Great lunch today. It was at the new 28-50 in Maddox Street, with Philippe Pacalet, who I have met a couple of times before. Also present were Philippe’s wife, Monica, Steven Spurrier, and Davina Boyle and Mathieu Jullien of Wine Source  (www.wine-source.com), who import the Pacalet wines.

I have always liked the Pacalet style: he works quite naturally, and aims at elegance, using 100% stems. But the current wines have stepped up a bit, and are brilliant.

We started off with the Nuits St Georges white 2010, which showed real precision and a hint of matchstick minerality. Then it was onto a run of four utterly world-class reds, combining precision with beautiful perfume. Chambolle Musigny 2011 was superbly elegant; Gevrey Chambertin 2011 was also elegant, but with a little more structure; Gevrey Chambertin 2009 was a little sweeter in fruit profile, but beautifully structured; Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru 2011 was fine and expressive, with some fruit sweetness, nice structure, and utter elegance.

These are wines that deserve more recognition. He is a master of elevage.