3-star Chave

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This is a dinner I waited more than 10 months for.

Not long after the epic dinner with Domaine Trimbach and Weingut Egon Müller, Hairy Legs told me that they were arranging a dinner with Domaine Jean-Louis Chave. I was very, very excited to hear the news, and I would get periodic updates on the progress from both Hairy Legs and Victor over the following months.

I was a little surprised that I had some difficulty in finding friends to share my table for this event. After all, this dinner at Caprice featured a tailored menu which Saffron Bae and Victor had worked on with Jean-Louis, with each course specifically paired with a specific vintage. We would also be tasting an older vintage of Cuvée Cathelin - a bottling I have had the privilege of tasting several occasions, and whose price has skyrocketed in the last few years. Finally, we would finish with the domaine's Vin de Paille - a wine I have neither seen nor tasted in person, and which I have only seen on offer once the last 2 decades or so.

Thankfully I found a couple of friends looking for a taste of Cathelin, so the four of us sat down pretty much as soon as the restaurant opened tonight. I also got a chance to catch up with Jean-Louis before dinner started.

It's very rare that I choose not to have anything from the bread basket when I'm here, but knowing how much food was coming our way - and considering how I'd been stuffing my face for the last week - I decided to forgo those little delicious buttery lumps.

Mushroom tart - on top of a little Parmesan sablé.

Crispy roll with onions and anchovies - the filling inside feuille de brick was nice and sweet.

Smoked salmon brioche - with Kaviari Kristal caviar and some lemon gel.

Foie gras, poire et truffe blanche - ah yes... I recognize this royale tart with duck and foie gras. Tonight this came with pear marmalade, pear chutney, and slices of white truffle. Gotta say the pear condiments were very, very nice. BUT WHY DID I GET JUST A SKINNY SLICE?! DOESN'T HAIRY LEGS KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS?! HOW COULD HE BE SO STINGY?!

And I DO love this tart... but how could I not? It's the kind of classic French dish that, while popular in the colder months, I'm more than happy to enjoy any time of the year. In fact, Hairy Legs Chevalier served it to us on the day he received his title. And it's so delicious that when I mentioned to the Zhongmeister that it may be possible to purchase a whole tart for takeaway, he immediately wanted one.

2021 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc, en magnum - nose was nice and floral at first, with peachy and flinty notes giving way to some acetone. Very nice and smooth on the palate.

Langoustine, mangue et wasabi - the langoustines coming out of this kitchen - Norwegian this time - have always been nothing short of spectacular, and tonight was no exception. The execution was mi-cuit, and the King of Sauce has reached into his arsenal and hit us with this sea urchin and wasabi sauce, along with the usual condiment of mango topped with sea urchin. Oh, of course those micro coriander leaves added a wonderful fragrance into the mix. The mango in the dish matched very, very well with the 2013 Hermitage Blanc.

2013 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc, en magnum - showing a much bigger nose of acetone, with more tropical fruit like pineapple. Also bigger on the palate, too.

Soupe de lièvre et truffe blanche - I've always loved Saffron Bae's hare soup, as he uses three different vinegars for the acidity to balance out the heavy flavors, and you've also got wonderful, fragrant hazelnuts along with the white truffle.

On the side there is always a toast with foie gras and white truffle along with a blue cheese - which was Fourme d'Ambert tonight. The strong flavors from the blue cheese was moderated by the ripeness of the 2009 Hermitage Blanc.

2009 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc, en magnum - this wine was so big now, with lots of honey and acetone on the nose. So rich and juicy! Beautiful!

Homard bleu, sauce framboises et cacao - lovely presentation of the homard bleu from Brittany, with lobster mousse and his signature "sauce ruby" with raspberry vinegar. As I'm not a fan of beetroot, I had an artichoke quenelle along with some crosnes covered in chocolate sauce. Gotta say... that quenelle with tarragon was really tasty.

Can never fault the execution here.

2015 Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph Clos Florentine, en magnum - served nearly 9 hours after opening. This has got a very big nose with lots of eucalyptus, smoky, leather, very cool fruit, savory notes like sundried tomatoes, and floral notes like violet. Showing really beautifully. Second pour towards the end of dinner showed lots of metallic rust, pretty savory nose, and also soapy notes. What a lovely wine this was!

Pigeon figues - of course, what Saffron Bae does best is actually pigeon... being a Loire Valley boy. On the side we've got salsify topped with black truffle chiffonade, and a quenelle of fig marmalade.

Needless to say the Racan pigeon was perfect. Just look at that beautiful color!

2000 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge, en magnum - served 9 hours after opening. Nose of leather, savory and a little bretty, with a little hint of dust. Later showed some woodsy notes. Acidity was high on the palate with just a hint of tannis. Bottle was probably not in the best condition, so this was the most disappointing wine of the night.

Chevreuil de Loire et céleri-rave truffé - I enjoy having venison during game season, but it is a lean and chewy protein... The rolls on the side were made with alternating layers of celeriac and black truffle, and we've also got some celeriac purée along with white truffle. The sauce was a combination of chocolate and deer jus.

1995 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Cuvée Cathelin - served almost 10 hours after initial opening. This was really big, but so elegant, so fragrant and floral, with leather, game, and a little smoky notes. Good acidity balance on the palate. There came a hint of sweet grass after some 40 minutes in the glass, and a little coffee after more than an hour in glass. Such a beautiful wine!

Next came a selection of three different types of cheese:

Comté

St Maure - very farmy, as expected for a goat cheese.

Rigotte de Condrieu - this was nice and rich, creamy and farmy.

1998 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - nose was showing beeswax and a little acetone. Very ripe on the palate together with cheese.

Courtesy of Wai Gor

Poire chocolat de la Maison Valrhona - we've got poached pear surrounded by chocolate purée, some cubic crumbles made with muscovado, chocolate crisps, vanilla ice cream, together with a chocolate and pear sauce. This was very, very delicious since chocolate and pear just go so well together.

1997 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Vin de Paille, en demi-bouteille - a little sugar cane but not pure sugar cane juice, rather the Cantonese drink of sugar cane juice with water chestnuts and white grass root (竹蔗茅根). Really rich and sweet, like figs, and lots of honey on the palate.

Finally, the usual mignardises:

Hazelnut rocher

Coffee choux

Raspberry and mango jam tart

Black sesame chocolate

Vanilla chocolate

What an awesome dinner! It was easy to see that real effort was made by Saffron Bae, Victor, and Jean-Louis to figure out which vintages to select in order to match the dishes from the Caprice repertoire - with stunning results. Jean-Louis heaped plenty of praise for Saffron Bae's cuisine, as he lamented the dearth of classic French cooking of this level back home in France. Congratulations to the Caprice team for a job well-done, with the restaurant nearly at full capacity for a dinner like this, having never publicly advertised for the event. My only complaint for the night? The small pours of the best wines, especially the Cathelin and the Vin de Paille.

I was also glad to see Jean-Louis again after so many years. He's such a genuine and kind soul, and I need to find time to visit him back in Mauves again.