This has long been one of my favorite Parisian bistros. The food is spectacular, with probably the finest beef Burgundy I have ever tasted and a confit of duck that is good as one will ever find. This visit was even more pleasurable since it was the middle of truffle season, and the eggs with black truffles were top-notch. The same can be said for the sensational beef tartare.

With the exquisite traditional bistro food, we had wines that were to die for. A good friend provided the wines from his cellar and we were all knocked-out by their quality. Dom Pérignonis a much longer-lived champagne than many consumers think, and I am always amazed by how well certain vintages age. The 1976 from magnum was exquisite, tasting like a great white Burgundy with effervescence. Wonderful honeysuckle, nectarine, almond, and marzipan emerged from this full-bodied champagne from a hot vintage. We then moved to two magnums, served blind (yours truly nailed the both vintages and wines, making me, at least on this occasion, look smart). 1990 is one of my favorite Bordeaux vintages, and these two wines are both candidates for “wine of the vintage.” I probably would have rated the Latour pure perfection except for the fact that the Petrus was even better. The 1990 Petrus offers marvelous mocha, sweet black currant, kirsch, licorice, truffle, and smoke notes in its opulent, unctuously-textured, full-bodied, dense personality. It is still young, but complex, nuanced, and exquisite. It should keep for another 30-40 years, but I’ll drink it anytime, any place. Interestingly, Petrus’ owner, Jean-François Moueix, still believes the 1989 will eclipse the 1990. The 1990 Latour, which I have had a number of times recently with more mixed reactions (I have had bottles that were a bit disjointed and awkward), was singing on this occasion. It revealed fabulous crème de cassis, charcoal, cedar, and spice characteristics in an opulent, thick, juicy style. These wines are from a ripe Bordeaux vintage (the hottest since 1947, and the driest since 1949 - at least until 2003 came along). We finished with the new release of Tesseron’s Cognac. The Tesseron family (currently the proprietors of St.-Estèphe’s Lafon-Rochet and Pauillac’s Pontet-Canet) made its fortune in the Cognac business, and it is one of the few families to possess ancient stocks of great vintages that have not been diluted with water or manipulated in any manner. They released small quantities of Lot 29 (1929), which remains the most ethereal Cognac I have ever tasted. I’m no expert, but their newest release, the 1953, seems close in quality to the 1929. Slightly darker than the 1929, the 1953 is pure silk, which at this alcohol level is very dangerous indeed. The complex aromatics can fill a room.

This was an exquisite evening of eating and drinking at its very finest, and with very special friends.