Charlie Stein: Notes from a Burgundy wine dinner

I recently hosted the brilliant winemaker Amaury Devillard of ‘Chateau de Chamirey’ at our Barnes restaurant for the last of my ‘wine dinners’ of 2018. It was an incredible night of insight, some very good food and a few glasses of very decent wine. Amaury makes wines in Burgundy’s Cote Chalonnaise region in and around the town of Mercurey, his whites are made from Chardonnay and his reds are made from Pinot Noir.

I’ve scribbled down my thoughts on his wines and the food we matched with.

Mercurey Blanc. Chateau de Chamirey, Burgundy, France 2013
Scallops and truffle butter
Very rich and with a surprising amount of freshness for a 2013 white Burgundy, tropical fruit and fleshiness all over. The richness complementing the scallops and butter and the developed fruit playing off the truffle.  The wine is available on my ‘selection page’ at the restaurant.

Mercurey Blanc, Chateau de Chamirey, Burgundy, France 2014
Sea bass Veronique
I love 2014 white Burgundy plenty of freshness and tension between acidity and body. Went well with the classic bass Veronique, the acidity cutting through the cream and the fruit weight bearing up against the richness of the vermouth, fish stock & cream.

Mercurey Rouge, Chateau de Chamirey, Burgundy, France 2015
Hake Casserole
Plenty of upfront lifted red fruit and a good core of acidity. Very moreish. The Hake casserole worked very well with this wine, the red wine reduction smokiness of the bacon and earthiness of the Porcini working with similar flavours in the wine. The wine is available on my ‘selection page’ at the Barnes restaurant.

Mercurey 1er Cru ‘Les Ruelles’ Monopole Chateau de Chamirey, Burgundy, France 2009
Venison with pickled beetroot, sautéed potatoes and horseradish
If the 2015 was lifted then the 2009 was grounded, deep dark and structured with iodine almost blood like flavour and texture which perfectly with perfectly pink Venison. Very good.

I would love you to join me for future wine dinners because they are just so much fun! Keep an eye out for information on the 2019 dates.