An end of February drive in the Sancerrois

In the northern part of the Sancerrois near Sainte Gemme

It is beginning to warm up in the Sancerrois and it is noticeably warmer than when we were here earlier in the month.  The weather forecast was for clouds and rain but we were a littl luckier than that.  Here are the photos we took on Saturday 28th February 2015.

A beautiful old farmhouse

Working in the vineyards and burning the rubbish between Sancerre and Vinon

Even on a Saturday at the end of February there is work to do in the vineyards near Sancerre

Wine growers huts in the Sancerre vineyards

Vineyards and tree above St Satur looking towards the River Loire

The old railway viaduct at St Satur looking towards the Chateau of Sancerre

For aperitif this evening a nice glass of Michel Girard Sancerre blanc...

...served with smoked salmon toasts garnished with basil and caviar

Rather a nice aperitif. Just butter some thinly sliced baguette and put a little smoked salmon on them.  Then finish with some chopped basil and lumpfish roe.  Rather delicious!

Valentines Day 2015 Seafood Dinner

My gift to Jane on Valentine's day tends to be an eight course meal.  However, rather than going to a restaurant, I like to cook it myself and serve it with some of the best wines from my cellar.   This year in 2015 I decided that as we were in France, where wonderful seafood is readily available, I would go for a seafood dinner, starting with some eastern inspired dishes and then moving on to some western dishes.  Although oysters are popular on Valentines day I decided to avoid the cliches and went with other seafood instead.  If you are looking for some inspiration for a seafood dinner look at the pictures and commentary below.

Our aperitif was a 2002 vintage Blanc de Noirs Champagne from our favourite producer Jean Laurent. It has a lovely yeasty/biscuity flavour that I love in vintage champagne.  This was served with a sharing plate of Salt and Pepper Squid with some added orange zest.  Tip - don't cook squid for more than two and a half minutes or it will go tough.  The BBC good food website has great advice on preparing squid.  My favourite bits are the tentacles. 

Next course was Seared Scallops served on a bed of Mango and Coriander salsa.  This we served with a Francois Raveneau 2006 Premier Cru Montée de Tonnere Chablis.   Don't overcook scallops, even for the large ones I don't do more than one and a half minutes a side.

Third course was Sea Bass served in a Thai broth with Crispy Noodles.  This was also served with the Chablis.   Again the Sea Bass was cooked very quickly and allowed to rest a little so it was beautifully succulent and tender. 

The best wine and the best dish came next.  The wine was an incredible Sancerre white - A Gérard Boulay Comtesse 2007.  One of my very favourite Sancerres and a great expression of the terroir whilst still embodying the essence of the Sauvignon Blanc cepage.   This dish was inspired by the very first meal I ever had with Jane back in 2002 when we met.  It is thyme and rosemary smoked langoustines served with chanterelles mushrooms, apple, hazlenuts and baby salad leaves.  Amazingly delicious.  

The main course was a Tartare de Thon (raw chopped tuna) served with caviar, salad and french fries.  The tuna was livened up with some grapefruit juice, tabasco and olive oil.  This dish was served with a very good Chinon Cabernet Franc red wine - a Clos de l'Echo Crescendo 2009.  I though it went well with the tartare but Jane preferred the Sancerre.

The Cheese course was served with the same Chinon red and comprised of a Tête de Moine, an Ossua Iraty and aTome aux Fleurs.  Served with some rocket leaves.

Desert was Pain Perdu served with apple, hazlenut butter and maple syrup.

The dinner finished with a decaf expresso and three wonderful chocolates from the Fournil du Château in Maintenon.

Job done, I can now relax again for another year!

A Bright but Cold February Day in Sancerre

We were down again in our favourite Sancerre vineyards on the 7th February 2015.   It was a very cold day with a biting wind but plenty of sunshine.   However, on some slopes there were still traces of snow from the previous week.

There was a noticeable difference between now and when we were down here in the first week of January.  Whereas then there was vitually no work going on in the vineyards, today there was plenty of pruning going on and collection of the "sarments de vigne" which make a nice fire or barbecue for later in the year.

Below are some of my photos from around Crézancy, Bué and Sancerre.

Snow still on the ground on the colder slopes around Sancerre

Ice on the ground in front of huge piles of sarments de vignes

Rickety old cross at Crézancy and more sarments

Old vignerons hut near Crézancy

Tractors and truck collecting the sarment de vignes.  You can see that these vines are nicely pruned.

Although it was a bright day there was a haze.

Vigneron working on the vines near Reigny

Sun catching the training wires with vines that still need pruning

Blue skies despite the cold

I love the trees that stand alone amongst the vines.

Working the vines above Bué

Little piles of the sarment prunings on the rocky ground above Bué

The normally sun drenched bowl formed by the steep slopes of the Clos de la Poussie above Bué

....and then it was off with Jane to our favourite restaurant in Sancerre - Auberge la Pomme d'Or

A starter of Foie Gras and a salad of artichokes

Fabulous main course of Pigeon with  a really great jus.

Didier and Veronika Turpin at the Pomme D'Or did us proud today, as always.

My favourite - Profiteroles

With my pigeon I had nice glass of Lucien Crochet red Sancerre from Bué.  Very nice.

Cofee and chocolate truffles to end the meal.

An excellent adress in Sancerre - but do book or prepare yourself to be disappointed

Another bottle of Sancerre Red that we really enjoyed recently was an Alphone Mellot La Demoiselle

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The Dark Arts of Cahors and Maury

One of my pleasures in life is coming up with ideas and menus for wine tasting dinners.  Everyone who attended Tongham Tasters or our Tongham Village Hall dinners will recognise this. However, we now live in France and time had come to come up with our first wine tasting dinner in our new house in Maintenon near Chartres..  Having been introduced to good Cahors by two very good cavists in Plaisir and Bourges and having bought a very old vintage bottle of a dessert Maury the idea began to gel.   As usual the idea was mine but execution rested on my charming wife Jane!   Having selected our more than willing participants from Belgium and France the game was on.  A date was set for 31st January 2015.  Below is what we tasted:

The five very good bottles of Cahors that formed the heart of our dinner party

Cahors is a dark wine from the south west of France and the main (or sometimes 100%)  graoe variety is Malbec, sometimes also known as Cot or Auxerrois.  If you taste a good one you will be hooked.

Hélène and Jane show off my menu

A champagne toast at the start of our meal

1st course was a Jean Laurent Blanc de Noirs Champagne served with a walnut, honey and chutney pannacotta

2nd Course was a Chateau La Reyne 2009 Cahors with Bayonne ham and figs

I really love the modern style Cahors of the Chateau La Reyne.  They have a range to cover all budgets but L'Excellence is very nice indeed.

3rd Course was a Chateau La Reyne 2005 Cahors with blinis, beetroot, smoked eel and horseradish

4th course was a modrn style Garbure served with a 2004 Clos Triguedina Cahors

Rex pours our chef Jane some more Cahors during the Ban Bourguignon.  Oh dear!

5th course was a 1999 Prince Probus Cahors served with a Canard Parmentier (Duck Shepherds Pie)

A lovely and complex Cahors wine

The Chateau Triguedina Prince Probus was my favourite Cahors of the evening.

6th course was an assortment of nine cheeses and a 2001 Chateau Lamartine Cahors

The Chateau Lamartine is a quite modern style Cahors and was much appreciated by many of our guests.

A rather special wine for our dessert!

The Maury is a French "Vin Cuit" and is very similar to a vintage port.  I loved its chocolate friendly acidity and caramel notes.  Despite being so old it was wonderfully fresh.  If you can't afford a 1929 Gerard Bertrand, try a more recent Mas Amiel Maury.  Our cavist recommended some Thyme infused chocolate from a great Chocolatier in Bourges which worked very well as did Jane's dark chocolate mousse.

1929 Maury and a delicious dark chocolate mousse

Congratulations to our chef Jane!

Café "Toulouse Lautrec" to finish our evening

I must admit to some help in selecting this menu from the excellent web site of Fiona Beckett.

Thanks to Brigitte, Hubert, Solange, André, Hélène and Rex for being our guests for our first Maintenon Wine Tasting Dinner.

Specials thanks to our cavists for providing the wine:

Le Caveau des Plaisirs in Plaisir (The Chateau La Reyne)

La Cave des Beaux Arts in Bourges (The rest)

Extra special thanks to Jane (aka Madame Thermomix) for executing the menu so well

Roll on our next wine tasting dinner!

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