db meets: Cedric Nicaise

Belgian born Cedric Nicaise is in charge of Eleven Madison Park’s 175-page, 3,800 bottle wine tome. He moved to the US aged five and graduated from Ithaca College in upstate New York. Prior to EMP, Nicaise worked at Aureole. He joined the restaurant as a sommelier in 2012 and was made wine director in 2015.  

Eleven Madison Park’s director of wine, Cedric Nicaise

Eleven Madison Park’s epic wine list takes inspiration from France, Italy, Spain, Germany and New York and aims to satisfy every palate and budget. Ordered by grape variety, it shines a light on Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Grenache and Nebbiolo among others. Nicaise doesn’t seem intimated by its size.

“I think running a big list is almost easier than a small, carefully curated list. Our challenge is to always have the best of the best, but also to continuously look for the up-and-coming producers.

“It’s important to go to the regions and talk to the top tier-producers and see what they’re drinking. That’s the best insight on what’s new,” Nicaise told Wine and Spirits magazine in a recent interview.

Every Monday one of the restaurant’s seven sommeliers teaches a wine class open to all staff covering tasting, service and theory. On Wednesday there is “happy hour”, a long running tradition where a sommelier or guest winemaker talks to the team about a wine region they’ve visited recently, imparting their knowledge of and passion for the place.

Given its gigantic size, there aren’t many best sellers on the EMP list, with only a handful of bottles being ordered on a regular basis. At the moment both Beaujolais and Corsica are hot regions that are getting a lot of attention.

In keeping with its popularity, Nicaise has expanded the Corsica offering to 100 wines at different price points, a handful of which were made and aged in amphora. He believes the whites make a great pairing for crab and lobster.

He’s happy about the recent surge in popularity of Gamay and Beaujolais, being a big Burgundy lover, a passion passed on from his grandfather. “I love how Burgundy can be so many different things; every producer makes very different wines. Even the same winemaker can make totally different wines. It’s intellectually stimulating,” he revealed to The World of Fine Wine.

Given its three Michelin star status, and now its accolade of The World’s Best Restaurant, celebrations form a big part of EMP’s business, and with celebrations comes Champagne. The restaurant lists a staggering 200 Champagnes by the bottle and pops around 150 bottles a week.

Among the liquid treasures on its list are: Salon 2002; Jacques Selosse Substance; Gosset Celebris 1998; Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1989; Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises 1996; Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 2000; and Dom Pérignon Rosé P2 1995.

Detail of the dining room of Eleven Madison Park in New York, NY.

While many of the Grandes Marques make an appearance, they are outnumbered by grower Champagnes, which make up the majority of the list.

“People have celebrations of all kinds here, and Champagne is the drink of celebrations, so it makes sense to shine a light on it,” says Nicaise, who has recently noticed the emergence of the ‘Champagne drinker’, who will seek out old and rare bottlings and stay faithful to the fizz throughout a meal in the same way a Bordeaux buff or Burgundy fanatic might.

Nicaise believes attitudes towards Champagne as a food wine have changed over the past few years, with an increasing number of diners keen to drink the fizz throughout a meal. “Champagne is one of the great accompaniments to food. If you’re willing to explore different styles there are almost no limits.

“A Champagne with a bit of oak and age on it pairs well with a juicy steak because the acidity will cut through the fat,” Nicaise points out, revealing that his ultimate Champagne and food pairing is a classic brut with a bit of dosage teamed with fried chicken.

Around 70% of Champagne sales at EMP are by the glass, though half bottles of Krug Grande Cuvée are also popular. The house pour is Bérêche & Fils Brut Reserve for $29 a glass, which is EMP’s best seller, not only on the fizz front but of all the wines on its list.

In terms of styles, blanc de blancs is currently the trendy serve, but Nicaise has a soft spot for blanc de noirs so tries to lure diners over to the dark side. “We’re lucky enough to have seven sommeliers at the restaurant, and we all sell what we’re into,” Nicaise reveals. He also feels that zero-dosage Champagnes are still largely misunderstood.

“A lot of people don’t get what zero dosage means. I personally don’t seek them out at all – for me, balance is more important than sugar levels, but as the Champagne region gets warmer, lowering dosage is an important step in the winemaking process,” he admits.

One style he does feel is being taken more seriously is rosé, which sells well all year round rather than being viewed as a summer drink.

“Rosé is an interesting category, and is really evolving stylistically at the moment. Billecart-Salmon was the benchmark for a long time, but there are more full-bodied, darker, saignée rosés coming onto the market. People assume rosé will be sweeter than brut but it’s almost always not, and adds a dimension that brut, blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs can’t during a meal,” Nicaise enthuses.

He adds: “The best bottle of Champagne I’ve ever had was a magnum of
 Dom Pérignon Rosé 1979, which 
was epic.” While Nicaise is excited about the potential of English sparkling wine, some of which he believes are “tremendous”, he chooses not to list anything other than Champagne.

An in-depth look at Champagne at some of the world’s top restaurants appears in the drinks business Champagne report with our April issue.