Restaurants

Wine adventures in Franschhoek

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In my book there’s no better way to start the day when on holiday than with a swim before breakfast! The pleasure is enhanced even more when you have the infinity pool to yourself and the sky is azure blue and even at 8am the temperature is above 20c!

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The Infinity Pool

Refreshed from our swim we just had time to head to the terrace of the Reuben’s restaurant  overlooking the infinity pool to get pole position from which to enjoy breakfast! I love breakfast and I often find it’s a great indicator of what else a hotel can deliver in the culinary department.

The buffet breakfast of fruits, juices, cereals, fish, oysters, hams and cheeses is augmented by an extensive a la carte offering and finished off with an in house patisserie making a delightful selection of pastries and breads.
The almond croissant had a nice frangipane filling and chewy texture!

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Fortified by breakfast and with our stomachs suitably lined, we braced ourselves for the day of wine indulgence ahead of us!

We headed out of Cape Town on the N1 by coach leaving the city behind us and  making good progress to our first destination Haute Cabriere in Franschhoek.

Franschhoek takes its name from the Afrikaans for French Quarter. This area of the Cape was settled by around 200 French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution under Louis XIV’s intolerant regime. Although French speaking died out within a generation under Dutch East India Company rules, many of the estates in this area are still known by their original French names.

I have it on good authority that they also throw a pretty impressive Bastille Day celebration in July!

In 1694 the French Huguenot Pierre Jourdan, was granted a piece of land in Franschhoek and decided to name it after his home town in France, Cabriere.

In the early 1980s, Achim von Arnim – then still Cellar Master at Boschendal – purchased a portion of this land and set about producing wines in the style of Champagne. He later had the opportunity to acquire some land adjacent to this with a terroir similar to that of Burgundy.  Over time he set about his dream of producing single varietal Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines in the style of the Burgundian area where he had studied.

The wines of Haute Cabriere were not to my taste but this took nothing away from what they do best which is put on a great show and wine experience from a beautiful location.

After a short tour of the cellars we headed to the impressive tasting room where we were treated to the highlight of the tour, which was seeing our host Eben demonstrate opening the Haute Cabriere MCC traditional method sparkling wine with a cavalry sword!

This looked like a scene straight out of a Lord Flashman novel and highly impressive! They even sell cavalry swords for those “Flash Harry’s” who can pull off the Sabrage stunt! (as this clip shows!)

The MCC Classic Brut is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, not abundantly floral, dry and crisp and would be most suited to being an aperitif. 

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Tim and Eben in the Tasting Room at Haute Cabrière.

I also tasted the Pierre Jourdan 2001 Belle Rosé, made from 100% Pinot Noir with a nose of toffee and burnt sugar.

2013 Pinot Noir which was light and tasted of red fruits with the smokiness from the toasted barrels masking some of the tannins.

Last up was their Pierre Jourdan Ratafia which is a 100% Chardonnay fortified with Pierre Jourdan Fine de Jourdan (brandy). This can be either served as an aperitif or with starters like foie gras or as a decadent pudding wine with say vanilla ice cream! This wine has a thick honeyed flavour with a hint of roasted pineapple.

Already buzzing from our our first alcoholic beverages of the day we zigzaged back onto the coach for the short transfer to the next vineyard and it wasn’t even lunchtime!

Thankfully when we arrived at Grande Provence there was a tempting selection of cheeses and charcuterie to help absorb the preceding venues vino!

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The Cheese and Charcuterie welcome platters at The Grande Provence vineyard!

As we tucked into the delicious cheeses, a Brie style, a creamy blue and a goat’s cheese we looked ominously at the wine blending paraphernalia in front of us!

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Fraser and Judith with the Heath Robinson blending kit!

Our group of 40 or so were divided into 8 groups of 5 and we were introduced to the head winemaker at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate. Our task was to take the 3 carafes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot and not only come up with a wine blend but also choose a name and design a label.

The finished article to be judged in a blind taste off!

We made a good start with our team of Judith, Fraser, Sarah, Gillian and I agreeing on 5% Petit Verdot with the balance split between the other too grapes. After 3 or 4 tweaks we thought we had a winning blend.

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Sarah measuring out our final blend!

So having come up with the name “Shooting Star” we headed off to lunch, al fresco in the gardens.

We enjoyed lunch with our wine blending team and snuck in a few extra wines from the Grande Provence estate. Sadly, we didn’t win the blending competition but we thought our blend was pretty good!

Over a two course lunch we tasted the following:

Grande Provence: 2015 Sauvignon Blanc. This had flavours of tart apples, with a hint of green melon. This was served with our starter of smoked duck and pork paté.

Grande Provence: 2015 Chenin Blanc (60%)/Viognier (40%). This had notes of peach and spice with a rich long finish, was not overly oaked and a perfect wine to accompany the pan fried sea bass.

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After lunch we had time to walk around the estate and it struck me that it was more than a coincidence that this place was called Grande Provence.

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This could be the Luberon but it’s actually the Grande Provence Estate

Check out the similarities to Chateau La Canorgue near Bonnieux in Provence! The other interesting wine factoid about this place is that the homestead here which now provides luxury hotel accommodation was once home to John Platter, probably the most well know South African wine author and inspiration behind the annual must have Platter’s South African wine guide for 35 years!

After our stroll it was down to a little cultural appreciation in the form of a Post Lunch Drumming Class !

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By 3pm we made our way back to the bus and to be honest before we’d even pulled out of the estate my eyes were closed and I’d drifted off into a nice post lunch nap!

I awoke just as we reached the V and A Waterfront and so we just had time for a quick swim before heading off on our next adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This City is Awesome! Cape Town adventures continued

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After the amazing welcome picnic on Signal Hill we made the short transfer back to our hotel. I’d seen photos of the One and Only, Cape Town but nothing really prepares you for the 5 star luxury and amazing service that this paradise has to offer.

We checked into our room and instantly felt compelled to take in this view from the balcony.

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Table Mountain stands majestically above the luxury hotels and apartments that surround the Waterfront area. Their Spa is located just behind the buildings in the front of this photo and just behind them a warm heated infinity pool with a cool lakeside bar!

Keen to start tan maxing and get in a quick swim before we headed off to Table Mountain we packed in 30 mins by the pool before our transfer to the cable car station.

On that Monday we were truly blessed with the optimum conditions for our visit to the summit. The day before the top of the mountain had been draped in a ‘Tablecloth” of fluffy clouds and the day after we visited the high winds had threatened to suspend the cable car ascent!

As we all packed into the cable car we were assured of its safety due to its Swiss provenance and we needn’t have worried about getting the best vantage point as the floor moved through 360 degrees as it ascended the mountain to afford everyone on board a great view!

 

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Considerably cooler and eerily quite at the top we were afforded some truly stunning views of the city and Robben Island.

A drinks reception had been laid on at the summit, so whilst we drank a chilled glass of the Groot Constantia Semillon/Chardonnay we were both fascinated and curious at these little creatures!

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Now like me you might think that someone was winding you up if they told you that these “Dassies” aren’t rodents, despite their oversized guinea pig like appearance, they are in fact the closest living relatives of the elephant!!

After taking in the stunning views and the amusing antics of a colony of Dassies in front of us on the rocks we headed back to the cable car for our descent.

When we reached the bottom we were disappointed to find that our coach transfer had broken down but an alternative “local” bus had been diverted along with several passengers on route to one of the townships from the city!

We entered the bus and sat next to one of the locals who said he’d been at work all day and was looking to get home to his family. Half way further down the mountain all 5 locals stood up and we could not have been prepared for what happened next!

Cape Town Flashmob on a Bus!

As you can see we all joined in and everyone just burst out laughing as the a cappella lead Phillip broke into the opening lines of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight!”

Shortly afterwards we pulled up outside the Gold Restaurant, Cape Town

This African themed restaurant was amazing with drumming, face painting (Dean and Helen, looking very tribal!)

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and a tasting menu featuring all the countries that you can see on the map of Africa below

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Highlights were as follows. Spicy chicken wings, can’t remember origin, carrots with star anise from Zanzibar, Congolese spinach, Groundnut chicken and South African smoked fish cakes! They served a delicious Delaire Graff 2015 Coastal Sauvignon Blanc that had the right amount of acidity to work with the spicy food!

As we slumped into our beds at the end of the first day it didn’t take us long to fall into a very deep sleep!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do The Strand!

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No I’m not compelling you to attempt the dance that is the theme of this Roxy Music classic from 1973 or its 30 years later cover by German synth pop band Alphaville. The Strand Dining Rooms is a restaurant located within Grand Buildings at 1-3 Strand, with an envious view of the most iconic of London landmarks , Nelson’s Column.

The Strand Dining Rooms is located in the former atrium of Grand Buildings, which was largely taken up with an amazing fountain with goldfish in it! In case you are curious as to how I came by this factoid, my wife used to work in Grand Buildings many years ago! Obviously the rising value of central London prime real estate has done away with such flights of fancy!

On this cold and damp November morning, I had some time to kill before heading off to a meeting and fancied breakfast at this venue. I had heard mixed reviews so thought it would be worth satisfying my curiosity.

A cursory glance at the breakfast menu already had my interest piqued. Apart from the breakfast staples of pastries and the usual full English there were a number of enticing treats on offer. I was taken by the moderately healthy option of Smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs, Avocado and Lightly Grilled Tomatoes. At just over the £10 limit I set myself for breakfast this seemed a little indulgent but when the food arrived it was well worth the spend!

Smoked Salmon and Poached Eggs

Buttered toasted sourdough bread, perfectly poached eggs ,runny yolks , firm whites , tastefully garnished with chopped chives. A generous helping of smoked salmon and an avocado that was ripe but not mushy! Overall a solid performance across the board. Backed up with great service! Spacious tables to allow you to spread out rather than the picnic table affairs that are so common in central London.

One of my real bug bears about the this great city is that so often venues with eclectic views, position or location exploit that with overpriced underwhelming food. Then Strand Dining Rooms definitely hit the mark in the breakfast department and looking at their 3 course Best of British dinner menu for £34.50 I think it won’t be long before I return to try out their dinner offering!

Dorset Cream Tea at Cilla and Camilla’s

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Down in the beautiful West Dorset countryside for a flying visit to assist my in laws this weekend. I brought my trusty Macbook and was hoping for a bit of Blogging time. One of the trade offs for leaving the Metropolis is that for every 10 miles west of London you travel you decrease the chance of getting a decent free Wifi signal by 10%!

In one last act of Blogging desperation, I headed into the nearby town of Beaminster. A charming place and once home to foraging Masterchef winner Matt Folas’ first restaurant venture the Wild Garlic.

It’s been about 12 months since I’ve been down here and the stylish Cilla and Camilla’s boutique gift shop came to this Blogger’s rescue in form of their newly opened tea shop at the rear of the store.

It had been a fairly typical damp and dismal day of that fine Dorset rain so as I sat at the nicely finished cafe table in the coffee shop the clouds parted and I saw my first glimpse of blue sky! The soothing smooth jazz tones of Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto provided ambient background music and I was starting to feel nicely at home in this little Dorset oasis.

A quick glance at their menu revealed the must have option of the classic Dorset cream tea.

Dorset cream Tea

Dorset cream Tea

Within a few minutes a warm fruit scone arrived with a generous portion of artery clogging clotted cream and fruity strawberry jam.

I then settled down to the serious business of writing,  contented and relaxed and looking forward to my next visit to Dorset!.

One Black Cat is Lucky! Two is Baltic Fusion!

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A few months ago while up in Birmingham, I indulged with a visit to one of the best independent wine merchants in the UK, Connollys Wine, main branch located next to Snow Hill train station, their other in Solihull. It’s official this is a wine lovers paradise and staffed by some of the nicest and most knowledgeable people that I’ve had the pleasure to meet on my food and wine travels. In addition to being a treasure trove of Burgundian gems at affordable prices , they stock an eclectic, exciting selection of wines from around the globe.

They also have their finger on the pulse of Brum’s booming restaurant scene, so it seemed rude not to ask what they thought was the current hot ticket!

Without hesitation they said Two Cats Kitchen! Pressing them a little further it appeared that their recommendation was supported by a glowing Tripadvsior recommendation and since my visit a fairly decent review by the Guardian. I enquired as to what style of cuisine  was on the menu and the answer came back “New Baltic”. This brought back memories of culinary nightmares from my first visit to St.Petersburg many years ago!  Unperturbed by this and with a large degree of curiosity I went ahead and made a reservation.

Before I’d even phoned to make a reservation I was impressed that Connollys were supplying and advising them on wines, I knew instinctively that we were in for a real treat.

Locating this oasis of truly unusual and exciting cuisine is in itself an adventure, with the taxi dropping us off near the old police station in the Jewellery Quarter and then us looking out for the clues supplied by the restaurant to lead us to the “Two Cats”!.

The restaurant is located at the end of a passageway through an inconspicuous door that lends it a Narniaesque air. Once inside the minimalist decor yields a cosy dining atmosphere with part of the prep station inside the restaurant so that dinners can see the theatre of the Latvian breads being finished before service.

The menu offers arguably stunning value at £42 for a seven course tasting menu. A modest increase on when I dined there towards the end of last year.

The Menu

Auksta Zupa – A beetroot and buttermilk gazpacho style soup with parsley, dill , cucumber, radish, and egg whites. Wow! What an opener! This is like the late great David Bowie opening a gig with Heroes! When you get this kind of artistic beauty cleaved with culinary heaven you just know that you’re in for a treat. Of course visual desire is only the first step in serving great food bit this tasted as good as it looked. The aromatics of the herbs lifting the beetroot to new heights.

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Auksta Zupa

Raw Beef Noisette, Smoked Duck, Croutons, Pickled Turnip, Fermented Apple, Hazelnuts and Coal Oil.

This was another triumph and my first exposure to the hint of coal oil and use of oyster leaves in a salad. Like the Ronseal adds of the 80s, oyster leaves are a leaf that do exactly as they say and taste of those divine shellfish! That classic sublime and historic combo of beef and oysters is given a make over in this dish. Again wonderful presentation and an usual combination of flavours that really show off the tartare!

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Raw beef noisette

Goat Cheese Pelmeni with Lovage Oil and Sweet Onion Broth.

This was a real comfort food dish. The tang of the goat’s cheese balanced out with sweetness of the broth and again lifted both visually and taste wise by the neat hit of Lovage!

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Goat’s Cheese Pelmeni with Lovage Oil in Sweet Onion Broth

We were by now at the mid way point. Another first for me with a fish course of Arctic Char.

Arctic Char, Egg Yolk, Samphire, Shitake Mushrooms and Lumpish Roe

The presentation theme continued with a skilful use of ingredients with the Shitake complementing the strong flavour of the salmon like Char.

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Arctic Char

Duck, Squash, Pickled Quince, Blackberries and Marinated Artichoke Heart

“Sorrel”

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Sorrel

Served three ways, as a sorbet, curd and a granola. Best enjoyed rolled up like a fat cigar and eaten with a finger. A brilliant citrusy alternative to the classic palette cleansing lemon sorbet!

Honey Cake, poppy, Meadowsweet. Fennel, Pollen, Strawberries and Milk Ice Cream.

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Honey Cake with Fennel Pollen

Finishing off with this unusual fusion of cake, ice cream and fruit the dish is elevated to another dimension by the aromatics of the fennel pollen. Again visually stunning and the perfect end to my virgin “New Baltic” experience.

Talking to the head chef, Nick Astley it’s fantastic to see his passion and enthusiasm for this style of cuisine. Starting from small beginnings as a pop-up and then finding his feet and a permanent home in the Jewellery Quarter. I love the fact that when they opened they were on such a tight budget that they were using old airline cutlery because they didn’t want to compromise on the quality of ingredients.

This attitude and determination puts Nick and the Two Cats Kitchen in my food heroes category. Firstly for focusing on the important things like ingredients and provenance. So many new start ups go over budget on the decor and kitchen spend and then end up cutting corners on the food. Nick has priorities set firmly in the right order.

Secondly, for daring to do something different. In the same way that I encourage friends and followers of this Blog to always try a new wine or grape variety, there’s a great pleasure in trying one of the hundreds of diverse cuisines that we have across our planet. It takes however a chef with some gumption and focus to deliver on that. Long may this continue.

Also a brief note on the wines. As I said earlier supplied by Connollys and a relatively limited but affordable list with more than enough to match all of the courses. I really loved the Austrian Zweigelt. Which worked really well especially with the duck.

Don’t forget if you want to dine on a Friday or Saturday you’ll definitely need a reservation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jewel that is The Crown!

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A few weeks ago after a random night out in Windsor that resulted in just a little too much wine consumption and a chance encounter with a young Frenchman and his Venezulean girlfriend we decided that a bracing walk was required to clear our heads.

We’ve been trying to walk the Thames Path in stages and have done most of the Putney to Oxford section with the exception of Tilehurst to Shiplake. So we headed off to Shiplake to park the car at Shiplake railway station before catching the train to Tilehurst to make the 11/12 mile walk back to Shiplake.

It was a beautiful sunny September day and we worked up quite an appetite en route  so when we finally made it back to Shiplake I thought we should reward ourselves with dinner out.

I searched to see if there were any Michelin Bib Gourmond restaurants nearby and there were two. One run by the ubiquitous Tom Kerridge in Marlow and called The Coach , the little sister of the Hand and Flowers, the other called The Crown in Burchetts Green, near Maidenhead and run by chef Simon Bonwick formerly of the renowned Black Boys Inn in Hurley.

The Crown looked more promising with an honesty that was not about celebrity and so we headed off to Burchett’s Green. On arrival I was relieved to know that there was a table available although I would recommend booking to avoid disappointment. We were greeted warmly by one of Simon’s sons Dean who was heading up front of house and shown to our table.

The former pub has been converted into a restaurant by Simon without the whiff of a pub about it! More like a cosy front room in a country house with the owner’s passion for painting adorning the walls for decoration. Yes he can paint as well as cook! what talent has Simon Bonwick.

The menu is a fairly simple affair with an excellent choice of 4 or so seasonally fresh starters, main courses and desserts.

One of the most impressive things about this place is the wine list. Modest in length, but with a pedigree that would have any sommelier salivating or indeed anyone who knows the Silex wines of the late Didier Dagueneau from the less exciting wines of Pouilly Fumé. One quirk of this place that I love is that the fine wines listed on the board behind the bar are all priced subject to negotiation. In other words there’s a price but its open to sensible offers.

Being towards the end of the month and with pay day being another week away I decided to go for something more modest, a white Côtes du Rhône. They’d opened a bottle for a customer to try at lunchtime that day and it wasn’t to their taste so I was offered it for the bargain price of £25!!

It was a heady blend of Viognier, White Grenache, Rousanne and Marsanne. With notes of apricot and apples and a long fat finish. As I glanced back at the menu the wild sea bass fillet caught my eye. Dean asked if I liked my sea bass thick and chunky. In my opinion it’s the only way to serve this fish but so often restaurants choose to serve the insipid cardboard like and thin farmed varieties.

Our choices ordered we settled down to our first course. A delicious homemade coarse pâté with fruit chutney. Served with home backed bread.

Coarse Pate with fruit chutney

Coarse Pate with fruit chutney

Next up was my favourite dish, the sea bass as Dean had said was a thick middle fillet from a wild line caught fish. Cooked to perfection. Moist and dense on the inside  but with a caramelised crunch on the crispy skin. Served with red and green pesto, a melange of fresh vegetables given extra colour by the unusual addition of beetroot and a wonderful silky smooth pomme purée.

Sea Bass with red and green pesto

Sea Bass with red and green pesto

We had both opted for the same starters and main courses. There’s nothing worse than your partner/spouse getting food envy when their choice is trumped by yours but at the dessert crossroads we took separate paths.

Gillian opting for the wonderfully rich and smooth Brillat Savarin cheesecake with a citrusy passion fruit sauce.

Brillat Savarin Cheesecake

Brillat Savarin Cheesecake

I for the Rocky Road Pie with homemade rum and raisin ice cream. As well as being indulgent and rich the thing that really set this off were the tiny droplets of concentrated “Tout Le Monde” raspberry purée that garnished the plate but which also complimented the rich chocolate of the Rocky Road.

Rocky Road Pie

Rocky Road Pie

After dinner and whilst enjoying coffee Simon, the chef came out to chat to us. It’s always great to meet the chef and understand a little more about their ethos and what their trying to achieve. Simon is a man with a vision and at last he’s in a  position to execute that plan. It’s a family affair with his wife helping out with the books and 2 eldest boys Dean and George at front of house. Don’t let that family thing fool you though. Dean cut his teeth working for the Roux brothers at the Waterside Inn and carries with him the professionalism you’d expect from someone whose learnt his craft from the masters.

Simon’s really passionate about ingredients and their provenance too. That’s one of the reasons why the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so he can spend the time sourcing fresh ingredients whether it be the sea bass that I had from Cornwall or some wild mushrooms or other seasonal ingredients.

Either way, if you live within a reasonable driving distance of this place I’d be booking your table for a Saturday night dinner pretty soon, I know that I will be!

A Corner of Italy in the New Forest!

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I grew up in the market town of Ringwood in the New Forest. It has changed dramatically over the last 30 years and even more so in the last 14 years since I moved away. It’s now definitely a wealthier and more affluent town and has lost some of it rural charm, like the agricultural and livestock market.

Probably the most positive aspect of these changes is the demographic shift towards a population with a higher proportion of disposable income which has resulted in an explosion of restaurants, wine bars and cafes of varied international cuisine.

My parents still live there and I always look forward to returning to Ringwood to see what new delight awaits by way of a new restaurant or food/wine outlet. Today was no exception! We took lunch at Lovitaly in the Market Place.

On arrival we were greeted with a traditional warm Italian welcome from the manager, Alexandra, who hails from Cantú, in Lombardy province Italy. Lovitaly, is a delicatassen where you can also have a morning snack or a full blown three course meal, served in a slightly less formal atmosphere than a restaurant.They also have a private function room upstairs.

I love to understand the origins of words and language and so when I asked Alexandra to describe the style that she was aiming for with Lovitaly she said “eaterie” which sounded like a clumsy expression for a restaurant! Then I understood that in Italian the word “eaterie” is gastronoimia and that gastronomie is Italian for delicatessen! So I now feel more educated about the linguistic origins of this word as well as the delights that Lovitaly has to offer!

Naturally, Alexandra has a passion for all things Italian which comes through in the pride that she has in sourcing all the ingredients they use and making for example all the cakes and pastries in house.

We opted for an antipasti style mix of sharing platters, called tagliere in Italian. The literal translation into English is ‘Chopping Board” and  this is exactly how the mixed platters are served!

Tagliere platter of Italian cured meats and cheeses

Tagliere platter of Italian cured meats and cheeses

With the tagliere they serve some tiny bell peppers stuffed with a savoury fish mixture of tuna, anchovy and capers, this had an amazing texture and flavour and something that I have never tasted before. It’s also probably the sort of traditional partner to the tagliere that you would find in a little lakeside cafe on the shores of Lake Como which is where Alexandra hails from and a testament to her commitment to an honesty and authenticity in the food she serves.

We opted to accompany this with some tiny deep fried meatballs called polpette and a trio of bruschetta.

Polpette

Polpette


Trio of Bruschetta

Trio of Bruschetta

We rounded off our antipasti with coffees and some of their homemade amaretti biscuits which were dense and sweet and the perfect end to lunch.

The restaurant business is highly competitive and many entrepreneurs don’t make it beyond the first year, let’s hope that this little piece of Lombardy is around for a lot longer!

A Tapas Bar That’s Serious About Sherry!

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Ambiente Tapas, Leeds is one of those rare types out of Tapas Bars that is as serious about what their serve you to drink as their food. It was also a completely unexpected experience!

I was there recently and only popped in for a glass of wine after work. I was up in Leeds and wanted to find somewhere that had Wifi,where I could relax, have a glass of wine and do a few emails! Ambiente fitted the bill, so I sat down at the bar to look at the wine list and was instantly overwhelmed by the comprehensive selection of sherries.

I need not have been overwhelmed, Mercedes, the extremely helpful girl tending the bar, asked me about the style and type of sherry I liked and then recommended an
Emilio Lustau Papirusa – Manzanilla. This was a clear, pale colour, dry and salty with the nose of a sea breeze and a long almond like finish.

Feeling a little peckish I ordered some Aperitivos to go with my Manzanilla: A mix of salted almonds, Hamas and kikos.

I partnered the Aperitivos with a cheeky side order of Datiles con Serano, 
Dates stuffed with almonds and wrapped in Serrano ham. The sweet and salty combination was sublime and delicious.

This cheeky little starter set me up nicely and I was now looking forward to indulging further into the food and sherry menus. For my next drink, I opted for the Antonio Barbadillo Principale Amontillado which had a sharp round nutty finish. I then asked Raoul, my waiter to recommend a few dishes that would suit this style of sherry.

He suggested the following dishes:

The Trio of Tapas

Lubina con hinojo
Pan fried sea bass with orange braised fennel and watercress. I loved the combination of the aniseed and orange flavours which really brought out the best in the sea bass.

Gambas al Ajillo
Fresh tiger prawns pan seared and coated in confit garlic and peppers. A different take on a classic tapas dish taken to a new level with the use of a garlic confit.

Judias verdes
Green beans, pan fried, in garlic, with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Wonderful colour , texture and flavour with the intensity of the sun dried tomatoes off set by the sweetness of the beans.

Within three quarters of an hour of opening the place was heaving on a mid week night and it’s easy to see why! The service was attentive and instructive and all three waiting staff Mercedes, Raoul and Teresa really looked after me and helped me navigate both the extensive sherry list and also which dishes to partner my sherry choices.

For the finale I went for the strawberry cheesecake partnered with an Emilo Lustau Emilin Moscatel. This was sweet but with a dry after finish so not cloying and a good antidote to the sweetness of strawberry compote served with the cheesecake.

If you find yourselves in Leeds or York and you like your tapas authentic , then definitely give this place a go!

A Special Degustation! A Picnic Dijonnaise and A Blow Out Cote de Boeuf!

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We awoke to the warm Burgundian sun creeping through our shutters inviting us to participate in another great wine adventure. After a relaxing swim in the pool we quickly dressed and made our way to le boulangerie . As we strolled out of the impressive entrance of the hotel we looked back across to this stunning view of Meurasult’s village church with its pews of rows vines neatly laid out before it.

Meursault from Chateau de Citeaux La Cueillette

Meursault from Chateau de Citeaux La Cueillette

Our thoughts quickly turned to what took our fancy for le petit déjuner. One thing we’ve learnt on our travels is that indecisiveness in the boulangerie is not tolerated so we loitered outside deliberating our choices before firmly requesting a light and crispy apple turnover and a devilish rich pain au chocolat. 

Checking the time I realised that I only had 15 minutes to get to Domaine Sebastien Magnien and I didn’t want to appear rude by turning up late. After struggling slightly with the house numbering, I arrived just in time to be greeted warmly and taken down to the cellars for the degustation. Little did I realise that I was in for a real treat.

The Sebastien Magnien White Burgundy Degustation

The Sebastien Magnien White Burgundy Degustation

I felt really privileged to be taking part in this tasting even though my body clock was somewhat perturbed by the fact that the first delicious mouth full of Chardonnay passed my lips at something close to 9am GMT!

These are the wines that I tasted!

Bourgogne, Hautes Cotes de Rhônes 2013 drinking well now.

St.Romain, Sous Le Château really needs cellaring for at least 2 years.

Beaunes Premier Cru Les Aigrots, needs at least 2 years of cellaring before opening

2013 Meursault, Les Grands Charrons, this will benefit from keeping although could be drunk now,which will be reflected in the taste and flavour and length of the wine, this is a classic Meursault with a nutty, buttery flavour.

By Contrast, the 2013  Meursault, Les Meix Chavaux, is drinking well now although would also benefit from cellaring for 3-5 years more where the flavours and complexity are likely to develop further.

2013 Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru, Les Folatières, needs to be kept for a minimum for 5 years but has ageing potential of up to 20 years!

I also tried 3 Reds:

2013 Hautes Cotes de Beaunes Clos De La Perrières , A young and fruity wine which is drinking well now.

2013 Beaune Premier Cru Les Aigrots, this wine would suit chicken, veal and lighter meats.

2013 Pommard , Les Perrières, drier, longer finish, will benefit from cellaring, good with Regional Burgundian cheeses, such as Epoisse.

Most of these wines  are available in the UK at the iconic Berry Bros and Rudd in St. James’ London.

With my purchases made I strolled back to the Château de Cîteaux – La Cueillette very satisfied with my morning spent tasting some fabulous wines and very grateful  to the sommelier, Samuel, from Hostellerie Berard who had made the recomendation  to visit Domaine Sébastien Magnien.

Before we packed our bags and loaded up the car we took one last view out across the vines and village of Meursault from our balcony:

View of Meursault from Chateau de Citeaux – La Cueillette

You’ll notice that in the first shot there is a tall free standing structure with a turret which has a fairytale look about it. These are common features of Burgundian village arhitecture and called Pigeonniers or Dovecotes. Sometimes they are incorporated into the structure of a building like a corner turret. They were often seen as a status symbol and a sign of wealth and privilege.

We decided to stop for lunch in Dijon as we were curious to see how the two cities of Beaune and Dijon,  at opposite ends of the Cote D’Or compared and contrasted. We found a lovely spot in the old town, in a little square near the old ducal palace with fountains, to graze on the leftovers from the previous evening’s picnic.

These photos illustrate to some degree the contrast between the two cities.

Dijon

Dijon

Dijon, near the Duke of Burgundy's Palace

Dijon, near the Duke of Burgundy’s Palace

The old part of the city is charming but is really a little enclave of quaint architecture and old Burgundy, which is choked up by a large sprawling city that spreads out over several miles around it, with some fairly unremarkable suburbs.

Beaune, by contrast is a much smaller city, the old town, with most of its city walls in tact is probably no more than a mile in circumference. Its architecture is more splendid and impressive and its size and compactness also make it easy to navigate.

Entrance to the city by the Rue de Faubourg

Entrance to the city by the Rue de Faubourg

Hospices de Beaune or Hotel-Dieu de Beaune. A former charitable which began life as hospital for the poor of Beaune

Hospices de Beaune or Hotel-Dieu de Beaune. A former charitable almshouse which began life as hospital for the poor of Beaune

View across the stream that flow through the city

View across the stream that flows through the city

So you can tell that as far as I’m concerned the score is: Beaune 1 Dijon 0 !

After lunch we weaved our way out of Dijon and joined the A31 heading north towards Langres and picking up the A5 shortly afterwards heading towards Reims. We arrived in Épernay, at La Villa Eugene at about 5:30pm. This was our third stay here, its either a great way to begin or end your French tour and Epérnay is such a great location for Champagne compared to Reims, a bit like the contrast between Dijon and Beaune!

I can recommend splashing out the extra on one of the ground floor executive rooms which have their own garden area with wicker sofas and are tastefully screened apart by bamboos.

Bedroom at La Villa Eugene

Bedroom at La Villa Eugene

Bathroom at La Villa Eugene

Bathroom at La Villa Eugene

Keen to stretch out, after several hours in the car, we quickly changed and headed to the hotel’s outdoor pool.

Swimming Pool at La Villa Eugene

Swimming Pool at La Villa Eugene

After our little pool workout we both indulged ourselves in a long soak in the bath before getting spruced up for our last night out of the Tour in Épernay. Warning: Do book ahead if you are planning to eat out during August in Épernay. Many of the top recommendations on Tripadvsior, Michelin guide and the Gault-Milleau are all closed!

The one restaurant that was recommended was the La Brasserie La Banque . Last time we went there it was really quiet so we didn’t book this time and when we turned up there that evening it was fully booked and packed! Clearly something has changed since last time!

One place that I can recommend although closed this time is Bistrot Le 7. This is the bistro next door to and run by the 1 Michelin starred, Les Berceaux. The set menu at Bistrot le 7, is always great value with a great range of excellent wines by the glass.

We were running out of options and it was 8:30pm. We walked back towards the theatre and spotted Le Sardaigne, at 1, Place Pierre Mendès France, 51200 Épernay, France.

What caught my eye was the fact that the place was busy (usually a good sign) but still had a few tables and as a bonus they had a wood fired oven for cooking pizza and steak!

We asked for a table outside and were lucky as one had just become available. On looking at the menu it was a no brainer! They had a 1.4kg Côte de Boeuf on at a very reasonable price. We ordered this with fries and green beans cooked rare of course and a side order of Béarnaise which was really good with a subtle tarragon flavour.

This was topped off with a really stunning Red. Now I’m going to surprise you, by going against one of my golden rules ,which is I always try to drink wines that originate from the country that I’m staying in but the French Reds were not that inspiring and then I spotted a 2010 Amarone della Valpolicella from Antonio Castagnedi. It was game over when I saw that it was a modest 40 Euros and so we anticipated the arrival of our steak a wine!

I’ve never had steak cooked before in a wood fired oven but the effect was just as stunning as the results of the bread and pastries that we”d had in Provence! It was a truly amazing last supper to finish our fabulous “Tour du Vin”.

We really appreciated the mile walk  back to our hotel, strolling along the Avenue de Champagne past Möet et Chandon and Perrier-Jouet, with their logos brightly lighting the pavement.

We settled into our comfortable bed, slightly sad that it was the last night of the Tour du Vin but looking forward to tomorrow and our drive around the Côte des Blancs, home to some of the greatest 100% Chardonnay champagnes in the world!

Tell Me Why? I Do Like Mondays

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I love the sound of drifting off to sleep with just the sound of waves lapping the seashore and I got to fulfil this pleasure last night. It was also probably the best night’s sleep I’d had since we embarked on our ‘Tour Du Vin” and I’m sure in part helped by the clean and fresh sea air.

I excitedly woke up at 06:15, no alarm set, like a child on Christmas morning, and quickly threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt so that I could watch the sun rise over the Provençale hills.

This is what I was rewarded with, click; Sunrise Ile de Benedor

Having taken in this beautiful sight I returned to our room to get down to the serious business of the Blog and then a short swim in the cool early morning Mediterranean waters before breakfast which was part of our Demi-Pension. 

I’m always impressed when I see great care being taken of beaches and on the Île de Benedor it’s no different, with a small crew sweeping up, cleaning and raking the sand on the beach and clearing seaweed from the shoreline, ready for another day’s visitors and residents.

Breakfast is impressive on so many levels! Firstly it’s served on the terrace, with stunning views.

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Secondly, there is a range of fruits, yoghurts and cold meats and cheeses. Then there’s a full range of pastries including the usual pain au raisin and pain au chocolat but also a crêpe station. Finally, there’s a full cooked breakfast offering creamy scrambled eggs, grilled cherry tomatoes on the vine, spicy toulouse sausages and sauté potatoes! There is also a fresh orange electric juicer, a large bowl of juicing oranges and a chopping board and knife. Nothing beats freshly squeezed OJ and it’s even better when you don’t have to clean the machine afterwards!!

Fuelled up from our breakfast and with a long day ahead of us we jumped on the 09:40am Bandol ferry and were back at the  Pool Area at Hostellerie Berard  (short video) by 10:30am for a final swim before we set off and said Au Revoir to La Cadiere D’Azur and the Hostellerie Berard which had been our home for the last 5 days.

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We wasted no time in getting to our next stop, our final Bandol vineyard, Chateau de Pibarnon and probably the most spectacular as this short video clip illustrates:

Vineyards at Chateau de Pibarnon

The approach is no less impressive as the dirt track twists and turns as it snakes its way to the vineyard. On arrival we parked promptly as we knew that we had just under 30 minutes before they closed for lunch. I rang the bell and we were invited into the cellars to join another English couple who were already enjoying a tasting.

We skipped the White as we had enjoyed a whole bottle with our Gourmet dinner at La Hostellerie Berard and so went for the Pibarnon Red and Rose.

Red: I got to taste 2 reds from the 2012 vintage. The first made with approximately 30% Grenache and 70% Mourvèdre which is drinking well now and is soft with berry fruits. The second red had for this vintage 95% Mourvèdre from their old vines which gave it a much drier more tannic flavour and was really suited more to ageing than  immediate consumption.

2014 Rose: Made with 60% Mourvèdre and 40% Cinsault. This was a real gem with a wonderful bouquet and fruitiness. However, with space at a premium I had to hold back on purchasing this one.

Finally, I was able to taste a 22 year old Marc de Bandol, a wonderful spirit made from 100% Mourvèdre with a dark colour and the character of a fine aged malt whiskey.

I purchased 2 bottles of the white as these were more for immediate consumption whilst the Reds were really more suited to laying down and I’m trying to be more disciplined about buying wine that I can’t store properly.

What was really noticeable this year was that Le Vendage is starting early in many areas because of the exceptionally good summer weather, Pibarnon was no exception with it due to start around 24th to 30th August. 

As we were leaving, the gates to the estate had already been closed and we were stopped by a French car trying to enter. The driver was an Englishman, Norman and his wife Julia who were staying locally at St.Cyr-sur-Mer and were on a wine tour. We shared with them a few of our discoveries and also discovered that their son, Dan Fancett, is a talented chef who is currently working at the  The Nags Head, Walthamstow Village, E17 after spells in San Sebastien, and at Odette’s with Bryn Williams and prior The Galvin Brothers. I’m definitely going to be heading up to East 17 when I get the chance!

We hit the road again just after 1:15pm and what should have been a 3 hour drive up to Burgundy turned out to be a 6 hour slog with the first bit of the drive to Lyon taking nearly 3 hours because of high volumes of traffic and queues at the Péage!

Just after 7:15pm we arrived at our next destination the pretty and quaint Burgundian village of Meursault. Our hotel the stunning Chateau de Citeaux – La Cueilette is located just 10 minutes walk from the centre of the village and within walking distance of many of the major vigneron.

We hadn’t booked into the restaurant, something we sort of later regretted after visiting the restaurant as we were leaving!

Restaurant at La Cueilette

Restaurant at La Cueilette

So we unloaded the car and checked in; to our surprise they had upgraded us! A really nice touch after our horrendous journey.

Our room had a lovely balcony where we breakfasted each day and had a picnic the following night.

Balcony of Room 12, La Cueilette

Balcony of Room 12, La Cueilette

Room 12, La Cueilette

Room 12, La Cueilette

We had a quick freshen up after our journey and headed up into the village of Meursault. We found a lovely village Hotel/Bar called Hotel Du Centre – Alain Billard, Meursault

They have a formal restaurant with white tablecloths etc or you can sit in the bar with the locals and eat the same menu. Not standing on ceremony and not wanting too much fuss we went for the bar option and the 24 Euro set menu, which was great value and really authentic Burgundian food.

Starter: Gammon Ham in Parsely and Aspic. A Burgundian classic with the parsley balancing out the saltiness of the ham

Mains: Chicken Suprême in a creamy Epoisse sauce with Pomme Purre and French beans. I loved this sauce so much I asked to speak to the chef after service and he gave me the recipe! O Level French has never been more useful!

Cheese: Epoisse. Perfectly ripe and ready to eat

I also had a glass of the delicious 100% Chardonnay méthode traditionelle Cremant de Bourgogne, 2 sublime glass of 2012 Chorey Lès Beaunes and for with coffee a 20 year old Marc de Bourgogne from Joseph Cartron. 

We strolled back to our hotel and again slumped into our bed, probably one of the most comfortable of our tour and slept like the proverbial logs!