You might wonder how it is conceivable to drink a pinot noir while eating fish. Nothing easier!
I personally don’t let myself be influenced by food-wine pairings.
I have always maintained, as I maintain now, that Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccino can be drunk pleasantly with certain types of fish.
These blends certainly cannot be combined with oysters with which it is pleasant to drink a very tasty and mineral bubble as well as an Austrian gruner – veltliner from Wachau.
It’s been a while since I went to the restaurant “Lorenzo”, in Forte dei Marmi, a restaurant where the quality of the food never disappoints you.
Once upon a time there was Lorenzo who went around early in the morning to various seaside locations looking for the best fish.
Now that Lorenzo Viani is retired there are his daughter Chiara and her husband Matteo Tognetti who take care of the food and wine supplies.
The restaurant team is made up of all young, motivated and eager-to-do people. It is a great pleasure to watch these young people at work.
It was unthinkable for me to imagine, a few years ago, seeing someone capable of carrying out the work of Lorenzo, an icon of the restaurant. I must admit that Chiara and Matteo are a fantastic couple and Matteo turned out to be a great wine connoisseur and together with Chiara, two very good managers.
I wanted to drink a precious bottle of Pinot Noir, one, Chambertin 1994 by Madame Lalou Bize – Leroy and what better place could be the restaurant at Lorenzo’s? This bottle was #1. 240 of 870 bottles produced. When Matteo opened the bottle he was excited, the cork was completely wet with wine but the quality of the wine was perfect.
Obviously the wine needed time to open up to its best. It was like a treasure chest full of precious jewels which, when you open it, little by little, you see glittering and so it was for the wine which, with the passage of time, from its rest in the glass, spread different and pleasant aromas which partly identified its age (30 years) but which made clear its capacity for further aging, even in a not easy year in Burgundy.
I was in the company of my wife Sara with whom I shared these pleasant moments.
We consumed some courses starting with a compliment from the kitchen and then moving on to some very thin oysters with which we drank a glass of Dom Perignon 2002 champagne which was savory and richly mineral in both smell and taste, food – wine were in perfect symbiosis between them. The flavor of the oyster did not overpower the flavor of the champagne but they enhanced each other.
Followed by risotto spaghetti with a very generous presence of mussels and clams. Followed by boiled sea bass and boiled scampi accompanied by Sorana white beans. Perfect match, we enjoyed the flavor of the fish and that of the wine. If I think back to the flavors I still feel those of the fish and those of the wine.
To finish, a fantastic almond brittle which is usually eaten at the end of a meal at Lorenzo’s. A memorable day for its overall pleasantness.
Before moving on to the tasting notes of the Chambertin I would like to talk briefly about the Madame Lalou Bize – Leroy.
Madame Lalou Bize – Leroy also called “The Queen of Burgundy” is one of the most powerful women in the world of wine, she is a living legend, she is ninety-two years old having been born on March 3, 1932. There are few people who have influenced the fame of wines of Burgundy, these are Henri Jayer, Anne – Claude Leflaive and Madame Lalou Bize – Leroy. The latter is responsible for three companies, Maison Leroy, Domaine D’Auvenay and Domaine Leroy. Maison Leroy is purely commercial, in fact, it purchases the best grapes from other producers and vinifies the wines. Domaine Leroy was founded in 1988 and today has 23 hectares of vineyards located in the best areas of Burgundy.
The Domaine d’Auvenay is the country house of Lalou Bize – Leroy where she lives with her husband. The estate is located on the hills behind the slope of Saint Romain. These are four hectares with production aimed at very high quality with very low yields.
All three companies are managed according to biodynamic principles.
The Maison Leroy was founded in 1868 by Madame Lalou’s great-grandfather. At the age of 23, the latter took care of the daily business of the family winery. As if that wasn’t enough, the Leroy family owned 50% of the Domaine de la Romanee Conti. In 1973 Madame Leroy managed together with Aubert de Villaine, owner of 50% of the D.R.C:
In 1992 Lalou stopped managing the DCR together with De Villaine and left this task to the latter.
Today Madame Lalou reduced her share in the D.R.C. to 25%. leaving 75% to Aubert de Villaine. There would be a lot to write about this fantastic person, but the space given to me doesn’t allow it. Before moving on to the tasting notes of the wine I must make some clarifications on tannins. I feel the tannin of the wine on the upper gum. The total width of the tannin is 6/6, i.e. the entire width of the upper gum. Obviously, if the tannin is less broad, it could be for example 5/6 and so on. The width of the tannin is important when the quality of the tannin is of good or high level. The larger the tannin, the more the wine is worthy of attention, but the tannin, as I have specified, must, in any case, be of good quality.
Let’s now move on to describing the wine tasted.
DOMAIN LEROY
CHAMBERTIN, vintage 1994
GRAND CRU A.C.
Owner in Vosne Romanee – Côte d’or
bottle no. 240, bottles produced n. 870
The glass shows garnet red with a wide orange rim.
The olfactory stage is broad, rich and varied with aromas of dead leaves, balsamic mint humus, light eucalyptus, rosemary, sage and bay leaves. The journey continues with light touches of paint enamel, intense bergamot, sweets from the outside of the “Rossana” candy, tamarind, slice of dried orange, natural tea, sweets from the “Clan” pipe tobacco, slightly candied red cherry, moist earth, liquorice, intense mandarin, black pepper, red apple, lemongrass to finish with bites of red apple quince.
With an empty glass you can smell a very light curry and hot compact powder of freshly brewed coffee.
Upon tasting, a medium body is felt, the wine spreads throughout the oral cavity and then descends vertically. The wine has a perfect taste balance, in fact the freshness that is secreted from the lateral parts of the tongue completely covers the central part of the tongue where the alcohol is felt.
The tannins are sweet, fine, broad (6/6), initially silky and then dry and slightly burn the upper gum. Its flavor persistence is long with a finish of chinotto and tamarind.
Nice wine which I initially gave a 98/100 but then re-reading the notes due to the tannins I gave it. (97/100)
