In April 2015 Pearl of Burgundy hosted an intimate evening and dinner in Gevrey Chambertin with few of our wine makers collaborators and friends. Among the guests were Jean Marie Fourrier, Jean Marc Roulot, Charles Van Canneyt , Nicole Lamarche and Pierre Duruche. Each one of the guests brought a bottle from his cellar, and we added few other wines to compliment the party. The wines included:

2005 Meursault Perrieres, Domaine Roulot (magnum): fresh, mineral, vibrant, still young but broad and deep. A classic Meursalt Perrieres at its best.

1969 Chambertin Clos de Beze, Domaine Duroche (magnum): this 46 years old wine showed really impressive. Vibrant, Still a lot of wine there, with very strong nuances of the terroir of CdB. Just keeping in mind that grapes from the same vines planted in 1920 used for this great 1969 are being used today by Pierre to make the current bottling of Clos de Beze…

1996 Richebourg, Domaine Hudelot-Noellat (magnum): was showing both signature of the vintage and the terroir of Richebourg. Long, deep, well balanced and structured for long aging.

2005 La Grande Rue, Domaine Francois Lamarche: a great example from this unique terroir from a great vintage. The first vintage with the signature of Nicole Lamarche who took the responsibility for the wine making at the domaine ever since. A wine with depth, stracture and balance to improve for years to come.

2005 Clos saint Jacques, Domaine Fourrier: an exemplary bottle of the vineyard of Clos saint Jacques, with a strong signature of Jean Marie Fourrier and the structure of the great 2005 vintage. A keeper.

1996 Romanee Conti: Naturally it’s a great wine, but we drank it way too young (especially as its from a recent release from the domaine). It needs another 20-30 years of further aging to fully deliver its huge potential.

1990 Cote Rotie, Cote Brune, Domaine Gentaz-Dervieux: this rare bottle of Cote Rotie was made for the last time in the 1991 vintage, before the vineyards changed hands by marriage to what is today Domaine René Rostaing. This is a stunning Cote Rotie, very pure, rich, with enormous dept but without any heaviness and with a never ending finish.

1811 Fine Champagne Imperial: well, here came the biggest surprise of the night. An original bottle, 204 years old of something that must qualify as “gods’ nectar”. A complex, broad and with amazing taste and never ending after taste of something we never had the pleasure to taste before. Quoting Jean Marc Roulot’s words: “there is a lot of wine in this”. A real “wow”!