The wines of Burgundy at Lubu

Burgundy wine dinner at Lubu

I recently had the pleasure to attend a wine dinner at Lubu restaurant in Thao Dien (Distrcit 2). A

rather unique occasion to try and enjoy a great selection of some of the best and more particular wines in France, those of Burgundy.

Although you may be familiar with the popular wines of Bordeaux, with names so well known as St Emilion, Medoc or Pauillac, not many people have heard or even tried many of the gorgeous wines from Burgundy. Having said that, two names from Burgundy are quite popular, those being Beaujolais and Chablis, but there is much more in Burgundy to make us excited about their wines.

The two main grapes grown  in Burgundy are Chardonnay (for white wines) and Pinot Noir (for red wines), however you will also find other grapes like Gamay noir, Aligote, Sauvignon Blanc, Cesar, Melon or Tressot being grown in small quantities, and generally used to add complexity to the wines.

Geographically Burgundy is situated in between Dijon in the North and Lyon in the south, covering part of the geographic areas of Cote d’Or, Saonet et Loire, Rhone and Yonne. Hence you can expect a great diversity and variety on its wines.

Most wine growers have very small plots to grow the grapes, therefore is very common that even the smallest growers will be growing grapes in two or more parcels. The reason for this is historic, when Napoleon divided the then big plots of land among the local inhabitants of the region. A consequence of this is that a lot of growers sell their wines in barrel to negociants, who then blend wine from different growers in the region and commercialise it.

At Lubu we had two importers (Tan Khoa and Wine Embassy), who brought some of their Burgundy wines for us to try in the event, a great opportunity to discover, compare and enjoy them, and on top of that the wines were perfectly paired by Jim with some of the most delicate dishes from chef Kylie.

The evening started with the first two whites, a 2012 Macon-villages from Domaine Chanson and another 2012, Rully En Rosey from Domaine Chanzy. Both were absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed them with some nice canapés in the garden.

Domain Chanson is own by the iconic Bollinger, and as you may expect, they focus on making quality wines without being bothered too much about the quantities produced. They own several parcels across the region and they have several premier crus, which make no more than 10% of the total production. Apart from selected plots of land, their winemaker won the award of best winemaker of France 2014.

Side by side in the tasting was Domain Chanzy, a Burgundy winery which is just 50 years old own by people from the Champagne region, and whose whole team was recently replaced. Famous as a negociant, this winery was bought by an investment fund in 2009, hence providing all the capital to experiment and concentrate in quality. Within the new team, the winemaker was chosen the best young winemaker of 2013.

The evening followed with another two white wines side by side: the 2012 Chablis from Chanson, light but with a very long length; and the 2012 Bouzeron Clos de la Fortune which was fantastic, mellow, and crisp bringing lots of fruit. Both nicely paired with hot smoked salmon and warm salad.

The time for the first to reds arrived, the 2012 Mercurey Les Caraby was beautiful, complex and elegant; and the 2009 Santeney Beauregard premiere cru, brought lots of fruit mostly red fruits, and in particular ripe strawberries. Both wines were perfectly paired with the Caille au vin, quail braised in red wine.

The second main course, seared Tasmanian lamb loin with beetroot tartar tartin, was enjoyed with the 2012 Vosne Romanee La Croix Blance, bringing a nice nose full of red fruits, and an elegant palate with very good length; and the 2009 Pernand Vergelesses Les Vergelesses premier cru, another star very complex, and my favourite of the night.

The night was close by a blue cheese bavarois and coffee.