MartyL

Thanks for your post, Robert. When I was there, service was mostly correct, but I think you hit on the key problem with the place, which is a slight deficit of generosity and grace. At this level of dining, service should be balletic, and you should feel as if you are being treated like a king or queen. You don't want to read things on the menu about pricing policy.

Cuvee Mythique is indeed a nice quaffer. Some reds on the lighter style that I like for casual summer drinking include: 2001 Terres D'Orees Beaujolais "L'Ancien" from J.P. Brun The same producer's Bourgogne Pinot Noir is a nice light summer red too. In the Loire, I like Breton's Chinon Les Picasses, but now we're in $20 or so territory. In whites, Huet's Demi Sec is really nice (again, $20 territory, but well worth it).

Too bad the truffe en croute wasn't on the menu when I was there. Sounds terrific. Fortunately, I had Boyer's version of the dish a week later and it was as richly and decadently delicious as I remembered it from the first time I had it there, 3 years earlier on my honeymoon. Would have been interesting to compare the chefs' takes on the dish though. Unfortunately I guess I'll have to go back.

95, 96 and 97 all offer terrific choices in this category. In Vouvray, the 97 Huets, particularly the Clos du Bourg 1er Trie Mollieux, are legends in the making and will likely last many decades, assuming good storage and a good cork. If you can afford it, I hear the Cuvee Constance from that vintage is unreal. In Coteaux du Layon, the Bise wines from all of those years are delicious, as are, of course, the Baumard Quarts de Chaume. People who have had the good fortune to drink them more often then I have tell me the 95 is the best of the 3 Baumards, but they are all excellent.

Steve P. and Bux are right about Provence generally. On my recent trip to the region, Jill and I had a lot of restaurant meals that were mediocre. Lots of places focused too much on hotel-dining-room-style frou-frou (but generic) presentation, and not enough on flavor. That being said, Le Moulin de Lourmarin was excellent, and the best meal we had there. It is well worth a trip. I’d like to write up a more detailed post about the meal and the rest of the trip, but that will have to wait until work responsibilities abate somewhat. The dish that I remember best at the moment from that meal was an appetizer of chickpea-truffle “soup.” More a foam then a soup, it was richly flavored and accented with some intriguing local herbs and topped with chickpea/herb fritters that were reminiscent of the much-discussed-round-these-parts falafel, and slices of black truffle. All of the food was, in the vein of this last dish, both inventive and delicious. As Cabrales says, there was much use of local and unusual herbs, vegetables and flavors. Although Loubert’s creativity was similar to Veyrat’s, personally I didn’t find the execution at Lourmarin to be superior. I may be biased here, as at Veyrat the service was so warm and generous and the atmosphere so beautiful that my memory of the meal is filtered through rose colored glasses. People should be aware that Moulin de Lourmarin does charge basically *** prices for food, but that is consistent with the quality you get. The wine list was also generally pricey, although if you don’t mind drinking it criminally young, 98 Chave Hermitage is available for something like $100. I didn't mind too much. A further note about Lourmarin---consider staying the night in town after dinner. Our drive back to our inn (to the North, in Gordes) was pretty treacherous due to the twisting and narrow roads leading up through Bonnieux. I also say Amen to Steve P.’s recommendation of Bistro au Paradou. Great place with a happy vibe and simple but delicious country food. 3 courses plus cheese, including a bottle of the house wine will run about $30. Everything is included whether you want it or not. No choice on the menu---you eat whatever they are making that day, but it will be good and you will clean your plate. My favorite part of the meal was when they brought a large tray full of excellent local cheeses to the table with a couple of knives and left it with us for a while so we could choose how much we wanted and go back for more when something was really good. The third great meal we had in Provence was at Le Mas de Cure Bourse. I don’t have my notes handy and can’t remember any particulars, but I remember the food and service were excellent, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients, and the tree-shaded garden was beautiful. Great place to go for lunch after a morning spent browsing through the market (Saturdays and/or Sundays, I think) in Isle Sur la Sorgue.

Nina, try the event calendars at the following 2 sites: http://funwithwine.com/advsearch.asp http://www.localwineevents.com

Lizzie brings up a revealing point here. If the BYOB model doesn't work economically, then how come it is basically the norm in California, and in New Jersey? And FG, while your point is well taken about the economics of the foregone $10,000 bottle at Lespinasse, JG and Daniel, I think the question is better applied to restaurants at a tier or two below those. For example, there is a restaurant on the upper west side that offers solid traditional french fare. It is a simple but nice neighborhood place and not really a destination restaurant. They do not generally allow BYOB and have an uninteresting wine list. I once asked the manager if they would consider making an exception and allowing BYOB if I brought in a large group on a Sunday night. He said no problem. We turned out to be a group of about 15 people, had the whole back room to ourselves on a night when the restaurant was basically empty, and did a vertical tasting of Ridge Geyserville along with dinner. He charged us only $8 per person corkage. Our group has been back to that restaurant about once a month and they have always been happy to see us. Of course, this manager wasn't giving up a table to us that would have otherwise been occupied by a group that would have ordered the 1900 Margaux from Jeroboam, but I get the feeling that there are lots of restaurants that could do a lot more business on slow nights if they were receptive to BYO.

Nope. I'm not suggesting that there is a monopoly or actual price-fixing, in fact, I'm suggesting the opposite---the opportunity is ripe for somebody to come in and undercut all the price-gougers. Why can't NY have a restaurant like Beaune's Ma Cuisine or Paris's Willi's Wine Bar? Obviously geography plays a role here, but our restaurants could still do much better then they are doing now in terms of wine pricing.

Fat Guy suggested above that restaurants could not survive without the high mark-ups on their wine lists, but I wonder whether this hypothesis has ever been tested. I wonder whether any restaurant in NY has ever tried the model of offering a good variety of fine wines at significantly lower mark-ups (let's say 30-50% depending on the price point) and failed. Isn't it possible that a restaurant like this would sell a lot more wine and perhaps even sell more covers generally? Perhaps the reason there is basically no competition in wine pricing among top restaurants is that the barriers to entry are so high that these restaurants can tacitly agree among themselves to hit the consumer with what is essentially sucker pricing.

Cabrales, sorry to be of no help here, but that list looks pretty bad to me and I don't see much I'd recommend given the prices. No doubt their reserve list is more extensive, but I'd hazard a guess that there too the mark-ups are out of hand. If you want a French white, the Vernay Condrieu will probably be enjoyable, but it is also priced at about 3x retail. I was heartened to see the 2001 Beaujolais Blanc from J.P. Brun's Terres D'Orees on the Ducasse list. That is an astonishingly good wine for the $8.99 it costs at retail (you can find it at Chambers St. Wines, Columbus Circle, and probably Garnet), but at $48 at Ducasse I think I'd pass. I realize you said $200 and White, but if you were open to changing gears on both those counts, you might consider looking at the 99 Roumier Bonnes Mares for $300. That retails for about $150 per bottle, (less if you have sources in Europe), but is hard to find and will be really good. Otherwise I'd look at the reserve list and ask the sommelier for a recommendation in your price range and in a style that suits you. I'd also look at the champagnes on their reserve list to see if they have something from a small grower like Selosse. I've found that good Champagne flatters most foods. Enjoy.

Would you mind sharing the name of this restaurant? Thanks.

Pardon me if I ignore the whole rich vs. poor thing and comment on the Trotter's wine list: Most of the Burgs are too young and the few well-aged ones are overpriced, but there are 3 reds in or under the price range suggested that come to mind on a quick scan: 1. Fourier 99 Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques: retails for about $80 in NY, so the mark-up here to $135 is not bad, given the context. I tried this wine recently and although it is definitely young, it shows the class of its vineyard site. 2. & 3. Dujac 99 Clos de la Roche or Clos St. Denis: each retails for about $150 this side of the pond, so again the mark-up is less than 100%. Again, I'd rather have this with about 10 years of age on it, but Dujac wines are always elegant and beautiful, young or old. In the whites, there are some enticing things if you look at the left column only and ignore prices. I'd sure like to try one of those 79 Ramonets or the 95 Niellon Chevalier Montrachet, but at those prices I fold.

As luck would have it, I just got an e-mail from Garnet wines (929 Lexington Ave., Tel: 212-772-3211), offering a number of 2000 CDPs. Here are 2 that I think would be worthwhile to try: 2000 Pierre Usseglio ($ 29.99) 2000 Cuvee du Vatican Reserve Sixtine ($ 34.99) I tried the Sixtine about a month ago in CDP and thought it had great fruit and was also nicely balanced. I haven't tried the first one but would recommend it on the strength of the producer's reputation. For those who are counting, Robert Parker rated the first one 92 and the second one 91-94.

Steve is right that those vintages are not "ready" in the sense of showing secondary complexity like the older vintages he mentions, but that doesn't mean some of these wines can't be enjoyed now with significant pleasure as a result of their ripe fruit. In particular, I'd recommend 2 98s: Chateau Fortia and Clos Mont Olivet. Check with Chambers St. Wines downtown or Columbus Circle Wines & Liquors for availability, or do a search on www.winesearcher.com.

Nina, Parker's publication, The Wine Advocate, is far and away the most influential wine periodical out there, especially in terms of high-end wines and wines from Bordeaux, the Rhone valley and California. Pricing in these area's generally tracks his ratings and he has a consistent palate. There is a view out there, however, that his preferences tend to run towards gobs and oak. I have found the Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast to be isappointing as far as wine information goes, but the Spec has some decent travel issues. If you like Burgundy, I would highly recommend an online subscription to Allen Meadows' Burghound.com quarterly newsletter. Allen provides good information about the growers and vineyards and he has a great palate for Burgundy.

One of the tough things about buying high-priced Burgundy is that if you open it very young, you end up missing out on many of the qualities that make the wine sought-after and expensive in the first place. Unfortunately, unless you are buying at auction, it is hard to find older Burgundies for sale. If you want something that will be young and delicious in a Pinot-puppy-fat sort of way, while still tasting like Burgundy and expressing a sense of place, I'd suggest you buy a bottle each of 99 Roumier Chambolle Musigny (about $35) and 99 Roumier Morey St. Denis 1er Cru "Clos de la Bussiere" (about $45). These wines are available in a number of shops in New York, including Acker Merrall, Sherry Lehman and Garnet. Garnet probably has the best price.

I'd recommend the Wine Lovers' Discussion Group: WLDG

Gee, Cabrales, have you ever considered writing ad copy? Anyway, H. Jayer Echezeaux at Troisgros sure sounds better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Hey Steve, what was Ouest's attitude about corkage? Thanks.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Robert. I've been lurking around here for a long time, having previously been a devoted reader of Steven Shaw's work on the Fat-Guy site. I've enjoyed this site a great deal and the archived posts here were enormously helpful to me in planning my last trip to Paris and Provence. As for the whole Paris vs. the countryside thing, it is of course hard to make generalizations. There are certainly some places in the provinces that seem tired, stale and touristy. Georges Blanc was one example of this phenomena that I experienced first hand, and I've read about many others. The next *** I'd like to try is Troisgros, but I think I'm in a phase where I get more excited about places that are just a wee bit less hoity toity. I also like to find places where I can afford to order something delicious from the wine list. And Steve, I am still dreaming about Chez Georges and that wine list. If there were a place like that in my neighborhood, I would probably eat there 3 or 4 times a week.

Lizziee, my point above about the three-stars in Paris was really just an expression of a personal preference and of course I acknowledge that yours is no less valid. I have had great meals at Gagnaire, Taillevant, Guy Savoy and Lucas Carton and I certainly can understand why many appreciate the sophistication and creativity of the food at some of these places and feel they are the best. Personally, however, my favorite experiences have been at Boyer and Veyrat. It is hard to put my finger on why, but I detected a certain haughtiness and pretension in many of the Paris places, while at Boyer and Veyrat, the overwhelming vibe was one of hospitality and making every guest feel like a king or queen. Chacun a son gout.

No doubt a search of the archives here and elsewhere on the web will yield many suggestions from far better-travelled people than this simple country lawyer. First, I'd suggest you cull the posts of some of the regulars here (Bux, Steve Plotnicki, Cabrales, and many others) for their recommendations and reviews. Also do a search of the archives for David Russell's terrific post about Paris Bistros. In any event, the following were some of the bright spots of my recent trip to Paris witg my wife: Meals at the avant-garde Astrance and rustic La Regalade lived up to and surpassed our lofty expectations. Chez Georges offered a warm and lively vibe, hearty food, and nice wine list chock full of Dujac and Roumier. Willi's Wine Bar had well prepared and reasonably priced Mediterranean food, and nice list of Cote Roties---but what you should really order there is the Selosse Champagne Rose, which is great stuff. Dinner at Relais Louis XIII was another memorable meal, with top quality ingredients and very genial service. If you want truffles, heed Steve P.'s advice and get thee to Chez Dumonet for an omelet. For a great picnic, head to Barthelemy or Marie-Anne Cantin and pick up some perfectly ripe and delicious cheeses. Also, make sure to head to Laduree (the 16 Rue Royale location) for tea and pastries. None of those places I mention above offers a "cost-is-no-object" type meal. If you are keeping Michelin-Score, Astrance has one star and Relais Louis XIII has two. Personally, I have found the three-stars to be much more enjoyable outside of Paris. I'd recommend in particular a day trip to Reims, where you can stay overnight and dine at Gerard Boyer's three-star Les Crayeres. If you go, don't miss the pre-meal champagne aperitif on the lawn.

Hi all. I recently looked into commercial wine storage options in and around the city. I didn't call NY Wines, so I don't know their terms. The following is some information regarding other options. Acker Merrall: A "half-locker" with space for 25 cases costs between $300 and $400 per year. Offers free pickup and delivery in Manhattan, with 72 hours notice. That last point is a nice service. If you live on the west side, this might be a good option, as their shop is on West 72nd street. The cellar is offsite in either NJ or Queens. I understand they are building a new facility that should be able to accomodate customers with smaller collections. Chelsea Wine Vault: I like that they are in Manhattan, offering me convenient access to the wine. They charge $2 per case per month for open storage, but they currently have a waiting list and aren't taking new customers. Morrell: Also fully booked and not taking new customers. Morgan & Brothers Manhattan: Warehouse in LI City, offers storage for 1-14 cases for $20 per month, with declining per case charges for additional cases (the range is $1.10 to $1.40). Delivery charges are somewhat steep here though. I didn't look at Zachy's very closely as it looked pricey. Also, I have heard second-hand that Sokolin, a Long Island Wine Merchant, is just starting to offer this service. You should be aware that in addition to the basic storage charge, there are lots of other add-ons for which these places charge you. These include, among other things, inventory for cases that come in and go out, warehouse labor by the half-hour, delivery and pick-up charges, packing materials and insurance (usually 1 or 2% of the value of your wine). Hope this helps.

It is a bit of a drive (maybe 30 minutes or so), but there is a Relais & Chateaux hotel in the tiny hamlet of Le Bourget du Lac called Ombremont that has a lovely restaurant called Bateau Ivre, which I believe has 2 Michelin stars. You can eat on their tented terrace and enjoy a beautiful view of the gem-like lake below. Order the omble chevalier (char), which will come fresh out of the lake. After lunch you can walk down to the lakeside and rent a small paddleboat and while away an hour or two in the middle of the lake enjoying the fresh mountain air. Veyrat will be a real treat too. Maybe the best meal I ever had. Enjoy!