Librije is the restaurant of chef Jonnie and maitre/sommelier Thérèse Boer (despite the same last name we are not related) in the city of Zwolle, which has held three Michelin stars since 2004 and is the only restaurant in the Netherlands with three stars. We have been celebrating our anniversary at the Librije every year since 2005. But this year we will be in Australia on our anniversary, and so we decided to move our annual feast at the Librije forward, and celebrated Kees’ early retirement instead. We stayed at the hotel and booked an all-inclusive package, which we upgraded with the ‘high end’ wine pairing.

We started with a very nice Au Fil du Temps 2015 vintage Champagne by Domaine Lagille. Very smooth and nicely aged.

The snacks consisted of peas in pod with horseradish and young mustard, kohlrabi with verveine, and an edible rose with beetroot and lovage.

We continued with three appetizers that celebrated three of Librije’s suppliers: an oyster with a very nice sweet & sour dressing that complemented the oyster rather than overwhelming it, a crunchy pillow with smelt, and fermented red cabbage juice.

To go with the first course we had a ‘petnat’ from the Alsace in France from 50% Muscat, 40% Auxerrois, and 10% Savagnin Rose. Petnat is short for pétillant naturel, and it means that the final part of the fermentation occurs within the bottle, leaving the carbon dioxide bubbles that are produced by the fermentation in the bottle. Because of the natural wine making, the aromas were quite vegetal.

This was a good pairing for the pancake ‘from Giethoorn’, inspired by the pancakes that the chef’s mother used to make for him in his hometown of Giethoorn. However, this pancake was stuffed with a generous amount of excellent caviar, and sprinkled with dried, smoked, and shaved egg yolk. Delicious.

We moved on to two Rieslings for the next two courses. A 2022 Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett by Hofgut Falkenstein from Mosel, Germany, and a 2013 Geyersberg Riesling by Dreissigacker from Rheinhessen, Germany. The Kabinett was a typical Mosel Riesling, light and balanced between sugar and acidity. The Geyersberg dry and more complex.

The Kabinett was the best pairing for one of the classic dishes of the chef: foie gras with grey shrimp, tomato juice, and kaffir lime, with a brioche lacquered with shrimp bisque. The Geyersberg was a bit too dry for the dish.

But the Geyersberg was an excellent pairing for the langoustine (scampi) with carrot and red vanilla.

The vanilla is produced in the Netherlands and fermented until it gets a red color. The vanilla flavor was very elegant and complex, and complementing the langoustine very well. The langoustine had excellent texture; this was a wonderful dish.

Then it was time for a visit to the cellar. On the way we were served a ‘hamburger’ with ‘meat’ made from roasted and dried butternut squash.

The cellar contained over 1,000 different wines. Maitre Gert Wiltvank mentioned that they were thinking about offering Domaine Romanée Conti (DRC) by the glass. I inquired whether it would be possible to start right now, and after a brief discussion behind the scenes it turned out that it was! And so we were the first guests at Librije to have DRC by the glass. Gert picked up the bottle during our cellar tour. There was no dish in the menu that would be a good pairing, so a bonus dish would be added.

But first, there were two dishes to be enjoyed with this very nice 2019 Meursault by Henri Germain.

The first of those was weeverfish with green peppers and seaweed, delicious with a perfect texture. The Meursalt was a very good pairing, although the acidity of the Meursault enhanced the spiciness of the green peppers a litte.

Next to the Meursalt there was an Arbois to be enjoyed with the next dish as well, although the Meursault was a better pairing.

The next dish was vegan: eggplant with hazelnuts and passion fruit, a creation of sous chef Noah Wynants, with which he has won the San Pellegrino Young Chef award for North Europe and he is now going on to the finals. He calls it “Dutch Rendang”, to show that worldly flavors can be achieved with local ingredients. To be honest I do not think Rendang is a good description of the flavor, but it sure was delicious and a very good pairing with the Meursault.

Now it was time for our glass of DRC, a Grand Échézeaux Grand Cru 2018 to be precise. Of course this is 100% Pinot Noir. The Librije offered it by the glass at a ‘reasonable’ price, which still means that one glass costs roughly the same as the rest of the food and wine together. But as a “yolo” experience it was certainly worth it, as I had never tasted DRC before.

Sommelier Sem Beks took very good care of us all evening, but of course the DRC was the highlight in terms of wine. The wine had amazing fruit, complexity, and balance. It was still young of course, and closed up a bit after 10 minutes in the glass, but a small refill freshened it up.

It was a good pairing for the bonus dish that came with the wine: sweetbread with shrimp and veal jus, a classic dish of the restaurant that was adapted with the veal jus to work better with the wine.

The wine for the next course was a 1997 Viña Seña from Aconcagua Valley, Chile, served from a double magnum. This is a Bordeaux blend (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carménère, Malbec, Petit Verdot) and aged beautifully with still a lot of fruit, and velvety tannins.

It was a very good pairing for the fillet of hare with cabbage and ‘royal’ sauce.

But this Domaine de la Grange des Pères 2020 from the Hérault (Languedoc, France) was also very nice with the dish, a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

We had some nice cheese to finish those red wines.

The first dessert wine was a Barbeito Boal Madeira 2005, mildly sweet.

It was a very good pairing for the blue cheese with white chocolate and pistachios.

Then we moved on to a Château Rieussec 1991 Sauternes. An older vintage and perhaps a bit past its prime, with a brown color and notes of saffron.

It was a good pairing with the excellent dessert with different kinds of berries.

The meal ended with some very sweets to accompany coffee or tea.

This was yet another wonderful dinner at Librije. Food, wine, and service are all at a world class level. It goes without saying we’ve already made reservations for next year.