Bordeaux Dinner Brisbane January 31, 2014

DiscoverVin was pleased to do another food and wine event with Celine Damour and her team at C'est Bon restaurant in Woolloongabba on January 31st.

This restaurant has a loyal following and is well known for its award winning cuisine. It is a bastion of french culture, cuisine and hospitality.

The Bordeaux dinner featured 6 courses and matched wines...

Guests were welcomed with a refreshing glass of rosé by Domaine de la Croix Irresistable cru classé from Provence. Poured from magnums and accompanied by an amuse -bouche of Bayonne Ham, it was a great start to the evening. Domaine de la Croix  is a classy, crisp rosé from a premium producer. 


It comes in a stunning bottle. The magnum certainly turns heads at events and dinner parties.

This is currently one of our best selling wines and so it was not really a surprise it was so well enjoyed by all as an aperitif.

The first sit down course was a beautiful dish- Monkfish in a pastry case with a rich red wine sauce. 

It was perhaps a little unusual to have a red wine sauce with fish, but since monkfish is a fairly robust fish, it worked well. 

And certainly what worked extremely well was the wine match. The delicious semillon/sauvignon blanc blend from the Graves appellation of Bordeaux- 
Chateau Haut Peyrous-Pêche au Carrelet-Graves Blanc 2010. This organic white wine is made by Marc Darroze who recommends that it is served with fish dishes or eel. It was perfect with the monkfish. Many commented that this textural dry white wine was the match of the night. 




Next up was one of our favourites, duck breast with a peach sauce which was beautifully cooked (not overdone) and with a lovely sauce taking advantage of a seasonal ingredient.

The wine was really special and one that we have not often had the chance to show at a dinner: Clos des Quatres Vents 2007 from the Margaux appellation on the left bank of Bordeaux. 

Clos des Quatre Vents consists of a tiny 1.2 hectare plot planted with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The proprietor is Luc Thienpont. The estate produces only 6000 bottles/500 cases from a vineyard planted with very old vines with an average age of 80 years old.  The vineyard is situated on a plateau at the entrance to the town of Margaux, surrounded by Cru Classée vineyards.

This wine was made by Jacques Boissenot, wine consultant to four of the five First Growths of the Médoc, and named Winemaker of the Decade in 2010 by the Chinese Bordeaux Guide to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the publication.

It showed its obvious class, with layered deep fruit, fine tannins. It has balance, poise and restraint. Wonderful!

The main course was a rich beef stew- boeuf carbonnade. We served 2 older Bordeaux wines. 

Chateau Lannessan 2004 and Chateau Rollan de By 2006.

Both married beautifully with the rich beef dish. The room was divided on which was better. Some preferred the Lannesan with its soft integrated tannins and some preferred the Rollan de By, a classy wine currently being served in Air France business class ! 

We then had a refreshing pre-dessert, an apricot and fennel sorbet, which sharpened our palettes for desert.

Dessert was spectacular, a pear poached in sauternes , sitting on a hazelnut biscuit base and surrounded by a cinnamon and chocolate sauce.

To accompany this was a classic sauternes from a small family producer Chateau de Rolland 2007 .  The "10 best list" in France in 2013 named this wine in the 10 best value Bordeaux wines. 

It was perfect with the pears and a great way to finish a wonderful night  of great food and wines.

Bordeaux DInner in Brisbane

Following on the heels of successful dinners in Adelaide and Melbourne it was a great pleasure to hold a Bordeaux dinner in Brisbane on October 25th. This time we went to local favourite and award winning French restaurant C'est Bon in Wollongabba. Part of the charm of this restaurant, apart from the great food and wine, is the friendly and quintessentially professional front of house staff led by Celine Damour. As usual they made everyone welcome and the evening ran like clockwork. Thanks to Celine, Anthony, Sandrine and the team!

The evening kicked off with an amuse-bouche of salmon and goat cheese "tartare" which was a perfect foil with our favorite  cru classé  dry rosé from Provence- Domaine de la Croix 2010.Following that the dinner followed the theme of New Bordeaux showcasing 2 fabulous whites matched to a classic dish of monk fish in a white wine sauce. The soft acidity of the Chateau Haut-Peyrous Graves 2009 and rich complexity of the Tour des Gendres Moulin des Dames Blanc 2009 (both semillon/sav blancs) were great matches. There was a lot of discussion about which one people preferred and it seemed to be a split decision. Both are drinking beautifully well. Several people made comments like "the best semillon/ sauvignon blancs that I have tried".

Then onto a great main course of rack of lamb moist and just pink in a red wine sauce, matched with spaetzle (to soak up the delicious sauce!) and some beautifully presented seasonal vegetables. We enjoyed 3 red wines which showed off the Merlot based wines of the right bank versus the Cabernet based wines of the red bank. Chateau D'Aiguilhe 2008 one of the "rising stars of Bordeaux" (and recently shown on the cover of Decanter magazine) is a great example of the opulence of the right bank Merlot based wines. Tourelles de Longueville 2007 is a great example of a "second label". A wine made from the younger vines to at Pichon-Longueville Baron to the same exacting standards as the "first label", intended to drink young and representing great value for money. The third red was from the ever reliable Chateau Lanessan. From the 2004 vintage it is starting to show some integration of the fruit and tannins and is a great example of how the reds of the left bank can develop with a few years of clearing. These 3 red wines all impressed for their purity of flavours, class and finesse.

Desert was a pear poached in red wine served with  a lovely calvados sabayon and cinnamon ice cream matched with the incredible Chateau Le Pradey Sainte-Croix-de-Mont 2008. This is a lovely dessert wine. Luscious fruit (stone fruits, tropical fruits and and some citrus notes,) excellent mouth feel and sweetness but a lovely non-cloying dry finish. Lots of excitement amongst the diners who had not previously had a Saint-Croix de Mont wine before. This is an excellent appellation facing the famous vineyards of Sauternes and Barsac just across the Garonne river.

To finish some excellent cannelles de Bordeaux. Crunchy on the outside, moist and gooey in the middle. Not easy to get right. Well done Anthony!

All in all DiscoverVin had a great night. and it was a pleasure to collaborate with Celine and her team. There was a real "buzz' and energy in the room.  It was a pleasure to meet some new customers and to see them enjoying the food and wines and see their excitement and pleasure form enjoying good food, great new wines and great conversation. 

Next up it will be Sydney's turn to enjoy the wines of New Bordeaux, matched to the cuisine of Fix St James in Sydney and hosted by another consummate professional- Stuart Knox Sydney Morning Herald Somelier of the Year 2012- to look after us. Details of the dinner can be found here.