<a target="_blank" href="http://www.lhoteldebeaune.com/en/">Bistro de l’Hôtel</a>

5 rue Samuel Legay

21200 Beaune (France)

Tel. + 33 (0) 3 80 25 94 14

June 2013

Wine:&nbsp; 

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;q=Roederer+NV+Brut+Premier">NV Roederer Brut Premier 90</a>

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;q=2010+Lucien+Le+Moine+Meursault+1er+Cru+Genevri%C3%A8res">2010 Lucien Le Moine Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières</a> 94+

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;q=2009+Mugnier+Nuits+Marechale&amp;wine_filter%5Barticle_id%5D=&amp;commit=Search&amp;wine_filter%5Bproducer_id%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bvintage_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bvintage_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bscore_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bscore_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bprice_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bprice_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Breview_date_year_range_min%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Breview_date_year_range_max%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bcolor%5D=&amp;wine_filter%5Bcountry%5D=">2009 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er
Cru Clos de la Marechale</a> 92

Food:

Mushroom soup<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378943541348-MushroomSoup+-+vinous.jpg"> 

White asparagus with vinaigrette<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378943577640-asparagus+vinous.jpg"> 

Veal scaloppini with tomatoes and basil<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378943609800-veal+vinous.jpg"> 

The weather was unseasonably rainy and chilly during the two
weeks I spent in Burgundy this past June, so when sunshine arrived one Saturday
morning there was only one place to go for lunch. The Bistro de l’Hôtel. The
small, intimate dining room can feel quite formal during the fall and winter,
but the ambience is decidedly more laid back during the summer, especially if
you can get one of the outside tables. Our lunch was fabulous from start to
finish.

Roederer is one of my go-to
Champagnes. It was a real pleasure to drink – not taste – a glass of the NV Brut Premier to start off this
delicious lunch. The mushroom soup starter was perfect and a great match to the
warm, nutty nuances of the Champagne. Sometimes simple is best, and that was
certainly the case here.

I couldn’t resist the white asparagus, which were the last of
the season. Served with vinaigrette, the asparagus were delicious, and also a
nice break from the heavy cuisine that is so typical of Burgundy. What do
drink? Well, that is never easy, as the Bistro’s list is vast. Lucien Le Moine’s 2010 Meursault 1er Cru
Genevrières turned out to be spectacular. The wine really should have been
decanted, as it needed several hours to open up, but what a wine! Rich,
explosive and layered, the 2010 burst out of the glass with a head spinning
mélange of exotic aromas and flavors. The intense&nbsp;Genevrières&nbsp;minerality actually
worked beautifully with the asparagus. Now I know what pairs well with one of
the greatest enemies of wine at the dinner table. Too bad Genevrières isn't the kind of everyday wine one can drink&nbsp;whenever the mood strikes!<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378943653431-CoverWines+-+vinous.jpg"> 

One of the things I love most about the food at the Bistro is
that it is relatively light by Burgundian standards. There are more than a few
Italian influences here. That was evident in the veal scaloppini, a dish that
captured the best of both the French and Italian kitchens. It was the perfect
dish for lunch on a warm summer day. Tomatoes, basil and a host of bright
flavors literally jumped off the plate. Mugnier’s
2009 Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale was drop-dead gorgeous. Clos
de la Marechale is another of my go-to wines, as it is readily available (by
Burgundian standards) and rarely excessively marked up on restaurant lists. The
2009 was ripe, open and seductive. Although very much in the style of the year,
the Clos de la Marechale also showed plenty of structure in support of the
radiant, expressive fruit. Readers fortunate enough to own the 2009 can look
forward to a broad and long drinking window.

-- Antonio Galloni

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