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Friday, April 1, 2022

Sole Meunière Santenay Suzette's Creperie Wheaton

Sole Meunière and Santenay at Suzette's Creperie Wheaton

After the wonderful Chicken Liver Mousse that I enjoyed so much at Queensyard, Hudson Yard, NYC last week, I had a taste for more, and am always up for french faire, so, we dined at Suzette's Creperie in Wheaton for Friday night dinner. 

Fortuitously, the dinner special was their delectable Sole Meunière, one of our favorite entrees. 

Served in the classic French style, Filets of Sole were dredged in flour, pan fried in butter and served with the resulting brown butter herb sauce, parsley and lemon, alongside spring vegetables and mashed potatoes. Wonderful, delicious, (if only served hotter/warmer).

For a starter course we ordered the slice of smooth Chicken Liver Mousse and a slice of Country Style Pâté served with Dijon mustard, Cornichons and delicious Red Onion Marmalade with toasted Brioche on the side. Not quite as delectable as that served at Queensyard, but it met the call at least. 

For a wine accompaniment we ordered from the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winelist, this classic authentic French Burgundian Chardonnay - a fun wine with a remarkable tradition and history.

This is from Guy Amiot et Fils, self proclaimed "winegrowers" since 1910, the family-owned and operated winery and vineyards produce 25 wine labels in the Burgundy appellations of Beaune, Chassagne & Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, St-Aubin and this one from the village of Santenay.

The Amiot family has been producing premium wines in the legendary Chassagne-Montrachet terroir for generations. Founders, Flavie and Arsène established a winegrowing tradition passed down to their son Pierre, then to their grandson Guy, and today to the 4th generation great grandsons, Thierry (1969), Fabrice (1973), and the 5th generation embodied by Thierry’s daughter, Héloïse (1995).

The broad portfolio of family produced wines are a tribute to Flavie and her husband, Arsène, originally from Paris, who founded a wine estate in Burgundy.

The quaint family history dates back to the 1900s, Flavie Amiot was a businesswoman, owner of a fine linen laundry in Boulogne, just outside Paris. Looking for a nanny to look after her unborn children, she asked the postwoman who told her that “my sister is a nanny in Chassagne-Montrachet”! 

Flavie and Arsène moved to Burgundy and (1887-1969) founded the estate, purchasing the vines, house, raising a family and educating the children. Simone (1922-2009) devoted her life to working in the vineyards, the wine cellar and the kitchen to welcome customers and wine aficionados.

Marcel, Pierre, Lucienne and Robert, born in 1909, 1910, 1912 and 1914, were therefore brought up in Burgundy where their parents acquired houses, outbuildings and vineyards in preparation for their retirement in the 1950s.

Through the 1920's they acquired plots in Chassagne-Montrachet - Les Caillerets, Les Vergers, Clos Saint Jean and Dents de Chien (Dogteeth, which became Le Montrachet grand cru in 1937.

Arsène’s son, Pierre, took on his father’s domaine in 1935. Second generation Pierre Amiot, born in 1910, studied at the Beaune viticultural college and became a winegrower in 1935-36. Thanks to the wealthy Parisian clientele of his parents’ laundry, direct sales to consumers developed. A wine shop was opened in the 17th arrondissement of Paris that sold bottles of Domaine Arsène Amiot until 1941. 
 
The vineyard expanded with the acquisition of plots from Chassagne-Montrachet La Maltroie, Les Champgains, Les Macherelles (1er cru) and Les Chaumes (Village).

When Pierre died in 1985, Pierre’s son, Guy, carried on the tradition, a trained oenologist, he gained experience in winemaking outside Burgundy (Jura, Provence), and produced remarkable vintages with a new style from 1985 to 1995. 
 
Today: the tradition continues with the 4th and 5th generations: Thierry and his daughter Héloïse for the vineyard and the cellar, Fabrice for the sales.

Guy Amiot' two fourth generation sons manage the estate: Thierry the vineyard and wine-making while Fabrice manages the business.  Passing on wine production to the next generation, Thierry’s daughter, Héloise, born in 1995, also studied viticulture at the Beaune wine school, worked in a winery in Australia and graduated in oenology at the University of Dijon… Says the winery of their rich tradition and legacy, "After Flavie and Simone, the final words of the Amiot women have not yet been spoken!"

Today, the family of Guy Amiot family owns two seventeen different plots of Montrachet Grand Cru in Chassagne-Montrachet and others in the surrounding communes, most a fraction of an acre each. They produce 26 different labels, eighteen white including a grand cru and 8 premier crus in white on 200 ha, as well as 2 premier crus in red on 100 ha of  Chassagne-Montrachet vines. 

Domaine Guy Amiot et Fils Santenay Vieilles Vignes 2017

This label is produced from grapes from the best plots of  .8 acres of vineyards in the commune of Santenay, Sous la Roche, and Comme Dessu.  Guy Amiot ... et Fils means, 'and sons' while Vielles Vigne translates to 'old vines' in English.

This is from the 2017 vintage. a very good wine year thanks to constant sunshine which delivered healthy, ripe grapes full of aroma. The water stress forced the old vines to draw nutrients from the subsoil resulting in rich concentrated fruit. 
 
This was straw colored, medium bodied with sharp flavors of green apple, pear, hints of citrus, peach white stone and almond. 
 
RM 90 points. 
 

https://www.domaine-amiotguyetfils.com/

https://twitter.com/AmiotGuy