Arjun Mendiratta and Rachel Smith

First off, thanks to all who joined us Saturday at the winery and Saturday night at the Allison for our La Paulée de Carlton festivities. It was a huge success and it seems everyone had a blast. Each of these events takes on their own personality and character, driven by those who attend and the wines they bring. Shall we just say that Saturday night was stellar on both counts!

Martha with Guest of Honor Andrea Johnson

So many great wines going around the tables! I pulled one of the last three bottles of our very first Pinot, the 1999 Pisoni Vyd. – and it was showing really well. Very happy to see how it had developed and matured. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when that wine was made (not that I have much of an idea now), but it is a miracle and a blessing from the wine gods and goddesses that the wine is silky, rich, and stunning today. Huge kudos to my mentor Greg LaFollete who made sure I didn’t screw it up too badly back then!

La Paulée de Beaune 2008

I will use this space today to make the first “soft” announcement of my upcoming first book. I have begun the research and writing process for a book on the history of the La Paulée celebration – from the ancient tradition of throwing a harvest feast for the crew at each Burgundian estate (a practice that continues today) – to the world famous La Paulée de Meursault and other private Paulées in Burgundy and around the world. It should be rich with historical anecdotes from many of Burgundy’s legendary wine personalities, tasting notes on hundreds upon hundreds of once-in-a-lifetime old Burgundies, and of course some wonderful photography as well. It is my hope that it will appeal to Burgundy lovers, and wine lovers of all stripes. The thought is to have it ready for release in the fall of 2011. I’ll keep you updated here as we progress…

And I am off – for a quick couple of weeks in Burgundy for the Hospices de Beaune auction, two Paulées (my poor liver!), and tastings with all of our producers – it will be over before I know it. I will post as often as possible from over there – and hope to update frequently on Facebook & Twitter as well – so stay tuned.

I am detouring on the way back through England, we’re I’ve been invited to Manchester to see the Manchester United v Everton match. Even though I’m a die-hard Arsenal fan, I’m way excited to go to Old Trafford and see my first English Premiere League game in person – the atmosphere and energy in the stadium is supposedly un-matched anywhere on the planet. I am psyched, to say the least. (And will not be wearing my Arsenal jersey to the match!) More from the road – à très bientôt!

It is a wonderful feeling to have the 2009 vintage put to bed, especially so because the wines are gorgeous!

Here’s a quick look into the winery and some of the action that goes on during crush (and be sure to check out Pt. 1 if you haven’t already seen it…)

Crush 2009 – Pt. 2 – the Video

If you’re more than an occasional reader of this blog, you might know that I’m a huge fan of Arsenal – one of England’s top Premiere League soccer teams. You may also be aware that Michael Alberty, proprietor of Portland retail shop Storyteller Wines is a fan of one of Arsenal’s major foes, Chelsea. (In spite of this, Michael is actually a pretty nice guy, btw.) We made a friendly wager the last time Arsenal and Chelsea played each other. I forget what I was going to have to do if we lost, because of course we won. Michael’s pennance is to come to our tasting room this Saturday from 12-5 and help us pour wines at our La Paulée Open House – while wearing an Arsenal uniform!

This season's "Away" shirt

This is NOT Michael Alberty. (This is Andrei Arshavin - i.e. the Chelsea Killer)

While it would be a joy to have Michael with us under any circumstances, it will be especially sweet to have him in the house in full Arsenal regalia. (I hope the jersey doesn’t give you a rash, Mr. Mike!)

Make plans to join us for all the festivities – the first chance to taste and order our 2008 Audrey Pinot, the release of our 2007 La Paulée pinot, new Burgs from J-J Confuron and Taupenot-Merme,  our own Kelley Fox pouring her own 2007 Pinots, and friend & neighbor Brian O’Donnell from Belle Pente pouring three of his killer Pinots. It is pretty much guaranteed not to suck! See you here on Saturday…

The new issue of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate was posted on-line this morning – with a bunch of nice reviews for the ’07 Pinots (of course this can’t be right, because Wine Spectator said ’07 was a terrible vintage – therefore none of the wines could possibly be any good. But we digress…)

Jay Miller, who covers Oregon for Parker, had this to say about the vintage -

“… there are many excellent wines that are characterized by their elegance, spicy aromatics, savory red fruits, and balance.”

Gee, sounds pretty awful to me. Actually, I think he hit it squarely on the head in saying that the vintage was similar to ’05, with ’05 producing more potentially “great” wines, but ’07 having more consistent success overall. And he liked our ’07 La Paulée, so of course he must be right!

“The 2007 Pinot Noir La Paulee is medium ruby-colored with an enticing nose of cedar, iron shavings, mineral, damp earth, cherry, and raspberry. Velvety-textured, it displays elegance, excellent grip, savory fruit, and a lengthy, sweetly-fruited finish. This stylish, feminine effort will provide pleasure through 2017. 90 pts.”

Our La Paulée bottling continues to offer maximum bang for the buck at $30. Most of the wines in this report at 90-points or higher are listed at 2-3 times the price.  90-points worth of elegance and finesse at $30 may just be the best deal around. I’m just sayin’… (We will release the ’07 La Paulée on Saturday Nov. 7th in the tasting room in Carlton – please join us for a festive day at the winery. And the last bit of the ’06 La Paulée – also a 90-pointer at $30 – will be be available as well…)

I have not had any wine in seven days now. Mostly because I’ve been fighting the flu and have had no desire whatsoever. (Is it swine flu? I do have an insatiable urge for bacon…) Also, my subconscious is likely in the process of preparing my liver for the annual onslaught of bacchanalia that comes each November – that wondrous thing known as La Paulée.

A few bottles awaiting their liberation at La Paulée 2008

This year I will have to endure not one but three Paulées. (Yes, I know, I have the best job in the world. Actually, Allen Meadows has the best job, but we digress…) First up is our 4th annual La Paulée de Carlton on Saturday November 7th – starting with an open house tasting at the winery and then the dinner and pinot-palooza that night. (As of this writing there are still a couple of seats open – kellykarr@scottpaul.com if you’d like to join us.)

Revelers at La Paulée de Carlton 2008

Then a few days later I’m off to Burgundy for the Hospices de Beaune auction, my fall visits to our growers to get a good post-malo look at the ’08s in barrel, and the Paulée. And another Paulée. La Paulée de Meursault (the grand-daddy of ‘em all, as American sportscasters would call it) is always on the Monday following the third Sunday in November. I last attended in 2003, and have been invited this year by the Buisson-Charles family. This event is, for those of us that are not winemakers in Burgundy, usually a once-in-a-lifetime event. To get to go again is a rare treat, and I am way excited to say the least. It takes place in the cellars of the Chateau de Meursault, and about 600 squeeze in for a day of feasting and more old bottles of Grand Cru Burgundy than you are likely to ever see in one place anytime anywhere.

Just a couple of mags of '47 de Vogüé Musigny (and that's a 1918 Meursault Goutte d'Or to the left...)

The near impossibility of most folks getting a seat in Meursault prompted Véronique Drouhin (winemaker at Domaine Drouhin Oregon and reigning princess of Burgundy) to start her own private Paulée back in 2003. It is limited to 50 friends, collectors, and winemakers from around the planet, and is held in the ancient cellars of Drouhin beneath the streets of Beaune. It is usually held on the same day as the Meursault event, but this year will take place the day after, hence I will get to saturate my liver at both events back-to-back. (Yes, I feel all that deep sympathy coming my way.)

I will be reporting back from Burg-land on a regular basis, posting photos, tasting notes, etc. In the meantime, a week or so of flu-forced detox is probably not a bad thing. I look forward to enjoying a good wine or two with you here on the 7th! Watch this space for a special announcement on the day of our Paulée…

If you’re anywhere in the New Orleans area – my much better half Martha will be pouring tomorrow evening (Thursday October 29th) from 5-6:30 at Hopper’s in Uptown Square. Martha’s a New Orleans native, and is looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and pouring our ‘07 Cuvée Martha Pirrie and ‘06 La Paulée Pinots – please plan to stop by if you can!

For more information, call Ric Hopper at 504-861-7500, www.hopperswines.com, 170 Broadway, Suite 145.

If you’re anywhere in the New Orleans area – my much better half Martha will be pouring tomorrow evening (Thursday October 29th) from 5-6:30 at Hopper’s in Uptown Square. Martha’s a New Orleans native, and is looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and pouring our ’07 Cuvée Martha Pirrie and ’06 La Paulée Pinots – please plan to stop by if you can!

For more information, call Ric Hopper at 504-861-7500, www.hopperswines.com, 170 Broadway, Suite 145.

Martha on the wall at Musigny