Serves 6

For the quenelle base:
12,5 cl milk
30 g butter
60 g flour
1 egg

For the forcemeat:
300 g pike-perch, filleted and skinned
50 cl well-chilled double cream
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons salt
pepper
grated nutmeg

For the lobster sauce:
2 lobster heads or 6 scampi heads

1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 sprig fresh thyme
50 g tomato concentrate
35 cl Cognac
25 cl olive oil
5 cl white wine
75 cl double cream
2 or 3 soupspoons Noilly Prat
Salt and pepper

Poaching liquid for the quenelles:
1 l fish stock

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Prepare the quenelle base first. Cut the butter into large cubes. Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the butter, and bring to a boil. Add the flour, then continue cooking on low heat and mixing thoroughly for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the egg and mix well. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.

Then make the fish forcemeat. Rinse the fish under cold running water. Place it on a cutting board and chop it finely, using a large knife. Put the chopped fish into a large bowl and mix in the salt, 1 pinch pepper, and 1 pinch nutmeg. Put the fish forcemeat and quenelle base into a food processor together. Blend for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the egg whites and blend again. Add 3/4 of the cream and keep the rest of the cream chilled. Blend the mixture until the consistency is perfectly smooth. Gently mix in the rest of the cream, using a spatula. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour 30 minutes.

Prepare the sauce. Peel the onion. Peel and wash the carrot. Cut the onion and carrot into large cubes. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the seafood heads and crush them with a pestle. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, and tomato concentrate. Add the Cognac and white wine. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer to reduce the volume
by three-quarters (at least 30 minutes). Add the cream. Reduce the volume by another quarter on low heat. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve or conical strainer, pressing it through with the back of a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Take the forcemeat out of the refrigerator. Prepare a dish and a small saucepan of boiling water. Dip two spoons in boiling water, scoop up some mixture with one spoon, heaping it up well, then use the other spoon to compact and shape the quenelle. Then use that spoon to remove the quenelle from the first spoon. Transfer the quenelle from one spoon to the other several times to give it an even shape and lay it gently in the dish. Dip the spoons in the boiling water between each quenelle.
Heat the fish stock in a saucepan (do not let it boil), then reduce to low heat. Drop the quenelles gently into the stock and simmer for 8 minutes. Use a skimmer to turn the quenelles over and simmer for another 8 minutes on low heat.

Heat up the sauce in a saucepan. Add the Noilly Prat.  Arrange the quenelles on an ovenproof dish, pour the sauce over them, and heat under the grill for 2 minutes just before serving.

The quenelles may be cooked in advance, but should be reheated in simmering fish stock at the last minute. If you are unable to prepare lobster sauce, the quenelles may be served with a white-wine sauce.

As a major distributor of wine and spirits, the S.A.Q is well-aware that wine is an excellent vector for cultural exchanges, and makes use of this to highlight its important role. Under the name of SAQ SIGNATURE, the Quebec monopoly shares their passion for wine by organising prestigious occasions at which members and guests can explore, discover, and taste rare and exclusive products.

Golf-playing members were thus invited on the 9th of August to take part in the 2nd SAQ Signature et Grands Vins competition at the Mirage golf course belonging to René Angélil and Cécile Dion. The French contingent, consisting mostly of beginners, was entitled to a short introductory before being divided into teams and pointed in the direction of the 18-hole Carolina course. Six tasting stations with 3 wines by the glass enabled players to taste everyone’s wines.

A young, vibrant, expressive and seductive wine seemed ideal for a summer outdoor activity. Served at hole no. 7, the 2008 vintage suited to a tee… Its tangy, fresh fruit and citrus overtones titillated our tastebuds in a celebration of the superb terroir of our Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc Premier Cru , Les Champs Gain.

A gala dinner was served at the Club House after the competition, enabling participants to enjoy a good meal accompanied by some of the 18 fine wines contributed by producers. This time, I counted on the complexity of the superb terroir at Les Caillerets combined with the richness of the 2006 vintage to do justice to the Domaine’s reputation.
This competition also included a donation to the Doctor Julien Foundation, which champions children’s rights in underprivileged households using social pediatrics.

If you are familiar with my site, you - hopefully - enjoyed the beautiful photos of Michel Joly. Michel’s pictures were selected to be shown on the exhibitions taking place all around the year in Dijon, Beaune, Clos de Vougeot and Nuits-Saint-Georges.

May 28- August 28, 2010: Dijon, Place de la Libération
Sept. 1st-Nov. 14 : 2010 : Beaune, Hôtel-Dieu, Passage Sainte-Hélène, Porte Marie de Bourgogne
Nov. 18, 2010-Juin 2011 : Château du Clos de Vougeot
June-Sept. 2011: Nuits-Saint-Georges

I spent the first ten years (1989-1999) in a quest to identify the essence – the deep-down uniqueness – of each of our terroirs. This laid the foundations of my philosophy concerning vineyard management and environmental practices at the Domaine.

In 2000, I put a stop to the use of herbicides in our vines and started ploughing the soil.

The return to these vineyard management practices, in general up until the early 1970s, necessitated major investments and additional manpower, as well as a complete reorganisation of our working methods.

Tilling the soil (ploughing, chiselling, mowing, etc.) is now one of the main aspects of our work in the vineyards.

Finally, in 2010, it was time to perfect this approach and focus completely on the vines.

We already made sweeping changes ten years ago, introducing phenotypic selection and a policy of preserving the genetic biodiversity of our vines.

In 2010, our use of mineral rather than chemical sprays to protect our vines from disease and pests completed our conversion to organic vineyard management.

From now on, the preservation of the Domaine’s vineyard assets is the cornerstone of my winemaking business.

Oz Clarke distinguished my wines: “Now run by Gagnard’s daughter Caroline Lestimé, who consistently makes some of the best wines of Chassagne-Montrachet, particularly Premiers Crus Caillerets*** and Morgeot**. Top wine is rich, toasty Bâtard Montrachet***. All whites are capable of extended cellaring. [...]. Best years: (whites) (2008) 07 06 05 04 02 01 00 99.”

Author of Wines Brands, Evelyne Resnick just released a book in French on marketing French wines on international markets through innovative strategies using the Web 2.0.  The book specifically targets wine producers and professional organizations. It is the first book in French on this new communication tool.

The 2008 Les Caillerets from Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard was distinguished during the traditional wine tasting organized in London for the British wine merchants. We are proud to be part of a very small selection of Burgundy estates and to get the astonishing grade of 18/20: “Spicy, oaky, toasty and pear. Very full, concentrated and powerful; majestic not heavy, excellent poise and balance, and very persistent.”

« Respect for the environment and her  past are a passion of Caroline’s but her determination to create a modern, dynamic

Subdivided into hundreds of domaines, often family-run and sometimes covering no more than a few hectares, Burgundy can be offputtingly fragmented even to wine experts. In compiling this revised edition the authors revisited all the domaines that appeared in previous editions plus scores of “rising stars”, to select the very best and most interesting of them and remove those that no longer come up to scratch. They have spoken to winemakers about their grapes, their soil and their techniques and, of course, sampled their wines. Following on from the domaine-by-domaine guide are descriptions of the microclimates of the region, the most important grapes and wine styles, as well as tips on buying, storing and tasting wine and a rundown of recent vintages.

Remington Norman was a Master of Wine and is a member of the Académie Internationale du Vin. He is also the author of the multiaward-winning Rhône Renaissance. Charles Taylor is a Master of Wine and also works as a wine consultant. His knowledge of the region, its wines and of the individual producers is unrivalled.

In 1970, I was too young to participate in, or even remember the first Saint Vincent festival ever held in Chassagne-Montrachet. That is why organizing the most recent celebration was for me, and others from my generation, a new and meaningful experience.

For a full year, the people in our village, winegrowers as well as others, invested their considerable skills and an enormous amount of time and energy in preparing this major event.

On D-Day, despite the capricious weather the day before which had us a bit worried, everything was ready for a procession by some 80 Burgundian mutuals, preceded by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, to a mass celebrated by the Right Reverend Roland Minnerath, Bishop of Dijon, followed by induction ceremonies.

The 40,000 visitors who shared this weekend with us were able to enjoy a special cuvée of 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc made especially for them.

What an emotional occasion this was, and how proud we felt to belong to the large family of Burgundian winegrowers - men and women who have made the most of their unique terroir for generations upon generations to produce great wines!

And, as is only normal at such special times spent with family, friends and guests passing through, we opened a few old bottles between two bans bourguignons:

- Magnums of 1997 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Masures Blanc

- Bottles of 1990 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Bill tasted my wines in the 2008 vintage. He was sensitive to my “lutte raisonnée” approach as well as to the work of Claude Bourguignon on the soil. According to his article, our conversation was mostly about the 2007s and the 2008s: “The 2008s did need quite a long elevage – four cuvées finished malos in January, the majority in April/May and another in June. Caroline says that she will wait until the wines are completely ‘ready’ before she begins bottling. The 2007s for instance were bottled in January 2009, Caroline thinks that she will likely wait until March 2010 for her 2008s.”

Read his article.

Chassagne-Montrachet hosted the meeting

Under the leadership of the Burgundy Association of Sommeliers, 100 wine professionals gathered during a Sunday afternoon in Chassagne-Montrachet and were received by the 27 wine makers and owners who answered the call of their President, Jean-Claude Wallerand.

Among this important delegation, Philippe Faure-Brac, Best World Sommelier in 1992 (Rio), was spotted tasting our wines.

It was the opportunity for all those professionnals to (re)taste the white and red wines of our appellation of Chassagne-Montrachet mostly in the 2008 and 2007 vintages and for a few in the 2006 vintage.

The wines of Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard

I selected three wines of my domain in the 2006 vintage. For our “Village” Appellation, I offered our Masures in white and our Cuvée L’Estimée in red. For my “Premier Cru”, I poured my favorite of the moment, Les Champs Gain that I described in my “Yesterday, I tasted” section.

A sensation of calm and voluptuousness while enjoying an incredibly glamorous wine

My husband and I have decided to spend the early evening sat comfortably down with a glass of wine. Only the crackling of the wood fire breaks the silence in the living room.

Outside, it’s cold and dark, and I’m not at all in a hurry to do anything, go anywhere. I take the time to admire the beautiful golden color of this 2006 that takes me back to the bunches of ripe grapes bursting with sunshine that we harvested that year. I swirl the wine slowly in my glass. Once, twice, three times…. thereby releasing a lovely bouquet with myriad aromas.

This Champs Gain has a bewitching nose of ripe fruit dominated by overtones of orange blossom. The fruit carries over beautifully onto the palate with a sort of sweet mineral flavor that combines voluptuously with a taste of fresh butter. Hints of vanilla add a dash of spice to this brilliant, delicious wine.

Six months after bottling and further to a well-deserved convalescence, 2007 Les Caillerets has spread its wings.

I am absolutely delighted with this wine, whose richness and depth are starting to come through beautifully. From the moment I take the glass to my nose, I am bowled over by the intense bouquet, especially considering that the summer of 2007 was hardly sunny. Nor am I likely to forget the cool temperatures in August!

The explanation probably lies with the strong wind that blew in early September, concentrating the juice in our grapes. This miraculously changed the fate of our 2007s in just a few hours, and we are thrilled with the results.

While the wine has not completely come together on the palate, there is every indication of a powerful, vivacious minerality reflecting a great terroir. This slope vineyard’s limestone parent rock gives the wine power, structure and length. It is luscious and refined on the palate with subtle flavours of pear, citrus, and almonds that caress the taste buds.

In 2007, the primacy of terroir and the role played by the wind had a decisive effect on quality. In a few years, this bottle will provide enormous pleasure to lovers of fine wine.

Guy Savoy earned his third Michelin star in 2002, and his restaurant was rated 19 out of 20 in 2002 and 2003 in the French restaurant guide Gault Millau. He was also voted the best chef of the year by his French peers.

His restaurant on the Rue Troyon, in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, is one of the capital’s finest eateries.  Guy Savoy also owns several bistros in Paris, serving simple, authentic, and delicious French dishes.

In the US, his restaurant in the famous Caesar’s Palace is a veritable embassy for French cuisine in Las Vegas.

18 rue Troyon, Paris, 75017, France
+33 (0)1 43 80 40 61
www.guysavoy.com

It thus looks like we can begin harvesting in early September.

At the present time, fruit set has just started with Chardonnay and the flowering is just finishing with Pinot Noir. This indicates a 13-day head start compared to 2008.

At this stage, 2009 thus looks to be the second earliest vintage in the past fifteen years, just behind 2003.