Annette and I had the pleasure to attend a 4 -course winemaker dinner at Chef Roberto Donna's Le Bistro in Vienna, Virginia, with Théophile Gonet (November 2024).
Le Bistro is a French restaurant that Roberto and his wife opened earlier this year, just across of Roberto's Ristorante Italiano on Church Street in Vienna/ Virginia.
The Gonet-Médeville portfolio was born through the marriage of two well-known wine families:
Xavier Gonet (from le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne) and Julie MédevilleMedeville (from
Preignac in Sauternes – most notably Chateau Gilette, Bordeaux). The son of Xavier and Julie, Théophile Gonet, was in Washington, following a 6-month internship at Martine's Wines in California. Martine's Wines is the exclusive U.S. importer for Champagne Gonet-Médeville except in DC, MA, MD, NJ, NY and VA, where Elite Wines of Laurent Givry has been the importer and distributer for a long time.
Martine's Wines on Instagram: Join us as we say bon voyage to Théophile Gonet, who has been interning with us for the past six months. He’s the next generation of the Gonet-Médeville collection of estates, and it’s been fantastic to hear him talk about his family’s wines – and we know many of you have had the same pleasure as he’s been crisscrossing the country visiting markets. Théo, we wish you the very best in your future and look forward to seeing what’s next.
In the 1930s, Julie's grandfather, René de Médeville, was feeling the effects of the economic slump that had hit Bordeaux because of The Depression, so he built concrete vats to replace costly barrels. Shortly after, he served in World War II and, in his absence, advised his wife to leave the wines in vat, thus opening the door several more years of aging than the wines would normally see. When Réne returned after the war, he observed that the wines were breathing well, maturing more slowly and developing more complex aromas. Ever since this discovery, the Médevilles have let their Sauternes age for decades in concrete vats. The wines never see the inside of a wooden barrel; they go directly from vat to bottle. Although Gilette was not included in the 1855 classification, its wines can compete with the best. Château Gilette is unique not only in Sauternes but in the world, as wines are aged between 15 and 25 years before release.
Chef Roberto Donna (from wikipedia)
Roberto Donna is an Italian chef and restaurateur in Washington D.C.
Donna was born in Turin, Italy, where he enrolled in culinary school at the age of 13. He came to the United States at the age of 19, working in an Italian restaurant on K Street in Washington, D.C. In 1984, Donna opened Galileo in Dupont Circle, which was an immediate success. The restaurant only seated 50, and in the early days, even Vice-President George H.W. Bush could not secure a last-minute reservation. Donna and his partner Savino Recine opened more casual trattorias, Primi Piatti, and then I Matti, serving pizza and pasta.
By the end of the 1990s, Donna's empire grew to 12 restaurants, including Il Radicchio, Pesce, and Barolo. In 1999, he expanded Galileo into a neighboring space and opened a restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Il Laboratorio del Galileo, serving multi-course meals in a small (25-30 seats) dining room, with a glass-walled "showcase" kitchen.
Donna published a cookbook, Cooking in Piedmont, in 1996.
Donna won the 1996 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. The next year, Galileo was named one of the "10 Best Italian Restaurants in America" by Wine Spectator. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington recognized Donna as the "Chef of the Year" in 1990, and the "Restaurateur of the Year" in 1995. Donna was invited to Rome in 1996 to receive the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano, awarded by the Italian Government in recognition of serving the best authentic Italian food outside Italy.
In 2004, Donna's company declared bankruptcy and his restaurants began to close; Galileo closed in 2006, and he had no restaurants to his name when Bebo Trattoria closed in 2009. Donna was prosecuted for failing to pay taxes at Bebo, and in 2010, Donna pled guilty to felony embezzlement, receiving a five-year suspended sentence on condition of probation, good behavior, and restitution. Donna and his business partners still faced several civil lawsuits when he returned to the kitchen with the opening of Galileo III in October 2010. The restaurant closed abruptly after less than one year.
Roberto Donna
From: Wine Dinner with Legendary Chef Roberto Donna and the Wines of Amastuola in Puglia/ Italy
at Roberto's Ristorante Italiano in Vienna/ Virginia, 2022 (schiller-wine)
Chef Roberto Donna moved at about the same time (in the early 1980s) to the USA as Annette and I did, he from Northern Italy, we from the Frankfurt region in Germany.
Picture: Christian Schiller and Chef Roberto Donna in 2014. See: Winemaker Sabrino
Loffredo’s Pietracupa Wines and Chef Roberto Donna’s Food at a Winemaker
Dinner at Alba Osteria in Washington DC, Italy/USA
Rather quickly Roberto became one of the leading chefs of the Washington DC area, owning restaurants like Galileo and I Matti and several others, with about 500 employees. But in 2004 Roberto's fortunes turned sour. Galileo's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Roberto had to struggle with financial and legal issues since then. Fortunately he did not go under. He is still cooking at the highest level.
His latest adventure is Roberto's Ristorante Italiano on Church Street in Vienna/ Virginia, owned by Roberto's wife, Nancy Sabbagh, who also runs the service.
Yesterday evening it was as it has always been at Roberto's restaurants: relaxed, exquisite food, top Italian wines and excellent service, like in a trattoria in Turino in the Piemonte area where Roberto spent the first 20 years of his life.Gonet-Médeville Winemaker Dinner at Chef Roberto Donna's Le Bistro in Vienna, Virginia, with Théophile Gonet, November 2024: Arriving
Chef Roberto Donna and Théophile Gonet Presenting
4-course Dinner
First Course: Foie Gras and Sauternes
Martine's Wines: Château les Justices/Domaine de Justices is located just west of the
Gironde River in Preignac. Its eight-and-a-half hectares are planted to
Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot on
two plots – one of deep gravel and silt and the other of gravel and red
sand over bedrock. The farming here is sustainable with organic
practices and much of the work is done by hand, including harvest.
Château
les Justices, the Sauternes bottling, is a blend of mainly Sémillon
with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. Aged for two years in tank, it is
one of the best of the non-classified Sauternes, offering lush fruit,
balanced sweetness, and complexity that only improves with age.
Domaine
du Justice produces the dry red and white Bordeaux Supérieur, both
excellent examples of affordable yet quaffable Bordeaux. The white, a
blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, is fermented in stainless steel
vats, then aged in stainless steel for 12 months before bottling. The
red, of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, is de-stemmed and macerated in
stainless steel vats for 18 days. Pressed wine and free-run wine are
separated when removed from vats. Aging is in concrete vats for 12
months before bottling.
All the Justices bottlings carry the
strong pedigree that is a hallmark of each wine produced by Julie and
Xavier. They represent tremendous value from this world-class portfolio.
Second Course: Lobster Bisque and Graves Blanc
Martine's Wines: Julie's father, Christian Médeville, brought Château Respide-Médeville,
in the heart of the Graves region of Bordeaux, into the family estate in
1984. Today, his daughter and her husband coax great Graves Blanc and
Rouge from the sandy, gravelly clay soil, allowing the purity of the
fruit to shine through. The dry Graves Blanc is fermented in stainless
steel, spending a short time in oak barrels for aging and is a blend of
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. The Graves Rouge is a blend of
approximately 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.
At Château
Respide-Médeville, Julie and Xavier celebrate in their wines what makes
the Graves their home: the gravel soils that define the terroir.
Third Course: Roasted Rack of Lamb and Margaux
Julie and Xavier bought the seven-acre Château des Eyrins estate from
Eric Grangerou in 2008. The Grangerou family were cellar masters for
Château Margaux for three generations, which explains this estate's
position neighboring the great First Growth. In fact, two hectares are
surrounded by Château Margaux vines. Planted to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon,
35% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, Château des Eyrins produces a classic
Margaux: dense and deep, with incredible finesse and freshness, the wine
undeniably expresses the identity of this glorious appellation.
Fourth Course: Champagne Poached Pear and Champagne Extra Brut
In 2000, when his family's plots in Champagne were being divided, Xavier
opted for a modest collection of the highest quality 1er and Grand Cru
vineyards with a goal of producing only the most exquisite,
small-production Champagnes. Champagne Gonet-Médeville's Pinot Noir (1er
Cru Bisseuil and Grand Cru Ambonnay) and Chardonnay (Grand Cru
Mesnil-Sur-Oger) are farmed organically, and each parcel is vinified
separately to emphasize its individual terroir. There is no
chaptalization, malolactic fermentation, or fining, and dosage is
minute. The wines are matured for a minimum of two years before release.
Gonet-Médeville is part of the group Les Artisans du Champagne,
which prides itself on uniting work in the vineyard with work in the
cellar. As Julie and Xavier themselves say, ""being Champagne Artisans
expresses our total involvement in all stages the production of our
Champagnes. From growing practices, to the choice of plant material,
from harvest to disgorging, we come in and create living Champagnes
reflecting our knowledge and culture."" The resulting wines are very
elegant, delicate, festive, and easy to drinkk.
Bye-bye
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