Last year, a very famous TV information program made a subject on old wines. The central theme was the cellar of Bouchard, and a dinner with wines of the 19th century, that I attended. They took me as a link in this subject, showing me buying in auction, and showing me in my cellar. As it is very popular, probably 3 to 5 million people have seen my cellar.

Showing some bottles, I said concerning alcohols : with my rhythm of consumption, I have more than one thousand years of stock of alcohol.

Someone had thought that the thousand years concerned wines and not alcohol, and, on a forum devoted to wine, like this one but in French, he wrote : here is a man who is not a good example, because, if he has thousand years, it means that he does not drink. It must be one of those people who have no interest in wines, and just show their cellar.

A friend of mine, who writes on this forum, told me : you should write something to alter this negative opinion.

I wrote an answer, and finding that this forum is active, I decided to post there. As French is my mother language, I thought it would be easier to describe my emotions on wines than in English.

I told various stories, and I noticed that every message was criticised, with very specious arguments, tending to give of me an image of a man who is only interested to show, to talk about the famous people that he knows, interested only in expensive wines, who does not know anything on wine and so on. And it was rude and systematic.

I wondered why they wanted to harass me that way.

It hurt me, and my wife said : quit. But to quit is like a victory à la Pyrrhus. And it is not in my mind.

So, to stop such a terrible controversy (I am unable to sustain the aggressiveness of ten people simultaneously), I decided something completely crazy : I said that I invite ten people of this forum for a dinner with my wines, and you will see how is my approach to wine.

Ten people registered and I invited too one of the founders of the forum with whom I had some very hard fights concerning money and wine (on a subject like : if you have money, you are a stupid man, and, of course, you cannot enjoy a wine, blab bla bla bla).

Then I went in my cellar to choose wines, and it is always a subject of excitement for me to choose bottles. I decided that I could take risks with them, as they know what wine is, and that I should not invest too much if they come to attack me.

I registered in a restaurant that I know, but then I remembered that my friend who made the cook for the Sylvester’s dinner could make the dinner for that occasion too. He accepted. So, we were 12 by the apartment of my friend who created a menu that none of them would have never imagined.

Here is the Menu :
1 Velouté de potimarron, arôme de céleri
2 Huître Gillardeau n°2 simplement pochée, sabayon extrême à la reine des prés
3 Foie gras de sept heures, chutney de poireaux à la coriandre, caramel acide d’épices
4 Noix de St Jacques juste saisies, soupçon de vanille, laitance de roquette à l’amande douce, girolle
5 Bar à l’unilatéral, jus végétal au coquelicot, coing poêlé
6 Saumon mi-cuit vapeur, framboises façon royale, morille à la pistache
7 Quasi de veau basse température, crème de foie de veau, mousseline de vitelottes
8 Filet mignon de porc poêlé minute, truffe noire, coulis de pétales de rose, cèpe
9 Cuissot de biche en rôti, jus court à la truffe noire, chou vert en compotée
10 Stilton
11 Poire Williams, tiède mais crue
12 Suprême de pomelos juste saisi, coulis de mangue aux agrumes, mangue fraîche.

Needless to say that many two stars chefs could learn a lot from my friend.