Yesterday I tasted through a range of different wines from Domaine Bruno Clair, from the 2008 vintage. The following is a somewhat disjointed account of the experience.
Half past noon. Late. Damn, always seem to be late to these things. The waitress looks at me quizzically as Nikki and I walk through the door. I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the words "Their Ad Here" emblazoned on the front, peeking out from a faux-leather jacket. Nikki is wearing jeans and a sleeveless blouse, exposing her heavily tattooed arms and shoulders. We push through into the back of the restaurant, past the bathrooms and the kitchen, and the secret door groans and shrieks as I struggle to slide it open, exposing the wine cellar in the back of the restaurant and the 20 or so people seated around a long wooden table, quietly engaged in learning about the intricacies of the first few Village of the Cotes du Nuits, Burgundy.
We're half an hour late, though thankfully, the wines have yet to be poured. My friends, Ted and Paul are moderating this seminal tasting: the first ever seminar in Los Angeles to present the wines of Domaine Bruno Clair, one of the most exciting estates in Burgundy. Ted is arguing with Paul about an obscure point: are Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy all within a narrow range of elevation, or not? They go back and forth. I'm not sure how many of the others around the table care, but I perk up. With wine, I am all about the subtle minutiae that nobody else seems to care about. They stop arguing and Ted proceeds with a description of the next set of vineyards in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. He is talking about limestone. Corton-Charlemagne is poured. It is good, but it's the odd man out. Bruno Clair is a Cotes du Nuits producer primarily, and based in the Cotes d'Or's most northerly village, Marsannay. I love the fact that this wine is poured first...not after the Marsannay Blanc or the Marsannay Rose. This tells me that we are investigating a producer by the typicity of his style given his endowment of Terroir. Corton-Charlemagne is a great vineyard, a Grand Cru that demands respect. But it is simply out of the context of a terroir-focused presentation of Bruno Clair.
Just as the Marsannay Rose is being poured around the table, I hear Billy Idol in my head. Is it in my head? A ringtone? Shut your phone up somebody. But then I realize the restaurant has just opened and they've turned the music on. It's low and ambient but familiar. Somebody has decided that this Monday is '80's Monday at Terroni.
As the Chambertin Clos de Beze is poured, we are listening to Shock the Monkey by Peter Gabriel. Ted is still droning on about rocks and soil type and aspect. I really enjoy this...especially with Clos de Beze in my glass. I sing in my head, "SHOCK...THE...MONKEY...SHOCK...THE MONKEY!"
After the seminar, Paul, his girlfriend, Ted, Nikki, myself and Ted's new sales rep sit down to drink, among other things, a 2008 Le Clos from Jan-Marc Brochard, a 2006 Keller Hubacher, a 2009 Weingut Knoll Rose of Pinot Noir that somehow tastes like high-quality Gruner, a 2006 Chateau Rayas I brought....and what is left of the 10 Clair wines poured at the seminar. We share appetizers, cured meats, cheeses, eggplant wrapped cheese rolls, Lamb Ragu pasta, and each other's company. Its a good, happy group. It's a smart group. It's a day that develops into a night that confirms for me that I am doing exactly what I want to be doing with my life.
