this is a picture of a cat.
Few things have felt normal since March. I think most of us can agree on that. Maybe, if we are lucky, we can find an anchor which ties us to some ritual from our past life. And for that happened while working at Homespun Foods this past weekend, and I didn’t see it coming.
Maybe that is why I felt disarmed this past weekend, when I found myself presenting a bottle of White Burgundy to a table, and as the once familiar words once uses to present a wine, as they were coming out of my mouth, the usual rhythm, rattling off the producer’s name, then the appellation, then the vineyard site, and finally the vintage. This is something the sommelier does in order to make sure there is agreement between guest and restaurant, so that the correct bottle is opened. As I I found myself saying, “Hubert Lamy… Saint-Aubin Premier Cru… ‘En Remilly’ … 2011", I realized how deep the muscle memory was on this routine, something perfected as a ritual that I moved through for eight years as a sommelier in New York City. Once this was so routine, and so much a part of my life, like brushing one’s teeth, I could toggle back and forth between complete mindfulness when presenting a bottle, and complete auto-pilot as the ‘in the weeds’ service to-do list was majorly apparent and writing itself across my field of dining room vision. Present this bottle. Pour the wine for the guest. Check on Table 3. Help bus Table 8. What is happening in Section 2. Is the other Sommelier handling their section? Is Mrs. So and So here yet?
So to find myself, in the garden at Homespun, presenting an older White Burgundy, and one that presents itself as a benchmark example of older White Burgundy, I was struck at just how familiar, and how odd, this all felt.
DOMAINE HUBERT LAMY
Olivier Lamy is one of the great winemakers in Burgundy. He is a fervent practitioner of organic farming, with many of his neighbors saying he is the best farmer in Burgundy. His wines are taut, expressive, and show the origins of their appellation, minimizing the so-called ‘hand of the winemaker’ in the finished product. The wine that made me step out of myself for a moment this past weekend, was his Saint-Aubin Premier Cru ‘En Remilly’ 2011. Saint-Aubin, located in the Cote de Beaune, to the west of Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault, has long presented a serious value to White Burgundy drinkers. It’s proximity to these great appellations speaks to its inherent quality, yet the price-tag is rarely as dear as the wines from Meursault and Chassagne. But this vineyard, ‘En Remilly’ is one of those vineyards that seriously over-punches, as it is located adjacent to one of the greatest white wine vineyards in the world, the hallowed Grand Cru of Montrachet.
That’s all well and good, but what’s in the bottle?
For folks who collect and drink White Burgundy, we are all well too aware of a situation called ‘Pre-Mox’, or premature oxidation. It is a real fear for collectors and wine buyers, so when one does find a perfect bottle of White Burgundy, it is a truly special occasion. Upon pouring the wine, the wine did not try and hide its age, the sense of oak felt like a warm but diminishing memory, having integrated into this wine long ago and resolved to something more like a sweet butterscotch, with a touch of furniture varnish, giving way to tones of vanilla and cellar musk. Something brighter appeared, like a lemon oil, very vibrant, maybe mixed with pine resin, making me think of summer and camping, but an undertone of mushroom stock brought it back to something more culinary. The aroma was fantastic, making me think of great Burgundy I had drunk in the past, in particular a bottle of Pierre Morey Montrachet from 1983 that a good friend had opened a few years ago, but the aroma was perhaps humbled by the texture of this wine, at once wound by its ever present acidity, yet round and soft and supple, revolving around an undeniable mineral core.
We have two bottles of this left at Homespun, I hope you will come by for one of them.
—Joe Robitaille
KEYWORDS : “Hubert Lamy” “White Burgundy” “Saint-Aubin” “Where to Eat in Beacon” “Take Out Beacon” “Restaurants Beacon” “Catering Beacon” “Take Out Beacon” “Wine Beacon” :Becky Wasserman” “Pas Mal"