A French Experience.

Today's post is going to be more of pictures that will do the talking. The other day, I went to a French restaurant (for the first time) for lunch, with my wine manager and some colleagues. It was a great experience. Excellent food, vibes, and also the wines we brought, just paired well with everything.

The wines we had:
- 2015 Louis Roederer, Cristal, Brut (Champagne, France)
- 2019 Domaine Jean Fery, Le Clos de Magny, Cote de Nuits-Villages (Burgundy, France)
- 2021 Bass Phillip, Pinot Noir, Crown Prince (Gippsland, Victoria, Australia)

Both the 2019 Jean Fery and 2021 Bass Phillip were meant to be a blind-tasting challenge, whereby we had to guess which was old and new world wine.

The restaurant is located in those old colonial buildings, and once I stepped in, I was immediately teleported to a very rustic 40s-era cottage ambience. It had somewhat of the homely feeling (refer to Featured image).

We started with Duck and Pork Rilettes, Cold-Cut Pork Sausage and Garlic spread, which tagged along with classic Baguette. Spread across the rilette of your choice onto your Baguette, and enjoy as it is. Delicious! The highlight of this dish is the fat, which is is oily (no doubt), but also the rich savouriness behind the mash of the meat and fat - a very rustic Burgundian-style dish. We paired this with the 2015 Cristal, and it was just perfect. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend behind the champagne brought out more body (weight) from the food.

For Mains, we had Cote de Boeuf Angus Rotie au Four, basically a Ribeye steak, topped with caramelised onions, a Gratin and also a Duck Confit.

The Cote de Boeuf was beautifully done to Medium Rare, a nice balance of bite and juice. We paired this with the Pinot Noirs, and it worked better with the 2019 Jean Fery.

The Duck Confit had a crunchy skin, with the meat being soft and tender. The rich oiliness on the palate brought in another dimension to the taste. It was almost like Peking Duck (i think it might be an insult to Duck Confit xD please do not declare war on me).

Onto the wines:

2019 Domaine Jean Fery, Le Clos de Magny, Cote de Nuits-Villages
For a wine that is about 6 years old, it was surprisingly tawny in colour, because that is usually not the case. Usually, it is more deep ruby in colour. Apparently, it had super long-maceration during the wine making process.

The fruit flavours were not so obvious, but there was smoke and oak profile from the wine. After 1/2-hour to about 45mins aeriating, the wine evolved super well. The fruit flavours was more obvious (there was a tinge of cola with the fruit), but the oakiness was kind of showing more compared to the fruits. An excellent pair to the medium-rare Cote de Boeuf.

2021 Bass Phillip, Pinot Noir, Crown Prince (Australia)
This wine had more of a fruit-forward profile. Not much on the oak and smoke. Youthful, bright, fresh, and a bit more on the stony profile. After opening the wine for a good 1/2-hour to 45mins, it was kind of stagnant (for me at least). I feel this is the sort of wine that is more for a stay-home drinking kind of wine.

Two different styles of Pinot Noir from two different countries. A lovely comparison, all in all.

They decanted the wines into little chemistry beakers, which I thought it was adorable. It also works, as it has quite a wide base, and it aeriates the wine better.

In summary, a wonderful experience at an excellent French bistro, filled with tasty and savoury food. 5/5 for me.

Le Bistrot du Sommelier,
53 Armenian Street
Singapore 179940

Warmest
- Stephano