Fresh French Summer Truffles & Red Burgs.

Dinner last night, Friday the 9th August 2013, was at Cyrille & Anna Soenen's Brasserie CiÇou to partake in it's on-going French Summer Truffle Menu. Cyrille, Anna & children recently got back from their annual vacation in France, bringing back some fresh summer truffles, so the truffle menu is only good while supply lasts. This special menu started off this past Tuesday, and, as of last night, I understand that the truffle stock is already half gone - so hurry if you want to enjoy the dishes.

Good friend and regular drinking buddy, Richard Joye, just got back from 2 weeks' vacation in Japan, and, after a self-inflicted 3-day cleansing diet of pineapples (I don't even want to imagine that), messaged that he wanted to get together for the summer truffle menu over some aged Burgundy reds as he is to leave shortly for a long business trip to the USA and Europe. I readily agreed to join in.

We started off with a bottle of Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV - J-Lab's bottle, a batch straggler that escaped his notice in his cav for several years. He can't remember exactly how many years it lay forgotten under a pile of other bottles, but I noted that, while still frothy upon pouring, it isn't as bright, lively or effervescent as younger bottles of this bubbly would be, and displayed mainly strawberry and slight currant mid-palate, a vague suggestion of café crème underneath, with fruit-pit emerging in the finish. Still, it was a pleasant enough way to start a meal.

As always at Brasserie CiÇou, I dug into a bunch of their Mini Baguettes - the best in the country in my never-so-humble opinion. Served hot, with good butter, they are one of life's simple joys.

First for Catha and I was the excellent Salade Périgourdine - jambonnette of duck breast, foie gras, marinated pear in sweet white wine, mesclun salad, walnuts, and fresh summer truffles.

Masarap na, para healthy pa!

Second was the indulgently creamy, meltingly earthy and delicious Warm Brie de Meaux with Fresh Summer Truffles & Mesclun Salad...

...which went magnificently with the 1979 Michel Ollivier Chassagne-Montrachet Tête de Cuvée Rouge - Richard's bottle (he is friends with the producer and often buys from them). A few notches lighter than being medium-bodied, it presents unmistakably as a red Burgundy, though, if served blind, I'd not have been able to guess where exactly within Burgundy it was from.

It is definitely still alive, showing mild iron and blood notes in its cep, walnut skin and violet-touched dark red berry and fruit essence. Its finish simply ran with the truffle and cheese's creamy earthiness. Lovely pairing in that not only were both the wine and the dish reciprocally enhanced, the combined finish also brought a whole new nutty-creamy-gamey flavor and sensation altogether.

J-Lab needed to borrow Catha's reading glasses to read the labels...

...much to Richard's amusement.

Next up was a 1985 Pothier-Rieusset Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens - My bottle (nb., the niece of the old winemaker, Virgile Pothier-Rieusset, Marianne, married Laurent Pillot and brought with her to Domaine Pillot half of the Pothier-Rieusset estate. By 2001, the Pillots acquired the other half, thus, taking over the entire estate and bringing its vineyards under the Pillot name). I'd not had any wine from this producer before, so I didn't really know what to expect, though I am quite familiar with the wines from Pommard's 1er cru Rugiens vineyards.

Richard, who heavily favors the 1er cru Epenots wines when it comes to Pommard, tried it first and quickly pronounced it still good and that he liked it. Trying it myself, I feel that its 28 years from vintage has materially mellowed out the, at times, burly, typical masculine Pommard rusticity. Medium-bodied, serene, showing notes of ceps, slight sous bois, bit of cedar, and old book-pressed violets in its age-smoothened black cherry, dark raspberry and underlying dark plum. Quite nice, and from the year Catha & I started going out together late in junior year college.

Richard takes in the wine's & truffles' aromas.

For main courses, Catha had the above-depicted Eggs Benedict with Truffle Hollandaise & Fresh Summer Truffles; while J-Lab & Richard both went for the Sous-Vide Onglet Rossini Style with Assorted Mushrooms in Cream & Truffled Mashed Potatoes.

I wanted something simple and hearty to let the truffles take center stage, so I had the Aligot: Fresh Tome Cheese Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Home-Made Garlic Pork Sausage...

...and an extra serving of Shaved Black Summer Truffles.

The third of the evening's reds was a 1990 Daniel Rion Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - Typically deeper, more concentrated, materially riper (the vintage as well), darker fruit accented with the distinctive soy sauce-hoisin sauce reminiscent Vosne spice. Obviously of bigger build and heftier than the previous two, it was also more stylish in its typicity. Velvety, markedly ripe (not quite roasted-ripe), spiced dark cherry and raspberry, hint of kirsch, underlying nuances of dried figs, cedar and dark violets. Definitive from attack to moderately long finish. The bouquet was not as expressive or sweetly truffled as the last bottle of this I opened, but it was still very nice.

This was my main pairing for my Aligot.

Cyrille & Anna joined us for a few glasses and to catch up...

...joined later on by Jim & Ella who also happened to be dining there.

Still having some bottles to enjoy, we had the cheese plate featuring some 12-Month Aged Laguiole.

With this we had a bottle of 2002 Faiveley Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champonnets - J-Lab's bottle, served popped-and-poured. Faiveley's wines, in my own experience, really need many years to strut their stuff; and are still infants at 11 years from vintage. I guess 2002 was a precocious year for the producer, or, maybe Gevrey-Chambertin or even the Côte de Nuits in general, as this wine, though still obviously young, was nowhere near as surly, closed, or ungiving as the 1998 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin or 2001 Faiveley Latricières-Chambertin at 13 and 10 years from vintage, respectively.

Well, either that or Faiveley implemented a change in style in the past 11 years - I really wouldn't know as I've long learned to leave their wines alone to age for long before trying to enjoy them, so I hardly ever try them out young. In any event, with coaxing swirls and a some minutes in the glass, the wine did show more openly than I expected, though it is still obviously very young and a bit tight. Still, one could already make out its rigid structure and masculine character in its still primary, mildly brambly, spiced fruit.

For the blue cheese, we had a half bottle of 2008 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon - J-Lab's bottle. Catha said it was her first time to try an Australian botrytis cinerea-infected sweet wine and was very surprised how much it reminded her of a Sauternes. With its vibrant and forward canned peach, apricot-in-syrup, orange marmalade, slightly spicy honey, and creamy vanilla notes, it is, undeniably, a crowd-pleaser. Richard correctly noted that it is readily enjoyable, though not elegant or complex as a fine Sauternes or Barsac. For a casual sweet white, it is highly recommendable. In my experience, Australia is pretty reliable and good at making inexpensive botrytised semillon.

Richard opened another bottle of rosé champagne after, I vaguely recall it was a Moët & Chandon Rosé Imperial NV, but I don't remember for sure, and I forgot to take a photo of the bottle.

Naturally, I could not leave without having Cyrille's deservedly famous
Kouign Amann with Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

A choice of digestifs compliments of Cyrille.

A toast to CiÇou's Summer Truffle Festival!

The evening's reds.

Excellent night! Until the next!

A Benefit Dinner by Tita Bella.

A benefit dinner was held by Tita Bella Yuchengco at her residence night before last, the 8th August 2013, for a good friend who is bravely fighting the good fight. Fourteen friends got together for the very good cause.

The table setting, as usual, was elegant, understated, and in excellent taste...

...much like the ever generous, svelte, and chic hostess herself.

The evening's reds lined up for service...

...carefully opened by Rene under watchful eyes...

...were: 2010 La Sirène de Giscours (2 bottles from Rene), 1999 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti La Court, & 1999 Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot (from me). The 2009 Mission Hill Legacy Series Compendium (from Jim) was saved for a later Mamou meal.

For cocktails was Bugey Cerdon Caveau de Mont St-July -This amiable, very accessible non-vintage sparkling rosé is from the Cerdon AOC, a.k.a., Bugey-Cerdon, located in far eastern France's Ain department (bordering Geneva, within the Jura region) - composed of the area's gamay and poulsard grapes, the spontaneous fermentation of which is halted in order to leave enough sugar for a charmingly festive off-dryness.

This isn't locally available, I brought these in as part of a batch for the IWFS Ladies as a favor. We quickly went through 3 bottles last night. The abv% is quite low, so no danger of getting hit too fast before dinner. One could drink this all day at the beach.

Pre-dinner conversation...

...and bubbly.

Migs' eyes are really hopeless under flash photography.

Catha, Maite, Nena, Mayette, & Katrina...

...here photo-bombed by Enki.

The Menu.

This substantial amuse bouche of "Shrimpcargot" was an instant and unanimous hit. We all loved it. Thankfully, as always, Tita Bella had extra helpings for all. From the first bite, I said "I can eat at least a dozen of these". Most all of us got second helpings. Lucky Jim managed to get a third.

Tita Bella personally helps serve...

...the second substantial amuse bouche: a refreshing and cleansing Chilled Cucumber Soup with Lemon Oil, in tandem with a delicious, precisely executed Cauliflower Purée with Caviar. With this, we had already started on Rene's 3 bottles of fresh, racy, zippy, minerall, slightly off-dry 2011 Dönnhoff Riesling Qba - a bit fuller and riper than past vintages of the same I've had, but still a reliably nice and versatile wine with lip-smackingly bright acid balance.

My 2nd helping of the Cauliflower Purée w/ Caviar.

The first of two appetizer courses was an earthily indulgent Pan-Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Mushroom Tart. Oh my, so very good, but I stopped at only one serving as I had to make it through to dessert. The 2011 Dönnhoff Riesling Qba Riesling faltered a bit here, needing to have been a spätlese at least, but, not a problem.

With the second appetizer course of Mussel Soufflé with Chardonnay-Saffron Sauce - an addictive, heavenly sauce on a heftier, more substantial kind of soufflé, we started on Alex's 2 bottles of 2009 Thevenet Domaine Émilian Gillet Quintaine Viré-Clessé. The chardonnay producing Viré-Clessé AOC (since February 1999) lies within the Mâconnais district of the Burgundy region. Relatively recently gaining fame, its vibrant, minerally, well-crafted wines are comparatively reasonably-priced alternatives to the whites from the Côte de Beaune. The subject wine is medium-bodied with clean lines and fair balance, in a subdued, minerally style which somewhat reminds me of a cross between a young village Chablis and a young village Meursault.

A tender, honest, hearty, deeply flavored Wagyu Veal Cheeks...

...with Rissoni & Horseradish Gremolata.

With this honest, rustic treat, I paired mainly the 1999 Prunotto Barbaresco Bric Turot, the savory, mature flavors and typical acidity of which made for a nice counterpoint to the veal cheeks' earthy richness. Alex also favored this wine for pairing with the main dish, while Catha & Rene preferred the fuller, fruitier, richer, riper, more oak-enriched 1999 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Nizza La Court.

Dessert was a delectable Layered Mousse atop Strawberry Soup. In a word - wonderful - especially for chocolate-berry dessert fans such as I.

Enki had a second serving of dessert. He's been dieting lately, but I reassured him by saying that strawberry is fruit anyway, and chocolate comes from cocoa beans, so the dessert qualifies as healthy fare. I was too busy enjoying myself, chatting with everyone to remember to take my usual, closing toast group shot. Anyway, it was a great dinner for a worthy cause. Thanks, again, Tita Bella! Loved the dinner! Until the next!

Saturday Night Moules de Bouchot, Etc. @ Champêtre.

Last Saturday, the 3rd August 2013, my flight got rained out on the 15th hole by a sudden, intense cloudburst. Soaked to the bone, we skipped the usual post golf beers and snacks, and went home. Catha and the kids had a dinner to attend, so I hastily contacted Enki to see if he & Mayette could join me for dinner at Champêtre as Marc had moules de bouchot available fresh and live from France. Fortunately, they were free, so we met up at the restaurant a couple of hours later.

Enki & Mayette Rey

Our apéritif was a shared bottle of Champagne Delamotte Brut - This highly-regarded, relatively small producer founded in 1760 is the sister company of the legendary champagne house of Salon - both of which form part of the Laurent-Perrier group. Notably bright, lively, clean, well-focused with a nicely broad and weighted mid-palate. Vibrantly ripe apple and pear dominate with a white flower nuance, good minerality and mild toastiness. Not much complexity at this point, but a totally charming, disarming and wholly enjoyable casual champagne. This is from the recent batch imported and locally distributed by Premium Wine Exchange.

The three of us shared in a small array of appetizers, namely:

Goose Foie Gras with Blueberry Compote & Brioche

A couple of orders of Escargots à la Bourguignonne

...and some excellent Fresh Chanterelles with Duck Foie Gras and Puff Pastry. This last dish is not on the regular menu, but, having liked it as a special the previous week, I asked if Marc would make us some, which he happily did, to our great appreciation and enjoyment. With the foregoing dishes, we continued with the champagne.

Our seafood course was two shared orders of the night's special Moules de Bouchot à la Marinière. This particular type of mussel is small, incredibly tender, bursting with absolutely clean, delicate, sweetly fresh flavors of the sea. Moules de Bouchot have their own Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) of Baie du Mont St-Michel which spans 7 communes in Brittany and Normandy. Not only must they come from specified geographic origins, they must also be grown in a certain manner to the regulators' satisfaction. For more details, you may go to the AOP's website.

With the moules, we tried out a bottle of 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre - nicely dry, moderately crisp and white-mineraled Sancerre with good ripeness to the sauv blanc's distinctive mild gooseberry, white grapefruit and pear. Pleasantly fruity, and good enough as a competent, entry-level pairing wine.

We shared the large Dry-Aged USDA Black Angus Rib-Eye for our main course...

...paired with a bottle 1996 Louis Jadot 1er Cru Beaune Clos des Ursules - Because my last bottle of this showed too youthfully in that it wasn't as expressive as what I know of Clos des Ursules (a Jadot monopole - meaning the entire Clos des Ursules belongs to Jadot), I decanted this bottle for aeration for virtually 2 hours before trying it out.

The result was much better than last time as the wine was much more open and expressive, showing fair depth of sweetishly-ripe dark cherry and raspberry with underlying dark plum on a firm structure. A few notches over medium-body. Nicely rustic with slight nuances of cola, ceps and old violets. Not much complexity, but whatever it has now carried us handily through the meal. Offhand, I'd think I'd wait on these for another 3-5 years and see what happens. Other than that, it's good enough now with decanting for aeration if one prefers them a bit young. Nothing fantastic, but definitely a good, solid, familiar, comforting red Burg.

The three of us each had a Dark Chocolate-Grand Marnier Soufflé for dessert - delicious as always. I looks a bit deflated already because we took our time coming in to have it since we we took a quick cigarette break outside. This isn't on the menu, but Marc can and will easily whip some up upon request.

Marc thoughtfully sent us a snifter each of Armagnac, and, after dinner service, sat and joined us for a couple of glasses of wine and a nice, leisurely chat. It was a nice, relaxed Saturday evening with friends over good food and wine. Can't really want more than that. Until the next!