Unauthorized

My favorite southern Rhône restaurant is undeniably La Beaugravière. I have been eating here for over fifteen years, and the husband and wife team of Tina and Chef Guy Jullien offer a warm welcome as well as soulful, flavorful food. Chef Jullien, a master purveyor of black truffles, may be the best in the world at preserving them when they are out of season. We began the meal with a seasonal dish as it is a great vintage for ceps given the relatively cool, slightly wet month of August. The tart of ceps was made from a paper thin Parmesan cheese-based crust layered with sliced sautéed ceps, a hint of black truffles, and a touch of foie gras. This was decadence and richness at its best. Moreover, it was a spectacular match with the nearly perfect 2003 Usseglio Cuvée Mon Aïeul, an old vine Grenache-based wine kept completely in tank and foudre prior to bottling. It appears to be getting better with each tasting, revealing tremendous black raspberry, blueberry, garrigue, white pepper, and spice characteristics. Like the finest wines of this erratic year, it is voluptuous and rich. We also had a rouget dish with summer vegetables, which was good, but given the fact that rouget is one of my favorite fish dishes in the world, I thought it was a bit bland. The gorgeously rare slice of Charolais filet with oodles of black truffles and a sensationally reduced brown sauce was accompanied by the 2001 Vieille Julienne Réserve, from ancient Grenache vines planted in pure sand (this particular vineyard looks like it could have been beachfront property at one point). A young wine with amazing potential and purity, it is a monumental expression of old vine Grenache. Having never seen any make-up in terms of new oak or anything else, it is just pure, naked blood of the vine. The beef dish was sensational, although I tend to find French beef vastly inferior to America's best beef. This was a superb lunch enjoyed under the huge shade trees at La Beaugravière.