Drinking Chablis at the Hotel Meurice

Does the wine taste better in Paris?What better place to answer thisquestion than at the venerable HotelMeurice (www.meuricehotel.com). Let'sadmit that environment does count. Mywife and I were primed to savor the filetof bar, sea bass, with a piquant sauce. Idecided to do a bit of reality testing withthe choice of wine. The house Chablis, at43 euros, was an opportunity to check forattention to detail along the low end ofthe price spectrum.

Our Chablis 2000, produced by Corinneand Jean-Pierra Grossot, viticulturers atFleys, was delicious. Ample mouth-fillingfruit, combined with citrus and flinty overtonesthat spoke "Chablis," complementedthe fish flawlessly and left us with a satisfyingfinish. It was a perfect choice—reasonablyprofitable to the house, a necessityto maintain the quality of service andamenities, but not disappointing to thecustomer. I heartily approved.

Philip R. Alper, an internist andprofessor of medicine at the Universityof California at San Francisco,has been published in theWall Street Journal, Diversion, andInternal Medicine World Report.