La Paulée des Champs 2025 - a harmonious blend of burgundy, cuisine, music, and art

by Max Goldberg Liu
Friday, June 20, 2025

It was great honor to host a third edition of our “mini-Paulée” - La Paulée des Champs - with the Troisgros family at their magnificent properties in Ouches and Iguérande. The Troisgros’ signature soulful hospitality and fastidious attention to detail made this a weekend to remember.

The Great Family Estates of Burgundy

La Paulée des Champs is a celebration of the best of the best, and we were privileged to welcome:

Domaine Michel Lafarge of Volnay, represented by Frédéric & Chantal Lafarge
Domaine des Comtes Lafon of Meursault, represented by Dominique Lafon
Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg of Vosne-Romanée, represented by Marie-Christine Mugneret
Domaine Georges Roumier of Chambolle-Musigny, represented by Christophe Roumier
Domaine Pierre Morey of Meursault, represented by Anne Morey
Domaine Coche-Dury of Meursault, represented by Jean-François Coche & Odile Dury

This was the latter two domaines’ first time with us at La Paulée des Champs, and it was particularly special to have the legendary vigneron Jean-François Coche and his wife Odile Dury with us as they rarely make appearances at events like this.

Wines of La Paulée

These are some of the hundreds of wines opened and shared over the three day event:

• Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Echézeaux Grand Cru 2019 | Magnificently open and singing, dense and powerful yet with the signature Mugneret perfume

• Domaine Pierre Morey, Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 1985 en magnum | Fresh and vibrant, showing all of Perrière’s stoniness. Mature White Burgundy at its finest

• Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault 1er Cru Perrières 1999 | A triumph that shows why Jean-François Coche is so revered. Focused and saline, lip-smacking

• Domaine Georges Roumier, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 2009 | Impossibly multifaceted and pretty

• Domaine Michel Lafarge, Volnay 1937 | An emotional piece of history - still alive and expressive

• Domaine Chandon de Briailles, Corton Grand Cru Maréchaudes 1990 en magnum | Gorgeously floral and expressive

• Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Musigny Grand Cru 1996 en magnum | Tremendous intensity without weight

Cuisine to match

The Troisgros are of course some of the best chefs in the world and treated the guests at La Paulée des Champs to some truly incredible culinary creations, like Léo’s Posé de choux et pigeon, a classic cabbage and pigeon dish, and César’s Homard Bleu Grillé, Sauce Miroir, grilled blue lobster with an impossibly rich red wine sauce. In fact, all of the red wine sauces for the weekend were made using end-of-tank wine from Domaine Lafarge, who earlier in the year delivered more than 200 liters of the precious ingredient to Ouches!

Omnipresent were the Troisgros’ famous gougères, the best that we’ve ever had. Michel was kind enough to share the family recipe with us - they are extremely easy to make at home!

Troisgros Gougères with Comté

Ingredients:
190g or 3/4 cup Water
190g or 3/4 cup Milk
12g or 2 tsp Salt
150g or 10.5 tbsp Butter
225g or 1 3/4 cups Flour
120g or 1 cup Shredded Comté cheese plus more for baking

Bring the first four ingredients to a boil until the butter is melted. Add the flour and stir until the mixture is slightly more dried out.

Put the dough into a mixer with a paddle and mix in 6 eggs.

Once cool, stir in the cheese.

Drop small mounds onto a tray and surround each gougère with more shredded Comté.

Bake for 20 minutes at 175, then an additional 5 minutes at 165.

Allow to cool slightly then serve while still warm.

Musical Pairings

The weekend was filled with music - and not just La Paulée’s unofficial theme song Sympathy for the Devil!

We were serenaded by the lively group Les Accords’Léon, a quintet of musicians led by the charismatic accordionist and chanteuse Yvette Ornière. Self-described as “ambassadors of the art of French singing,” they emerged from the fields surrounding the Troisgros’ restaurant Le bois sans feuilles on a curious collection of human-powered vehicles to perform classics of French chanson like Edith Piaf’s La Foule as well as leading us in a hilarious dance apparently called La Salade Occitane.

Odile Coche also shared her musical talents at Saturday’s Paulée luncheon, playing fanfares on the natural horn, an extremely difficult instrument to master, as it has no valves and pitch is exclusively controlled by the musician’s embouchure.

A Shared Artistic Experience

We were shadowed throughout the weekend by a pair of artists who worked tirelessly a fantastic keepsake for each guest - a screen printed image of a bottle of Burgundy, each one a unique print with a personalized label created through interactions with the artists over the course of the events.

The vignerons and team after a grand entrance in a fleet of Citroën Deux Chevaux

The La Paulée team

Wines of the Friday night dinner at Le bois sans feuilles

A few bottles were enjoyed at La Paulée on Saturday!

Les Accords’Léon emerge from the fields

Jean-François Coche toasts his tablemates

Michel Troisgros with the artists

“Un repas sans vin est comme un jour sans soleil.” - Brillat-Savarin
“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”