Lunch at la Ruchotte, Bligny-sur-Ouche
Today, David Croix, David Clark and Neville Yates joined us at La Ferme de la Ruchotte near Bligny sur Ouche.
This is a special restaurant, founded by Frédéric and Eva Ménager. Frédéric has worked with some of France’s great chefs, including Pierre Gagnaire. Finding a strong passion for organic and natural products, he and his wife established a farm, mostly specialising in rarely seen species of chicken. The farm also has sheep, pigs, horses, cows and goats.
It’s an isolated and tranquil area, far enough from any road or autoroute that the quietude is not interrupted by the sound of an engine.
The restaurant is in the house proper and comprises a large dining table, which seats 18 comfortably. There are three other tables for groups of between two and four.
We started with gougères and an impressive Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon “Clos de la Crochette” Mâcon 2007. This wine opened beautifully, with rose petal and citrus nose, clean and ideal as an aperitif wine. In the mouth, it was different than I was expecting, open, mouth-filling, pleasing in its youth. This is ideal for drinking now, I feel.
It was surprising that the wine list was short on Bourgogne blanc. We took, at my insistence, a Philippe Pacalet Corton-Charlemagne 2002. This was an error. The wine was dull on the nose and, to me, lacked harmony on the palate. There was none of the minerality, elegance or length I love in Corton-Charlemagne.
Thus, we did not have a great wine for the foie gras with dried apple and braised radis. The foie gras was subtle, well handled, avoiding the oiliness or heaviness seen elsewhere.
Next came the highlight of the day: a roasted chevreau (kid) with spring greens and an onion reduction. The presentation was superb. The aroma, its equal. The meat was beautifully tender, savoury and a great accompaniment to a Pierre Damoy “Clos de Bèze” 1990.
This wine exceeded my expectation. I find that many red Burgundies from 1990 are showing burnt, cooked fruit characters now with a displeasing dryness to the palate. Not so with this wine. The nose was complex, confident but not showy. It smelt of dried cranberry, cardamom, old wood, dried flowers. The palate had excellent freshness and length. Beautifully resolved, it stayed in the mouth long after I swallowed. The savouriness of the finish worked extremely well with the goat meat and its jus.
With the cheese and dessert, we enjoyed a Domaine Mosse “Les Bonnes Blanches” Anjou Blanc 2007. Usually I find young chenin blanc very difficult but this was a delicious wine, perfect now, with quince-like oxidative characters and a beautiful, endless finish. The residual sugar (the wine was medium-dry) was perfectly countered by the sharp acidity. This would have been a much better choice for the foie gras.
A simple praline and sponge dessert finished things off. Frédéric could easily have made this very sweet, but instead made it light and simple.
Lunch came to 140 euros per head for wine and food.
