There's no such thing as…
… too much good food and wine. (Although one’s body may sometimes disagree!) The past week has been a whirlwind of activity with our friends from Domaines Huber-Verdereau and Buisson-Charles in town from Burgundy, and it seems like we packed as much great food and wine into every day as much as humanly possible.
Thiébault Huber in action at Cork
Thanks to all who joined us at Cork Wine Shop on NE Alberta in PDX for a great tasting of the Buisson-Charles 07s and the ’06 1er Crus from Huber-Verdereau. Then we kicked off the hedonism with a flat-out great meal at Portland’s Le Pigeon – where chef Gabe Rucker and GM-Wine God Andy Fortgang knocked it out of the park once again. I only had foie gras for two of the three courses that night, showing some unusual restraint! As always, the foie gras Profiteroles remain the most decadent dessert offering on the planet, one that I am never able to resist. (Even with the half-marathon less than three weeks away…) We brought a bottle of the 2000 Laurène from Domaine Drouhin that was showing really well – elegant and silky, yet still very primary – just showing the first hints of secondary aromas starting to emerge. Drink or hold for another 5-10, this is simply one gorgeous wine…
Patrick & Catherine from Buisson-Charles, pouring in Carlton
On Saturday we had the whole Burg crew in Carlton for a tasting from 12-5, and had one of our busiest days and biggest crowds of the year. It was like T-Giving Open House, only more fun! I have the feeling that many of the cases of Thiébault’s Crémant de Bourgogne that walked out of here Saturday have already been consumed – the perfect sparkler for the hot summer days that ensued. (Though now it’s back in to the 60s & 70s – what’s up with this summer?)
Culotte Steak at Farm to Fork
Of course we had to follow that up with another killer dinner, this time at Farm to Fork in Dundee, where chef Shiloh (replacing the recently departed Paul Bachand) blew us all away with a non-stop array of fresh, intensely flavored goodness. I’m a huge fan of the duck & pork rillettes, and the culotte steak with tomato confit was perhaps the best beef of the week. A magnum of 08 Audrey was the wine star of the night, along with the 2001 Mazoyères Chambertin from Taupenot-Merme and a rockin’ bottle of ’04 Meursault Bouches-Chères from Buisson-Charles…
About 100 of Oregon’s top wine merchants, restaurateurs and sommeliers turned out to join us in Portland for a tasting of over 75 wines from Burgundy’s 2008 vintage, all of which will be arriving on these shores in October. It was a great cross-section of our portfolio, and a nice chance to get the early line on the superstar releases from Mugnier, Lafarge, Confuron & Comte Armand…
Then we were off to Seattle to do the same thing again – a huge tasting for the trade and a consumer event with retailer McCarthy & Schiering. With of course more good meals thrown in – a festive and delicious dinner at Matt’s in the Market on the first night, and a quick but delicious bite at Café Campagne the next – not to mention breakfast at my favorite little bistro in Seattle, Le Pichet.
Now back at the winery, where the 09s have been racked into tank and await bottling next week. They are sumptuous, succulent and seductive Pinots that will be ready for release in 18 months or so. They are ripe and rich, but not as much so as the 2006s – better overall balance in what will surely be a crowd-pleasing vintage.
And here’s hoping we continue our endless string of sunny days – we need every golden ounce of sunshine to get these grapes ripe this year!
Thiébault, Catherine & Patrick in Azana Vyd.
