Picture a stream of suits and a flood of bottles, carried in everything from Woolies bags to leather wine briefcases, the latter lovingly worn down over a lifetime of wine dinners. Here on Collins Street, the nation’s wine people – enthusiasts and trade, although they mostly wear both hats – have congregated to share their most precious wines.
This is La Paulée Melbourne, a BYOB long lunch held at the end of harvest each year to celebrate the best and finest wines from Victoria and Burgundy. The overarching consensus, though, is that anything goes, providing it’s a) your very best and b) of the highest standard.
Fretting over what to bring to La Paulée is standard. I assume each attendee spent hours in their cellars or wine storage units prior, picturing countless irrational scenarios of social wine rejection and wine fault anxiety (thanks, cork) while attempting to choose just one special bottle. I know I did.
With some of the biggest names in Victorian wine sponsoring the event – Giant Steps, Bass Phillip, Sentio, Mount Mary – I felt it ruled out some of my hot ticket items (my cellar is predominantly dedicated to Australian producers). I wasn’t about to bring a Mount Mary Quintet to share with Sam Middleton, nor a Giant Steps Applejack Pinot Noir to share with Mel Chester – not on my life!
So, I ventured outside of Australia and landed in Alsace. A treasured 2008 Trimbach Clos Ste Hune, and a 2016 Grand Cru Giesberg (in magnum) from the same estate. Surely riesling would make for a nice reprieve from the countless bottles of Grand Cru Burgundy... ahem.
I am not tall, and as I stood on the steps of the venue with my magnum of riesling in hand, it occurred to me it may have been half my height! It proved a good weapon for fending for oneself through the bustling crowds. And once inside, it quickly became apparent that this was not just any BYOB event.
Before I’d even sat down, a number of incredibly enthusiastic and generous members of the wine community had refilled my glass numerous times. From Domaine Raveneau to Giaconda, Salon to Selosse, and two Grand Crus (Échézeaux and Corton) from Burgundy royalty Domaine De La Romanée Conti, this was the bucket list tier of global wine uncorked, and then some.
As La Paulée also allows Victorian producers to launch and showcase their new wines, I was lucky to preview an exciting new range from Giant Steps, to be released in mid ’25. I also got to taste the highly anticipated inaugural release of Bass Phillip’s Depius 23 – a pinot noir made with 100 per cent whole bunch from vigneron Jean-Marie Fourrier.
Melbourne’s best sommeliers were on hand to label, uncork, clean up, vet for fault and serve to the tables. The service was impeccable. Though the ticket price is commanding ($500), the value proved resounding.
This year was the third La Paulée Melbourne, brought to us with much vigour by the affable and charismatic Alex Rougeot, founder and director of French imports distributor and retailer Clos Cachet.
La Paulée’s origins are Burgundian, and the event was formalised in 1923 by revered vigneron Jules Lafon, who hosted the inaugural celebration at his Meursault Domaine. Today, including Melbourne, the expansion of La Paulée also traverses US cities San Francisco and New York. Attendance is by invitation only, and expressions of interest are now open for the 2026 event on the La Paulée website. Consider this your prompt to register. Now, what to bring?
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