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A memorable luncheon with nature
Maitre Agustin Que’s table with T
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Maitre Agustin Que’s table with T.L. Lie and Jena JP/Arif Suryobuwono
The wines were generally good and so was the food. The water was excellent and so was the getaway setting, the fresh air, and particularly the living water drunk at its source.
But for me, the pinnacle of all this was the spirit of sharing and camaraderie, and a quiet, personal dialog with nature, which made a total six-hour, traffic jam-peppered drive from and back to Jakarta forgivable and forgettable.
I am referring to lunch on the grass or in the shade of the pine trees (depending on how you see it) at a geomancy-based estate named Villa d'Equilibrium, which houses the ISO 9000-rated Esquil natural spring water factory at Cimelati, Sukabumi, West Java.
The Saturday, June 27, 2009 informal gathering marked the fourth, usually formal Fete de la Fleur (celebration of the flowering of the grape vines) of the Jakarta Chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, an international society of Bordeaux wine lovers.
No classified growth reds were featured in this fete disguised as a picnic. All the reds uncorked were cru bourgeois wines meant for casual drinking. They were from vintages 2003 and 2004, perfect for drinking now.
The tannins have mellowed and the hot 2003 vintage was reflected in its sweet fruit. Cru bourgeois wines come from the vineyards or estates (cru in French) originally belonging to rich merchants who made up the middle class (or bourgeois) in the M*doc in the 12th century. Their wines were considered good but not good enough to be included in the 1855 Classification.
No winemakers were there to defend their wines or represent the association of chateaux they belong to and give us some insiders' knowledge about the current developments surrounding cru bourgeois wines. But the 11 cru bourgeois reds shared by around 35 registered diners provided enough samples to easily understand why the 2003 cru bourgeois classification was annulled.
Chateau La Gurgue 2003 and Chateau Lamothe Bergeron 2003, two of 87 properties graded sup*rieur or second best in the 2003 classification were rounder, richer, smoother, much more balanced, focused, well integrated with velvety/ silky tannins and longer finish than the savory Chateau Poujeaux 2004 whose structure was somewhat frayed even though the latter was younger and one of 9 chateaux under the exceptionnel level, the highest tier in the 2003 Classification.
Another mediocre performer was Chateau Clauzet 2004 whose structure did not hold together solidly. Interestingly, Chateau Beaumont 2003 tasted unexpectedly of roasted coffee!
I found the best red of the day in La Gurgue although General Manager of Sultan hotel Jakarta (formerly Hilton hotel), Jean F. Wasser, and a blonde lady opted for Lamothe. Endowed with subtle smokiness, velvety tannins, sweet blackcurrant and deliciously cooked meat flavors, La Gurgue was more solid and elegant than the charming, fruitier, silky Lamothe whose sweetness, intensified by floral fragrance, was a bit cloying.
The only dry white served throughout the meal, Chateau Beau Rivage Blanc 2006, was a pleasant, simple, aromatic wine with good acidity that was versatile enough to go congruously with the appetizers, dry-fried local anchovies and salted fried peanuts wrapped in broad-sized mint-like poh-pohan (Pilea Trinervia Wight.) leaves, the karedok (mix salad with peanut sauce) served with rice cracker and the tempe mendoan (thinly-sliced fermented soybean cake fritters) served with great-tasting fresh watercress thrived on Equil water provided that you didn't eat the delicious, hot and spicy tomato chili sauce that accompanied the mendoan.
The chili sauce ruined the harmony of the whole pairing and created a great conflict of taste among us Indonesians who liked our mendoan with it but were confronted with the tyranny of the wine and dine occasion.
I ate only some part of my mendoan with wine without the chili and the rest of it with chili and cold Equil water.
The reds, however, had no match until the excellent French cheeses from Vineth Bakery arrived. The grilled local organic beef was not properly aged, undercooked and not completely marinated apparently for fear of overpowering the reds.
Thus it came as no surprise that diners who had chosen beef also demanded chunky fillets of snapper topped with West Sumatra green chili paste (sambal lado mudo) which was so delicious and surprisingly not hot that soon there were no more fish fillets left and anyone who didn't get them had to wait until the dessert time.
The two sweet wines from Barsac, the second growth Chateau Doisy-Daene 1997 and the first growth Chateau Coutet 1997, were the only 1855 classified growths featured here. The latter was far more complex and balanced with a layer of acidity rolled out directly beneath a layer of concentrated sweetness with hints of toffee.
This sweet ending and the spirit of sharing and camaraderie I enjoyed very much in the company of and conversation with Jean and a lady named Lien made this Saturday getaway a story-driven as well as effects-driven outing.
Upon leaving the estate when the sun was reclining heavily towards the West, I saw a group of diners lingering enjoying themselves and merry making with some more wines that commandeur Sunil Melwani managed to *rob' from Maitre Agustin Que. No, this was no reenactment of Manet's 1863 d*jeuner sur l'herbe but the essence - the liberty of mind, ease and satisfaction - was there.
Ah, may I talk in private?
