My husband and I along with another couple are going to Burgundy June 4-7th staying in St. Romain just outside of Beaune. I would like to book us a tasting lunch or dinner while we are there-wines paired with local food. I read some mixed reviews of Olivier Leflaive's lunch tasting-anyone had recent experience with it? Any tips are welcome!

Hi:
I am sorry that I am in a rush and cannot access the article at the moment--have you seen the May 31, 2008 (pretty sure that is the one)cover story in Wine Spectator? It discusses restaurants in that area. My brother-in-law has a favorite restaurant--I can find out the name tonight.

This one maybe http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35128011

We had the lunch at Olivier Leflaive last week and really enjoyed it. First course was very good, second course was okay (not bad, just not outstanding), cheese course was good. Thought all the wines were good and enjoyed the discussion of the wines themselves. Olivier himself was having lunch in the restaurant and came over to say hello.

I would think that you may be drawn to this location, which has a deep cellar and sounds perfect for you:

http://www.le-montrachet.com/

We had the most divine lunches at the restaurant at the vineyard in Volnay called "Le Cellier Volnaysien". It is 4km south of Beaune. Amazing cheeses and wine.

We had lunch at Leflaive a few years ago and enjoyed it immensely. The food was good but not fancy or special. Leflaive's is about the experience, not gastronomy.

I can highly recommend Hostellerie de Levernois..5km SE of Beaune. It is now a R&C member. You will enjoy....

We did the wine tasting lunch at Leflaive's last June, and found it to be a wonderful experience. The food was good enough, but I agree with the previous poster, it isn't about the food, it's about the wine. The wines were wonderful, but the presentation was even better, it really gave you the essence of the french winemaking spirit. It was all about the terroir. I think you would enjoy it, we did it on a terribly rainy day, so it was a great way to spend the afternoon. If you do it, go for the tasting with the Premier Crus included. They were amazing.

Thank you for the advice! I went ahead and booked us a tasting dinner with Leflaive. I'm bringing the list of other recommendations with us. Thank you again!

mgbleuven
This restaurant is not the tasting lunch you inquired about, but is a favarite of my BIL--and was mentioned in the Wine Spectator article as a place where locals eat--Ma Cuisine.

We're back! We did the tasting dinner at Olivier Leflaives's Table in Puligny-Montrachet. We tasted 14 wines, 11 whites and 3 reds. The food was good, but the atmosphere left a little to be desired. Also, the woman who presented the wine didn't give us too much info. Maybe the person who does the lunches is better based on other reviews.