Hanging out with Bruno Borie

I spent a very jolly evening with Bruno Borie, the Chairman of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, who is on a 2-week tour of China.  Bruno had graciously hosted us when we traveled to Bordeaux last year, and it was good to be able to reciprocate the hospitality in Hong Kong.  Like many in the wine industry, Bruno is starting to focus on China, and was proudly demonstrating his skills in Chinese by writing both his name (宝力) and the name of château (宝嘉龙).

The evening started at Classified, where Altaya Wines hosted a tasting of the wines made by Bruno for their customers.  Lots of familiar faces showed up for a chance to meet Bruno.  The wines were:

2006 Château Lalande-Borie - very young and fresh.
2005 Château Lalande-Borie - naturally a more powerful wine than the 2006.
2006 La Croix de Beaucaillou - clearly more concentrated than the Lalande-Borie.
2000 La Croix de Beaucaillou - a beautiful wine...so ready to drink.
2002 Ducru-Beaucaillou - very grassy nose with smoke and notes of spice.
2006 Ducru-Beaucaillou - a very nice wine and easy to drink.
2004 Ducru-Beaucaillou -
1996 Ducru-Beaucaillou - ripe and very ready to drink, with soft and round tannins.  A beautiful wine that would only get better.
1995 Ducru-Beaucaillou - pretty tightly closed, and a far cry from its slightly younger sibling.  As we saw from the Ducru vertical tasting 2 years ago, the crowd preferred the 1996 over this.

We invited Bruno along to our MNSC dinner, held at Golden Leaf (金葉庭).  Three of us arrived 45 minutes late as a result of the tasting, so the wines had some extra breathing time.  The theme of the evening was "Burgundy non-grand cru wines that taste like grand crus."  I think Bruno was happy to have an opportunity to drink something other than the wines he makes.  It also gave him an opportunity to dine in a Cantonese restaurant with a Michelin star.  As usual, I was very happy with the food.

Barbecued suckling pig combination (乳豬拼盆) - jellyfish marinated in sesame oil, char siu, roast goose and suckling pig crackling. 

Double-boiled bamboo pith soup with brassica and fish maw (竹笙菜膽燉花膠湯) - pretty nice and clear soup.  The fish maw was a little hard and chewy.  Bruno seemed to like the bamboo pith.

Steamed razor clams with vermicelli in garlic (蒜茸粉絲金菇蒸蟶子皇) - this was very nice...and seemed like a luxury version of what one finds in typical seafood restaurants.

Steamed fresh spotted garoupa (清蒸東星斑) - Bruno was very impressed with the steamed fish, and we discussed the merits of Cantonese-style steamed fish versus other forms of fish preparation.  We even got Bruno to finish the fish head, and he did a very good job of it!

Sautéed sliced sea whelk with ham and green (燒雲腿螺片) - I decided not to dab the whelk in the pungent shrimp sauce (蝦醬), choosing instead to go with XO sauce.  The ham was breaded and fried, creating a nice crust.

Braised eggplant with minced salty fish and chili sauce (漁香茄子煲) - one of the best dishes tonight.  I would have had seconds if there was any available.

Poached twins vegetable with fresh crab meat in essence (蟹柳扒雙蔬) - the crab meat's pretty nice, with mustard greens and Shanghainese bok choy (小棠菜).  The superior broth (上湯) was very nice.

Poached chicken with chicken essence (濃雞汁浸雞) - pretty good chicken, and I liked the chicken soup.

Fried rice "Yeung Chow" style with preserved vegetables (梅菜楊州炒飯) - this was simply awesome...one of the best fried rice I've had recently.  The individual rice grains were dry, with lots of wok hei (鑊氣) showing the high heat that was used to fry the rice. 

Sweetened fresh walnut cream (生磨合桃露) - nice and thick, and not too sweet.

We had 7 bottle of wine, all of which were premier cru Burgundies.

1990 Nicolas Potel Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - beautiful nose with lots of toasty oak, minerals, ripe and sweet with vanilla and sweet corn.  After 3 hours, the nose was incredibly beautiful with oxidized cane sugar and toasty pop corn.  A totally awesome wine!

1971 Nicolas Potel Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles - nose was initially a little sharp but very fruity, very sweet and open, mushrooms, and a bit of grilled meats on the palate.  Beautiful.  My second favorite red of the bunch.

1990 Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - pretty muted nose with a little bit of fruit, and some tannins.  Took a long time to open up a little, revealing nose of oxidized/caramelized sugar.  My least favorite of the evening.

1990 Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes - nose was a little oxidized with stewed fruits, plum, sweetness and spices like nutmeg.  A beautiful wine - my favorite of the evening and also the consensus favorite.

1990 Michel Gaunoux Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Épenots - this was my bottle, and I was relieved it was not voted last.  Nose was initially closed, with a little star anise and a short finish.  The wine developed more and became better, showing its power.

2000 Sylvain Cathiard Vosgne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - very beautiful, sweet and open, with mint, spices, orange and cinnamon notes.

1996 Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - very interesting nose with notes of eucalyptus, sweet candy, forest and pine needles.  Still very young and fresh.

This was a really fun evening, with lots of good wines, good food and of course good company.  We hope to meet up with Bruno and his tasting group later this year and have some truly memorable experiences.