An Afternoon at Maison Lou Dumont

On a visit to Maison Lou Dumont last fall, I found Koji Nakada and his wife Jae Hwa Park along with their two children very much at home in Gevrey-Chambertin. Koji came from Japan and Jae Hwa from Korea. They met in Burgundy and started their negociant company in 2000. The very first wine they made was a 2000 Nuits-St.-Georges Vieilles Vignes.

 

Today at their own house and cellar in Gevrey they produce wines from over a dozen different appellations with fruit purchased from well-chosen vineyards with vines averaging 30 to 40 years-old.

In 2012 they were able to purchase a walled vineyard under a hectare in size adjacent to their house no more than 50 feet from a new swimming pool Koji is digging. This first estate vineyard is a lieu-dit named Les Crainelles. It was planted earlier in the year with Pinot Noir and is being farmed organically. Koji expects to make about two barrels of villages Gevrey when the vines mature.

Koji's son (I can't remember his name!) is a delightful kid. He just got back from school soon after I arrived and started to play around us with a football and anything he can grab. Would he develop an interest in wine so he can help Dad and Mom? Koji's not sure but I think he hopes.

The family's backyard swimming pool between the house and the home vineyard was more than halfway finished. I'm sure it's fully operational by now.

The Nakada's house and office and cellar for Maison Lou Dumont was formerly the address of Domaine Fourrier. Not long after Jean-Marie Fourrier took over the domaine from his father, Jean-Claude, he needed more space and eventually sold the house.

It looks like Jae Hwa and Koji have kept the house in good shape. Jae Hwa loves to garden and she has added an Asian touch, planting bamboos and laying a rock garden outside the cellar entrance.

I was glad to be accompanied by my good friend Kei, a Kyoto-native and a brilliant toji for a small sake brewery in Shiga. He was in Burgundy to host a tasting of his sake, mainly for Burgundy winemakers.

After tasting the 2012s, which just just finished malo, from barrel, we headed to the office where Koji opened a bottle of his precious 2010 Bonnes Mares as a treat.

Maison Lou Dumont wines speak of Koji Nakada's traditional approach and minimum intervention. He doesn't overwork the wines, doing minimal pump overs and little punch downs. He vinifies with natural yeasts and adds low doses of sulfites during vinification and a little at bottling--no more than 30 grams/liter for reds and 50-60 grams/liter for whites. He strives for aromatic complexity and fine tannins and above all expressiveness of fruit.

Before I left, Koji handed me a souvenir, their wedding favor, which was a cork puller made by a friend from the barrel of the first vintage he and Jae Hwa made.

On the label of Maison Lou Dumont wines are the Kanji characters for sky, earth, and man. These are the elements that make wine possible.

Note: Maison Lou Dumont wines are not always available, but Vineyard Gate always tries to stock a few. Check the website for availability.

Burgundy Dinner At Alexander's Steakhouse Silicon Valley

Wine dinners have always been a main part of our service to customers. Learning more about wine through the tasting and at the same time enjoying the conviviality around the dinner table with fellow enthusiasts, nothing beats this kind of wine experience.

The most recent one we held was at Alexander's Steakhouse in Curpertino, California, a bottle's throw away from Apple headquarters. Alexander's is the ultimate steakhouse in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving decadent cuts of domestic beef and imported wagyu from Japan. Yet, "steakhouse" doesn't describe Alexander's very well. First of all the staff pampers you with fine dining service that is formal but relaxed. Secondly, while steak is the highlight, you can wish to ignore that on the menu and still have a memorable dining experience. There is a strong Japanese influence in the kitchen, evident not  just on the variety of wagyu and kobe dishes but also seafood dishes worthy of a ryokan.

Alexander's Steakhouse wine director, Max Klassen, answering questions from guests in his usual witty form.

We featured five wines, a lone Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara and the other four from Burgundy.
Bourgogne Blanc "Fleur de Vignes", Maison Leroy NV (2009, 2010, 2011)
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir "Audire", J. Brix 2011
Fixin Rouge, Maison Lou Dumont 2009
Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Rue de Chaux, Domaine Jerome Chezeaux 2008
Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru La Perriere, Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy 2008

All the wines were a hit. We sold out of almost all the wines immediately after the dinner. Even the lone California Pinot Noir we picked was an eye-opener, though unmistakably California, its elegant character fit in with the Burgundies. These wines are very good values, as all are reasonably priced and made in small quantities by brilliant producers. They are exclusive to Vineyard Gate, one of the very few stores in the country that carry them.

If you happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area watch out for our next wine dinner and tasting event. Get news about these events via email by signing up HERE.