Well, from what I could observe, the people of Auckland Central really let their hair down and got a bit loose over the recent festive period.
Every district in town was buzzing. I noticed things hotting up from about mid-November onwards. Lunch services were getting slammed. The House’s full allocation of Billecart-Salmon Champagne would be emptied by 1pm. In such cases ‘who ya gonna call? Dhall and Nash of course!’. Our wine hotline would buzz and a panicked voice would come in. ”There’s a table having fun and they want to keep the party going.” “No worries, Sir, 30-minute service coming with a smile,” we’d reply. And so the party just kept going.
And it was no exception for myself. One of my most memorable experiences in this period was on a still November evening at the delightful Origine restaurant in Commercial Bay. As soon as you walk into Origine you are transported. Two vertices of floor to ceiling windows looking out to the harbour edge and to sea. This is as good as any Auckland vista can get and you feel great instantly.
We had worked with Chef and Sommelier to pair some dishes with some of our fine Burgundies. Burgundy, simply put, is one of the holy grail regions of the wine world. A gentle hilly strip running north to south of no more than 60 kilometres or so with the town of Beaune at its centre. Fundamentally, the region is famed for its chardonnay and pinot noir. Every village (and there are dozens along this strip) has a slightly different nuance of the variety. So much so, that the wines are named after the villages and the greatest wines simply named after their vineyard such is the difference. And so, for example, we had the 2021 Morey-Coffinet Chassagne Montrachet Blanc with the Akaroa salmon followed by the 2020 Domaine Remi Jobard Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières with the blue cod. In each case, chardonnay. The first from the village of Chassagne Montrachet and the second from the village of Mersault and specifically from the vineyard Les Genevrières. Both were incredible and of the best in the world, but so different. The Chassagne from producer Morey Coffinet possessed a linearity, minerality and freshness that were sublime and matched the acidity of the dish. The Meusault has a larger mouthfeel, body, slight nuttiness and creaminess and, again, matched the hearty cod so well.
And so the meal played on into great red Burgundy and then for fun a 1982 Vintage Port from iconic producer Niepoort with some blue cheese. And suddenly we were past midnight and with the threat of glittering chariots tuning into pumpkins we availed ourselves of this beautiful place and slid mirthlessly into the night. (PUNEET DHALL)
www.dnfinewine.co.nz/gallery-fine-burgundy-origine/
