At Restaurant Alevansi Melbourne - Nov 9th 2004. This was based around the Villa Sassi Turin dinner in 2002 which matched the wines from Raymond Boulard with 7 complimenting dishes from 7 Michelin starred chefs. We only had one chef !

Profiteroles with Foie gras mousse with dark chocolate.
Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs NV Grand Cru - Cramant

--- quite a different dish - with the bitter sweet of the chocolate matching the foie gras rather well. It needs a small alteration to be perfect - mainly we forgot the cabbage somehow from the translation!! Lilbert-Fils NV was crisp and intense with good minerality. Overall a good match which would be superb WITH the cabbage !!

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Carpaccio of crayfish with celeriac and apple remoulade lightly sprinkled with cepe powder.
Raymond Boulard – Cuvée Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
Raymond Boulard - Cuvée Blanc de Blancs Brut

--- this was quite a sensational dish -- and the contrasting wines raised some real interest. The Brut Nature had the raw power and intensity to resemble almost a wine from the Cote des Blancs. The normal dosage was richer and fuller but less mineral. I liked both !!!

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Roast John Dory with Champagne sabayon and chive infused potatoes.
Gosset-Brabant - Cuvée Reserve Grand Cru Ay NV 70% PN 30% CH
Raymond Boulard - Mailly Grand Cru NV 90% PN 10% CH

---- an interesting contrast in terroirs. Mailly is quite an elegant almost floral style - very intense and with just a hint of minerals. Ay is more power spice and weight. If you had to pick the Pinot Noir dominant wine, you could easliy go for the Gosset-Brabant - but you would be wrong. The original dish called for turbot, but that is just a little difficult to get in Melbourne on a regular basis.

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Milk fed veal sweetbreads with white asparagus, baby leeks, girolle mushrooms and a watercress and fresh pea salad.
Raymond Boulard – Millesime 1998 50% CH 30% PN 20% PM
Raymond Boulard - Cuvée Prestige Tradition
50% CH 30%PN 20% PM

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two absolutely brilliant wines, with exactly the same varietal makeup. Both wines show real intensity and weight. The Trad has no malo and hence has a nice edge to it. The 1998 is from older vines and is just so complex. Sweetbreads was a superb match.

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Crispy pigs trotter stuffed with a foie gras and spinach mousse, caramelised scallop, petit salad, with an oyster and cauliflower jus.
Raymond Boulard - Cuvée Rosé de saignée

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This is a rich saignee style which is perfect with the pigs trotter. Very long and very elegant with just a hint of earthyness all enveloped in the subtle strawberry crispness - clean acid finish. Perfect match. Just sublime.

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Lemon mousse with seasonal red and black berries, basil and almond sorbet with vanilla oil syrup.
Jean Milan Blanc de Blancs “Cuvée Tendresse” Sec Grand Cru Oger

--- basil and almond mousse with vanila oil works well, need to re-think the lemon mousse - just a little too tart - maybe a berry soufle would work better. Wine was a perfect match - not too sweet and heaps of minerals and jasmine.

We had to adopt a few different wines and dishes to work better with local ingredients. The wines of Francis Boulard were quite outstanding - all different - all subtel - all complex - and appeared to work with the dishes extremely well. Bravo Francis !!!

Amicalement
Vic Pug