Lunch at Le Beaulieu

We had a long, long lunch at Le Beaulieu in their new Plaza Athenee location. I think I prefer the casual, laid-back setting of the old Sukhumvit restaurant a bit more, but the food by Chef Herve Ferrand was as good as always, and perfectly paired with the great wines we had carted over from Singapore. As always, the Bresse chicken and the Grand Marnier Souffle stood out as my picks. For the wines, we had a great d'Yquem and, unusually, two bottles from the Hospices de Beaune. the 1985 Corton was brilliant.

• NV Bruno Paillard Champagne Brut Premiere Cuvée 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Disgorged in September 2011, I thought this was a very pleasing NV and pretty good value for what it is. Pleasant nose, with white fruit, lemony scents and some flowers. The palate had a nice, very gentle feel to it, with rounded flavours of lemons and green apples on the attack broadening out into a wider base of white fruit, before ending in a gentle stream of minerality. Fine mousse, great balance, all very pleasant. This was a great food champagne, nothing exciting, but a nice way to kick off a Saturday lunch.

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• 2002 Château d'Yquem 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Solid stuff. First time I have had the 2002 in a full bottle rather than a 375ml - this was still so young, almost a baby. The palate could have come from a far more recent vintage, with tons of of honey and treacle, dried apricots and coconut candy. There was no mistaking this for anything but a d'Yquem with that spectrum of aromas on the bouquet, and from a strong vintage too given the evidence on the palate. Here, the wine was dripping with honey, dried apricots and spice, with a great show of botrytis in its rich, layered, palate-staining depth. Yet for all that power, it was also very nicely balanced, with a nice lift of lemon zest and orange peel to go along with the bits of spice in a very strong, very long finish. This was excellent and worked well with both fresh seafood as well as a more cliched pairing of pan-fried foie gras on the day. Give it a decade though, and it should be breathtaking.

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• 1999 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Rousseau Deslandes Albert Bichot 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  I was surprised by this wine - it was still very youthful and rather better than expected. It had a lovely nose, with notes of dusty earth, spice and herb, slightly dried strawberries and raspberries and a nice floral component - very Beaune. The palate was still marked by slightly drying tannins, but there was a nice sappiness and a good clarity to its deep flavours of dark cherries and red berries beneath that. Nice juicy feel as well. While not too complex, it was certainly quite yummy. It finished as well as it started, with a little touch of orange peel, more brambly herb, and a bit of a funky underlayer. All in all, really pleasant, and it should improve our the next 3-5 years too.

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• 1985 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Cuvée Charlotte Dumay 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru

  Wow, this took awhile to get going, but it was excellent when it did - a real testament to how well the 1985 vintage is showing right now. A bit tight and funky when first poured, it opened up beautifully in the glass to show a wonderfully savoury, more-ish bouquet of dark plums patted down with mushrooms and meat, sous bois and a nice spice. The palate was just lovely. It still with a good grip to it, with lovely fine tannins making their presence felt. However, it was the beautiful clarity and purity to its dark cherry expressions that really marked the wine. Really delicious stuff, full of bright juicy 1985 balance, and absolutely focused and cut all the way through the midpalate, where a savoury salted meat note met with the fruit, and into a long, complex finish, with bittersweet smoke and herb notes drifting at the edges of the back palate. An effortlessly complex, completely charming Corton. This wine could have gone on for years, but it seemed to be just about perfect on the day. Great, great pairing with the chef's wonderful roasted Bresse chicken as well.

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