tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21744614435791680852024-03-13T22:33:34.100+01:00not drinking poison in parisa wine blogaaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.comBlogger547125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-74304856668170193352018-12-21T16:57:00.002+01:002022-08-19T12:41:56.913+02:00not drinking poison in paris has moved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4GLa9pWlS5WlUqnB7dqys-kzRLcY281VrWR0PaTVRf9viSC8SNADQQtMgP3pLHLWQMkGeguMyMztcywjtADyJmzbM1_vUCXu_MlTnipwGwIZzMEhwenRyiWLxyJHMluy6cunUvcpi1El/s1600/wine+glass+square.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4GLa9pWlS5WlUqnB7dqys-kzRLcY281VrWR0PaTVRf9viSC8SNADQQtMgP3pLHLWQMkGeguMyMztcywjtADyJmzbM1_vUCXu_MlTnipwGwIZzMEhwenRyiWLxyJHMluy6cunUvcpi1El/s320/wine+glass+square.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To a slightly more presentable platform. The new site is <a href="https://notdrinkingpoison.substack.com/">here</a>.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-66757768188578675252018-10-01T20:31:00.001+02:002018-10-01T20:31:32.823+02:00let's talk about aix: the côteaux d'aix en provence AOC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRNoprvXrjnD5AqtsSw8wFCRmA0OOAI-XIUMTl46LZE95MqDCwRxSd184XYp0tjLm3XHvNyjuD2NgfcazipvR_YZ3nNGXcXg-zqnEzLBhPuiccL7kwJFMT6xYKdF7fkGJotpDxXUHV7L0/s1600/chateau+de+barbebelle+fontaine+fountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRNoprvXrjnD5AqtsSw8wFCRmA0OOAI-XIUMTl46LZE95MqDCwRxSd184XYp0tjLm3XHvNyjuD2NgfcazipvR_YZ3nNGXcXg-zqnEzLBhPuiccL7kwJFMT6xYKdF7fkGJotpDxXUHV7L0/s400/chateau+de+barbebelle+fontaine+fountain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
When I spoke to Var natural vigneron <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/08/jean-christophe-comor-on-natural-rose.html">Jean-Christophe Comor</a> back in July, he aired certain criticisms of the <a href="https://www.vinsdeprovence.com/les-appellations/carte-des-appellations">Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Provence</a>, or CIVP: chiefly, that tended to market rosé colour over rosé terroir. He found it absurd that the rosés of Provence are divided into the appellations Côtes de Provence, Côteaux Varois en Provence, and Côteaux d'Aix en Provence. "They don't all have the same terroir," he said. "But they all do the same [vinification] techniques."<br />
<br />
As an itinerant wine writer and bystander to the scenario, I'm actually perfectly happy there are three distinct Provençal appellations, because it apparently means there are several distinct promotional budgets. So it was that, in the wake of a press junket to the Côteaux Varois this past May, I was invited to return to Provence in late September to attend a tasting of the wines of the adjacent Côteaux d'Aix en Provence appellation. The kicker - in fact, the trip's redeeming feature - was that this time we were to principally taste the region's oft-overlooked red wines.<br />
<br />
At 4127ha, the Côteaux d'Aix en Provence appellation has only about a fifth of the planted surface as the adjacent Côtes de Provence, while covering a similar area. This testifies to the more urbanized landscape of the Côteaux d'Aix en Provence appellation, which extends from Arles and Saint-Rémy to the respective outskirts of Marseille and Aix. The terroir is, to put it lightly, diverse, varying from hilly sites bordering the Côteaux Varois to lowlands bordering the Étang de Berre and coastal sites west of Marseille. That's not to say the appellation's reds lack identity. The tasting of the appellation's red wines, held at the <a href="https://fr.vignelaure.com/">Château Vignelaure</a>, revealed a slightly anachronistic Bordeaux fascination, presumably attributable to the fabulous wealth and conservatism of local landowners. But there were highlights, too.
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4MTBPspwAFPGRvsCQOMDlQw9evQa_ZBxqO-X8jgoatYPcG3eQKx1FU-AMaKH-kkQ2K1o2JYTtx8FpW3a6T5ivjtvBNL95E3Eid9E-89WuKdrsSFRjk0zPy08qigcLjo5IZclzGQgvld3a/s1600/coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence+aoc+tasting+rouges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4MTBPspwAFPGRvsCQOMDlQw9evQa_ZBxqO-X8jgoatYPcG3eQKx1FU-AMaKH-kkQ2K1o2JYTtx8FpW3a6T5ivjtvBNL95E3Eid9E-89WuKdrsSFRjk0zPy08qigcLjo5IZclzGQgvld3a/s400/coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence+aoc+tasting+rouges.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
One thing about the tasting surprised me immediately: I hadn't realized quite how much cabernet sauvignon was planted in Provence. It was largely absent in the Var, for example. Yet it formed a basis for many of the Côteaux d'Aix en Provence reds. Philippe Bru, the cellar master at Château Vignelaure, explained that it was in fact the original Bordelais proprietor of Vignelaure, Georges Brunet, who was among the first to plant cabernet sauvignon in the region in 1966. It later occurred to me we weren't far from Les Alpilles, where <a href="http://www.domainedetrevallon.com/index.php">Domaine de Trevallon</a> has seen great success with cabernet.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxHHJDSkWWDJLCR0vSsI9KRHY4KQJMPdGtZhUKQnUywS3lWgtWq64MH39-g-bMF97Ni7a-wWDMe7ppueExDlN2i_WPl9eFL1lWgOi26N2F38n25zUNUDHsP0TY4gsE3155isZsCL_yNBM/s1600/philippe+bru+chateau+vignelaure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxHHJDSkWWDJLCR0vSsI9KRHY4KQJMPdGtZhUKQnUywS3lWgtWq64MH39-g-bMF97Ni7a-wWDMe7ppueExDlN2i_WPl9eFL1lWgOi26N2F38n25zUNUDHsP0TY4gsE3155isZsCL_yNBM/s400/philippe+bru+chateau+vignelaure.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Château Vignelaure winemaker Philippe Bru. He's not actually standing in cabernet vines here, as I recall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I don't have anything against cabernet sauvignon. But like many of the dark, heavy varieties that were planted throughout the south since the late 1960's, it seems a relic of a different era - the one Robert Parker would seize upon ten years' later.<br />
<br />
For what it's worth, it was also a cooler era. Nowadays I sense a certain wistfulness among Provençal winemakers who wish they had the vines and the climate to produce something other than highly technical rosé for refreshment in the Provençal heat. Even in late September, the temperature was such that most red wine was rendered unpalatable.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFawWjDp-6fl5E964qUoVvkVeEY_H_FZmGk5Qg3RRWczZ8QY5BVWhhLN_J1uJaLsfRZgUPFDuF4jSJCBXrebBPMbQ7_S3p8iuPPrRMcLKVAvmOSQWMXSuGOu7P8sZUMJQXlLmSApWzZ3f/s1600/lunch+at+chateau+vignelaure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFawWjDp-6fl5E964qUoVvkVeEY_H_FZmGk5Qg3RRWczZ8QY5BVWhhLN_J1uJaLsfRZgUPFDuF4jSJCBXrebBPMbQ7_S3p8iuPPrRMcLKVAvmOSQWMXSuGOu7P8sZUMJQXlLmSApWzZ3f/s400/lunch+at+chateau+vignelaure.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A splendid lunch at Château Vignelaure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A notable exception was <a href="https://www.domainedesulauze.com/the-domaine">Domaine du Sulauze</a>'s 2014 "Chapelle Laïque," a biodynamic, low-sulfur single-vineyard cinsault with a touch of co-planted grenache. Lean, wiry, lightly spritzy, it was a simple raspberry-toned red one could easily stomach in the southern heat, evoking a bygone time when light reds and rosés resembled each other rather more.<br />
<br />
Apart from Domaine du Sulauze, the only estates present with any significant ties to the natural wine market were <a href="http://www.chateaubas.com/">Château Bas</a> and <a href="https://revelette.fr/chateau-revelette/">Château Revelette</a>. Château Bas is the far larger of the two at 72ha, while Château Revelette, owned by UC Davis-educated German winemaker <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bf7a7c_c96c1797ea9d4f1dbe6e6583db81c319.pdf">Peter Fischer</a>, extends over 24ha. Both domaines kind of have it both ways, producing great quantities of extremely safe organic wines alongside smaller quantities of more interesting natural cuvées. The latter were not presented at the tasting.<br />
<br />
I sense that Fischer in particular commands great respect among fellow winemakers in the region; I hope someday to better understand why. The 2006 Côteaux d'Aix en Provence "Le Grand Rouge" was among the older vintages presented at the tasting that day, showing powerfully, punishingly over-extracted and over-oaked. It felt almost like a parody of the style indicated in its name. The wine beside it, Château Bas' 2005 Côteaux d'Aix en Provence "Cuvée Temple," suffered from similarly monumental treatment. Given Trump, climate change, and ebola, it seems possible the world will end before these wines open up.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy8UJepA0o_1EKEcu1x8MweJOtNokuilgEQn5AUwwomOJi1bOUip69B73J9uJksXiArCfehaHBqOqJdt1CnvAl3YRPyOYG16tLkeJYB8Xuh9cmjklc9wfGoxXYDaQGlCoOtnObajb5kbm/s1600/chateau+bas+cuvee+temple+blanc+2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy8UJepA0o_1EKEcu1x8MweJOtNokuilgEQn5AUwwomOJi1bOUip69B73J9uJksXiArCfehaHBqOqJdt1CnvAl3YRPyOYG16tLkeJYB8Xuh9cmjklc9wfGoxXYDaQGlCoOtnObajb5kbm/s400/chateau+bas+cuvee+temple+blanc+2003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Château Bas were also responsible for the day's most surprising wine, a white "Cuvée Temple" from 2003 that was opened over lunch afterwards. Deep golden, honeysuckle-scented, and grippy from a touch of skin maceration, the rolle-sauvignon blend was an unlikely triumph, preserving just enough acidity despite age and a hot vintage. Unlike almost all Provençal white wine produced today, Château Bas' "Cuvée Temple" does malolactic fermentation, a key criterion for an age-worthiness.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_m7e8H2Z8Rv90gG2kLMgUyRIvmV_1bbxqXxHNzSE-rfJuBj0VIk-vSsLZ3HSHxgAnZJHIylNeQAW-6aFhsIul_zOfUBAnPfGKZXKG135S3dRqYjDI-ZosFztkcQOGkOvSiYMRNlSFFsax/s1600/chateau+vignelaure+old+foudres+no+longer+in+use.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1280" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_m7e8H2Z8Rv90gG2kLMgUyRIvmV_1bbxqXxHNzSE-rfJuBj0VIk-vSsLZ3HSHxgAnZJHIylNeQAW-6aFhsIul_zOfUBAnPfGKZXKG135S3dRqYjDI-ZosFztkcQOGkOvSiYMRNlSFFsax/s400/chateau+vignelaure+old+foudres+no+longer+in+use.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old foudres at Chateau Vignelaure. No longer in use, sadly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Among the most interesting wines of the tasting, at least from a historical perspective, was Château Vignelaure's 1985 rouge, from back when the domaine still aged the wine in their beautiful old foudres.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXLBdeT1Q2yGhPzftM84iIAoJ1D6df7PMCJGr9ev_qQ9sa4-cmz8A4xUCWebhbGRbFEAf7SxCjnvBW4FqxE8VXQtJNOGPSDdN6C-eNVbYABmFw4x88XM07kxDgCRKwWLe3WUDctMGkkrG/s1600/chateau+vignelaure+1985+magnum+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXLBdeT1Q2yGhPzftM84iIAoJ1D6df7PMCJGr9ev_qQ9sa4-cmz8A4xUCWebhbGRbFEAf7SxCjnvBW4FqxE8VXQtJNOGPSDdN6C-eNVbYABmFw4x88XM07kxDgCRKwWLe3WUDctMGkkrG/s400/chateau+vignelaure+1985+magnum+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It showed its age, but one sensed it had been made with an admirably traditionalist, old-school Bordeaux ideal in mind. Cellar master Philippe Bru's work today is more modern, but his wines showed impressive restraint compared to others in the tasting, never going outright over-the-top in extraction or oak.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwUsucxUl0Lb2UtY_G4FwzTgiVhdgg6TN8QIKt803uYH2h64InPzOm0QU_aLiNmVdoXPVo1pavJeMhpSE2x1bGeitjGLv3gWQ7kotEFpUywA3B5ZsK5oGXgN-XyjRzreHfREffEvv7uWK/s1600/domaine+la+realtiere+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence+canta+gau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwwUsucxUl0Lb2UtY_G4FwzTgiVhdgg6TN8QIKt803uYH2h64InPzOm0QU_aLiNmVdoXPVo1pavJeMhpSE2x1bGeitjGLv3gWQ7kotEFpUywA3B5ZsK5oGXgN-XyjRzreHfREffEvv7uWK/s400/domaine+la+realtiere+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence+canta+gau.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Two other nearby domaines, the organic <a href="http://www.coteauxaixenprovence.com/producteurs/domaine-les-bastides">Domaine Les Bastides</a> and the biodynamic <a href="http://www.coteauxaixenprovence.com/producteurs/domaine-de-la-realtiere">Domaine La Réaltière</a>, caught my attention that day for their wines' frank, dimensional aromas - sure indicators of indigenous yeast fermentation. Domaine La Réaltière's carignan-grenache-syrah blend "Canta Gau" was rather more feral and tightly wound, whereas Domaine Les Bastides unassuming cuvée "Tradition" was extraordinarily pleasureful and supple, with a wholeness to its nuanced dark fruit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LQrYpkG3htEK8eSraNp7newumlPGf3gYCnOnyyASw7Cqrx_sjeGZpmNSuB52GAqhZTqw65_LeXgHlE5-4QqlNBaVGctaBTvK6qcwfMV-LJvDwP1CUN13Hv0iF8qU8IAcFoyI8cjBPpIA/s1600/domaine+les+bastides+cuvee+tradition+2015+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LQrYpkG3htEK8eSraNp7newumlPGf3gYCnOnyyASw7Cqrx_sjeGZpmNSuB52GAqhZTqw65_LeXgHlE5-4QqlNBaVGctaBTvK6qcwfMV-LJvDwP1CUN13Hv0iF8qU8IAcFoyI8cjBPpIA/s400/domaine+les+bastides+cuvee+tradition+2015+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It was also, at 10€ <i>départ cave</i>, the greatest bargain of the tasting. As with certain other areas of Provence and the bouches du Rhône, real estate in the Côteaux d'Aix en Provence AOC is under simultaneous high demand for non-viticultural development, which may contribute to the high pricing on many of the reds we tasted that day. (Many of the selection-level bottlings were between 25€-40€ ex-cellar. Château Lacoste's thoroughly undrinkable 2012 "Grand Cuvée" took the cake at 50€.)<br />
<br />
Another reason for this pricing could be simple immodesty. The owners of the châteaux in Provence are, as I mentioned, fabulously wealthy, and they quite understandably wish to produce at least one wine that friends and family who enjoy similar purchasing power might consider sufficiently expensive as to merit esteem. Hence so many titanic, dense wines, collectively resembling a wannabe Bordeaux on the mediterranean.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVWklqX4R92pGXhMWmkLtI_9bXUhb_U5ILLNC0Sbpc_I-yiqWajJ3OhD8PbwKj0eZXkmBLeg6-zINH7Xx47RnQONtkxmQsFGQSN7ScHLGnP3XA1kvxmAIKnRI75DAlRoCkp2vwWorTvu6/s1600/chateau+vignelaure+barrel+room+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVWklqX4R92pGXhMWmkLtI_9bXUhb_U5ILLNC0Sbpc_I-yiqWajJ3OhD8PbwKj0eZXkmBLeg6-zINH7Xx47RnQONtkxmQsFGQSN7ScHLGnP3XA1kvxmAIKnRI75DAlRoCkp2vwWorTvu6/s400/chateau+vignelaure+barrel+room+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The barrel room at Château Vignelaure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In this we can still nonetheless read positive signals. The Côteaux d'Aix en Provence AOC produces 85% percent rosé, which sounds high, until one realizes that Côtes de Provence and the Côteaux Varois en Provence both produce just over 90% rosé. This gives the Côteaux d'Aix en Provence AOC a slight head start at the realignment that would occur, should mass consumers one day tire of faceless chemical Provençal rosé. And as the wines of Domaine du Sulauze, Domaines Les Bastides, and others demonstrate, the terroir is perfectly capable of producing distinctive, balanced blends based on lighter grapes like grenache and cinsault, if given the chance.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXOk9HcFUzAanW8T7Ru-XmYP8AQrTHVjtnOHCrwDRpShXRFc7pK09AvOC0Oj9DPDiZoUBrgeB_MAda-APR8XecEQeO5bzgVICvwtXvBBkjCqQw0D4IqDEacSoIcRuXN1ixwDrb9v_0Btf/s1600/diner+chateau+de+barbebelle+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXOk9HcFUzAanW8T7Ru-XmYP8AQrTHVjtnOHCrwDRpShXRFc7pK09AvOC0Oj9DPDiZoUBrgeB_MAda-APR8XecEQeO5bzgVICvwtXvBBkjCqQw0D4IqDEacSoIcRuXN1ixwDrb9v_0Btf/s400/diner+chateau+de+barbebelle+coteaux+d%2527aix+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very meat-intensive welcome dinner at the Château Barbebelle. We were heaped in meat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Related Links<br />
<br />
A good comprehensive 2016 post on Peter Fischer of Château Revelette at <a href="http://www.marionbarral.com/blog/peter-fischer-chateau-revelette-coteaux-daix-en-provence/">Marion Barral</a>.<br />
<br />
My <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/08/jean-christophe-comor-on-natural-rose.html">visit and interview Jean-Christophe Comor</a> this past July.<br />
My visit to the <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/06/coteaux-varois-en-provence-aoc.html">Côteaux Varois en Provence AOC</a> in May.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-22236379318886565652018-08-30T18:13:00.003+02:002018-08-30T18:52:56.089+02:00la courtille, tavel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jrvKs6Xh1ve2ZUjwYQRmNOm1-AC100qs3tFORFmyEQxRL0FLauCg4CSEHkYR8ijfXWZT3s16nVqUVnJtgzglHgLCupu4KMdbeutEuNtGBF7-vOZL3YbmLGhm_imwHqtqsb3N3I7B3Mjo/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jrvKs6Xh1ve2ZUjwYQRmNOm1-AC100qs3tFORFmyEQxRL0FLauCg4CSEHkYR8ijfXWZT3s16nVqUVnJtgzglHgLCupu4KMdbeutEuNtGBF7-vOZL3YbmLGhm_imwHqtqsb3N3I7B3Mjo/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+entrance.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
The renown of Paris 20ème-arrondissement bistrot <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/07/paris_wine_bars.html">Le Baratin</a> has a firm basis in the indisputable finesse of chef Raquel Carena's cuisine and the marksman-like natural wine instincts of her partner Philippe Pinoteau. Oft-overlooked amid the accolades surrounding the restaurateur couple is their savvy in human resources. Decades of hiring staff dedicated to natural wine - if not deriving directly from winemaking families, as in the case of front-of-house alums Inès Métras and Thibault Pfifferling - has helped the restaurant's influence expand far beyond Paris.<br />
<br />
This summer, the southern Rhône village of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/08/couleur-tavel-2018.html">Tavel</a> saw the opening of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/La-Courtille-1784984775130255/">La Courtille</a>, a seasonal restaurant by two other talented Le Baratin alumnae, server-chef Natalia Crozon, and chef Marie Lézouret. Housed in the courtyard of an historic building formerly dedicated to silkworm production, La Courtille offers a menu that, in Crozon's own telling, is kind of another Le Baratin.<br />
<br />
Bravo to that, my friends and I responded, over lunch back in July. Who wouldn't be overjoyed to find an homage to Carena's rustic preparations of veal kidney and beef cheeks transposed to a spacious sunlit courtyard provisioned with an unending supply of natural and organic Tavel rosé ?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlNtGgKlJnrVfE0IdTteA5ZQl_kzExnbCKIoNnThk07UELH-IdhZ6zt2qclAYFNd8-sDKywsfZ2ehoiuSr4CueRvvLoDXFDjXOEkBFxUTiZ9HZBgdH7NXy4JPAKZpLHCzgwhXcrU8oNvU/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+courtyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlNtGgKlJnrVfE0IdTteA5ZQl_kzExnbCKIoNnThk07UELH-IdhZ6zt2qclAYFNd8-sDKywsfZ2ehoiuSr4CueRvvLoDXFDjXOEkBFxUTiZ9HZBgdH7NXy4JPAKZpLHCzgwhXcrU8oNvU/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+courtyard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Crozon and Lézouret met at Le Baratin; it's also where Crozon met her boyfriend, Domaine de l'Anglore's Thibault Pfifferling, whose family have helped support the new restaurant. Lézouret is thus able to avail herself of vegetables from the Pfifferlings' garden plot in the town center.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLISrEdv1r_f8h3cb1_hGokQVqG3lBehrdw3Srjx9lHgsY71rrUxYm40bDTztz7VHDHOSCH3sVPCyHfdsxvB2jKQFecBj19mF8HgEyKJHWAnsZUon2vzKqcmgcl-IzYotmmwI-9xp42Szy/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+thibault+pfifferling+james+henry+in+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLISrEdv1r_f8h3cb1_hGokQVqG3lBehrdw3Srjx9lHgsY71rrUxYm40bDTztz7VHDHOSCH3sVPCyHfdsxvB2jKQFecBj19mF8HgEyKJHWAnsZUon2vzKqcmgcl-IzYotmmwI-9xp42Szy/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+thibault+pfifferling+james+henry+in+garden.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVWFjvehBFzex9wyzX7fK0gDLJcVjmiceB2NiyLHQzEBuLAwowqW_8EzJfbX0yi7n942eKm8ZyEjzgd3S0TWZgnW0G6nplkzp9jGay1yoB1YglS_CIt_yyCv4I50Y7dBxIt9FDGvVdT85/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+wine+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1280" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVWFjvehBFzex9wyzX7fK0gDLJcVjmiceB2NiyLHQzEBuLAwowqW_8EzJfbX0yi7n942eKm8ZyEjzgd3S0TWZgnW0G6nplkzp9jGay1yoB1YglS_CIt_yyCv4I50Y7dBxIt9FDGvVdT85/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+wine+list.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For now the wine list is composed of Domaine de l'Anglore's sought-after wines, amply supplemented by neighboring organic estates like <a href="https://www.domaine-lafond.com/">Domaine Lafond-Roc Epine</a> and the <a href="https://www.chateau-de-manissy.com/">Château de Manissy</a>. But Crozon hopes eventually to fill the restaurant's immense cellar with vintages from natural winemaker friends throughout France and beyond.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5po59ow1zGqMLGMfZ0SL3fFmUTE6Uapm5O30ANQqg_Z6FR5I-VtGBEdHHSLhr5x4BEe4D17zij32WWK-zPIC23ui5XuBS-4lCUBwiVzJ2CxF8WXi7WJpay4zFmaaIehA_oCb2GQ-GXW6/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+natalia+cruz+in+the+cellar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5po59ow1zGqMLGMfZ0SL3fFmUTE6Uapm5O30ANQqg_Z6FR5I-VtGBEdHHSLhr5x4BEe4D17zij32WWK-zPIC23ui5XuBS-4lCUBwiVzJ2CxF8WXi7WJpay4zFmaaIehA_oCb2GQ-GXW6/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+natalia+cruz+in+the+cellar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9yYM2kjU_QIK2eBMLfConiWHQVg3MgsysDIF-GwHUBkaXY0Jh4Gvpbbzh1I4ychgYYIvOSXICgdYbbUjI5A1KldEW36i4jklJ6DGdp49Q66xNnfsbZhR8FV2GU617xqKkGerGeySH4Mi/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9yYM2kjU_QIK2eBMLfConiWHQVg3MgsysDIF-GwHUBkaXY0Jh4Gvpbbzh1I4ychgYYIvOSXICgdYbbUjI5A1KldEW36i4jklJ6DGdp49Q66xNnfsbZhR8FV2GU617xqKkGerGeySH4Mi/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The restaurant's interior, little-used in summertime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The menu, naturally, evokes the pair's former workplace, which is to say that Lézouret, like her mentor, wisely avoids culinary fads and fussy preparations, instead highlighting fresh, summery country-cooking. A mild mediterranean accent arrives in the form of tarama with red cabbage, or a salad of octopus and chickpeas.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOV6roYN7ZotlldSjIhU4jJUY2pXGMuTaWgnimC4GHj6t_wDKrPF9UjkhLPzy-D-PMBl4gjWEOJsYLi5ArFgBZTG6gtKTXH84tWlqe_yLEJ-1A-fJy5UcSelQdc1flcfSLGWeBfvwh5pB/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+carte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOV6roYN7ZotlldSjIhU4jJUY2pXGMuTaWgnimC4GHj6t_wDKrPF9UjkhLPzy-D-PMBl4gjWEOJsYLi5ArFgBZTG6gtKTXH84tWlqe_yLEJ-1A-fJy5UcSelQdc1flcfSLGWeBfvwh5pB/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+carte.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzp9mU_U0DKnK3CzA60wH12h4syDc9wReUXhSFhZyUfBKMWi-OdfJWDjc4sa5UWangL-Yqoj2wbua5VgZkIt1bfkryAw7dET0lYEoIkPmiNs9PFyn90eV0NM66aW-fPogVow7_UMKNEC3Q/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+tarama+and+cabbage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzp9mU_U0DKnK3CzA60wH12h4syDc9wReUXhSFhZyUfBKMWi-OdfJWDjc4sa5UWangL-Yqoj2wbua5VgZkIt1bfkryAw7dET0lYEoIkPmiNs9PFyn90eV0NM66aW-fPogVow7_UMKNEC3Q/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+tarama+and+cabbage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiD_JGx4OGLHlxJ2_L00mh40v-6XXUmAWhBnlzHoMsF_PJQEgXAo_VuciKnvKH64hDO00u9uqkBSOSB1LkKQVSOS3haY9R7r8qPEnBeN5ReugcGkLsyjyS50FlWtV3n8iBRkqxnKgjkQx/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+octopus+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiD_JGx4OGLHlxJ2_L00mh40v-6XXUmAWhBnlzHoMsF_PJQEgXAo_VuciKnvKH64hDO00u9uqkBSOSB1LkKQVSOS3haY9R7r8qPEnBeN5ReugcGkLsyjyS50FlWtV3n8iBRkqxnKgjkQx/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+octopus+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Balancing the lightly exotic appetizers was a humble main course of veal kidney, bulbous and savory.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq7M-6aoybvdRlFyidpTFmtF5EU47NLalGZnMcoW3KZ6GvCN0_R4NGHr0jYSdTxAUakhCE9O76frcDrNTbRqvQ9pGzmjalaFqAh7lrUWFnkl9j1cckjulEvqA5oHdv_-sxPNhPGp1q41M/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+veal+kidney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq7M-6aoybvdRlFyidpTFmtF5EU47NLalGZnMcoW3KZ6GvCN0_R4NGHr0jYSdTxAUakhCE9O76frcDrNTbRqvQ9pGzmjalaFqAh7lrUWFnkl9j1cckjulEvqA5oHdv_-sxPNhPGp1q41M/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+veal+kidney.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Over lunch with Thibault Pfifferling that day we enjoyed two of his family's new négoçiant cuvées, deriving from opposite ends of the Gard. I'm particularly fond of "Les Salines," a direct-press carignan from the Costières de Nimes, about which, perhaps, more later in a separate post about the visit <i>chez</i> Pfifferling. For now it suffices to say that "Les Salines" slakes a thirst for Pfifferling-style vinification of direct-press rosé that has remained unquenched since the family discontinued their glowy direct-press rosé "Chemin de la Brune" a few years back.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBahhn_gIcg6kjVZt54I41BdlJXd3z9qDHaHybabXf4OWcxp41Cu-j4wH3Xa1wAxItytSzeDZxIK6-c4tM0f2aWA1VgqKSoB7sqoTZdTSnNaCXHe1ycJu_e0VCSUTdWkxWhIeKeRN-YZ7A/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+pfifferling+les+salines+costieres+de+nimes+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBahhn_gIcg6kjVZt54I41BdlJXd3z9qDHaHybabXf4OWcxp41Cu-j4wH3Xa1wAxItytSzeDZxIK6-c4tM0f2aWA1VgqKSoB7sqoTZdTSnNaCXHe1ycJu_e0VCSUTdWkxWhIeKeRN-YZ7A/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+pfifferling+les+salines+costieres+de+nimes+2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacbDTTIcWFCwQnCeREXOLNuoxTOGZJCLPWctaUUhkM07adYE_iWhGYM_MgMPLF4cQt2N4c6_JzoQMY6WdkiH0n-MQxpGE0CZleBPzmFp84QLqITqIqvxl-fZKr7kN0_uaFg4Kd1m6Yai1/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+dining+terrace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacbDTTIcWFCwQnCeREXOLNuoxTOGZJCLPWctaUUhkM07adYE_iWhGYM_MgMPLF4cQt2N4c6_JzoQMY6WdkiH0n-MQxpGE0CZleBPzmFp84QLqITqIqvxl-fZKr7kN0_uaFg4Kd1m6Yai1/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+dining+terrace.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
La Courtille's courtyard is far larger than I had expected. The isolation of each table permits a pleasant sensation of semi-private dining. Serving plates is practically a long-distance sport. Crozon, meanwhile, evinces the same radiant charm familiar to anyone who encountered her at Le Baratin, having seemingly adapted effortlessly to the mixed clientele of a tiny village in the south of France. Her hospitality, like Lézouret's menu, is refined without being imposingly so.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYRjHxD2gWgOWqv8zxJxKtZTxEbmx08uTJNjdYIV9GtdMsQTIlce18JusQdtwU8IkLO6cdjba9VZcyDQiTGgRl5VWFQIQO7vFRHVDIfdJh3MuRlcwbWNSJvsM_YVdfVBmV97V_-G4DWNU/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+josh+fontaine+natalia+cruz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYRjHxD2gWgOWqv8zxJxKtZTxEbmx08uTJNjdYIV9GtdMsQTIlce18JusQdtwU8IkLO6cdjba9VZcyDQiTGgRl5VWFQIQO7vFRHVDIfdJh3MuRlcwbWNSJvsM_YVdfVBmV97V_-G4DWNU/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+josh+fontaine+natalia+cruz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
It can't be stressed enough how refreshing this style of restaurant is, in the context of Tavel. Like almost everywhere in the French countryside, restaurant options around Tavel are otherwise divided between proletarian, bottom-line bistrots, bereft of fresh produce; flailing pseudo-gastronomic restaurants, heavy on balsamic squiggles; and pizza. Almost every town in France could profit its own La Courtille, if only to demonstrate to a rural clientele that culinary refinement has nothing to do with expense or "inventive" cuisine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU43di-zwtMW9gUU5gKA3YiLTzDTanlOW0xfy1lwWbiGK8BQ5N2ZOSqPK6mrAZ9DsOHvgMtQ-fA3Tsbs4ko53O3e3aKj9okdzZAX9WKGgoAXWFZWGJKuueP70aSaxxf_Cx3PvnEqzNRLk/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+marie+le%25CC%2581zouret.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU43di-zwtMW9gUU5gKA3YiLTzDTanlOW0xfy1lwWbiGK8BQ5N2ZOSqPK6mrAZ9DsOHvgMtQ-fA3Tsbs4ko53O3e3aKj9okdzZAX9WKGgoAXWFZWGJKuueP70aSaxxf_Cx3PvnEqzNRLk/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+marie+le%25CC%2581zouret.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
In the wake of the 2016 US election, along with, probably, much of my generation, I began to reflect upon the grave cultural divergence between that nation's comparatively educated coastal capitals and the rest of fly-over America, where conditions of raging incoherent tribal idiocy apparently prevail. The causes are, of course, innumerable, but if there is a prominent symptom to be cured, it is perhaps a lack of cultural exchange. Progressive people my age seem to cluster in New York for a while before eventually moving to LA or San Francisco, in a migratory pattern as predictable as it is enclosed. I am tempted to think that for progressive, thoughtful people, the most patriotic act possible would be to relocate to the many marginal towns and cities not already overrun with co-working spaces, art galleries, "third wave" coffee shops, natural wine bars, cold-pressed juice bars, vegan locavore restaurants, and so on, in the hope of effecting some overdue cultural exchange.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The same dynamic applies, somewhat less urgently, to restaurants in France. My neighborhood in Paris has like nineteen natural wine bars and four specialty organic greengrocers. In Tavel, just twenty minutes' drive from the urban center of Avignon, there was until this summer no place to go for well-sourced, well-executed cuisine and natural wine. Crozon and Lézouret intend to keep the restaurant open throughout the harvest and fermentation period, closing in October until next season. I daresay they'll be missed all winter long. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGAV3NhFKewFLPvGwVCdDdh-mHUkGrSnNK7hyxTI9q_vn8OlK7nGW0ilZKSxKjsersn7S27TPiQ5ZBmsKzGmEi9GHTWb6gyvoxXwjHKTysvmLDADsPi4WjM7beoKqcpRluvEYstQuDU1y/s1600/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+tomato+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGAV3NhFKewFLPvGwVCdDdh-mHUkGrSnNK7hyxTI9q_vn8OlK7nGW0ilZKSxKjsersn7S27TPiQ5ZBmsKzGmEi9GHTWb6gyvoxXwjHKTysvmLDADsPi4WjM7beoKqcpRluvEYstQuDU1y/s400/la+courtille+tavel+restaurant+tomato+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/La-Courtille-1784984775130255/">La Courtille</a><br />
208 Chemin des Cravailleux<br />
30126 TAVEL<br />
Tel: 04 66 82 37 19<br />
<br />
<i>Open for lunch Monday - Friday; open for dinner Monday - Saturday. </i><br />
<i>Closed Sundays. </i><br />
<br />
<b>Related Links</b><br />
<br />
My recent account of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/08/couleur-tavel-2018.html">the 2018 edition of Couleur Tavel</a>, the village's annual wine festivalaaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-9787287316536764172018-08-22T20:52:00.000+02:002018-08-22T20:52:51.605+02:00restaurant éphémère, vauxrenard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmWQzFdMwHiXFSO9i0W77OHkq7RqhDSr7ROLO6hClmwTWY9H2AmmmZL1-P7mWYoF0ska5SBsPzaqXPjnzMOjkfyHg50tQv_SktIfkhsReOy2xuchBGgn8eyJ7kldHTHLrPBflBE1p5IG2/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+yvon+me%25CC%2581tras+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmWQzFdMwHiXFSO9i0W77OHkq7RqhDSr7ROLO6hClmwTWY9H2AmmmZL1-P7mWYoF0ska5SBsPzaqXPjnzMOjkfyHg50tQv_SktIfkhsReOy2xuchBGgn8eyJ7kldHTHLrPBflBE1p5IG2/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+yvon+me%25CC%2581tras+house.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This coming Saturday will be the last service of the season at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/%C3%89ph%C3%A9m%C3%A8re-1149525235216811/">Restaurant Éphémère</a>, a lovely and unexpected pop-up lunch restaurant tucked in the Beaujolais-Villages hamlet of Vauxrenard.<br />
<br />
Run by the Dutch duo of legal recruiter-turned-restauratrice Gusta van Walsem and chef Jessie Ydo, Éphémère is housed in the backyard of Gusta's boyfriend, the acclaimed natural Fleurie vigneron <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2015/10/pressing_at_yvon_metras_beaujolais.html">Yvon Métras</a>. Opening his farmhouse home to a stream of friends, neighbors, and tourist clientele all summer was perhaps the last thing I would have expected Métras to do, short of perform in a ballet. But by all accounts the restaurant has been a success. When this past weekend I asked Métras' son <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jules-metras-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Jules</a> how it was going, he replied, "It's full every day, and there's even people we don't know coming!" <br />
<br />
His mild surprise is a testament more to the isolation of Vauxrenard (population: 318) and the near-total absence of promotion behind the project than the quality of the wine and cuisine, which are both splendid. I visited in early July, shortly after Restaurant Éphémère opened, and found the Métras backyard transformed into a dining terrace, where sat, at tables shielded from the sun by a stark yellow tarp, a small cavalcade of natural winemaking peers: van Walsem's friend and fellow Dutch émigrée Florien Kleine Snuverink, a partner at <a href="https://www.selectionmassale.com/domaine-les-bottes-rouges.html">Domaine Les Bottes Rouges</a> in the Jura, Villié-Morgon's <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes</a>, David and Michele Chapel of <a href="http://grandcruselections.com/domaine-chapel/">Domaine Chapel</a>, along with Métras himself, bemused as ever.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8y8V3s0CUtYGmf843S2km_Y-1mB86pEwTrAG8SGFbfNvNm66qLmnCWLF-QDXm_ic0emsOxa_oIAcZMfBQbfCkytDEklt7yYr5xnyGqR7DcJCSt_z0OnlVQ2mZd7MKM02qDBvnX7LR8-xU/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+dining+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8y8V3s0CUtYGmf843S2km_Y-1mB86pEwTrAG8SGFbfNvNm66qLmnCWLF-QDXm_ic0emsOxa_oIAcZMfBQbfCkytDEklt7yYr5xnyGqR7DcJCSt_z0OnlVQ2mZd7MKM02qDBvnX7LR8-xU/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+dining+area.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
La Bise, where Métras lives - a high-sited <i>lieu-dit, </i>named for the north wind - is not obvious to access. I've been there a dozen times and I still get momentarily lost whenever I return. Restaurant Éphémère closes at 5PM, well before sundown, probably as much to avoid lingering diners as to prevent them from driving off the hill on the way home.<br />
<br />
Van Walsem's wine list is selected from natural winemaker friends in the Beaujolais, the Mâconnais, and the Jura. The menu is a three-course affair for 25€. The restaurant accepts no credit cards, which I can imagine leading to some awkward end-of-meal negotiations. The nearest ATM is a twelve minute drive away in Fleurie.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF5ufURrjZH4Z4x0y_1CwUdEwHaAaooASUfY2E9IjTQWJMlwbwJAdCs8OWkfPfJJ9Oq_dVD5iWYA3EZrweFD88onnBpvdlosSZoLRI7EnA8uhfSXYEtzHeLPh9WBFmnSQj1D8XkvJ9kVI/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+wine+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF5ufURrjZH4Z4x0y_1CwUdEwHaAaooASUfY2E9IjTQWJMlwbwJAdCs8OWkfPfJJ9Oq_dVD5iWYA3EZrweFD88onnBpvdlosSZoLRI7EnA8uhfSXYEtzHeLPh9WBFmnSQj1D8XkvJ9kVI/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+wine+list.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MRwJudfMnTv3W4hUSvg0c6nOCy4WZ_SxYC5_JbIR2dKwksJ7ubd9s_wTxpzYKh8igy8w6DY4jF0MNXHeTo1qXPc-2LzioVzRU77ZTXcAOwBSmRyYrJoE7n25_cL3O6PyOHU0jPIPOCtT/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MRwJudfMnTv3W4hUSvg0c6nOCy4WZ_SxYC5_JbIR2dKwksJ7ubd9s_wTxpzYKh8igy8w6DY4jF0MNXHeTo1qXPc-2LzioVzRU77ZTXcAOwBSmRyYrJoE7n25_cL3O6PyOHU0jPIPOCtT/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+menu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Jessie Ydo's menu is fresh and unpretentious, evincing a pleasantly hands-off approach to many excellent local ingredients, including vegetables from the Métras garden, and cheeses from nearby Ouroux. It is a truism that all one needs for great country cuisine is good ingredients; but good ingredients are precisely what is lacking in most restaurants in the Beaujolais, a fairly benighted place for dining out, all told. <br />
<br />
Hence the instant appeal of Restaurant Éphémère, even to locals. A fulsome <i>parfait</i> of chicken liver was savory and smooth, enlivened with a sparkle of <i>fleur de sel</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_D1YRPy2JX7P-SrPT6K6pK5wnFGVFkQZn8rnvSZDqkfk57iaN9BkfqirjuwSsrJ1C1Cx65MFy9B8-Ufm0bv7kTCl45FgrLsQnbuWskgPYrhAblwfU1ux8SKeAY5AZkm3Xa3Jd7HZifU9/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+foire+de+volaille.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_D1YRPy2JX7P-SrPT6K6pK5wnFGVFkQZn8rnvSZDqkfk57iaN9BkfqirjuwSsrJ1C1Cx65MFy9B8-Ufm0bv7kTCl45FgrLsQnbuWskgPYrhAblwfU1ux8SKeAY5AZkm3Xa3Jd7HZifU9/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+foire+de+volaille.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A splatter of long-cooked beef with red cabbage was far tastier than it looked; it comprised a satisfying balance between the refinement of flavor one demands of restaurant cuisine, and the hearty, instant-gratification one demands of meals during harvest or other periods of physical labor.<br />
<br />
I suspect I enjoyed it all the more because I had spent the morning on the bottling line with friends in Fleurie, wrestling with the lever of an antique hand-corking machine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiVQy7NblXUsVDcrTHJGdxP3PizjkmbMI-_8HObkB4ZOdoDWie0dEPDoQc0XWXOgXqtcyzQOPQmzKWOGM92_QFsKaE8uREN4v2RIkuCsS_FLV9_dYaP0tjWFSRedTp19Rocrrh2r-4cDF/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+boeuf+a+mijoter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNiVQy7NblXUsVDcrTHJGdxP3PizjkmbMI-_8HObkB4ZOdoDWie0dEPDoQc0XWXOgXqtcyzQOPQmzKWOGM92_QFsKaE8uREN4v2RIkuCsS_FLV9_dYaP0tjWFSRedTp19Rocrrh2r-4cDF/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+boeuf+a+mijoter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F4sSl77bD16ACs2D91iM91dWmGfS8TPQ5E6z3dvYjLy_y-nHUz-6ugCrkBWrSiudgCwy8YkiSurCRC4x0x-4fdPbizgP9uzsv-c-aFGBCH6oXcbfNh0NUTqdqMsPMuZkJSeA3nka2dmU/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+clafoutis+d%2527abricots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F4sSl77bD16ACs2D91iM91dWmGfS8TPQ5E6z3dvYjLy_y-nHUz-6ugCrkBWrSiudgCwy8YkiSurCRC4x0x-4fdPbizgP9uzsv-c-aFGBCH6oXcbfNh0NUTqdqMsPMuZkJSeA3nka2dmU/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+clafoutis+d%2527abricots.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It takes immense pluck to open a pop-up restaurant in a non-traditional restaurant space. Nothing confirms this like a trip to Restaurant Éphémère's improvised toilet, a hand-dug outhouse discreetly situated a short walk around the corner and through the garden. Consideration of public toilets is where many great ideas end. It's probably the reason nomadic tribes stay nomadic. "Ehh," they say, when the situation becomes impossible to ignore. "Let's just move on."<br />
<br />
But it would be folly to expect such challenges to make van Walsem blink. Métras calls her "La Grande," a reference to her height, and, one suspects, her forceful personality. I first met her in 2015, when I worked <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/beaujolais-harvests-2015.html">harvest with the Métras</a>'. Only several years prior, she and Florien Klein Snuverink had courageously decided to ditch comfortable lives in Amsterdam for the deep French countryside. As a fellow non-French person who has spent most of the last decade in the same apartment on a squalid street in Paris, unable to take the decision to leave, I find both women very inspiring.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBKwZqMT0ZoxhI_MR1l22KscTGJVhTQMj0wi1StseQpYtT9ndnyqLKdIkLg4V-s4OIH2mWpkQHVIaJlMN4BqJPZ5OWn_BOan55NpC_Y0haz2wCvyp323uFuCvwbpzlj2aPqs5WOYrotws/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+gusta+van+walsem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBKwZqMT0ZoxhI_MR1l22KscTGJVhTQMj0wi1StseQpYtT9ndnyqLKdIkLg4V-s4OIH2mWpkQHVIaJlMN4BqJPZ5OWn_BOan55NpC_Y0haz2wCvyp323uFuCvwbpzlj2aPqs5WOYrotws/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+gusta+van+walsem.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gusta van Walsem, right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeHM1q1QZHXjO9fRnyND_qARBMBv4fy4OpWW_Nb7omtvyAVdgat6K9k9Gm56iixbDwim8YGlU2kx6FnRN18SiYiO6rTISBFGQjlXKjggVBGxzVfUUuxMJnnIL2e9hhkx81SOy0G17ADER/s1600/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+bottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeHM1q1QZHXjO9fRnyND_qARBMBv4fy4OpWW_Nb7omtvyAVdgat6K9k9Gm56iixbDwim8YGlU2kx6FnRN18SiYiO6rTISBFGQjlXKjggVBGxzVfUUuxMJnnIL2e9hhkx81SOy0G17ADER/s400/ephemere+vauxrenard+gusta+van+walsem+jessie+ydo+bottles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/%C3%89ph%C3%A9m%C3%A8re-1149525235216811/">Restaurant Éphémère</a><br />
La Bise<br />
69820 VAUXRENARD<br />
<br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
Beaujolais 2017: <br /><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2017/08/sebastien-congretel-beaujolais-regnie.html">Sebastien Congretel, Régnié</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/03/gilles-paris-chiroubles-beaujolais.html">Gilles Paris, Chiroubles</a><br /><br />Beaujolais 2016:<br /><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/02/chateau-des-rontets-gazeau-montrasi.html">Château des Rontets, Fuissé</a><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Nicolas Dubost, Saint-Germain-sur-l'Arbresle</a><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/12/romain-des-grottes-beaujolais-saint.html">Romain des Grottes, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/yann-bertrand-beaujolais-nouveau-ptit.html">Yann Bertrand's First Primeur</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/beaujolais-harvests-2016.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2016</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/christophe-pacalet-beaujolais.html">Christophe Pacalet, Cercié</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/sylvere-trichard-selene-beaujolais.html#more">Sylvère Trichard & Elodie Bouvard (Séléné), Blacé</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/09/jerome-balmet-beaujolais.html">Jérome Balmet, Vaux-en-Beaujolais</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/lauberge-du-moulin-saint-didier-sur.html">L'Auberge du Moulin, Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/07/jean-francois-promonet-beaujolais-leynes.html">Jean-François Promonet, Leynes</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/06/herve-ravera-marchampt-beaujolais.html">Hervé Ravera, Marchampt</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/justin-dutraive-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Justin Dutraive, Fleurie</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/julien-merle-beaujolais-legny-nathalie.html">Julien Merle & Nathalie Banes, Legny</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/la-fete-des-conscrits-villie-morgon.html">La Fête des Conscrits, Villié-Morgon</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Domaine Leonis (Raphael Champier & Christelle Lucca), Villié-Morgon</a><br /><br />Beaujolais, Autumn 2015:<br /><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">Xavier Benier, Saint-Julien</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/domaine-chasselay-beaujolais-chatillon.html">Jean-Gilles Chasselay, Châtillon d'Azergues</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/marcel-joubert-beaujolais-brouilly.html">Marcel Joubert, Quincié</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/02/nicolas-chemarin-beaujolais-marchampt.html">Nicolas Chemarin, Marchampt</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/anthony-thevenet-villie-morgon.html">Anthony Thévenet, Villié-Morgon</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/romain-zordan-fleurie.html">Romain Zordan, Fleurie</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/yann-bertrand-les-bertrands-fleurie.html">Yann Bertrand, Fleurie</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/thillardon-chenas-paul-henri-beaujolais.html">Domaine Thillardon, Chénas</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/sylvain-chanudet-fleurie-domaine-de.html">Sylvain Chanudet, Fleurie</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/patrick-jo-cotton-brouilly-beaujolais.html">Patrick "Jo" Cotton, Saint-Lager</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/pierre-cotton-cote-de-brouilly.html">Pierre Cotton, Odenas</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/auberge-du-col-du-truges-villie-morgon.html">L'Auberge du Col du Truges, Le Truges</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/julie-balagny-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Julie Balagny, Moulin-à-Vent</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/la-cuvee-des-copines-beaujolais-2015.html">La Cuvée des Copines 2015</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/beaujolais-harvests-2015.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2015</a><br /><br />Beaujolais Bike Trip, Summer 2015:<br /><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes, Vermont</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jean-paul-thevenet-morgon-beaujolais.html">Jean-Paul Thévenet, Pizay</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jules-metras-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Jules Métras, Fleurie</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/remi-dufaitre-beaujolais-saint-etienne.html">Rémi et Laurence Dufaitre, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/jean-claude-lapalu-saint-etienne-la.html">Jean-Claude Lapalu, Saint-Etienne-La-Varenne</a><br /><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/ndp-in-beaujolais-benoit-camus-ville.html">Benoit Camus, Ville-sur-Jarnioux</a>aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-25000280621663878352018-08-16T13:04:00.000+02:002018-08-30T18:37:24.825+02:00 the tavel rosé of today: couleur tavel 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT7Ao3SQ3eV5KO0V1WHfhYOMyb9tBOdfXvuXJU20c_hiaJb7I98c9H3d5bgV2wSiTHxY52P6QQ2BL_v09wBMpqYHGuMJ8hjFTRZu4YnxjbV2Boua6Ob1GwSImdxWlmWRtLWEk8GqfBD7P/s1600/tavel+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT7Ao3SQ3eV5KO0V1WHfhYOMyb9tBOdfXvuXJU20c_hiaJb7I98c9H3d5bgV2wSiTHxY52P6QQ2BL_v09wBMpqYHGuMJ8hjFTRZu4YnxjbV2Boua6Ob1GwSImdxWlmWRtLWEk8GqfBD7P/s400/tavel+sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
"<a href="http://www.vin-tavel.com/fr/couleur-tavel/sixieme-edition">Couleur Tavel</a>" is an annual tasting festival held in the Gard village of Tavel to celebrate its eponymous rosé appellation. I had the pleasure of attending this July on the invitation of the Lyonnais press agency Clair de Lune. The public tasting itself, held in the warren of ancient gardens in Tavel's town center, was a labyrinthine clusterfuck, choked with giddy wandering families; it was followed by dinner at a wagon circle of food trucks surrounding a sort of dance-free dance-party, resembling a nocturnal exercise video, held in the Place du Président Leroy.<br />
<br />
Given that the appellation comprises just 930ha, and is devoted exclusively to rosé wine, the "Couleur Tavel" event is not particularly diverse, nor does it appear to be aimed at a professional market. I was still delighted to attend, because it offered an occasion to familiarize myself with the prevailing norms of the Tavel appellation. The only Tavels I ever seem to drink are the wines of the appellation's black sheep, <a href="https://www.chambersstwines.com/Articles/1982/langlore">Eric Pfifferling</a>, and as magnificent as his deep red rosés are, they are unrepresentative of the appellation at large.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it is better to say Pfifferling's wines are unrepresentative of the Tavel appellation <i>as it exists today</i>. As I've come to understand it, a rosé wine, at the time the Tavel appellation was decreed in 1936, resembled more a light red wine than the transparent pink wine present-day drinkers have come to know as rosé. The overwhelming majority of the vignerons of Tavel, meanwhile, are producing something in-between, but closer to the latter, a watermelon-coloured rosé neither quite of the present era, nor of tradition.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSPRi28eq4mbWLB2wdj_-z6nxhypxxLkHxtrk8m3RXDEdxJd964aKmAaxolGoGIu_veyunKNDW51qQnsvC9nwb3amJ6HJXlIT8mpJW28yPE5Por8A8vsbYlcH6FmIXY-NCcAe5bAFRnlY/s1600/couleur+tavel+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSPRi28eq4mbWLB2wdj_-z6nxhypxxLkHxtrk8m3RXDEdxJd964aKmAaxolGoGIu_veyunKNDW51qQnsvC9nwb3amJ6HJXlIT8mpJW28yPE5Por8A8vsbYlcH6FmIXY-NCcAe5bAFRnlY/s400/couleur+tavel+2018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
That's certainly not to say the Tavel of Today is any worse than other rosés. Indeed, given the harsh clarifications most conventional rosé producers will enact in search of a pale colour, it is surely a positive thing that the vignerons of Tavel have made a darker-than-average colour central to the appellation's identity.<br />
<br />
Yet while the intention to make a darker-than-average rosé has remained in Tavel, what has changed is the manner in which this is generally achieved.<br />
<br />
While the appellation presently permits eleven grape varieties, two of these - syrah and mourvèdre - have been permitted only since 1969. Not coincidentally, these are, along with carignan, the most dark-colouring grapes in the blend, with the others being either white - clairette, grenache blanc, picpoul, bourbelenc - pink (clairette rose) or lightly-colouring red, in the case of grenache, cinsault, and <a href="http://avis-vin.lefigaro.fr/connaitre-deguster/tout-savoir-sur-le-vin/guide-des-cepages/calitor">calitor</a>.<br />
<br />
Carignan never having been a dominant variety in the blend, the circumstances would indicate that a short, light maceration - rather than direct press or bleeding - was probably at the origin of Tavel's famously dark rosé. Supporting this idea is the fact that the appellation's historic terroirs are the sand and clay soils close to the village and its water sources; it was only in the 1960's that plantation began on the drier terrains that have since become the appellation's most iconic, picturesque terroirs: <i>galets roulés</i>, or rolled stones, and <i>lauzes</i>, brittle slabs of inactive limestone. The latter two soils yield slightly more concentrated, richer wines.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFCI5Qd7xl7SjChyphenhyphenqpgle3KRKoxbCFdyXZDFAsH8UMjBl0b2H9H9xC8gcgX1KpEFueIiIh6kNslnGI0WtyzVkDQM-JxeElIqJ7fDtOWa2zrhTqosw4lDgOTbjaihtlnxSvWoahLbkh2XU/s1600/galets+roules+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFCI5Qd7xl7SjChyphenhyphenqpgle3KRKoxbCFdyXZDFAsH8UMjBl0b2H9H9xC8gcgX1KpEFueIiIh6kNslnGI0WtyzVkDQM-JxeElIqJ7fDtOWa2zrhTqosw4lDgOTbjaihtlnxSvWoahLbkh2XU/s400/galets+roules+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Galets roulés </i>terrain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b_acjiYe2d1eZKVUJPK3DLdsidnaIAvMRdzMXevFj3JkcIqQkiViO4TP3o9AATlyqFBMF4dlnc0k9i4wVEEQjlxeZqlJii8wxrp8rfOPYCkaUS263XaH8kfzMOM5WpA0qnamn2SO0I_N/s1600/lauzes+terroir+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b_acjiYe2d1eZKVUJPK3DLdsidnaIAvMRdzMXevFj3JkcIqQkiViO4TP3o9AATlyqFBMF4dlnc0k9i4wVEEQjlxeZqlJii8wxrp8rfOPYCkaUS263XaH8kfzMOM5WpA0qnamn2SO0I_N/s400/lauzes+terroir+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lauzes </i>terrain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_X1_7baeUIJuWE5PVICrrP7CE169-VR7c8mNUaBrwS8wg51bQOlJwXKn50VULNpZrXotoJhA6U6aj10sh06oba7RXooHarkG6XnfgriXFEI8TvLiRmZqbZfO-1m9NslsFtwG2kz7rtBt/s1600/new+plantings+on+sand+soil+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_X1_7baeUIJuWE5PVICrrP7CE169-VR7c8mNUaBrwS8wg51bQOlJwXKn50VULNpZrXotoJhA6U6aj10sh06oba7RXooHarkG6XnfgriXFEI8TvLiRmZqbZfO-1m9NslsFtwG2kz7rtBt/s400/new+plantings+on+sand+soil+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New plantings on sand soils. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOJJYKGdv9_lhw-va4VPEqGccXFabgrOnT2VJ1xYukk-sKtrp6DsElXCv6hinCH2iC0JpKgn8sFQEpx95BljNL0UIOFZ_IXjtWQekBeFhAVfzPtoiBmP9KZrRuNtdFZ6p6jwgt_EgVDhe/s1600/terres+blanches+soil+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOJJYKGdv9_lhw-va4VPEqGccXFabgrOnT2VJ1xYukk-sKtrp6DsElXCv6hinCH2iC0JpKgn8sFQEpx95BljNL0UIOFZ_IXjtWQekBeFhAVfzPtoiBmP9KZrRuNtdFZ6p6jwgt_EgVDhe/s400/terres+blanches+soil+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Terres blanches</i> terrain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
These developments - the addition of dark red grape varieties, along with the expansion of the appellation to allow plantation of drier sites - effectively encouraged a prioritization of red wine over rosé. (The expansion of the AOC was also presumably a response to the suburbanization of the actual village of Tavel, a continuing effect of its proximity to nearby Avignon. Today the village's best terroirs are still being developed apace.) With a darker, more concentrated must, a dark-enough Tavel can be produced by the <i>saignée</i> method, without necessarily<i> </i>reassembling the lesser free-run juice with the more choice press juice. Most Tavel domaines nowadays simply bleed off a bit of rosé and macerate the rest longer for sale as red Côtes-du-Rhône.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggS8bXfmRvDPSb1zg7oASKEpujUw_CwVWTZBXIBz3pNbJZ0lcOXRCZrcpjEJGTJq4SfdtCekRjo8EIb-NQMW3J7i1ePzxVkOJi9LlA85Fw9jFFF-WrL_GGAP6Gfv_IsKQHuWubj08Twf1m/s1600/auberge+de+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggS8bXfmRvDPSb1zg7oASKEpujUw_CwVWTZBXIBz3pNbJZ0lcOXRCZrcpjEJGTJq4SfdtCekRjo8EIb-NQMW3J7i1ePzxVkOJi9LlA85Fw9jFFF-WrL_GGAP6Gfv_IsKQHuWubj08Twf1m/s400/auberge+de+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's a shame. The overall category of rosé - leaving aside the individual merits of most of the wines it contains - is more popular than ever right now. The time would seem to be ripe for complex rosés from Tavel. Instead most winemakers are bleeding off free-run juice, clarifying it, yeasting it, blocking malolactic fermentation, filtering it, and packaging it in clear bottles for supermarket shelves.<br />
<br />
Positive signs persist, however. Organics and in certain cases biodynamics are well represented at estates like <a href="https://www.domaine-lafond.com/">Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine</a>, <a href="http://www.vignerons-de-nature.com/domaine/domaine-du-joncier/">Domaine du Joncier</a>, <a href="https://www.chateau-de-manissy.com/en/">Château de Manissy</a>, and <a href="https://www.biodynamicwine.bio/accueil">Domaine des Carabiniers</a>. The latter two domaines were responsible for two Tavel rosés I found quite agreeable at the small preliminary tasting held at the <a href="https://www.auberge-de-tavel.com/en/">Auberge de Tavel</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GpHFYZi-psHsAd-Wjguv9b5mOCvpPX-GOhlzHDp0X5Knziw6Ii_5eGqlafda_XLeEk4Kk5rx23hOzrUw0qpjnAbuFVM4vVMqm5g0DFYDQu_ac5TIflLoGpL9yA1K_EXDUjqIO3KaminX/s1600/chateau+de+manissy+tavel+rose%25CC%2581+100+percent+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GpHFYZi-psHsAd-Wjguv9b5mOCvpPX-GOhlzHDp0X5Knziw6Ii_5eGqlafda_XLeEk4Kk5rx23hOzrUw0qpjnAbuFVM4vVMqm5g0DFYDQu_ac5TIflLoGpL9yA1K_EXDUjqIO3KaminX/s400/chateau+de+manissy+tavel+rose%25CC%2581+100+percent+2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The 78-hectare organic estate Château de Manissy's top Tavel cuvée - their "Tête de Cuvée," for which malolactic fermentation is not blocked - was unfortunately not presented at Couleur Tavel. (I'll have to visit sometime soon.) But their mid-range Tavel rosé, entitled "100%," was vinous and rich, the weight of an Alsatian pinot. It was good enough to overlook its hilarious packaging, which resembled a bad Lambrusco.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkpVvYdDQ1PkodEYbT_aNtspmrvYEdx_05aemVEisRXjEGlwOeMWQBk1a02oR9g5ADwCloasAthIuNcenIQyOdN_aI9fpkTQD5rezN7EvFfHG1diUzVR2Wqf44Uqlre13pnHJMJ05EYpz/s1600/domaine+des+carabiniers+tavel+rose%25CC%2581+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkpVvYdDQ1PkodEYbT_aNtspmrvYEdx_05aemVEisRXjEGlwOeMWQBk1a02oR9g5ADwCloasAthIuNcenIQyOdN_aI9fpkTQD5rezN7EvFfHG1diUzVR2Wqf44Uqlre13pnHJMJ05EYpz/s400/domaine+des+carabiniers+tavel+rose%25CC%2581+2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Domaine des Carabiniers are a 50-hectare estate farming biodynamically. Their Tavel was on the lighter side, and filtered, but thankfully fermented on native yeasts; it distinguished itself in the tasting with refreshingly genuine springtime aromas. Encountering it in the circumstances was like walking into a crowded room in which one person is smiling and not wearing a scary mask.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkThWhTq7YOTtdlfhcOclnHyA6lwRt6liC1dM7Zkl3Q77CnP8v8pwk3WdqgCAq8dJztocBqwpEDBt6njubvGDo00HthmucgIdik-pXpVjcSUOYhq4BS4gQvw77NBHybThm-VyaLvuW0Goo/s1600/tavel+tasting+auberge+de+tabel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkThWhTq7YOTtdlfhcOclnHyA6lwRt6liC1dM7Zkl3Q77CnP8v8pwk3WdqgCAq8dJztocBqwpEDBt6njubvGDo00HthmucgIdik-pXpVjcSUOYhq4BS4gQvw77NBHybThm-VyaLvuW0Goo/s400/tavel+tasting+auberge+de+tabel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The tasting was catered by four chefs representing fine restaurants from around the Gard. It was a splendid way to highlight under-acknowledged regional chefs, undercut only by the task they'd been given, which was to present their cuisine in <i>verrines. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7oET8_-pxnvEyB_0n3SYqpPU-2C6aWX-FKwiUb-0othPxt-Kslt46INREw5u5YE23hhRQoqJaleB1jHdmnl7I5yEiyYxAeerQ1U_gI3XDCJOl0Po8PqZ0oDLQZ2QLOFiFczl2ECjpjPR/s1600/verrine+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7oET8_-pxnvEyB_0n3SYqpPU-2C6aWX-FKwiUb-0othPxt-Kslt46INREw5u5YE23hhRQoqJaleB1jHdmnl7I5yEiyYxAeerQ1U_gI3XDCJOl0Po8PqZ0oDLQZ2QLOFiFczl2ECjpjPR/s400/verrine+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
At catered events - where one usually encounters them - <i>verrines </i>are not glass jars, but wasteful plastic cups, invariably filled with a laborious, faux-sophisticated <i>amuse-bouche</i> involving a mousse of something. Somehow, perhaps due to their omnipresence at "chic" catered events, <i>verrines</i> seem to retain some appeal to French diners even in restaurants, where the jars (sometimes a repurposed water glass) typically contain a miserly portion of shellfish and / or tomato or avocado, with one or another element often having been rendered into a flan-type consistency as a means of further stretching the cost of ingredients. In such a way, a little transparent plastic cup has become a kind of Chinese finger-trap for both chefs and diners in France, enlacing them in an unamusing bond of parsimony and unsophistication. For the good of France, Macron should ban the things.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkJCwRCoofz7Pa7aX-hoV23uzoCSJeWJB_N22o74UCQLl8sL3HnXBJB0AZPq4UCk5UULrJ9naZXYnaozaiJ5w4gkLJSeXV2ShLTUkd33a4xrtnCyJUww_kIwpGHP8J6vkIsuUDkdPfJGj/s1600/verrine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkJCwRCoofz7Pa7aX-hoV23uzoCSJeWJB_N22o74UCQLl8sL3HnXBJB0AZPq4UCk5UULrJ9naZXYnaozaiJ5w4gkLJSeXV2ShLTUkd33a4xrtnCyJUww_kIwpGHP8J6vkIsuUDkdPfJGj/s400/verrine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The actual content of the <i>verrines</i> was perfectly tasty, I should hasten to say. And the village of Tavel, while not bursting with amenities, is fascinating.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2LfHWMW-VWGakIpuDnAvy3EVLSYRnVQqu5KPcG4cMVzoQVZQFPFnSyqOz_Oi7KVtmM23AktuySxJMst7bVlBM-g5qfGRR1oY1-8xPkgSeqaBpW-qnHcjGHypuyZi37XU1larYfo51iCP/s1600/vieux+lavoir+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2LfHWMW-VWGakIpuDnAvy3EVLSYRnVQqu5KPcG4cMVzoQVZQFPFnSyqOz_Oi7KVtmM23AktuySxJMst7bVlBM-g5qfGRR1oY1-8xPkgSeqaBpW-qnHcjGHypuyZi37XU1larYfo51iCP/s400/vieux+lavoir+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The town center's sublime Vieux Lavoir - the old communal washing area - springs from a source that also irrigates the adjacent patchwork of small enclosed gardens, which belong to the town's residents. The sections not playing host to "Couleur Tavel" that day were those being exploited as private vegetable gardens.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNwto3cO8wL7lMqf4oHWNFIrW9IHlrD1u7GNr5OMwrLbC6ZjN9xgpR2QnaTcNPg8-czxDm1vbr1oda1BT1PH-Is30ybceo62ZWbY5RfdtR0l0BKFWjsrE_9o6Y6kNa2EPxa4jPZoHd_oa/s1600/jardins+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNwto3cO8wL7lMqf4oHWNFIrW9IHlrD1u7GNr5OMwrLbC6ZjN9xgpR2QnaTcNPg8-czxDm1vbr1oda1BT1PH-Is30ybceo62ZWbY5RfdtR0l0BKFWjsrE_9o6Y6kNa2EPxa4jPZoHd_oa/s400/jardins+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Half of one garden belongs to the Pfifferling family, and furnishes vegetables to the splendid restaurant where I dined that evening: <a href="https://restaurant-la-courtille.business.site/">La Courtille</a>, a seasonal project launched by Thibault Pfifferling's girlfriend Natalia Crozon and her former colleague from Paris' Le Baratin, Marie Lézouret.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4G_naDwpB6a-ghITGsBRzqhAC5xErnoYkOvT9mnAlVKAabAI7PUiXhhDiO0fHfrtyAxEEAgMd7aP2L3LV78hgj_32h8rl7I2pjx1GFTINJ72RH_rtF2CgDpixjWEMBKpDYoifdqGwbjf/s1600/pfifferling+jardin+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4G_naDwpB6a-ghITGsBRzqhAC5xErnoYkOvT9mnAlVKAabAI7PUiXhhDiO0fHfrtyAxEEAgMd7aP2L3LV78hgj_32h8rl7I2pjx1GFTINJ72RH_rtF2CgDpixjWEMBKpDYoifdqGwbjf/s400/pfifferling+jardin+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For anyone wondering, yes, I dined thrice that evening, first <i>verrines</i>, then La Courtille, then the food trucks. You only live once.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7qJ9jA-gdrqAMeSgL8ySdhFHZnjSFhJGPoTJQLBYn9MlMcT_mS8HaAOhP6UrBpeAUYcsWfh5JO-51U2oPKAWpt144E9Nka52hZTx-9rXamd7T_8CtWC6jqlHzu4j0r9TuzHbble1YoQn/s1600/biking+around+tavel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7qJ9jA-gdrqAMeSgL8ySdhFHZnjSFhJGPoTJQLBYn9MlMcT_mS8HaAOhP6UrBpeAUYcsWfh5JO-51U2oPKAWpt144E9Nka52hZTx-9rXamd7T_8CtWC6jqlHzu4j0r9TuzHbble1YoQn/s400/biking+around+tavel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
My <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/08/jean-christophe-comor-on-natural-rose.html">recent interview with Jean-Christophe Comor</a> of Domaine des Terres Promises on natural rosé vinification.<br />
<br />
A 2018 <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/06/coteaux-varois-en-provence-aoc.html">visit to the Côteaux Varois</a> with Agence Clair de Lune.<br />
A 2017 <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2017/07/porquerolles-wineries.html">visit to the Île de Porquerolles</a> with Agence Clair de Lune.<br />
<br />aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-91244293607776672832018-08-01T13:14:00.001+02:002018-08-01T13:14:40.330+02:00jean-christophe comor on natural rosé vinification<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZjd6vWGhY44_idsYDpFxqf1Pws6Zkfit62d52a6G7hyMREChr9sO9yxNT_h18UZbbkdVfLv5ZCO5mLUQ81tDIzK4V2a9Ym40nYYGPG9Y_5NoJ3-LDH-HRCXFx259_qPqnh-BF-r5qqWk/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+bandol+rose%25CC%2581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1280" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuZjd6vWGhY44_idsYDpFxqf1Pws6Zkfit62d52a6G7hyMREChr9sO9yxNT_h18UZbbkdVfLv5ZCO5mLUQ81tDIzK4V2a9Ym40nYYGPG9Y_5NoJ3-LDH-HRCXFx259_qPqnh-BF-r5qqWk/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+bandol+rose%25CC%2581.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
In early July I decided on the spur of the moment to join the Native Companion for an evening in the Provençal seaside town of Hyères, where she'd gone for work. The sojourn presented a fine occasion to follow up on my recent chat with Var natural winemaker <a href="http://www.lesterrespromises.fr/">Jean-Christophe Comor</a>, who I'd run into at the <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2018/06/coteaux-varois-en-provence-aoc.html">Côteaux Varois AOC 25th Anniversary</a> party back in late May. His 15-hectare domaine in La Roquebrussanne is just a 45 minute drive north from Hyères.<br />
<br />
I've bought Comor's wines for several restaurant wine lists in Paris over the years, having initially made his acquaintance at various tasting salons. As a vigneron, he cuts a peculiar figure: owl-eyed, eloquent, slightly hunched, he's a former <i>souverainiste</i> politician and law professor who renounced politics in 2002 to make natural wine in the <a href="https://www.vinsdeprovence.com/en/les-appellations/coteaux-varois-en-provence-597219fca3e90">Côteaux Varois</a>.<br />
<br />
Today his idiosyncratic range of wines - 11 cuvées in all - includes highlights like the lightly-macerated, foudre-aged carignan blanc "Analepse" and a suavely powerful Bandol bearing the silly pun "L'Amourvèdre." But I have a special fascination with Comor's two natural rosés, simply because the category itself has grown so scarce in the present era of ultramodern colour-corrected Provençal Stepford-Wife rosé. In the cellar of his beautiful newly-constructed cuverie - built from local stone along the same foundations as an ancient sheepfold - we discussed what it means to produce natural rosé in Provence today.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0scPSuxYs9ETovxct2a1lhwKLbTM3GBV1OYPN5511WkUbnWWb8rhaLO8kYE4W2azAt1i_2FD633Gqy4IxJYscCgzGzUQ8wTLBBsu5V4UBKb6k55NzMqoeUmBpRDKhbonW-QX5s6e4be4/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+cuvage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN0scPSuxYs9ETovxct2a1lhwKLbTM3GBV1OYPN5511WkUbnWWb8rhaLO8kYE4W2azAt1i_2FD633Gqy4IxJYscCgzGzUQ8wTLBBsu5V4UBKb6k55NzMqoeUmBpRDKhbonW-QX5s6e4be4/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+cuvage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.</i><br />
<br />
<b>NDP: Tell us about your Bandol Rosé, "La Chance." </b><br />
<br />
JCC: This is grenache-cinsault-mourvèdre. I vinify in [the cellars of Château] Pibarnon, because in Bandol you have to vinify within the appellation. I don’t have a cellar there yet. It’s from a parcel called “La Chance,” which is above Domaine Ott [Château Romassan], when you go up to Le Castellet. It’s a rosé that does the malolactic. It isn’t yeasted. It's got 2g of added sulfur. It's plate-filtered. <br />
<br />
I do rosés in a way that is a little particular. I’m one of the only ones, we can say, in Provence who really doesn’t yeast. I say really because there are some who don’t yeast one tank but yeast all the rest, which serves no purpose. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSVhrZUjxVCTJgPl-WjspACXlUb4FdGzV8XOOloDrDQli15SPfaOcpwRliopmKeNqof-XpjqKKhP7pF8wR2ewqX9kRvuLnMcETZw5LIJu6r82eibfHV-fwleNdXuaoS-JpkZjXhQhR2IM/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+more+tanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaSVhrZUjxVCTJgPl-WjspACXlUb4FdGzV8XOOloDrDQli15SPfaOcpwRliopmKeNqof-XpjqKKhP7pF8wR2ewqX9kRvuLnMcETZw5LIJu6r82eibfHV-fwleNdXuaoS-JpkZjXhQhR2IM/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+more+tanks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>How do you make a natural rosé? </b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
In rosés, you have to take a lot of care with the débourbage. If you débourbe too much, you lose the fermentable material, so there needs to be a big coherence from the start. <br />
<br />
From the moment we harvest, we’re not going to débourbe violently, we’re not going to stabilize violently, we’re not going to fine at the moment of débourbage, like most do in the more technological methods. Which is understandable because they’re going to yeast instead, so they clean the milieu to create another one. Globally the idea of the oenologue is to pull at the grapes as soon as it’s in the harvest case, to try to eliminate it. Because everything that’s alive is quite anguishing to the oenologist. I understand! The alive is the unknown.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBFAoVRUbZUWnCaVnxNVoClZ-9-9tdOA7d9J2EubEUrNoBNSOFzlo1G0MXhZNUQmOeYsSJT-GGGoT4izHAzROoPeZwnUxkmIFI3sacT_TKdzXKwGe5xC9X_7Ubka0CAf5esO3u5E2Ek_N/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+mourvedre+vines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBFAoVRUbZUWnCaVnxNVoClZ-9-9tdOA7d9J2EubEUrNoBNSOFzlo1G0MXhZNUQmOeYsSJT-GGGoT4izHAzROoPeZwnUxkmIFI3sacT_TKdzXKwGe5xC9X_7Ubka0CAf5esO3u5E2Ek_N/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+mourvedre+vines.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young mourvèdre vines near the winery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We harvest during the day, in the morning. I cannot harvest at night. The people who say they harvest at night by hand, it’s foolishness. I tried. It doesn’t work. People cut their hands, etc. So it’s day. It’s hot. I don’t need to macerate, I figure. Already it's too hot. I press with the stems. To have a more delicate press. It works like a filter.<br />
<br />
Then I débourbe. We put it in a tank and I descend to 14° or 13°. I try to settle everything dirty, the earth and all. But I'm not obsessive about it because I don’t want to kill the yeasts. When you make a wine with fining agents and yeast, you have to débourbe very violently. And clarify violently, so you truly ruin the wine. There’s nothing left but sugar and water. That's not my idea at all.<br />
<br />
The problem is that it becomes complicated. When it doesn’t rain, like last year, there’s not a lot of assimilable nitrogen. The yeasts work less quickly. You have to pray. And my fermentation isn’t at 15° like most do. I leave it between 18° and 22°. I'm not afraid. You can’t be afraid with rosé.<br />
<div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-75625248-ef35-89d7-d619-030b7badadd5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a473375d-ef37-3433-529b-a164fa16c140" style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-75625248-ef35-89d7-d619-030b7badadd5">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<b>Why the decision to filter? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
I’m obliged to, if you like. The wines does 90 days of fermentation. It’s very, very long. The malolactic is done before the [alcoholic fermentation]. Honestly, it’s very complicated. For me, to make natural rosé, it's truly the hardest thing to do. That's why no one does it. It’s not by chance. It’s infernal. <br />
<br />
And I work with the awareness that we have certain market imperatives. For rosé, there’s still a market that makes it need to leave for the USA or Canada in January. It must be ready. We can’t permit ourselves to have wines that referment in May, etc. <br />
<br />
The only concession that I make is the filtration. Because it's a young wine, it hasn’t deposed well. Sometimes I bottle magnums without filtration for myself, just to see. It’s interesting. But sometimes we have reduction that comes the year after. Because there are still yeasts remaining.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Your other rosé, the Côteaux Varois en Provence "L'Apostrophe" - it's made the same way? </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In life, [winemakers] will tell you everything and the opposite to explain why they can’t do something. People will say, "Well, you know, for the rosé, I’m not in organic." Or, "I overproduce for the rosé," or "I don't." <br />
<br />
Very honestly, to not get twisted in the head, it’s better to do everything the same way. I apply a principle, and I do it everywhere. I harvest by hand everywhere. I don’t do things by half. Everything is in organics. Everything is hoed. That way I don’t wear myself out with making distinctions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDChCO4-sG12P3dohzV5UTXM6dLjPlR4lfbKYLmTL2bJdwCqT_WHSxKzoEUCL6tVDYlsT0j6jRvunRsxlvih3lfF5uhjP2OBaNOAcT1PtqfEUAFsv0h9Ri5O1YB5W1cam4foJWseUHavg/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+tanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1280" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDChCO4-sG12P3dohzV5UTXM6dLjPlR4lfbKYLmTL2bJdwCqT_WHSxKzoEUCL6tVDYlsT0j6jRvunRsxlvih3lfF5uhjP2OBaNOAcT1PtqfEUAFsv0h9Ri5O1YB5W1cam4foJWseUHavg/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+tanks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>What's wrong with the market of Provençal rosé today?</b><br />
<br />
They’re making a beverage, you know. It’s dangerous in the end. The rosé has become, for the winemakers of Provence, a technique. This technique starts to take precedence over the vigneron, over the terroir. Since rosé has become a technique, they’re going to make rosé anywhere in the world and it’ll be the same. Grenache, cinsault, the same technique. We don't realise it yet.<br />
<br />
We should let the winemakers try to develop rosés of terroir . I see that even in Bandol there are some winemakers who start to pose questions. [Château] Pibarnon now makes a rosé de garde that is released in September. [Château] Pradeaux, the same. That’s rather a good sign, because people are saying to themselves, "We make a good living, but is it interesting? And eventually will we lose it?" <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VaHh0VbiPCXGW4Tekq-5ENpdaMRdEE0ZX7Lb72K10OhY8-DN7Oyi052AYlvBEhUqCIhD0IjKvue1gauc68Bl1MU3wrxHfPuhyphenhyphen9oTMLKXTQxDJ3RfrZ7Mya5QS0n_fXVO3ObDESL1U75u/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+press.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VaHh0VbiPCXGW4Tekq-5ENpdaMRdEE0ZX7Lb72K10OhY8-DN7Oyi052AYlvBEhUqCIhD0IjKvue1gauc68Bl1MU3wrxHfPuhyphenhyphen9oTMLKXTQxDJ3RfrZ7Mya5QS0n_fXVO3ObDESL1U75u/s400/jean+christophe+comor+les+terres+promises+press.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.lesterrespromises.fr/">Domaine Les Terres Promises</a></div>
83136 La Roquebrussanne<br />
Tel: 09 64 45 12 72<br />
<div>
<br />
<b>RELATED LINKS</b><br />
<br />
An excellent 2009 summary of Jean-Christophe Comor's former political career and his transition into winemaking in <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2009/07/24/dure-ecole-paysanne_1222484_3224.html">Le Monde</a>.<br />
<br />
Bertrand Celce's characteristically detailed account of two 2012 visits to Jean-Christophe Comor at <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2012/08/les_terres_promises_var_provence.html">Wine Terroirs</a>.<br />
<br />
An account of a brief 2013 visit to Jean-Christophe Comor by Jean-Hughes Bretin at <a href="http://www.onboitquoicesoir.org/fr/les-rencontres/domaine-les-terres-promises-jean-christophe-comor/">On Boit Quoi Ce Soir</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-5638628124199843282018-06-19T19:22:00.001+02:002018-06-19T19:22:25.550+02:00as var as I know: 25 years of the côteaux varois en provence AOC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bsGsqScU-L_pjyMlIbKJK-mSRwBL6aO9yOJx09TJFRLouALaL1CQevU2qmlSykwPore74fJZpmKfsbSmNQAdyhqMpqAWvfqaJAoLHqDubpSYQU7zuiB-9Q1eIFWL6l_uKKKKdrvfCUw4/s1600/agricultural+equipment+chateau+lafoux+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bsGsqScU-L_pjyMlIbKJK-mSRwBL6aO9yOJx09TJFRLouALaL1CQevU2qmlSykwPore74fJZpmKfsbSmNQAdyhqMpqAWvfqaJAoLHqDubpSYQU7zuiB-9Q1eIFWL6l_uKKKKdrvfCUw4/s400/agricultural+equipment+chateau+lafoux+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My first move, upon being freed from my recent restaurant work somewhat sooner than anticipated, was to belatedly accept a lot of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2017/07/porquerolles-wineries.html">press junket invitations</a>. This is how at the end of May I found myself spending two days shuttling around the Var with a gaggle of other journalists and bloggers, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.vin-vigne.com/appellation/appellation-coteaux-varois-en-provence.html">Côteaux Varois en Provence AOC</a>. </div>
<br />
The Côteaux Varois en Provence, a predominantly red wine appellation at its ascension to AOC in 1993, now devotes a whopping 91% of its production to rosé. I had mentally prepared myself for two days of industry doublespeak intended to pass off the effects of highly invasive vinification as the result of unique terroir and know-how. Perversely, this the reason rosé production holds such fascination for me: in no other wine category is there such a vast, irreconcilable gulf between what the mass wine market wants and what can feasibly be produced via natural vinification methods.<br />
<div>
<br />
Natural rosé is one thing. The Provençal rosé currently soaring in popularity - salmon-coloured, dewdrop-clear, fruit-basket-flavored - is a different product entirely. In a surprisingly double-edged speech he gave at the AOC’s anniversary party in Saint-Julien, <a href="http://www.larvf.com/,vins-roses-gilles-masson-provence-exportations-couleur-sucres-residuels-centre-d-experimentation-et-de-recherche-du-vin-rose,10,4244774.asp">Gilles Masson</a>, director of the <a href="http://www.centredurose.fr/fr/actualites.html">Center of Research and Experimentation on Rosé Wine</a>, called the “Provençal rosé idéotype” - a wine that is “transparent, fruity, round” - “almost an invention.” He went further than his prepared slides, saying it was “a type of wine that never existed in history.” <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUT6JFkDLimln-SIUYFgpCXCFHOHA0oFnC2a6P6pF72BOiHK9N3wXjAmVmIZK7GvqNG7Se8O0lB3c-dNR4d9BXrOFO36HiI9a9mWI6ON3iPXlbUfiKuqsz0U-0GQJaftuJYK0l_udRQpn/s1600/gilles+masson+rose+presentation+25+years+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUT6JFkDLimln-SIUYFgpCXCFHOHA0oFnC2a6P6pF72BOiHK9N3wXjAmVmIZK7GvqNG7Se8O0lB3c-dNR4d9BXrOFO36HiI9a9mWI6ON3iPXlbUfiKuqsz0U-0GQJaftuJYK0l_udRQpn/s400/gilles+masson+rose+presentation+25+years+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>ROSE BEYOND THE PALE </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Masson presented this idea as miraculous and accompanied it with bullish sales figures, receiving applause from the gathered winegrowers, winemakers, and estate owners. Yet it wasn’t the only moment in Masson’s presentation when he described the present commercial situation of mass-market rosé so accurately as to effectively condemn it. </div>
<div>
<br />
Most striking was a slide showing how the average colour intensity of rosé has plummeted in the years between 2004 and 2017. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2r5OIbsKPj8_KR_opLgNqOaEFzTN-S7hZGhtIem3V0bh4o1HKU2VtMXyoBmei-f8A5l0VRVd8rabE_IKhp4eqsKc2hKHyGmRlXD7ADdegp15kkt_PYw3QFlcN5pE2KF4PKKLISMRHIgiL/s1600/rose+colour+chart+evolution+gilles+masson+centre+du+rose%25CC%2581.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1256" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2r5OIbsKPj8_KR_opLgNqOaEFzTN-S7hZGhtIem3V0bh4o1HKU2VtMXyoBmei-f8A5l0VRVd8rabE_IKhp4eqsKc2hKHyGmRlXD7ADdegp15kkt_PYw3QFlcN5pE2KF4PKKLISMRHIgiL/s400/rose+colour+chart+evolution+gilles+masson+centre+du+rose%25CC%2581.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Masson cited this as the result of “improvement” and a gain in “expertise” in vinification, echoing most of the other conventional winemakers and oenologists I met on the trip, many of whom insisted that the colour of their rosé derived from terroir and temperature control, rather than intense filtration and clarification. Whenever I insisted that the colour doesn't come from temperature control alone, they responded with deflections, my favourite being, ‘It comes from fermentation temperature. We harvest at night.’ </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is a laughable explanation on several levels. Firstly, in Provence in almost invariably constitutes an admission that the domaine is machine-harvesting, a practice utterly adverse to quality winemaking. Secondly, the definition of 'night' is rather loose here; all they mean is they are not harvesting in the midday heat, a practice that has been adopted in numerous regions by this point. Thirdly, the explanation elides the plethora of clarifiers and fining agents often used to attain the salmon-sunset colour of supermarket rosés: bentonite, casein, charcoal, and a host of <a href="https://www.laboratoire-obst.com/produits-oenologiques/clarification/collage-blanc-et-rose.html">other additives</a>. A cellar-hand at the cooperative Cellier de la Sainte-Baume confirmed as much during the trip, explaining that for fining they typically used isinglass (a fish gelatin), or less frequently, charcoal, known for stripping flavour as much as colour.<br />
<br />
Lower vinification temperatures will indeed produce less colour extraction, and refrigerating the must at various stages will indeed give greater clarity. But not to the extent that oenologists imply when speaking to the press. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5vcuuzV_4D4ydPB89tFZ0m6QNp8_MALNZtoJuQyIRhcJwN2cfwZivtZBmfkhzw0zwcKq2IBXlJ2hvuUY1pEJmELKLjko0qL6OOv7czDTcIR2aQ7Zef96UITHEsBbfpLIwJRjwNu14_Dp/s1600/rose+tasting+under+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5vcuuzV_4D4ydPB89tFZ0m6QNp8_MALNZtoJuQyIRhcJwN2cfwZivtZBmfkhzw0zwcKq2IBXlJ2hvuUY1pEJmELKLjko0qL6OOv7czDTcIR2aQ7Zef96UITHEsBbfpLIwJRjwNu14_Dp/s400/rose+tasting+under+storm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>A STORM BREWING</b></div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
Upon arrival in the region, we visited the pristine new winemaking facility of <a href="http://www.bastide-de-blacailloux.com/le-domaine/">Bastide de Blacailloux</a>, before repairing to the rooftop of another nearby winery recently acquired by that domaine's owner, the amiable insurance tycoon <a href="http://www.albingia.fr/actualites/bruno-chamoin-repond-au-medef/">Bruno Chamoin</a>. Storms threatened overhead throughout the tasting, without ever quite breaking; it seemed an apt metaphor for the future of the wine style we were tasting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Almost unanimously, the wines struck me as over-sulphured, malo-blocked, colour-corrected, filtered to death, and probably perfectly unobjectionable with a fistful of ice cubes on a beach. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are antecedents in the wine world for wine styles whose massive popularity gave rise to a cynical uniformity and subsequent critical abandonment: Beaujolais Nouveau, Lambrusco, Soave, etc. Due to their popularity with minimally-informed drinkers, these wine styles became radioactive to more-informed drinkers. The same phenomenon is occurring today with Prosecco. It seems primed to strike Provençal rosé any day now. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCryOWcgDmnB1bG6dGrrBaOo3bf9ZRQNKmgaIySNTbPqhOBBW5_dBz2NiBVGR8JV5d9RLh8YX8DS4jnhAtj1iAaPXTZpTnOXerJuBVsLWm59TceVodbJ_6JmZ670cPtoP8URldQ6gImiAA/s1600/domaine+du+deffends+rose+d%2527une+nuit+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="192" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCryOWcgDmnB1bG6dGrrBaOo3bf9ZRQNKmgaIySNTbPqhOBBW5_dBz2NiBVGR8JV5d9RLh8YX8DS4jnhAtj1iAaPXTZpTnOXerJuBVsLWm59TceVodbJ_6JmZ670cPtoP8URldQ6gImiAA/s400/domaine+du+deffends+rose+d%2527une+nuit+2017.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
I managed to find one potable rosé among the twenty-five - the "Rosé d'Une Nuit" from the organic <a href="http://www.deffends.com/">Domaine du Deffends</a>. It wasn't a natural wine by a long shot, but the fruit was bright, the finish soft and elegant, the overall profile admirably pure. Weeks later, back in Paris, I was amused and astonished to see the same wine being poured by-the-glass at 5ème arrondissement natural wine hub Café de la Nouvelle Mairie, where one of the owners had also appreciated the wine on its merits.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ltv5yjcFE8nozO43IARnrU0Ml72G24hC4ntaeBMa3jLxZL60Jwf1yRsIelWf8L5CNgQYL9YAhLNoUzk6P20VezlpLmrOt_Xe3iYM5Vl_eau9EtTPTfGVmT5aWJSvFVbMonTfLYYiyNHf/s1600/defeuillage+at+chateau+lafoux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ltv5yjcFE8nozO43IARnrU0Ml72G24hC4ntaeBMa3jLxZL60Jwf1yRsIelWf8L5CNgQYL9YAhLNoUzk6P20VezlpLmrOt_Xe3iYM5Vl_eau9EtTPTfGVmT5aWJSvFVbMonTfLYYiyNHf/s400/defeuillage+at+chateau+lafoux.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>ORGANICS VERSUS NATURAL</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Contrary to the greater region’s mediterranean reputation, the Côteaux Varois en Provence AOC enjoys a partly continental climate, thanks to its high average altitude (350m) and the massifs separating it from the Provençal coast. In morning in late May, I felt a pleasant chill in the air from time to time as our shuttle wound through the picturesque towns of Tavernes and Barjols. While high-altitude, the majority of the appellations vines are planted on flat and relatively deep clay-limestone soil; along with the ventilating effects of the mistral, this makes the AOC particularly amenable to organic viticulture. Almost all the domaines we visited on the press trip were certified organic; many were rather large (30ha or more). None produced natural wine. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvlB_PfnkUYUsV8P82JLZf0ChlvjLUdEpuROKedUcGt6aMlpjZnAEb86n7tKrjJS8YBG5fN_I52K5iF_-n_Y08bW_oN8Lv2szBP7Yre0ppy5z7ZOhklPUe1jEehK_lObJZMQ2nELuUu99/s1600/DSC05908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvlB_PfnkUYUsV8P82JLZf0ChlvjLUdEpuROKedUcGt6aMlpjZnAEb86n7tKrjJS8YBG5fN_I52K5iF_-n_Y08bW_oN8Lv2szBP7Yre0ppy5z7ZOhklPUe1jEehK_lObJZMQ2nELuUu99/s400/DSC05908.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At 12ha organic domaine <a href="http://chateau-la-calisse.fr/">Château La Calisse</a>, owner Patricia Ortelli distinguishes herself with ambitious prices, laudable hand-harvesting, and an outright hostility to natural winemaking. "I defend the AOCs of France," she declared fallaciously and without prompting on the morning we visited, "because there are others, notably natural wines, that have no character at all." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When another member of the press trip, the Master Sommelière Annie Crouzet, asked whether the domaine used native yeast, Ortelli replied with a certain doth-protest-too-much animus: "It doesn't mean anything. I say my wine is natural to me. No one can tell me otherwise since there are no rules to natural winemaking." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I piped in with a functional idiomatic definition - native yeast fermentation, minimal sulphur use, non-filtration - but Ortelli simply reiterated that there are no rules. It feels impolite to argue in such situations, since I wasn't paying for anything, merely freeloading on a PR performance aimed at others in the group, so I let the matter drop. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4ri-zzOjggVRLC8oPM1QFZcw_1vE2o741Dd3IVAXD7bbMV7xQWNK51cqizmqno0aNvtdgWIb2IxeXxiugAg__-LLoTBN0ItcDiA8KueGa1fu6aAG-bTB-pOb7-91vx5ca_qOGQsjauGJ/s1600/cellier+de+sainte+baume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4ri-zzOjggVRLC8oPM1QFZcw_1vE2o741Dd3IVAXD7bbMV7xQWNK51cqizmqno0aNvtdgWIb2IxeXxiugAg__-LLoTBN0ItcDiA8KueGa1fu6aAG-bTB-pOb7-91vx5ca_qOGQsjauGJ/s400/cellier+de+sainte+baume.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the cooperative the <a href="http://www.coteaux-varois.com/catalogue/f128_le_cellier_de_la_ste_baume.htm">Cellier de la Saint-Baume</a>, I learned that cooperatives do specific "organic days," when only organic grapes are processed, as opposed to normal days, when conventionally-farmed harvests are processed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfHacmhrLBtim9_sUZEBZVqPklLhmCoLm_o7brOUUtzUo6jtbnKvAE5gl9WQiUNOmqFDWhsyQy4ryhYUTV2bxEvGm2m60_55EjRQ2rdoPuPnOT9kxS6yziLIS4U9OAIzqDU0JqVCSN6s6/s1600/vinicius+range+chateau+lafoux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCfHacmhrLBtim9_sUZEBZVqPklLhmCoLm_o7brOUUtzUo6jtbnKvAE5gl9WQiUNOmqFDWhsyQy4ryhYUTV2bxEvGm2m60_55EjRQ2rdoPuPnOT9kxS6yziLIS4U9OAIzqDU0JqVCSN6s6/s400/vinicius+range+chateau+lafoux.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the 30ha organic domaine <a href="http://www.chateaulafoux.net/index.htm">Château Lafoux</a> practices hand-harvesting and five years ago began experimenting with biodynamic agriculture on certain parcels. The limited and very expensive "Vinicius" bottlings of white, rosé, and red are vinified with greater care and released later than the rest of the range, but even here, the domaine's oenologist Pierre Guerin dubiously insisted that malolactic fermentation simply "didn't happen" for the white or the rosé. (The <a href="https://www.winespectator.com/drvinny/show/id/41092">language of contemporary oenology</a> is structured to promote an understanding of malolactic fermentation as a stylistic choice, whereas in fact it is something that usually happens naturally unless one intervenes to prevent it, via some combination of sulphur addition, filtration, or enzyme addition.) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgKlS4WyrwKi02t2Cw0T2dvHiRCjMdeXZLVbn7B17H2o91rxVr9kkq_ZTV26A_8fiOUm1YQsWxmrQNTXbbY-pT2WaruHAQWrbp0aoNK7ZxCZO2I8hyphenhyphen6or4CJqTogX8FW7ZyJfnEgTT0C7/s1600/domaine+du+loou+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgKlS4WyrwKi02t2Cw0T2dvHiRCjMdeXZLVbn7B17H2o91rxVr9kkq_ZTV26A_8fiOUm1YQsWxmrQNTXbbY-pT2WaruHAQWrbp0aoNK7ZxCZO2I8hyphenhyphen6or4CJqTogX8FW7ZyJfnEgTT0C7/s400/domaine+du+loou+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The 60ha organic <a href="http://domaineduloou.com/en/">Domaine du Loou</a> is run by the founding president of the Côteaux Varois en Provence appellation, Daniel di Placido. I enjoyed conversing with him as much for his long perspective on the evolution of local winemaking as for his gravelly, cinematic voice, a kind of aural regional treasure. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHYE_dt8QprzLpOsYMWIVPbJaPMM10pZRzmvKym47BlqpzAxwi2FOV_LenHhYNP9EKxM2zRH7ORc-frwpQ2paajsX3Z0PjXTnVnMKEQ_JQRQQG5tZc1Mfg1ozHW6yXPEiGdShJG5cpCHR/s1600/domaine+du+loou+cellar+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHYE_dt8QprzLpOsYMWIVPbJaPMM10pZRzmvKym47BlqpzAxwi2FOV_LenHhYNP9EKxM2zRH7ORc-frwpQ2paajsX3Z0PjXTnVnMKEQ_JQRQQG5tZc1Mfg1ozHW6yXPEiGdShJG5cpCHR/s400/domaine+du+loou+cellar+coteaux+varois+en+provence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While here too everything was too sulphured, yeasted, and filtered for my tastes, the wines benefitted texturally from the domaine's use of cement vats, rather than the steel that has otherwise become ubiquitous in the region. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9bg0GRpxwq3gdgCpV5iNCFev_so5rDdwPhWnBy-1lNX1wUVnJCLzLUnsyZi4j7upabBUEF96IkGL5MTJEmhMyHY7Dn_gfrLl00mVczs8KcKQNDYe-e5Sd_WpIzC2YZHaDF_H7EcE8mRg/s1600/coteaux+varois+en+provence+appellation+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9bg0GRpxwq3gdgCpV5iNCFev_so5rDdwPhWnBy-1lNX1wUVnJCLzLUnsyZi4j7upabBUEF96IkGL5MTJEmhMyHY7Dn_gfrLl00mVczs8KcKQNDYe-e5Sd_WpIzC2YZHaDF_H7EcE8mRg/s400/coteaux+varois+en+provence+appellation+party.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Gilles Masson's speech was one of a sequence given to open the festivities at a celebration in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Côteaux de Varois en Provence AOC. From where I sat in the audience, I scanned the room for the one natural winemaker I knew from the appellation, Jean-Christophe Comor of <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2012/08/les_terres_promises_var_provence.html">Domaine Les Terres Promises</a>. To my relief I soon spotted him, leaning near the exit wearing lime-green pants.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4atypsepe2uR_U2nZoXWsrNLPs54Tzn-kwj-VDYVUhB1YGr8mpj-GQMCZHdgIoKTI9VgRy25A89d89pykCdNgtwnWCBX5ZbqYpvMqoz41Bg0Gf_hl2Bwu_n4PYvpoqABm2ZOS6Vb7eWcD/s1600/jean+christophe+comor+and+son+terres+promises.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="542" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4atypsepe2uR_U2nZoXWsrNLPs54Tzn-kwj-VDYVUhB1YGr8mpj-GQMCZHdgIoKTI9VgRy25A89d89pykCdNgtwnWCBX5ZbqYpvMqoz41Bg0Gf_hl2Bwu_n4PYvpoqABm2ZOS6Vb7eWcD/s400/jean+christophe+comor+and+son+terres+promises.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
His response, when I caught up with him near the shellfish concession kiosk and reminded him that I wrote about natural wine, was telling: "What are you doing <i>here</i>?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I was hoping to discover more people who work like you," I joked, and we laughed and shook our heads.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If Comor's unfiltered, low-sulphur Côteaux Varois wines are of uncommon quality in Paris, where I usually drink them, they're practically unique in the Var, where they're made. Instead the viticultural Var is fast becoming a realm of vanity domaines owned by successful businesspeople whose pragmatism seems to exclude any appreciation for the value of traditional modes of wine production. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I suppose things could change if and when the Provençal rosé ideotype - a false, confected, invented wine - goes the way of White Zin? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrmksOTYtuG7xQCu0xCcLAAmb9Yn9XMjIE5lMjoHkZZ1UjZhRGxBcUeKZM4pcQiCeB6CygiqnhQP7SmSl7aZWwGKVgUkVHsuptD4BdAG0bnOsDyzSWVISTGvGb9IE1LzH0Tkgo0lF0Yq4/s1600/coteaux+varois+aoc+25+anniversay+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="1280" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrmksOTYtuG7xQCu0xCcLAAmb9Yn9XMjIE5lMjoHkZZ1UjZhRGxBcUeKZM4pcQiCeB6CygiqnhQP7SmSl7aZWwGKVgUkVHsuptD4BdAG0bnOsDyzSWVISTGvGb9IE1LzH0Tkgo0lF0Yq4/s400/coteaux+varois+aoc+25+anniversay+cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>RELATED LINKS</b><br />
<br />
Last year I took a really enjoyable press trip to the <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com/2017/07/porquerolles-wineries.html">Île des Porquerolles</a> with the kind folks from Agence Claire de Lune. I discovered a really excellent rosé from Domaine de l'Îles.<br />
<br />
An article on the 25th anniversary of the Côteaux Varois en Provence AOC at <a href="http://www.terredevins.com/actualites/un-bouquet-de-projets-pour-les-25-ans-des-coteaux-varois-en-provence/">Terre des Vins</a>, whose author was present on the same press trip.<br />
<br />
I was amused to see that my friend Bert Celce once visited <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2006/08/loou_provence.html">Domaine du Loou</a> back in 2006. They weren't making natural wine then, either.<br />
<br />
An interesting 2007 article explaining certain properties of contemporary fining agents in <a href="https://winemakermag.com/26-a-clearer-understanding-of-fining-agents">Winemaker Mag</a>. </div>
</div>
</div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-64857319315967877812018-04-24T18:58:00.001+02:002018-04-25T01:02:58.397+02:00a divorce with la vieille<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA3aEI4rN0yCXR0I5qShK_V0sDLHE_qsB1dAxAWWKmzQE8vmKCdRyaVCNb9GzmU5mX506LAzzTwh1PFNKmEpCp1xtBKGDB98EjcvQ38JRYoOduo3DRoGJEakHn70h9IrtYJ_lPIq0f0OD/s1600/bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA3aEI4rN0yCXR0I5qShK_V0sDLHE_qsB1dAxAWWKmzQE8vmKCdRyaVCNb9GzmU5mX506LAzzTwh1PFNKmEpCp1xtBKGDB98EjcvQ38JRYoOduo3DRoGJEakHn70h9IrtYJ_lPIq0f0OD/s400/bench.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, that was quick. As of earlier this month, I've left the manager and wine director position I held for the past eight months at the 1èr arrondissement restaurant Chez La Vieille.<br />
<br />
In writing about the restaurant, before and after beginning to work there, I used to emphasise the involvement of American chef Daniel Rose, to differentiate <i>this</i> iteration of Chez La Vieille from the mediocre ones that preceded it at the historic Les Halles bistrot site. Alas, not even the involvement of Rose, who I've been tempted to consider a friend at times, was enough to save my job from his Parisian business partners. Many restaurants have investors who display zero familiarity with restaurant culture or the quotidian rhythms of a food service establishment, people whose actual involvement extends no further than dining as VIP clients from time to time and volunteering hilariously uninformed commentary on the cuisine and wine. Investors of this sort are no more than a benign nuisance when a more informed stakeholder is working on-site. At Chez La Vieille, I realised soon enough, the only informed stakeholder lives in New York.<br />
<br />
As it happened, the task Rose had hired me to perform at Chez La Vieille - to turn the restaurant into a fun, raucous natural wine destination - ran counter to the wishes of his Parisian partners, who, like many of their generation and socioeconomic bracket, remain mystified by natural wine and find informal service slightly unsettling. The end result is, I'm back on the job market. Chez La Vieille will chug along, just with less natural wine, and bereft of the talents of the ace chef de cuisine Oleg Olexin, who left shortly after I did (for different reasons). I am poorer than when I began, having made less money working maniac 90-hour weeks than I used to make from stray gigs and writing assignments. Am I richer for the experience of having managed a restaurant on this side of the Atlantic? It has certainly left me cagier about the prospect of ever opening one of my own. Perhaps that is a form of wisdom.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Twelve years ago, when I used to wait tables in Los Angeles, I came to learn that the best technique for ensuring a good evening's service was to treat the restaurant manager - my boss - like another table. I'd intermittently check-in to see if anything more could be done to make his or her evening more pleasant. It meant a bit of side-work here and there, more napkin-folding, the occasional random cleaning chore. But as long as the boss was happy, my fellow servers were happy, and so were the clients.<br />
<br />
In France, this dynamic is reversed. The manager - who, remember, is also waiting tables, there being no actual distinction in terms of service responsibilities in a small restaurant between management and server in France - must treat his or her own servers as if they were another tableful of guests. One must constantly check-in and see if there are ways to make the servers lives easier. Otherwise, they begin feeling aggrieved for the mere fact of having to work for a living. They begin feigning illnesses, or simply not showing up, or complaining to the ownership about how insensitive you are. Savvy employees in France have almost complete freedom in this regard, because they can't be fired without incurring great cost to the restaurant. (Moreover, while continuing nominally to work at a restaurant, French employees can also cause cataclysmic aggravation and service disruption merely by going on sick leave, or by doggedly attempting to prove that the hours are too long.)<br />
<br />
It took months for this cultural insight to sink in for me. In France, a manager's primary responsibility is to ensure that the staff stays happy, and only secondarily to ensure that clients are happy. In practice, this meant I spent a galling amount of time at Chez La Vieille covering for the servers' increasingly frequent cigarette breaks.* I pretty much couldn't say no. It was my job.<br />
<br />
Anyway. Now I get to look for a new one. In the meantime, I hope to get a bit more writing done.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* To be fair, Rose had a more disciplined team in place before he closed the much larger Restaurant Spring last July. That caused a staff exodus from which the restaurant group has yet to entirely recover, despite my best efforts. I <i>twice </i>found myself in the unenviable position of trying to train two new servers at once - on a team of just three, including me.</span>aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-87797153388171194362017-11-29T14:46:00.002+01:002017-11-30T02:30:30.093+01:00at home chez la vieille<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GyFSPeJUbtW-IcIR5GteXcVL3I9NzNWORBSyjQlUoCDM6vjV9DyzVW1wt_S_nVsuTcoH51mUpOktbYfCG5bEg0qdO-hbUhklVPrUAkurkvTKID0UIaM6Nb0kwTi6S_CSLIh5vOtVQLBr/s1600/chezlavieilleparisaaronayscough75001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1216" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GyFSPeJUbtW-IcIR5GteXcVL3I9NzNWORBSyjQlUoCDM6vjV9DyzVW1wt_S_nVsuTcoH51mUpOktbYfCG5bEg0qdO-hbUhklVPrUAkurkvTKID0UIaM6Nb0kwTi6S_CSLIh5vOtVQLBr/s400/chezlavieilleparisaaronayscough75001.jpg" width="368" /></a></div>
<br />
Early the other evening a client came into the restaurant and ordered a glass of Beaujolais primeur. There were few other clients at the bar at that hour and I decided to fill the air by delivering a short aria about <a href="https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/guy-breton/">Guy Breton</a>'s quixotic dedication to creating the greatest <i>vin de primeur</i> each year - his painstaking quest to perfect a wine type that almost nobody is willing to respect, let alone pay real money for. To create a perfect primeur is like solving a Rubix cube blind-folded in under 90 seconds, only less profitable.<br />
<br />
To my surprise, the client was actually listening, and asked follow-up questions. When I mentioned that I wrote a wine blog, and its name, he was astonished, because he had been reading it for the last seven years. Before he left, he quite reasonably suggested I write something to inform readers what it is I am doing these days.<br />
<br />
So here we are. Since end-August I have been managing a restaurant in the 1st arrondissement of Paris called <a href="http://www.chezlavieille.fr/en/">Chez La Vieille</a>. It's owned by the American chef Daniel Rose, who I first met years ago, back when my friend Josh Adler of Paris Wine Company worked for him at Restaurant Spring. The short version of how I returned to the hospitality industry is I found myself at loose ends last summer, having utterly failed to make sufficient money writing about food and wine for the previous year. When in mid-summer Daniel sent a message asking if I knew anyone who'd be a good fit to manage Chez La Vieille, I volunteered. Of course, I knew it would mean I'd have to cease penning fanged critiques of other Paris restaurants. That came as a relief at this point. I have spent so long explaining what goes wrong with restaurants and wine lists. Now my job is to demonstrate what can go right, or, more precisely, to draw clients' attention to the few aspects that <i>do</i> go right, to distract them from the train-wrecks, wild-fires, and five-car pile-ups that are part of the nightly routine at even the most successful restaurants.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmUUkRvF0kTOUJ-fbYoSzkGCn8NaDNOAieVuMXFyw0dgPUMEGPiUqwAwn6vCCl00d58zvhzosXmffb13oFF5yGrrsT3mEa3_tJzJfdafYHfArD8y32mONWYdhyphenhyphenfZyiUMP1-0PdzrhbG_8/s1600/max+breton+chez+la+vieille.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmUUkRvF0kTOUJ-fbYoSzkGCn8NaDNOAieVuMXFyw0dgPUMEGPiUqwAwn6vCCl00d58zvhzosXmffb13oFF5yGrrsT3mEa3_tJzJfdafYHfArD8y32mONWYdhyphenhyphenfZyiUMP1-0PdzrhbG_8/s400/max+breton+chez+la+vieille.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max Breton at the Beaujolais Nouveau soirée we threw at the restaurant earlier this month.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm still at work on my book about the wines of Beaujolais - the pitch just got sent to publishers, as far as I know. And I'll still continue this blog in some form or other. I'll write less about restaurants in Paris, and more about restaurants outside of Paris, and, of course, about winemakers. Sooner or later I'll probably debut a spiffier, more concise version of this blog. I'm awaiting the time to do that, and the money to pay a web designer.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I invite everyone to come say hi at Chez La Vieille. I'm there almost every waking second between Tuesday and Saturday. The restaurant comprises a no-reservation wine bar space downstairs, where the full menu is served, and a slightly over-designed upstairs dining room which tends to book up about a day in advance. Unless you have trouble sitting on bar-stools, the best way to experience Chez La Vieille is to have a full meal at the wine bar. There's rarely a wait for seats, and the ambience is airier and more spontaneous than upstairs.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eLbwfk1wUMf-1fV5jLPSuNANxZQcjynAOzvOP_pU9BpnIreWe_q5kTYux4Fqej6oXr_PmJKB8bpoyaGMUNN2G_AfBUp6UO1VlRuJnOebBhvlHihofIPT5FmLrOCB9RRhxlPsoQ4sGK-Z/s1600/thomas+deck+and+keke+descombes+chez+la+vieille.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eLbwfk1wUMf-1fV5jLPSuNANxZQcjynAOzvOP_pU9BpnIreWe_q5kTYux4Fqej6oXr_PmJKB8bpoyaGMUNN2G_AfBUp6UO1VlRuJnOebBhvlHihofIPT5FmLrOCB9RRhxlPsoQ4sGK-Z/s400/thomas+deck+and+keke+descombes+chez+la+vieille.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Deck, of Deck & Donohue beers, and Beaujolais winemaker Kéké Descombes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have overstuffed the wine list with geeky small-production unfiltered French natural wines, and chef de cuisine Oleg Olexin's poker-faced French cooking is pure class. (I have only worked with him three months, and already I think I could write a book about Oleg, whose sense of humour attains the cosmic-nihilistic register of Franz Kafka.) Daniel Rose tornadoes through about once a month, being otherwise occupied with conquering New York at <a href="https://www.lecoucou.com/">Le Coucou</a>. It's been nothing but a pleasure working for him so far - we share a vision of Chez La Vieille as being a nightly party, where the traditionalist avant-garde of French winemaking meets joyously backwards-looking heritage cuisine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mb68V5TjdAUK-p91TcZ56MPjLi9AhcgTmcJllPdWjeJrW4Esr4uXsdb1qcfFwfVM-jtuKJTRtm9i9Zhl7xalvxvtcF2AzHscQlVU86gKtd3lI8lU91FfxRKVp8vutbcFU3GAwgZqri5_/s1600/aaron+ayscough+writing+on+window+chez+la+vieille.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1126" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mb68V5TjdAUK-p91TcZ56MPjLi9AhcgTmcJllPdWjeJrW4Esr4uXsdb1qcfFwfVM-jtuKJTRtm9i9Zhl7xalvxvtcF2AzHscQlVU86gKtd3lI8lU91FfxRKVp8vutbcFU3GAwgZqri5_/s400/aaron+ayscough+writing+on+window+chez+la+vieille.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
To be fair, before the advent of herbicides in the early 70's and the generalisation of commercial yeasts, filtration, and other winemaking shortcuts throughout the 1980's, most quality French wine was as natural as the wines we serve at Chez La Vieille. And sometime back in mid-century, before the Green Revolution, before the fragmentation of the national food consciousness, before Paris began to resemble London in the 2000's, most Parisian bistrots served the sort of homey, unshowy, pre-industrial recipes we serve at Chez La Vieille. But today - at the close of 2017 - what we do is a bit unusual.<br />
<br />
I find it inspiring enough, anyway. I hope you will too!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYoZtaq6C5nb0k3KjOc3i2nDsIrijT0WxMUDHYqTvw-TN5mQ58YvrrdLl3pLq26F_rLVJrOFZEXbz4nSYWDGMmDc6w6DKwLqZH3Vw_-ByPC6TsiM9kmhixJS5LTscYCPSxGBGBmCv1yeG/s1600/chez+la+vieille+exterior+75001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYoZtaq6C5nb0k3KjOc3i2nDsIrijT0WxMUDHYqTvw-TN5mQ58YvrrdLl3pLq26F_rLVJrOFZEXbz4nSYWDGMmDc6w6DKwLqZH3Vw_-ByPC6TsiM9kmhixJS5LTscYCPSxGBGBmCv1yeG/s400/chez+la+vieille+exterior+75001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Related Links<br />
<br />
Bert Celce wrote a <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2017/11/beaujolais_nouveau2017_paris.html">nice piece</a> about the Beaujolais Nouveau soirée we threw at Chez La Vieille<br />
<br />
A piece I wrote about <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/01/chez-la-vieille-75001-daniel-rose.html">Chez La Vieille</a> early this past year, before I ever suspected I'd begin working there. Not everything I wrote still applies, a lot has changed, I hope.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-18847075953847119542017-08-17T22:03:00.000+02:002017-08-17T22:04:52.376+02:00n.d.p. in marseille: les buvards, 13002<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W53ub0YuCfBSn1QqbZ7hGGYdwBDJjoLW2qk6QkzaIqShz6K_e3f9u92jOI4lybKaVEFtmNe49Hqvm0KrDn5Q5_fyLv6O7oOIs7cUeJD0yU5f0-3D-YiAcYLfwAK2xQFDZyjATlOsuBMb/s1600/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="972" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W53ub0YuCfBSn1QqbZ7hGGYdwBDJjoLW2qk6QkzaIqShz6K_e3f9u92jOI4lybKaVEFtmNe49Hqvm0KrDn5Q5_fyLv6O7oOIs7cUeJD0yU5f0-3D-YiAcYLfwAK2xQFDZyjATlOsuBMb/s400/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For a number of reasons, only one of which was my lack of money, the Native Companion and I wound up in Marseille for a micro-vacation earlier this month.<br />
<br />
My ulterior motive for visiting Marseille was to visit a few winemakers in <a href="http://www.vinsdebandol.com/en/">Bandol</a>, a 40 minute drive east. Her ulterior motive for visiting Marseille was it would permit her to bring her small dog. We spent one day in Bandol visiting winemakers in the company of a small dog. The rest of the time was spent failing to turn up good restaurants in sweltering late-summer Marseille.*<br />
<br />
The one outstanding exception was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/les.buvards/">Les Buvards</a>, a ramshackle natural <i>cave-à-manger</i> two blocks north of Le Vieux Port. When I asked how long they've been open, raven-haired co-proprietor Laetitia Pantalacci replied, "It'll be a decade come Beaujolais Nouveau," which is about the best answer I could hope to receive. As we sat down on one of the street-facing tables, the NC remarked that she'd never heard anyone mark time in terms of Beaujolais Nouveau before. I assured her it wasn't that unusual, for a pioneering natural wine establishment.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47iu6Dk6d59PEqUl3igxD8coki2bWqfJDVJIacAxXruBm9WbvrFZmYi1XiX4kbop47xgGL43-G0bsUntVSZBpsTPRvoHW1HNP3jxYcq9TkNJHG28g031W9LmPOa5YIcVI-P2VSe1oxTqC/s1600/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47iu6Dk6d59PEqUl3igxD8coki2bWqfJDVJIacAxXruBm9WbvrFZmYi1XiX4kbop47xgGL43-G0bsUntVSZBpsTPRvoHW1HNP3jxYcq9TkNJHG28g031W9LmPOa5YIcVI-P2VSe1oxTqC/s400/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Owned and operated by Pantallaci and her partner Fred Coachon, Les Buvards comprises part of a tight-knit circuit of influential caves-à-manger - including <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2010/10/nighthawks-at-diner-newly-renovated.html">Le Verre Volé</a> in Paris, <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/08/ndp-in-champagne-aux-crieurs-du-vin.html">Aux Crieurs de Vin</a> in Troyes, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Larsouille-394985287246395/">L'Arsouille</a> in Rennes, and <a href="http://www.la-part-des-anges-nice.fr/">La Part des Anges</a> in Nice, to name the more prominent - who were instrumental in popularizing natural wine in France throughout the 2000's. Long and narrow, Les Buvards consists of a kitchen opening onto a tiny bar in the restaurant's rear, a middle dining room lined with wine shelving, and a quasi-terrace section opening onto a quiet stretch of Grand Rue.<br />
<br />
The walls of the quasi-terrace are stacked historical empties from <a href="http://www.vinsnaturels.fr/003_viticulteurs/Rh%C3%B4ne-Domaine-du-Mazel-G%C3%A9rald--et-Jocelyne-Oustric-87.html">Domaine du Mazel</a>, <a href="http://www.marcel-lapierre.com/">Marcel Lapierre</a>, <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/overnoy/">Pierre Overnoy</a>, <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2011/08/chateau_sainte_anne_bandol.html">Château Sainte Anne</a>, and so on - a visual history of the French natural wine movement.<br />
<br />
The selection of full, available-for-purchase bottles at Les Buvards is slimmer than many of its aforementioned peers, though I may have simply arrived during a seasonal diminution of stock. I didn't mind at all, so happy was I to find a good wine selection in Marseille, which otherwise remains a land of pastis and cheap beer. Moreover, Les Buvards offers the occasional modest back vintage, like a 2013 Bandol blanc from Château Sainte Anne.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3eVc5btXo66kLtqk3w3K6IYZf7It8NVje0EO3pvQ_FM3QJhTNQqsF5BS6L6xYLcEQTAnERwN7ycQHhwQwHawybQfeG8kAZTU2fDvNWaLqTbIXv-zx-69japrHfau1TyCakPlEMVke4IW/s1600/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+chateau+sainte+anne+bandol+blanc+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3eVc5btXo66kLtqk3w3K6IYZf7It8NVje0EO3pvQ_FM3QJhTNQqsF5BS6L6xYLcEQTAnERwN7ycQHhwQwHawybQfeG8kAZTU2fDvNWaLqTbIXv-zx-69japrHfau1TyCakPlEMVke4IW/s400/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+chateau+sainte+anne+bandol+blanc+2013.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It proved to be in glorious, saline form, its tension and finesse giving the lie to the sad majority of winemakers who insist one must block malolactic to make refreshing whites in Provence. (I wish I'd brought bottles back to Paris. The day following our meal at Les Buvards we tasted a range of vintages with the Dutheuil family at Château Sainte Anne, and this 2013 still sticks in mind as a highlight.) Château Sainte Anne's whites and rosés all undergo malo, and are a zillion times more satisfying for it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZ6RGNTOj_QluS93jXFgYmLRlpUhHhbJEJ1rmEsMoTMHjvBzZFGuNKBOOqv0f6lvEXZDiyIzYd7CgylURj2VQi3RbgqJ03rc9JBW0lRChoNdFdHyTP-1JhOV6HAurfOsH2imLqj7xWaw9/s1600/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZ6RGNTOj_QluS93jXFgYmLRlpUhHhbJEJ1rmEsMoTMHjvBzZFGuNKBOOqv0f6lvEXZDiyIzYd7CgylURj2VQi3RbgqJ03rc9JBW0lRChoNdFdHyTP-1JhOV6HAurfOsH2imLqj7xWaw9/s400/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+menu.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
The Native Companion, as one might guess from her epithet, is French, and accordingly finds burrata more novel than I do. Her craving paid off at Les Buvards, however. It was among the freshest and most flavoursome I've tasted in France.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyBd9wWQyUKEy5_WvaoiVlG-WgQgUtFqa3k8G9hOMlr0Iq3bsc6Y1ZdzaVHxddbdLi2N5ZwtgtrDxZij33dlXxIYvTM-QexCHNves9v2EVf7aubw6w5_x18tIsElzr1Lhq-UuzuYD1ott/s1600/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+burrata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyBd9wWQyUKEy5_WvaoiVlG-WgQgUtFqa3k8G9hOMlr0Iq3bsc6Y1ZdzaVHxddbdLi2N5ZwtgtrDxZij33dlXxIYvTM-QexCHNves9v2EVf7aubw6w5_x18tIsElzr1Lhq-UuzuYD1ott/s400/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+burrata.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Freshness, simplicity, and quality of product typified the entire meal, from a light minestrone bedecked in pesto, to a seared aged steak whose Japanese seasoning was so nuanced as to transcend its cliché.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8b54e2sOHVkM7HiY46ais0ejTf5lq8uHxJn57uEI5ErNf3a00kisWPd0Jd0Hwq-ZKyEFSYp13QDGQ0WGJ7WuE2QPVwvbDtk5YWh094ZnazLBrM6WjkNbkUNShwdtzmKFrXPK342Sz6ZS/s1600/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+minestrone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8b54e2sOHVkM7HiY46ais0ejTf5lq8uHxJn57uEI5ErNf3a00kisWPd0Jd0Hwq-ZKyEFSYp13QDGQ0WGJ7WuE2QPVwvbDtk5YWh094ZnazLBrM6WjkNbkUNShwdtzmKFrXPK342Sz6ZS/s400/watermarked_es+Buvards+Marseille+minestrone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33s_q7klEdsqftR3KYShzuOUS3BXm4QXq2TMy5V-Hr6fDipm7eqwyb_oPM6j1SR-bIxjv9ytPzRY7iWzEVnNsumS74KVmk-SB-GN7KsLtY_KBY67_bYkiegoklveEP6zCohNJUTlRy_BK/s1600/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+beef+tataki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1157" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33s_q7klEdsqftR3KYShzuOUS3BXm4QXq2TMy5V-Hr6fDipm7eqwyb_oPM6j1SR-bIxjv9ytPzRY7iWzEVnNsumS74KVmk-SB-GN7KsLtY_KBY67_bYkiegoklveEP6zCohNJUTlRy_BK/s400/watermarked_les+Buvards+Marseille+beef+tataki.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Restaurants can to some extent be judged by their clientele, and Les Buvards, in the dog days of August, drew a tasteful and serene mélange of locals and informed visitors, who all chatted amiably across tables. The bar serves until the impressive hour of 1AM, which, in addition to making most Paris natural wine bars look like curfewed pre-teens, renders a meal at Les Buvards particularly leisurely and pressure-free. On a similarly slow summer evening at comparable restaurants in Paris, one would visibly perceive, like a gasoline vapor in the air, the kitchen's desire to close, the staff's keening ache to refuse new tables. I suppose that is why people go south. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* I've spent years enjoying Alec Lobrano's many articles on the dining scene in Marseille, only to discover, upon visiting Marseille, that the majority of restaurants he has endorsed in the Guardian, Saveur, etc. have closed. Not just for summer - for good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmkmIpN9uXqnjzpx_jXYGdTQLItne34lOjzlljR3-Fb2wzgOtrl0s72bRKEGaawBCrYahKhYpOdhyphenhyphenPgNz5q0R8P9JKivkuLYNs0CzOhxoa-XXWBeckR-lkFxtrTKDYOCxT6eeu_oJLK0l/s1600/watermarked_Les+Buvards+Marseille+menu+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmkmIpN9uXqnjzpx_jXYGdTQLItne34lOjzlljR3-Fb2wzgOtrl0s72bRKEGaawBCrYahKhYpOdhyphenhyphenPgNz5q0R8P9JKivkuLYNs0CzOhxoa-XXWBeckR-lkFxtrTKDYOCxT6eeu_oJLK0l/s400/watermarked_Les+Buvards+Marseille+menu+writing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/les.buvards/">Les Buvards</a><br />
34, Grand Rue<br />
<div>
13002 MARSEILLE<br />
Tel : 04 91 90 69 98<br />
<br />
<b>Related Links</b><br />
<br />
A 2010 <a href="http://sortir.telerama.fr/paris/lieux/restos/les-buvards,1158.php">Télérama</a> piece on Les Buvards, noteworthy for extraordinarily bad photography.<br />
<br />
A 2011 <a href="http://www.gillespudlowski.com/34947/restaurants/marseille-frederic-et-sa-cave">Gilles Pudlowski</a> piece on Les Buvards, noteworthy for not containing the phrase "natural wine."<br />
<br />
A 2011 piece on Les Buvards at <a href="http://love-spots.com/restaurants-marseille/1993-les-buvards.html">Love Spots</a>, which despite the name is a blog about <i>things to do in Marseille</i>, not brothels, although presumably those also exist in Marseille.<br />
<br />
A justifiably adoring 2015 piece on Les Buvards at <a href="http://www.sofoodsogood.com/2015/09/04/les-buvards-ladresse-nature/">So Food So Good</a>.<br />
<br />
Bert Celce's excellent 2011 report of a visit to Château Sainte Anne at <a href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/2011/08/chateau_sainte_anne_bandol.html">Wine Terroirs</a>. </div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-32818670723256900742017-08-09T14:29:00.000+02:002017-08-09T14:29:14.099+02:00n.d.p. in beaujolais: sebastien congretel, régnié-durette<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcU2DVKBoc1DupnJ9Rn7p4p26eb5hI6o4aRimAlhMmzwkKEHy4m39y0iC8fFSoMZGS-5ot8C5-jwAx0bLTzgaQ2_4QCxdLLdvYlOqKUBRgaU0yhPS2XZzaA19aaUno3rIEQElNL7ramKY/s1600/1708+Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1280" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcU2DVKBoc1DupnJ9Rn7p4p26eb5hI6o4aRimAlhMmzwkKEHy4m39y0iC8fFSoMZGS-5ot8C5-jwAx0bLTzgaQ2_4QCxdLLdvYlOqKUBRgaU0yhPS2XZzaA19aaUno3rIEQElNL7ramKY/s400/1708+Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The Beaujolais is barren for good restaurants, and the village of <a href="https://www.regniedurette.com/">Régnié-Durette</a> is no exception. Any business in Régnié-Durette has the added disadvantage of being secluded: the village proper, unlike nearby towns of Cercié and Villié-Morgon, is set back from the departmental roads. To explore Régnié-Durette usually means going out of one's way.<br />
<br />
On drive from his newly restored home in the village to the cuvage he borrows from his father-in-law in Lantignié, I ask newly-installed vigneron Sebastien Congretel how the local Régnié restaurant is. He laughs. "They serve food," he says, in the manner of one awarding the highest possible praise.<br />
<br />
Clean-cut, bespectacled, lightly jock-ish, Congretel wouldn't be picked out of a line-up as a vigneron. He formerly lived in the 11ème arrondissement of Paris, and had begun a career working on oil rigs before deciding, in 2015, to become a vigneron in the Beaujolais, where his wife Charlotte's family maintain a handsome estate in Lantignié. Her father lent him the use of a cuvage and equipment, and he was able to acquired parcels in Morgon and Régnié. In another stroke of luck, he fell in with two more senior Beaujolais immigrants, the brothers <a href="http://www.julien-sunier.com/">Julien</a> and <a href="https://polanerselections.com/producer/antoine-sunier">Antoine Sunier</a>, who make formidable natural wine in Avenas and Régnié, respectively. This year sees the release of what Congretel considers his proper debut vintage - and the Morgon, in particular, implies he's a very quick study.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ze3eIjNrWEBqj6xq_WC199K7mXBEQOFdwW6OPGMNqvyqHjzzUxZiyRr_x0y52qHH3JsB2ODUla-gSpd3BygtkpXTb_Y8NpFsq4dvGJ_53osCtK5sn4rqnq9uD47rJvgNrdeyKhGoZt4y/s1600/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+labeling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ze3eIjNrWEBqj6xq_WC199K7mXBEQOFdwW6OPGMNqvyqHjzzUxZiyRr_x0y52qHH3JsB2ODUla-gSpd3BygtkpXTb_Y8NpFsq4dvGJ_53osCtK5sn4rqnq9uD47rJvgNrdeyKhGoZt4y/s400/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+labeling.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
The fruit derives from a 75-are parcel under organic conversion in Saint-Joseph, adjacent to the old vines of Villié-Morgon grand-master <a href="https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/guy-breton/">Guy Breton</a>. Fermentation was at ambient temperature, on natural yeasts, for twelve days in cement tank. The wine was aged in old oak barrel and bottled without filtration. Congretel wisely decided against degassing, which seem to have helped the wine avoid the glycerolic character that marked some strict-carbo fermented wines in 2016.<br />
<br />
The result is ferrous, racy, raspberry-toned and pale - everything I tend to seek for in altitudinous Morgon.<br />
<br />
"Until the last three days of fermentation, the colour was even lighter than that, in fact," Congretel recounts. "[My father-in-law told me if you want to snag a bit of colour, do one or two pump-overs or pigeages. So I did." <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQsdxE1qUo-hkgCNkrmrwvsK3Md3WjY8iE6gj1BCiYitQUlWzZcmzuzMYJ0mmzsvviHUdqMlv6d6UzQntHE1O8sgnEQ-zktKYy5JFV_WHGnvlu3gPd7tIQJoOhJ7OTkog19y0q_ZG1U8i/s1600/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+tanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQsdxE1qUo-hkgCNkrmrwvsK3Md3WjY8iE6gj1BCiYitQUlWzZcmzuzMYJ0mmzsvviHUdqMlv6d6UzQntHE1O8sgnEQ-zktKYy5JFV_WHGnvlu3gPd7tIQJoOhJ7OTkog19y0q_ZG1U8i/s400/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+tanks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Congretel gives credit also to Julien Sunier, citing him as his "Master Yoda." Indeed, the Morgon is, stylistically, a dead-ringer for Sunier's massively-improved 2016 wines. "How he handles he tanks, what he does, his method of thinking - all that really inspired me," Congretel affirms.<br />
<br />
Congretel is in the habit of offering tastes of his Régnié after his Morgon, because he is aware there is more long-term commercial opportunity in valorizing his work in Régnié. (Any newcomer to Morgon is necessarily competing with the work of legends like <a href="https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/jean-foillard/">Jean Foillard</a>, <a href="http://saviosoaresselections.com/domaine-22/">Jean-Claude Chanudet</a>, <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes</a>, <a href="http://www.marcel-lapierre.com/">Marcel Lapierre</a>, Guy Breton, <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jean-paul-thevenet-morgon-beaujolais.html">Jean-Paul Thévenet</a>, etc.) But he admits the wine is still in a transitional stage.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1tZEEpo6qEdtR7r5tRZS7TRDCNEV5G1fC1fkYXySX3zib3aYTNj3M-18Qb33DwVHLrPtbvVdqqqsriMAQVfqr8We74ZwSYPvURpcjng7JbfkmKcxXTNnpporAyctnkJRLvPLWFRC60E8/s1600/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+barrels+and+foudres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX1tZEEpo6qEdtR7r5tRZS7TRDCNEV5G1fC1fkYXySX3zib3aYTNj3M-18Qb33DwVHLrPtbvVdqqqsriMAQVfqr8We74ZwSYPvURpcjng7JbfkmKcxXTNnpporAyctnkJRLvPLWFRC60E8/s320/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+barrels+and+foudres.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The wine was vinified precisely the way the Morgon was, but wound up with much lower CO2. Aging was in a mix of barrel and foudre. The wine, not bad by any measure, lacks the swing of the Morgon. Its fruit is more diffuse, tending red-licorice. It derives from the sandier, Cercié end of Régnié, in the lieux-dit of <i>Les Bulliats </i>and <i>Les Perras</i>.<br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-2a6c0072-c6b4-3312-59ea-3d314611dba1"></span><br />
"Does it come from the soil, from that fact that it’s flatter, the parcel?" he muses. "It could come with time, from reworking the vines in the old ways, to search for a bit of depth."<br />
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaVZ-r7HS3mKIB_aA_d5FYpJh-wcpyRUWACZE_CF8XDHdBoB3TGhG728ePk4HQI6URMux8wOaCTBZ_NgH6qdxiSMV_NnKNznKXSPTsbltnpICwZBAm0fljjgTwJkQaOjqU5vNX9xdr7TJ/s1600/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+bottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaVZ-r7HS3mKIB_aA_d5FYpJh-wcpyRUWACZE_CF8XDHdBoB3TGhG728ePk4HQI6URMux8wOaCTBZ_NgH6qdxiSMV_NnKNznKXSPTsbltnpICwZBAm0fljjgTwJkQaOjqU5vNX9xdr7TJ/s400/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+bottles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The otherwise radiant promise of Congretel's first wines is somewhat undercut by their whimsical labels. The flaw lies not in their design, which remains relatively sober and informative, but in the excess of overconceived names and titles they bear. The Morgon is entitled "Vin de Zelebrité," while the Régnié is "Vin de Cha-Cha." Each also bears a logo of spectacles and the phrase "L'Epicurieux," which, I learned upon questioning, is the name of Congretel's domaine. Here is Congretel's explanation of the "Vin de Zelebrité": </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
"When I lived in the 11ème, I was always partying there with friends. My nickname was 'the Zebra.' The Zebra is someone who amuses himself and goes a bit crazy. Then there’s the side of 'zeal.' Then there’s the side of 'celebrity.'"*<br />
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoQ5FKiuzuezMdulfOdsLQr5zXpRz567NSX8bbDvm86SnsD4mmjK7oL_Ml2WuMsku308ao6jI6RqWo258fnKwecDHGtG8tSEao0jNS3jsMH9HR1IgyBguYV7j4sZXF2xF5MCoEOdFoR8Z/s1600/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+barrels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoQ5FKiuzuezMdulfOdsLQr5zXpRz567NSX8bbDvm86SnsD4mmjK7oL_Ml2WuMsku308ao6jI6RqWo258fnKwecDHGtG8tSEao0jNS3jsMH9HR1IgyBguYV7j4sZXF2xF5MCoEOdFoR8Z/s400/Sebastien+Congretel+Beaujolais+regnie+morgon+barrels.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Congretel's introduction to the life of a vigneron hasn't been entirely without more practical hurdles. The cuvage his father lent needed some significant refurbishment, including leveling the floor and replacing the doors. He's replanting a significant chunk of his Morgon parcel, having concluded the roots are simply too close to the soil, thanks to its previous regime of chemical agriculture. In 2017 he's expanded his holdings in Régnié, and plans to take on another small parcel adjacent to his Morgon soon, though that, too, will have to be replanted.<br />
<br />
"If I stopped my old work and went to the vines, it wasn’t to <i>not</i> work," he says. "It was really to work and do good things."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM10DEj0n52m6MoHSQ1R4MlAQPJsC3GV_VPQOlrhlyB87Dx0eSFbf28q8IatrJlMmYFtWtDIOoVMtoUGQ65MWuYmxm8ES0bk3vQlURFWxKhrEy5G5j4iVgIGBwmEvWKS9Fg2Rbn0Sb-J_5/s1600/lantignie%25CC%2581+vines+gilles+perroud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM10DEj0n52m6MoHSQ1R4MlAQPJsC3GV_VPQOlrhlyB87Dx0eSFbf28q8IatrJlMmYFtWtDIOoVMtoUGQ65MWuYmxm8ES0bk3vQlURFWxKhrEy5G5j4iVgIGBwmEvWKS9Fg2Rbn0Sb-J_5/s400/lantignie%25CC%2581+vines+gilles+perroud.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lantignié vines recently restructured to wide spacing by Congretel's father-in-law, Gilles Perroud. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* Two rules of thumb regarding puns on wine labels: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">1. No more than one pun per label. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">2. If the pun requires a lengthy explanation, it is not a good pun. </span><br />
<br />
Sebastien Congretel</div>
<div>
178 rue du Bourg</div>
<div>
69430 REGNIE-DURETTE<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
Beaujolais 2017: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/03/gilles-paris-chiroubles-beaujolais.html">Gilles Paris, Chiroubles</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais 2016:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/02/chateau-des-rontets-gazeau-montrasi.html">Château des Rontets, Fuissé</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Nicolas Dubost, Saint-Germain-sur-l'Arbresle</a><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/12/romain-des-grottes-beaujolais-saint.html">Romain des Grottes, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/yann-bertrand-beaujolais-nouveau-ptit.html">Yann Bertrand's First Primeur</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/beaujolais-harvests-2016.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2016</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/christophe-pacalet-beaujolais.html">Christophe Pacalet, Cercié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/sylvere-trichard-selene-beaujolais.html#more">Sylvère Trichard & Elodie Bouvard (Séléné), Blacé</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/09/jerome-balmet-beaujolais.html">Jérome Balmet, Vaux-en-Beaujolais</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/lauberge-du-moulin-saint-didier-sur.html">L'Auberge du Moulin, Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/07/jean-francois-promonet-beaujolais-leynes.html">Jean-François Promonet, Leynes</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/06/herve-ravera-marchampt-beaujolais.html">Hervé Ravera, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/justin-dutraive-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Justin Dutraive, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/julien-merle-beaujolais-legny-nathalie.html">Julien Merle & Nathalie Banes, Legny</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/la-fete-des-conscrits-villie-morgon.html">La Fête des Conscrits, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Domaine Leonis (Raphael Champier & Christelle Lucca), Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais, Autumn 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">Xavier Benier, Saint-Julien</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/domaine-chasselay-beaujolais-chatillon.html">Jean-Gilles Chasselay, Châtillon d'Azergues</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/marcel-joubert-beaujolais-brouilly.html">Marcel Joubert, Quincié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/02/nicolas-chemarin-beaujolais-marchampt.html">Nicolas Chemarin, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/anthony-thevenet-villie-morgon.html">Anthony Thévenet, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/romain-zordan-fleurie.html">Romain Zordan, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/yann-bertrand-les-bertrands-fleurie.html">Yann Bertrand, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/thillardon-chenas-paul-henri-beaujolais.html">Domaine Thillardon, Chénas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/sylvain-chanudet-fleurie-domaine-de.html">Sylvain Chanudet, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/patrick-jo-cotton-brouilly-beaujolais.html">Patrick "Jo" Cotton, Saint-Lager</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/pierre-cotton-cote-de-brouilly.html">Pierre Cotton, Odenas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/auberge-du-col-du-truges-villie-morgon.html">L'Auberge du Col du Truges, Le Truges</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/julie-balagny-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Julie Balagny, Moulin-à-Vent</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/la-cuvee-des-copines-beaujolais-2015.html">La Cuvée des Copines 2015</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/beaujolais-harvests-2015.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2015</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais Bike Trip, Summer 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes, Vermont</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jean-paul-thevenet-morgon-beaujolais.html">Jean-Paul Thévenet, Pizay</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jules-metras-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Jules Métras, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/remi-dufaitre-beaujolais-saint-etienne.html">Rémi et Laurence Dufaitre, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/jean-claude-lapalu-saint-etienne-la.html">Jean-Claude Lapalu, Saint-Etienne-La-Varenne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/ndp-in-beaujolais-benoit-camus-ville.html">Benoit Camus, Ville-sur-Jarnioux</a></div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-41492745126861960562017-07-12T12:37:00.000+02:002017-08-09T17:16:46.567+02:00a farewell to meat: super, 75011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHjpoRJk9ojinSBm4CW9gm16q-kcP6GwiRUZKmflIqr376Sfxhm997U_HpVIFbRe5c0mc9um9r_lvam8vTnI_LnMvosgnrHzkX__uwg__QxMEFVp88mjfQln1MiOUHjAhqD_4FpM4_cq9/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+aux+deux+amis+wine+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHjpoRJk9ojinSBm4CW9gm16q-kcP6GwiRUZKmflIqr376Sfxhm997U_HpVIFbRe5c0mc9um9r_lvam8vTnI_LnMvosgnrHzkX__uwg__QxMEFVp88mjfQln1MiOUHjAhqD_4FpM4_cq9/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+aux+deux+amis+wine+bar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
UPDATE Aug. 2nd, 2017: <i>David Loyola tells me he has named, or renamed, his primeur "SUPER," whereas until now everyone had referred to it as Aux Deux Amis Primeur. I've updated the text below to account for the name change. </i><br />
<br />
When I first heard that 11ème wine bar <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/11/good-neighbors-ludwig-bindernagel-at.html">Aux Deux Amis</a> proprietor David Loyola had taken on the lease for a large adjacent space on rue Oberkampf, I shook my head in awe of what I assumed would become an extension of his popular existing wine bar. Aux Deux Amis is by all appearances a massive cash cow, turning tables from lunchtime to past midnight, the only Parisian natural wine bar of its generation to truly embrace a fun, unruly bar atmosphere. Surely on a busy thoroughfare like rue Oberkampf, I thought, bigger would mean better for Aux Deux Amis.<br />
<br />
Instead Loyola opened a <i>primeur</i>, or greengrocer. It's a slightly puzzling move, given how many excellent <i>primeurs</i> have opened up within 5 minutes' walk within the past six months. (<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/a-quiet-revolution-le-zingam-75011.html">Le Zingam</a>'s second address on rue de la Fontaine au Roi, and <a href="http://www.terroirs-avenir.fr/">Terroirs d'Avenir</a>'s new location on rue Jean Pierre Timbaud.) Loyola's greengrocer venture is probably explicable by that fact that his friend Cyril Bordarier of <a href="http://leverrevole.fr/">Le Verre Volé</a> has already locked up natural wine retail and gourmet foodstuffs on that particular corner of rue Oberkampf, with Le Verre Volé Cave and L'Epicerie du Verre Volé, respectively. For Loyola, the options were probably <i>primeur </i>or nail salon.<br />
<br />
Even so, there is already a solid <i>primeur </i>100 meters up the street, and a terrible one perhaps 10 meters away. SUPER is distinguished by an impressively locavore focus - the majority of its vegetables derive from the Île de France - along with ambitious prices. It offers a small, almost stealth selection of wine and beer, as well as lunch service. At noon Loyola lords over the roomy kitchen area, improvising a daily sandwich and bento from exclusively vegetarian components. "We wanted to do no meat, and no fish, just to stay truly on theme," he explains.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSR7NhAZv9o49xZYH-7zvLBtEE9HhEbZKZ6AyFVlLokH6G2wrTdeadV1Z8AFqNL9FxdTbpNMDsc8iPxx3Z2Kll32qyV9goUTBzKcLAtaEas0M9GQ3v9mGpMJq1HuIfjKxTwQAx2yFb1JC/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+veggies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSR7NhAZv9o49xZYH-7zvLBtEE9HhEbZKZ6AyFVlLokH6G2wrTdeadV1Z8AFqNL9FxdTbpNMDsc8iPxx3Z2Kll32qyV9goUTBzKcLAtaEas0M9GQ3v9mGpMJq1HuIfjKxTwQAx2yFb1JC/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+veggies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For someone who first made his name serving at Le Châteaubriand, a place where duck heart is a common amuse-bouche, and for the creator of Aux Deux Amis, where I have consumed horse tartare, SUPER seems to represent a conscious break from the masculine culture of exotic meats. Boys become men who shop for rhubarb.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCfxUosBbLB59d0Oona64keuv9mmTXr6lPk16sVL5z_IzyBVfoapv5v2U3VTmgrn5ROP1pzMhACL6zWBMp-YgJiQCv6_rHn5sjL-E90sDO2Ehzc7_D7EKxaQ8BEagrHBim3SYqT7G7-KS/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+kitchen+david+loyola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCfxUosBbLB59d0Oona64keuv9mmTXr6lPk16sVL5z_IzyBVfoapv5v2U3VTmgrn5ROP1pzMhACL6zWBMp-YgJiQCv6_rHn5sjL-E90sDO2Ehzc7_D7EKxaQ8BEagrHBim3SYqT7G7-KS/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+kitchen+david+loyola.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtF1OP59_loYP-J2VazoIt18boaqiyYEDadWZ80KCp_dNkqaijcElSQsMDb5NO9-uqxKFgvmSGH8gJtbpwV_qJ5Njqdrz3jGj51mMPmoHrMQERe-iQzGbPHai-qA-YwkvtkmpVH9TtkBjo/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+bento+components.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtF1OP59_loYP-J2VazoIt18boaqiyYEDadWZ80KCp_dNkqaijcElSQsMDb5NO9-uqxKFgvmSGH8gJtbpwV_qJ5Njqdrz3jGj51mMPmoHrMQERe-iQzGbPHai-qA-YwkvtkmpVH9TtkBjo/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+bento+components.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
SUPER still contains trace elements of Loyola's piratic signature. A turntable is installed on a wall beside the party-starter Beaujolais of <a href="https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/jean-foillard/">Jean Foillard</a> and <a href="https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/jean-paul-thvenet/">Jean-Paul Thévenet</a>. The sandwich <i>formule</i> at lunch is 10€ for a sandwich and a can of craft beer.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1JudIuUCdhU-CNUY1hiwwpNF6lpBRaooYOpKy1iztaz78zADJO4mtnhxmjYg-7A3PBgcqRIUPm88d7_5HhpiFYkang2iRXNmTAUxJ2HbeMXkFSu7KPvwAUpSFNUMPRaIsCXGVnld8hsj/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+stereo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1JudIuUCdhU-CNUY1hiwwpNF6lpBRaooYOpKy1iztaz78zADJO4mtnhxmjYg-7A3PBgcqRIUPm88d7_5HhpiFYkang2iRXNmTAUxJ2HbeMXkFSu7KPvwAUpSFNUMPRaIsCXGVnld8hsj/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+stereo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The one I enjoyed after a run the other day was a soft bun containing carrot <i>coulis</i>, chunky kalamata halves, lettuce, olive oil, and some excellent mozzarella borrowed from the kitchen of the wine bar next door. If it lacked the refinement of Delphine Zampetti's sandwiches across the arrondissement at <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2014/03/a-higher-pursuit-chez-aline-75011.html">Chez Aline</a>, it had all the flavor.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj872NIP6Y8MYAyLMNxc_VT-wQv7A7cz69nnslI3HHgHyg3_Sp1Ap2pv0LEz1AZv2AlxfUYjON1WZ-HNW8Lo9kJN1foZObZNLNyCsqyQr3ZZ_EJ-aHtRnh1z6qbvBHwm5eWXetB_aM55LzR/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+mozzarella+sandwich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj872NIP6Y8MYAyLMNxc_VT-wQv7A7cz69nnslI3HHgHyg3_Sp1Ap2pv0LEz1AZv2AlxfUYjON1WZ-HNW8Lo9kJN1foZObZNLNyCsqyQr3ZZ_EJ-aHtRnh1z6qbvBHwm5eWXetB_aM55LzR/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+mozzarella+sandwich.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Loyola offers better beer. A bracing, rich-for-the-style "Hoi Polloi" Pilsner from <a href="https://www.alphabetbrewing.co.uk/hoi-polloi">Alphabet Brewing Co.</a> came in a can that eerily resembles Arizona Iced Tea.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiMhdqKrYtb-i3upv5oEIvRi_27DIb3fV6Dpb9Z05bcHTat5CYUq7_XaWjZ0iiSx2Ujo1zxZvMw6l2m2mhIH8iX6T1bNS6XreRidNw0Kort9T6nmwRCHoKyxvc7OgGdGrLuTY4TUyZx1z/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+hoi+polloi+pilsner+alphabet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiMhdqKrYtb-i3upv5oEIvRi_27DIb3fV6Dpb9Z05bcHTat5CYUq7_XaWjZ0iiSx2Ujo1zxZvMw6l2m2mhIH8iX6T1bNS6XreRidNw0Kort9T6nmwRCHoKyxvc7OgGdGrLuTY4TUyZx1z/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+hoi+polloi+pilsner+alphabet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
SUPER's Île de France fruits and vegetables, in their quality and high prices, will probably inspire many Parisians to take up gardening. I can't be the only client who balked at the price of local tomatoes, forking over close to €15 for five of them, inwardly swearing to shop elsewhere for tomatoes henceforth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgAgsUQcagi7bxPdRpuzgM_dH7LK9_hFRpxFtWe8_zC5cP_5sla-fRDITtA56RclXW34sB_AQ9srLqactVsjSmbUg5todmwbyl1bIB4lTGqIadUsprE48cYNqYHxKKALq6bFHDfvGM0yP/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgAgsUQcagi7bxPdRpuzgM_dH7LK9_hFRpxFtWe8_zC5cP_5sla-fRDITtA56RclXW34sB_AQ9srLqactVsjSmbUg5todmwbyl1bIB4lTGqIadUsprE48cYNqYHxKKALq6bFHDfvGM0yP/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+tomatoes.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
They did, however, prove to be excellent, sweet and luscious. This raises the question: if such tomatoes can be grown in Île de France, why on earth is it so hard to find decent tomatoes in Paris? Most purveyors sell mealy, pastel-red ersatz things, lacking all <i>douceur</i>. Recipes don't work with them. Anyway it took a visit to SUPER for me to realise that tomatoes had become a luxury product in Paris.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIlJpE-cHB2glh9kZneo1b5LlLnKu2iwDWKfTI9tN3q1vrE6UvpLgsrAC4hvnfCYZ3mSy1E7G8G24cIZVSUlglyn1sVA88Y1vHPNWKHsvYeYA-HfR4ulsU1-XRHOsKFiuoImqI-xxuTGY/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+interior+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHIlJpE-cHB2glh9kZneo1b5LlLnKu2iwDWKfTI9tN3q1vrE6UvpLgsrAC4hvnfCYZ3mSy1E7G8G24cIZVSUlglyn1sVA88Y1vHPNWKHsvYeYA-HfR4ulsU1-XRHOsKFiuoImqI-xxuTGY/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+interior+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
It's early days, so understandable if the rest of inventory at SUPER seems a little half-sketched. The beverage fridge is thinly stocked, the central shelving under-filled with olive oils, vinegars, and so forth. One gets the sense that some degree of care is being taken to avoid offering precisely the same products as Le Verre Volé Epicerie around the corner.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JaT75aueUeOcMWsw7IAH03sqHBCGRI34gF6VqlMH1FQM1yEgbscUMoVdWxYr2lll7b6eT9efDG0DKNnn4IfQyzI3y05trYBbGHQsxIl7W1g_2zMhgvj1GucqCiaFOAvF3f5RdsFZCf7U/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+olive+oils+etc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JaT75aueUeOcMWsw7IAH03sqHBCGRI34gF6VqlMH1FQM1yEgbscUMoVdWxYr2lll7b6eT9efDG0DKNnn4IfQyzI3y05trYBbGHQsxIl7W1g_2zMhgvj1GucqCiaFOAvF3f5RdsFZCf7U/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+olive+oils+etc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This is a worthy challenge. The Paris natural wine scene as a whole stands to benefit if its establishments, for whatever reason, make efforts to enlarge what has become an eye-glazingly predictable network of high-quality suppliers: <a href="http://www.lebeurrebordier.com/en/jean-yves-bordier/">Bordier</a> butter, <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2014/08/11/les-fines-herbes-d-annie-bertin-seduisent-les-grands-chefs_4469727_4497319.html">Annie Bertin</a> herbs, <a href="https://www.anne-rozes.com/">Anne Rozès</a> conserves, <a href="https://www.larbreacafe.com/">L'Arbre à Café</a> coffee, <a href="http://www.fallot.com/en/">Fallot</a> mustards, and so forth. <i>Nota bene,</i> I like all these things. But am I being too optimistic in presuming France is home to other purveyors of products of similar quality?<br />
<br />
Given how many excellent greengrocers<i> </i>are opening in the 11ème and across Paris right now, I suppose we'll see.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHR97-nP4o1KjWjjintFV4VYPQyLFXgW8gpO9abGSKTT9v1ca9SXDMqNYCyd7RSm26-DsKtfGWeR-Xq275tz9OkbKQfccdLCljx3YDR3UWhofcb0Q5BSvGnj_LlKTw2Tge2j6IUPSyT8n/s1600/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHR97-nP4o1KjWjjintFV4VYPQyLFXgW8gpO9abGSKTT9v1ca9SXDMqNYCyd7RSm26-DsKtfGWeR-Xq275tz9OkbKQfccdLCljx3YDR3UWhofcb0Q5BSvGnj_LlKTw2Tge2j6IUPSyT8n/s400/aux+deux+amis+primeur+75011+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
SUPER<br />
43, rue Oberkampf<br />
75011 PARIS<br />
Métro: Oberkampf or Parmentier<br />
Tel: Can't find one. But it would actually be quite useful for seasonal greengrocers to have telephones - one could call in advance to see whether a given ingredient was in stock.<br />
<br />
<i>Open lunchtimes and early evenings Tuesday - Saturday. Open Sunday lunch. Closed Monday. </i><br />
<br />
<b>Related Links</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/11/good-neighbors-ludwig-bindernagel-at.html">Aux Deux Amis, 75011</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/a-quiet-revolution-le-zingam-75011.html">Le Zingam, 75011</a>aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-58604128256704713412017-07-06T12:17:00.001+02:002017-07-06T12:24:17.426+02:00the île de porquerolles: domaine de l'île, domaine perzinksy & domaine de la courtade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfP9OioIsEtycSzU8snqw9B0raqg90CQJN4Dk0gSIR0vtJ-V-Hh9Nqi_C_kfWbLLD-cAkSrtlBoLIxYN4iaeK9xzAcpHiovUojL0_ku-h_p209i-XHLyVHxJLmBcHsdF8EdlCqQd-uWnNJ/s1600/porquerolles+port.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfP9OioIsEtycSzU8snqw9B0raqg90CQJN4Dk0gSIR0vtJ-V-Hh9Nqi_C_kfWbLLD-cAkSrtlBoLIxYN4iaeK9xzAcpHiovUojL0_ku-h_p209i-XHLyVHxJLmBcHsdF8EdlCqQd-uWnNJ/s400/porquerolles+port.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I sometimes worry I come across as too <i>principled</i>. I so rarely get invited on press junkets. I suspect many PR people imagine me to be a saber-rattling natural wine radical who, if cornered on a cliff's edge by LVMH regional sales managers, would sooner jump than appear in their selfies.<br />
<br />
In fact, I quite like playing the shill now and then. I have no trouble appearing gracious and amused when plied with free things. So it was that I recently enjoyed a splendid trip to the <a href="http://www.porquerolles.com/accueil/">Île de Porquerolles</a> the other day, organised by the <a href="http://www.vinsdeprovence.com/fr/les-vins-de-provence/appellations-cotes-de-provence">Côtes de Provence AOC</a> in conjunction with a Lyonnais press agency called Claire de Lune.<br />
<br />
The Île de Porquerolles is an island south of the Provençal town of Toulon. Formerly a private island belonging to the industrialist François Joseph Fournier, who purchased it in 1912, Porquerolles was bequeathed to the French state in 1985, and today is home to three wineries: <a href="http://lacourtade.com/">Domaine La Courtade</a>, <a href="http://www.perzinsky.com/">Domaine Perzinsky</a>, and <a href="https://www.domainedelile.com/">Domaine de l'Île</a>. "There are three domaines on the Île," explains Domaine Perzinksy oenologist Richard Auther, "And we have three completely different styles."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXsI6rmC2Jk0ZFw8J8o0jjSh2qOyHLMmS7-C9GOdntYkB1-GmHeJS-9PRPhUNg4ngH9DxKTSFIKs-pYb6IPWmRgv9rTv0JIzAiyW37Maus_a5xVs9xZhUno_geV3_Vyw1goInWWrlysLX/s1600/porquerolles+cyrille+alexis+perzinsky+richard+auther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="955" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXsI6rmC2Jk0ZFw8J8o0jjSh2qOyHLMmS7-C9GOdntYkB1-GmHeJS-9PRPhUNg4ngH9DxKTSFIKs-pYb6IPWmRgv9rTv0JIzAiyW37Maus_a5xVs9xZhUno_geV3_Vyw1goInWWrlysLX/s400/porquerolles+cyrille+alexis+perzinsky+richard+auther.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auther and the Perzinsky brothers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The distinct personalities that differentiate the Porquerolles wineries is all the more surprising given that Auther has had a hand in defining two of them. Auther was the longtime winemaker at neighboring Domaine La Courtade, before leaving to join his wife and her brothers at Domaine Perzinsky in 2015.<br />
<br />
Domaine Perzinsky, the youngest of the island's three domaines, was founded in 1993 by brothers Alexis and Cyrille Perzinsky, who were granted permission to clear National Forest land to plant vines. Before beginning his eponymous domaine, Cyrille Perzinsky was winemaker at Bandol estate <a href="http://www.pibarnon.com/en/">Château de Pibarnon</a>. Today the Perzinksy vineyard holdings comprise well over 10ha of quite wide-spaced vines. The spacing looked around 180cm to me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIKCmtAADqf8mYGMKswUVFgYMZUbKgQHodxMlS-ODMwbX_dSISnBOPohcKCAMLdr3pXMPsyh8eM1XDKEEPLSK7t5kZ8FqHBkzhCDzuudNQHpz2ir_EPjZaT-oWqyTRmz5CRshF3wBTpmu/s1600/domaine+perzinksy+vines+porquerolles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIKCmtAADqf8mYGMKswUVFgYMZUbKgQHodxMlS-ODMwbX_dSISnBOPohcKCAMLdr3pXMPsyh8eM1XDKEEPLSK7t5kZ8FqHBkzhCDzuudNQHpz2ir_EPjZaT-oWqyTRmz5CRshF3wBTpmu/s400/domaine+perzinksy+vines+porquerolles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Curiously, for a domaine composed of such recent, wide-spaced plantings, Perzinksy does <i>not</i> practice organic viticulture. (In this they are the outlier on the island; both Domaine de l'Île and Domaine La Courtade are certified organic.)<br />
<br />
I regret not having had a chance to visit the <i>chais</i> on this trip. When evaluating a wine, one is always on better footing having seen the actual equipment. Suffice it to say I have the impression the working methods at Domaine Perzinksy favor their red vinification.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTEyPcoNFYXuWuTf-OyoLzY4jnjLbGoHXU3F4SVwzSk9Ywx6gDqGYlgrNw5vapec8oXZYEQevexW6HxLJWa51UB_KC3pU0KjOeShtnV_gv44oak2mL5RVSeLnYLUIx087hr7mypYJrB52/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+perzinsky+wines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTEyPcoNFYXuWuTf-OyoLzY4jnjLbGoHXU3F4SVwzSk9Ywx6gDqGYlgrNw5vapec8oXZYEQevexW6HxLJWa51UB_KC3pU0KjOeShtnV_gv44oak2mL5RVSeLnYLUIx087hr7mypYJrB52/s400/porquerolles+domaine+perzinsky+wines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It is a causal chain afflicting many wineries. All but one of Domaine Perzinksy's wines derive from machine-harvested fruit. The resulting mess of the harvest calls for elevated sulfur use during vinification, which in turn makes it expedient to use commercial yeasts to start fermentation. For whites and rosées, Auther is a strong believer in blocking malolactic fermentation in the name of preserving acidity. This involves more sulfur addition and a round of filtration, if not enzyme use.<br />
<br />
For whites and rosés, this combination of elevated sulfur use, select yeast, filtration, and blocked malo tends to yield wines of fearsome vapidity. So it is for Perzinksy's basic 2016 white and rosé, from rolle and a blend of grenache / mourvedre / cinsault / syrah, respectively. A new schiste-soil white parcel cuvée, debuted in 2016, entitled "Le Grand Blanc," showed more promise as a barrel sample, its young-oak nose redeemed by an interesting savoury cucumber note on the palate.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NEwSvBAUd_LQSClC2GfD9sF5fP8rlQQ4D_q0V3ijOyw9d7yCOlrUR6HahIA2hWCTY8zRiqB4gKFCkTgPIqM_9-M4dFba0pbcWsTycy_aZdT_JR2OOftg9Ucqxyi4-1HSCDpojtMs2NI1/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+perzinksy+grand+blanc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="951" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NEwSvBAUd_LQSClC2GfD9sF5fP8rlQQ4D_q0V3ijOyw9d7yCOlrUR6HahIA2hWCTY8zRiqB4gKFCkTgPIqM_9-M4dFba0pbcWsTycy_aZdT_JR2OOftg9Ucqxyi4-1HSCDpojtMs2NI1/s400/porquerolles+domaine+perzinksy+grand+blanc.jpg" width="331" /></a></div>
<br />
By contrast to the whites and rosé, the basic 2014 Domaine Perzinksy rouge is a very charming demonstration of contemporary vinification savvy. A blend of cabernet, mourvedre, grenache, and syrah, the wine bloomed with garrigue, the herbaceous, lightly saline notes of the Provençal scrubland. The rouge too had been machine-harvested. But the fact of having undergone malo implied somewhat lower sulfur use, and probably just one round of filtration directly before bottling. I could venture a bit farther and try to attribute the wine's pleasing salinity to the largely schiste soil? But I have no idea, to be honest.<br />
<br />
Domaine Perzinsky's sole hand-harvested cuvée, a blend of mourvedre and syrah entitled "Le Grand Rouge," is still in barrique. In the sample I was poured I tasted only wood at this stage.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTghEgSVn_WWU0jQyon-2TBXdVllsYIxuIqabxsr3PxsOLTbWNMm-jpONyV7NEb-NvYy-1VLPm_Rusp9zMZoG3PKOcOqqRqmoR7kQU6yU0i05hym3X99NRUlJWi6zCJ95nc5i07U0yZaR/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+florent+audibert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTghEgSVn_WWU0jQyon-2TBXdVllsYIxuIqabxsr3PxsOLTbWNMm-jpONyV7NEb-NvYy-1VLPm_Rusp9zMZoG3PKOcOqqRqmoR7kQU6yU0i05hym3X99NRUlJWi6zCJ95nc5i07U0yZaR/s400/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+florent+audibert.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Florent Audibert in the vines.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Domaine de la Courtade lies a short bike ride over a ridge just east of Domaine Perzinsky. It was founded in 1983 by the architect Henri Vidal. Under Vidal and Auther's direction the winery became certified organic in 1997. Vidal died in 2007, and as I understand it the domaine was somewhat rudderless for seven years as his family decided whether or not to continue. Present winemaker Florent Audibert arrived two years ago, installed by the domaine's new owner, the investment banker <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/edouard-carmignac/">Edouard Carmignac</a>, who purchased the domaine in 2014. Audibert previously worked at Château de Pibarnon, and <a href="http://www.chateaudeleclair.com/">Château d'Eclair</a>, the Beaujolais appellation research vineyards in Villefranche-sur-Saône.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTQ3pFscYfNun3wFhREipWEHbiWGFwd5NGQBhy8wGStHLMkiN4nb8qPd0LrrxmlKfBvvrqqoJ_NeewWmQsHmButmt-yGRmA5OE0-8k8zHVFEIpJMY-QEbTKLFHfKbUuTGd77jdmI9PlkS/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+new+plantings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTQ3pFscYfNun3wFhREipWEHbiWGFwd5NGQBhy8wGStHLMkiN4nb8qPd0LrrxmlKfBvvrqqoJ_NeewWmQsHmButmt-yGRmA5OE0-8k8zHVFEIpJMY-QEbTKLFHfKbUuTGd77jdmI9PlkS/s400/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+new+plantings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Audibert, whose first vinification at the domaine was in 2016, is presently overseeing the replanting of the domaine's 35ha, in 2-3ha increments each year. Since his arrival the domaine has also begun experimenting with biodynamic preparations, with the aim of decreasing the amounts of sulfur and copper used in the vines.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG8r0wcBGYaIV6CB_CDZItK1ooqEPbd3CO_FY86w3aTDG1D0aLaEdp1mpe6F5z1CbL0fjQ15yhlQpyVqyux7rn7zF0PNTOlwya4F3ST2iHIFDYHu1eDJ_CgrQi4qtoMEqdkqOqKqD5Tad/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+plowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG8r0wcBGYaIV6CB_CDZItK1ooqEPbd3CO_FY86w3aTDG1D0aLaEdp1mpe6F5z1CbL0fjQ15yhlQpyVqyux7rn7zF0PNTOlwya4F3ST2iHIFDYHu1eDJ_CgrQi4qtoMEqdkqOqKqD5Tad/s400/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+plowing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Audibert has ties both to the work of Richard Auther, his predecessor at La Courtade, and Cyrille Perzinsky, who also worked at Château Pibarnon, so it follows that his approach to winemaking is not worlds apart. He blocks malolactic fermentation for all Domaine La Courtade whites and rosés. All grapes at Domaine de la Courtade are machine-harvested, a practice Audibert enjoys for the flexibility it gives him with regards to grape maturity at harvest. He indicated a 3ha plot of grenache and explained that it had been harvested on four different dates the previous year.<br />
<br />
"A harvesting machine permits us to do what we want," he reasons. "To taste the day before at 8PM and to do an analysis of sugar and to go harvest the next day at 2AM."<br />
<br />
I can understand the appeal of machine harvesting for large domaines such as La Courtade, particularly given the difficulty of access to the island for harvest teams. But it does seem to put a depressingly low ceiling on the quality and overall personality of wines, particularly whites and rosés.<br />
<br />
The Domaine La Courtade range has undergone a significant restructuring with the arrival of its new owner. There are now three ranges. The wines bearing the domaine's historical label have been consigned to the export market and French supermarket distribution. A new La Courtade range was created, aiming for a higher end market, boasting lower yields, more demanding parcel selection, fermentation and elevage in small oak barrel, and a new label featuring a sculpture by the Spanish artist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miquel_Barcel%C3%B3">Miquel Barcélo</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gm3VYOJUuuz3DulRmLt0lNS9AXCAm-4xI1VbCUaCAutX9JrYl5QW4MmYMTvyNauJ28CzHmHhRC-Ur0oiLbixZ6rzDkqdDEqXyJnXWwHWuVshr8Gl-5qgA806HicAEg49gjTqZlOmYSUU/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+new+label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1243" data-original-width="933" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gm3VYOJUuuz3DulRmLt0lNS9AXCAm-4xI1VbCUaCAutX9JrYl5QW4MmYMTvyNauJ28CzHmHhRC-Ur0oiLbixZ6rzDkqdDEqXyJnXWwHWuVshr8Gl-5qgA806HicAEg49gjTqZlOmYSUU/s400/porquerolles+domaine+la+courtade+new+label.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
<br />
Then there is an intermediate range aimed at restaurants and wine shops entitled "Les Terrasses de La Courtade," which sees less elevage, and fermentation in steel tank rather than oak. <br />
<br />
"2016 is an important year for us, with the label redesign," Audibert affirms. "We wanted to start on a new foot. To show our work had changed."<br />
<br />
The 2016 La Courtade white, from rolle and semillon, saw 50% vinification in barrique and a half-day of skin maceration. It showed lean and subdued the day I tasted, with perhaps a touch more CO2 than I anticipated. A technically well-made wine, but I still can't help questioning the wisdom of withholding the natural <i>richesse</i> of malolactic fermentation, and then subsequently attempting to add dimension afterwards via skin maceration and barrel fermentation.<br />
<br />
The 2016 Les Terrasses de Courtade Rosé was a fine demonstration of why Audibert got his job. Majority grenache, with a touch of rolle and mourvèdre, the wine was bright and lively, projecting surprisingly big raspberry - hyacinth aromas. A wine like this is precisely what most consumers are after in a Provençal rosé: zippy, refreshing, with a fresh, primary flavour spectrum mostly limited to the iconography of greeting card borders.<br />
<br />
The 2015 La Courtade rouge seemed too big for its boots, but we were on the outdoor deck of a restaurant on an island at 1PM and in such circumstances my palate may have simply rebelled against all red wines.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaBj0sniLHDGwRvkM3nOsdmEs02AB0QLPmqAnswUbPPEWx2EGjlGAzcaeoAB08jg9Phm6gsq1tsMXHCQk2zK4O4Bhy6YksGA5O5fkqPilOr_Yd6bB4ss-8LZRMWQ_BfgZmOgd1_t-e3PJ/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+de+l%2527ile+blanc+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaBj0sniLHDGwRvkM3nOsdmEs02AB0QLPmqAnswUbPPEWx2EGjlGAzcaeoAB08jg9Phm6gsq1tsMXHCQk2zK4O4Bhy6YksGA5O5fkqPilOr_Yd6bB4ss-8LZRMWQ_BfgZmOgd1_t-e3PJ/s400/porquerolles+domaine+de+l%2527ile+blanc+2016.jpg" width="350" /></a></div>
<br />
And what of the Île de Porquerolles' third wine estate, Domaine de l'Île?<br />
<br />
I should say its first wine estate. Vigneron Sebastien Le Ber is the grandson of the island's former proprietor, François Joseph Fournier, who was responsible for bringing viticulture to the island. Le Ber has run the domaine since 1980 and today farms 35ha. Le Ber himself was absent during the trip, but his white and his rosé were available to taste at lunch before I departed on the ferry. The wines bear simple, fusty labels that resemble bargain Burgundy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6jXv_DP2TCeT9EZNszHKCo_nElZDwbPxak0gsdpQ9X2-wQLx7eVX4FftbxoTHRmfpwDFf36IOckr1xNi_7MbEz-fjvfhyphenhyphenznDNyGp6U3KBiJtFAoaVByl2-Zn6pnd2SBm485EDZZh_Xpk/s1600/porquerolles+domaine+de+l%2527ile+rose%25CC%2581+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK6jXv_DP2TCeT9EZNszHKCo_nElZDwbPxak0gsdpQ9X2-wQLx7eVX4FftbxoTHRmfpwDFf36IOckr1xNi_7MbEz-fjvfhyphenhyphenznDNyGp6U3KBiJtFAoaVByl2-Zn6pnd2SBm485EDZZh_Xpk/s400/porquerolles+domaine+de+l%2527ile+rose%25CC%2581+2016.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
White and rosé both unmistakably undergo malolactic fermentation, while retaining a suave, appealing acidity. After passing the morning on Porquerolles hearing endorsements of machine-harvesting, select yeasts, and blocked malo, my expectations had been lowered to such an extent that I was genuinely shocked when I tasted the wines of Domaine de l'Île. They are Provençal wines made in the old style, organically farmed, hand-harvested, vinified and aged with attention to avoiding sulfur use. They're lovely. They bear a resonance and a dimensionality that belies their slight presentation, like the haunting analog production of a vanished era.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YyfPiKoypxQ" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Le Ber's work is unique on his small island, but it is also becoming rare in Provence at large, as the soaring popularity of brittle, confected rosé incentivizes estates to employ every available shortcut in agriculture and winemaking. I later learned that Le Ber had declined to take part in the press junket, preferring to cede the stage to neighbors more willing to give the rosé market what it wants. But his absence spoke volumes, and so did his wines.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oMxvJt6lVniay9UoLQgrMW2d8VBItGNgzDwoxbXH4096jgyAKPGozc3WlJDTCk6ybRKWbpPodA4ZlieSOlfpdMqLp_hnQ2nU7VHou77-zP3kDW90K5sr8S_E-9A4S4YH870CVaBkJapr/s1600/porquerolles+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oMxvJt6lVniay9UoLQgrMW2d8VBItGNgzDwoxbXH4096jgyAKPGozc3WlJDTCk6ybRKWbpPodA4ZlieSOlfpdMqLp_hnQ2nU7VHou77-zP3kDW90K5sr8S_E-9A4S4YH870CVaBkJapr/s400/porquerolles+beach.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Related Links<br />
<br />
The last time I wrote about Provençal rosé on this blog was almost seven years ago, in a post about <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2010/10/jean-luc-poinsot-la-badiane-tasting-le.html">Jean-Luc Poinsot</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhPIJwCDJwZJaotu0TiMDRAGByHzNQt_tjXZA3ZRoLNbmeHrhSlC5r5aVgTEo5J7HUtj-2yGO3cJmm2IDdYXT-f63N0rtHabDzjsc6PfnAIUA4h4PPrXqVQ-lN-d0TlnFpBJGTmsWm9yy/s1600/pork+rolls.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhPIJwCDJwZJaotu0TiMDRAGByHzNQt_tjXZA3ZRoLNbmeHrhSlC5r5aVgTEo5J7HUtj-2yGO3cJmm2IDdYXT-f63N0rtHabDzjsc6PfnAIUA4h4PPrXqVQ-lN-d0TlnFpBJGTmsWm9yy/s400/pork+rolls.jpeg" width="299" /></a></div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-49886983150804256692017-06-19T12:04:00.002+02:002017-06-19T15:12:01.726+02:00n.d.p. in lyon: le troisième fleuve, 69009<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXI_OJKs0dRc-3BE2egF5pTE8lwpRVWxinrmyZF1t7K7En7mcv4hbcSB33xLxCNaEHDFuwahZ2iKTgvUHhOIogZSkQgb43ORgY_ioPfM6IcyJDLMqbpjThNN41Tz9FlvU_aB_H2U_xLV3/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXI_OJKs0dRc-3BE2egF5pTE8lwpRVWxinrmyZF1t7K7En7mcv4hbcSB33xLxCNaEHDFuwahZ2iKTgvUHhOIogZSkQgb43ORgY_ioPfM6IcyJDLMqbpjThNN41Tz9FlvU_aB_H2U_xLV3/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A few Saturdays ago my friend N and I found ourselves staggering north in Lyon after a lunch at <a href="http://cafecomptoirabel.com/">Café Comptoir Abel</a>,* where the greatest wine available had been half-pints of Leffe. Desperate for a worthwhile drink before our train north, I thought to pay a visit to <a href="http://www.leprogres.fr/lyon/2017/02/05/au-troisieme-fleuve-vincent-dechelette-partage-son-amour-du-bon-vin">Vincent Dechelette</a>, a former employee of acclaimed old-city wine retailer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AnticWine/">Antic Wine</a> who last December opened his own boutique, entitled <a href="https://www.facebook.com/letroisiemefleuve/">Le Troisième Fleuve</a>, a respectable trek upriver from his old workplace.<br />
<br />
The new shop's name will be familiar to anyone who has ever read any piece of wine writing on the Beaujolais: it derives from the heavily-worn Léon Daudet line, in which the 19th-century French journalist dubbed the wine of the Beaujolais the "third river" of Lyon, after the Rhône and the Saône. Delechette, like myself, is a massive believer in the gamay, granite, and goblet-training.<br />
<br />
His young <i>cave</i> - a short corridor comprised of a stone wall facing a tall mass of shelving - boasts a mostly-natural Beaujolais selection to rival any more established wine retailers in the city. The region's wines comprise perhaps 30-40% of Le Troisième Fleuve, with the remainder deriving from up-and-coming domaines from the rest of France. Dechelette also demonstrates an easy fluency with Beaujolais hospitality: he kindly allowed us to crack open a few bottles on-site, when we arrived out of breath in mid-afternoon, slightly damp with rain and dying of thirst.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaL4tJJVu-s1D82PbTk7v37qg5a14BSp7RsdsvEZjT-lCpHF0avW0fTjb-EaxZ2ZPxX0478zLesV3r90kuFrn8D9uwTqrLUDWxRDnqQGxpFvkzY9BvZFW075w7t4ZgugqS1jHjhw20aZS/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+vincent+delechette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaL4tJJVu-s1D82PbTk7v37qg5a14BSp7RsdsvEZjT-lCpHF0avW0fTjb-EaxZ2ZPxX0478zLesV3r90kuFrn8D9uwTqrLUDWxRDnqQGxpFvkzY9BvZFW075w7t4ZgugqS1jHjhw20aZS/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+vincent+delechette.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I first met Dechelette over lunch the previous year with his former employer Georges Dos Santos. The occasion was the visit of a friend who's a good client of Dos Santos'. Dechelette and I barely exchanged a word, as is the custom when dining with Dos Santos, who singlehandedly accounts for more than a third of all spoken wine conversation in France. But I did learn it was Dechelette's last day at Antic Wine. Later that year and throughout the following he and I often crossed paths at tastings and parties in the Beaujolais, where I learned about his new venture.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW221PHtIPoV55yI0QmnqQVOkgu7YbQNuUQJAaqiG86ASs6If5b-1cR4LeIwMzDCn3RAS7HWVtGsMN08TkCOdTD94Tl0-yLFSM-tdkbIQ_QtFz1B4EtbsONdTSgDRZOvJJnGQQHjoMK6QK/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+c%2527est+ici.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1259" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW221PHtIPoV55yI0QmnqQVOkgu7YbQNuUQJAaqiG86ASs6If5b-1cR4LeIwMzDCn3RAS7HWVtGsMN08TkCOdTD94Tl0-yLFSM-tdkbIQ_QtFz1B4EtbsONdTSgDRZOvJJnGQQHjoMK6QK/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+c%2527est+ici.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Dechelette is a good friend of Saint-Julien-based natural winemaker <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">Xavier Benier</a> and is the artist behind many of the latter's labels, including his excellent négoçiant Régnié. So it seemed only appropriate to toast to Benier together over a bottle of his Vin de France cuvée of viognier, from very young vines Benier planted near Saint-Julien.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAIxO5LGmn71Le_dqmR6DdaH_c2p0SqKgcH9d329cg4L3drV5uErXbWU1kpyLVCKUj6U6Xpg9TrwlN978S0-gfrkc3NAQRh-OaB_OFp7UJw8XKagie2dZfdK_QuI4EXeefNXwjsojKBsG/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+benier+viognier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAIxO5LGmn71Le_dqmR6DdaH_c2p0SqKgcH9d329cg4L3drV5uErXbWU1kpyLVCKUj6U6Xpg9TrwlN978S0-gfrkc3NAQRh-OaB_OFp7UJw8XKagie2dZfdK_QuI4EXeefNXwjsojKBsG/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+benier+viognier.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
2015 was the first vintage of the wine, and in a heat-wave, dry-spell year it weighed in under 11° alcohol. What I tasted with Dechelette seemed closer to 10° - a sheer tulle summer-dress of a wine, all wispy white melon and apple-blossom. It would be perfect with a hunk of bread and cheese at 9AM <i>casse-croute</i>. Given the tiny quantities Benier produced of the wine, I expect it was vinified and aged in small fiberglass tank. It's commonly held that very young vines show less terroir than old and the best we can expect from the former is varietal typicity. In the case of Benier's viognier, curiously, I suspect I'd be in a position to mark it as a Beaujolais white sooner than as a viognier: but only because it shares a structurelessness, a not-unpleasant inconsequentiality, with many naturally vinified whites from the region.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM98tKRVwuF7ZQWRdKuCLKDM_87VTXFpSDs9rpcTU1EBKgk8Fyx5j_R-DbOJydxnOCIAwu_tVyFszPqx10UmgHSdImTwzIC1C1gXAospHb11zpXC7dhEOMQBG86pRNspqcIataTW2UgwDF/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM98tKRVwuF7ZQWRdKuCLKDM_87VTXFpSDs9rpcTU1EBKgk8Fyx5j_R-DbOJydxnOCIAwu_tVyFszPqx10UmgHSdImTwzIC1C1gXAospHb11zpXC7dhEOMQBG86pRNspqcIataTW2UgwDF/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+shelves.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As for whether viognier belongs this far north of Lyon, I'd say why not? Saint-Julien is right on the border between the Beaujolais-Villages and Beaujolais <i>tout court </i>appellations, and in no one's reckoning does it figure among the greatest sites of either. Yet there remains ample demand for inexpensive, naturally vinified Chardonnay from these areas, and I see no reason why it shouldn't translate to viognier, another grape too often encountered in thrall to very conservative vinification and bottling practices. As one descends south of <i>chez </i>Benier one enters a region whose identity remains indistinct, pitched midway between the Rhône and the Beaujolais. They might as well have it both ways.<br />
<br />
I'd nonetheless hesitate to make the same justification if we look further north in the Beaujolais, as in the case of <a href="http://www.closdehautecombe.fr/index.htm">Vincent Audras</a> of Clos de la Haute Combe, who has diversified his range with viognier, but on the rather more noble terroir surrounding Juliénas. Here, where even Beaujolais-Villages terroir can regularly produce gamay wines of soaring quality, viognier constitutes a distraction, at best; at worst, a waste of terroir and a mark of commercial desperation.** In Juliénas, one is a mere cricket's hop from perfectly fine Chardonnay terroir further north, if one truly must produce a white wine - fellow Juliénas winemaker <a href="http://www.micheltete.com/fr/domaine-clos-du-fief.html">Michel Tête</a>'s "<a href="http://www.micheltete.com/img/vins/fiches-tech/beaujolais-villages-blanc-ft.pdf">Fleur de Chardonnay</a>," for example. But neither Audras nor Tête produce what would be called natural wines; their ranges are uniformly filtered, and sulfured at higher doses than the norm for the natural sector; and so whatever white wine either winemaker musters will not benefit from the same massive demand from high-end natural resellers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQcxJfsQS4RWwOwA2xDFBiqxTivplp2ljI9Lu26rQBFGkh1MLhKHEptL7vOzSXnMqqRRjw-gn8BCDKJHSIvcPHjgNLbHsvqIhbCS-UnS5DhtzLH_IplYZqy2bcFkFhkBz8le-cpUFsk0E/s1600/vincent+audras+viognier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQcxJfsQS4RWwOwA2xDFBiqxTivplp2ljI9Lu26rQBFGkh1MLhKHEptL7vOzSXnMqqRRjw-gn8BCDKJHSIvcPHjgNLbHsvqIhbCS-UnS5DhtzLH_IplYZqy2bcFkFhkBz8le-cpUFsk0E/s320/vincent+audras+viognier.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vincent Audras' viognier, tasted at Bien Boire en Beaujolais 2015.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Speaking of which, Dechelette's selection at Le Troisième Fleuve, befitting one made by an <i>elève</i> of the ever-pragmatic Dos Santos, is balanced between natural and conventional wines. The bottom shelves contain a smattering of inexpensive bottles included only for reasons of sentiment or expedience. The surrounding Vaise area, like, insensibly, much of Lyon, is relatively new ground for natural wine. Dechelette tells me it's not the sector where rents have risen the most in Lyon in recent years, but it's where they have risen most steadily. The neighborhood still feels somewhat marginal; to access it, N and I had trudged a good forty-five minutes up a stretch of river lined with shut brothels and nightclubs. As one nears Vaise, normal commerce recommences; the grande rue where Le Troisieme Fleuve sits is home to a few beautifully well-preserved bars.<br />
<br />
A table in the front of Dechelette's shop is, for the moment, its only available drinking area. He's hoping to receive approval from the city to place a barrel out front. In the meantime the shop remains a fine pit-stop for anyone making the trip north to the Beaujolais. Just avoid the temptation to miss a few trains, as we did, for we nearly missed the very last one, after Google Maps directed us to the Vaise bus station entrance, rather than to the train station on the other side of the very large building. After a breathless sprint, we had to scramble up a muddy embankment and hop a fence in order to board our train without tickets at the last possible second.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYCMU9oYjRhargsnLYs8SHJPU1p92CVwAV3JCzwKB6lNvPEWwtKxCxVc8swshkbHN1P5cR_rzYc0h_dp0-Mt8rktFh1gtzB5143-2PxdtLbnGPy3x-Ow80-2GdzbvKoVzmBQg0_N2bflC/s1600/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+wall+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYCMU9oYjRhargsnLYs8SHJPU1p92CVwAV3JCzwKB6lNvPEWwtKxCxVc8swshkbHN1P5cR_rzYc0h_dp0-Mt8rktFh1gtzB5143-2PxdtLbnGPy3x-Ow80-2GdzbvKoVzmBQg0_N2bflC/s400/la+troiseme+fleuve+lyon+69009+caviste+wall+art.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* N and I seem to have a tradition of descending to Lyon on the high-speed train and lunching at famous restaurants that prove to be immense, costly disappointments. I've come to see these meals as a sort of severe excise tax on the activity of familiarizing oneself with Lyonnais cuisine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">** Here I should add that Audras makes some very respectable Juliènas wines; some 2015's I tasted from tank were stunning. If only someone could convince him to cease filtering.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/letroisiemefleuve/">Le Troisième Fleuve</a><br />
23, Grande Rue de Vaise<br />
69009 LYON<br />
Tel: 09 87 02 52 60<br />
<br />
<b>Related Links</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A note in regional newspaper <a href="http://www.leprogres.fr/lyon/2017/02/05/au-troisieme-fleuve-vincent-dechelette-partage-son-amour-du-bon-vin">Le Progrès</a> about the opening of Le Troisième Fleuve.<br />
<br />
A note in <a href="https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/04/beaujolais-producer-to-release-viognier/">The Drinks Business</a> about Xavier Benier's Viognier.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">A Fall 2015 visit to Xavier Benier</a>.<br />
<b><br /></b><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/06/brasserie-georges-lyon-69002.html">Brasserie Georges, 69002</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/le-fleurie-lyon-69007.html">Le Fleurie, 69007</a>aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-79507777256460957072017-06-13T16:21:00.001+02:002017-06-13T16:25:58.912+02:00n.d.p. in lyon: brasserie georges, 69002<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRIR05s-dwnTrjtLJVaBU4klQVOhoUmVwSxvyjWmdc_GBFDHoLNPvHryJpbitv6W1ld9OW25b8HV8WzoC9-jFb0tJD1cbUjMcCvtpbdnDa4v-6wToCpM4ZOtCjwD7FUToVv-s5jnib64F/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1202" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRIR05s-dwnTrjtLJVaBU4klQVOhoUmVwSxvyjWmdc_GBFDHoLNPvHryJpbitv6W1ld9OW25b8HV8WzoC9-jFb0tJD1cbUjMcCvtpbdnDa4v-6wToCpM4ZOtCjwD7FUToVv-s5jnib64F/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
To recommend a restaurant on the basis of anything other than food, service, or wine has always seemed very foolish, like recommending a tailor because he plays excellent piano. I still recall my revulsion when upon arriving in France in 2009, an acquaintance took me to <a href="http://derriere-resto.com/fr/restaurant/paris/derriere/about/">Derrière</a>, a Paris restaurant famous for containing, in a rear space accessed through a Narnia-like wardrobe door, a sort of playroom, replete with ping-pong. What are we, I thought, children at a birthday party? <br />
<br />
Yet I will profess that, during visits to Lyon over the past two years, among my most moving dining experiences has been at <a href="http://www.brasseriegeorges.com/accueil.aspx">Brasserie Georges</a>, a vast, ancient institution where the charm is mostly historical. The food - a solid impression of traditional dishes of Lyon and Alsace - and the wine - a safe selection of mostly reputable conventional estates - are both remarkable only for a restaurant of Brasserie Georges' immense size. It measures 667m2; seven hundred guests can be served per service.<br />
<br />
Restaurants on this titanic scale tend to make one feel like a cog in a large machine. The nostalgic triumph of Brasserie Georges is to hark back to an early-modern era when large machines, and even sensations of anonymity, were novel and inspiring. The restaurant was founded in 1836 - the time of Baudelaire - but there is a distinctly Futurist zing in the air. Seated in the reverberating bustle of Brasserie Georges, one feels suffused with a strange hope, resembling the exhilaration of a Hollywood villain expositing over the loud, steady construction of his doomsday device.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqYzrbGvpVX09vq5fXX71Wv221OZ5b-yBxByereCR1GvF9q3P3YNiCbiaY239HnZq0j10op-YNA1VHSGlCvH1_GNmPPQ3roZEs2qsry0GhVnmAIKfIDd9Hu2KU1v-zxxGMJXoPPb2QIk7/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+interior+empty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqYzrbGvpVX09vq5fXX71Wv221OZ5b-yBxByereCR1GvF9q3P3YNiCbiaY239HnZq0j10op-YNA1VHSGlCvH1_GNmPPQ3roZEs2qsry0GhVnmAIKfIDd9Hu2KU1v-zxxGMJXoPPb2QIk7/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+interior+empty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
To be honest, there was no reverberating bustle the first time I visited Brasserie Georges. The Native Companion and I had just flown from Corsica to Lyon and it was 3PM on a Sunday in mid-August. Neither of us had had breakfast. I was positively astonished the learn Brasserie Georges was open and serving. (The restaurant serves between normal meal hours, and never closes for vacation.) Over the phone in the taxi, I reserved us a table for two, a completely ludicrous precaution, I soon learned, because at that hour on that day that month, the restaurant was as deserted as a ghost-town saloon.<br />
<br />
Without the visual obstruction of other patrons, we were struck by the full splendour of Brasserie George's dining hall, which remains fixed in the eternal swank of a 1924 art-deco redesign by the painter <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Guillermin">Bruno Guillermin</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRU9sgtNj_0ipEEKsI-A1dF7TA1NXAmHehVkr2KrZijDkFKwv-j2Nu6h1mAPVO4UxlWiT_rWg1UrCK_zWvWEofv0ST14jODxXYKwvTYDuc18ueHU7XwdG9JTRb_wn50FvhMEBX7q-0cJx/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+appetizers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRU9sgtNj_0ipEEKsI-A1dF7TA1NXAmHehVkr2KrZijDkFKwv-j2Nu6h1mAPVO4UxlWiT_rWg1UrCK_zWvWEofv0ST14jODxXYKwvTYDuc18ueHU7XwdG9JTRb_wn50FvhMEBX7q-0cJx/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+appetizers.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qViVpcX1ABE5sWgBTUat2Lxh5rv6K7Q9e_k4qvSyhl0WFX4BTWbngHvujvFxema-QMAuK6F-X9myuX45gZ1Qeab_oDTUr96svcoSuqFiZyi9l4_MtZloG1ossVOQ8KpkXv6voCFXXSJM/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+menu+fish+and+sauerkraut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qViVpcX1ABE5sWgBTUat2Lxh5rv6K7Q9e_k4qvSyhl0WFX4BTWbngHvujvFxema-QMAuK6F-X9myuX45gZ1Qeab_oDTUr96svcoSuqFiZyi9l4_MtZloG1ossVOQ8KpkXv6voCFXXSJM/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+menu+fish+and+sauerkraut.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
The room's flawless emptiness certainly contributed to a sensation of timelessness during our meal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKI4Zjv9BqIBEks7DQf5Q4Bfi6FjBEOQVmqFqha7FLky3vWn5uQqv29GPCBGBbSjOceUXbtS_7dsh8n7aD9W5HZf16_ITwSQJhLy2uSUhPt-c49MtQavS0gYsOWMmuD9eqYlVC4-pcqKs/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+wine+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKI4Zjv9BqIBEks7DQf5Q4Bfi6FjBEOQVmqFqha7FLky3vWn5uQqv29GPCBGBbSjOceUXbtS_7dsh8n7aD9W5HZf16_ITwSQJhLy2uSUhPt-c49MtQavS0gYsOWMmuD9eqYlVC4-pcqKs/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+wine+list.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Moony-eyed, I debated ordering a bottle of <a href="http://www.louis-claude-desvignes.com/">Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes</a>' rather extractive Morgon, but as the NC wasn't keen on helping me, and it was mid-summer, I lumped instead for the brasserie's own beer, fresh and innocuous, massively improved by its satisfying glassware.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuitCY86vY-OCyHIMNcwHtb2C-pRpqNEVIkVSsbYuzuM9qLz6SYq949ee0BW4eA8F7c_wLAU1cifuxE9SPvVgODFuGbGTA4mHIRlSUZEbFBnFZDAjeEuKuCxzkFK3D0NPgUgc3AeRqUFh/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1280" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwuitCY86vY-OCyHIMNcwHtb2C-pRpqNEVIkVSsbYuzuM9qLz6SYq949ee0BW4eA8F7c_wLAU1cifuxE9SPvVgODFuGbGTA4mHIRlSUZEbFBnFZDAjeEuKuCxzkFK3D0NPgUgc3AeRqUFh/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+beer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I left for the toilet at an inopportune time, missing the table-side dicing of the Native Companion's steak tartare.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWrxq3mXp63YBUa2ganPxE7eff5Q3WE_RB6Y0l2iP_p18bdbhYUHPHMwoxhf6Xmf3trVot6ywdy-yosCaDglEdKwQC9i75C9C8DCpmOu_nhcxKjbuQxftZmXPPDEHfkZ5WW2z-wVj9RKb/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+sauerkraut+service.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWrxq3mXp63YBUa2ganPxE7eff5Q3WE_RB6Y0l2iP_p18bdbhYUHPHMwoxhf6Xmf3trVot6ywdy-yosCaDglEdKwQC9i75C9C8DCpmOu_nhcxKjbuQxftZmXPPDEHfkZ5WW2z-wVj9RKb/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+sauerkraut+service.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Happily the theatre continued with the service of my bale of sauerkraut, which our waiter briskly arranged on my plate according to a classical plan theretofore unknown to me, before lighting two small candles beneath the remainder to keep it warm.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jQGY57TUNdAFQ3zeyXbDODGs37sUqrYvIW2N3aCKKnhguenCWFJ16Mx3jSS7skSyIwRglWXzp4_ijzUe08ipoYfyQTNabO7txjDVjPYeyIHwkxMKWEzFvOor9YZlClMRE4cgiROwgXt7/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+sauerkraut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jQGY57TUNdAFQ3zeyXbDODGs37sUqrYvIW2N3aCKKnhguenCWFJ16Mx3jSS7skSyIwRglWXzp4_ijzUe08ipoYfyQTNabO7txjDVjPYeyIHwkxMKWEzFvOor9YZlClMRE4cgiROwgXt7/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+sauerkraut.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Throughout the meal, I couldn't help craning my neck to gaze down the restaurant's endlessly repeating rows of tables, thinking how fun it would be to circle them on roller-skates.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until I returned earlier this spring that I realized how impractical it would be to undertake such a thing on a typical evening at Brasserie Georges. On a Saturday in April the place was thumping, fully animated by a kind of Gatsby-esque charade, where a jazz band in dinner attire presided over a horde of families and older couples holding buzzers, awaiting indication of a free table.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3XGGlgU_UOjQSME0fhMcdE-T49l5wAMGe5tJAOMOaCFMyfK7sjRH2jYVZukkZS-WVeAlLlC-v3S03beicuTjDxYObN7kd1dOK1fK3nQHtOv0Z_MsmJmeTtE288w2ifLtULeuXV6Vjp1G/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+interior+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3XGGlgU_UOjQSME0fhMcdE-T49l5wAMGe5tJAOMOaCFMyfK7sjRH2jYVZukkZS-WVeAlLlC-v3S03beicuTjDxYObN7kd1dOK1fK3nQHtOv0Z_MsmJmeTtE288w2ifLtULeuXV6Vjp1G/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+interior+full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
What appeared to be a line for the bar was, in true French fashion, no such thing, in fact just a squadron of tourists who had <i>assumed</i> there would be a sensible line for the bar, rather than a total free-for-all. After some committed jostling my chef friend and I retrieved a round sickeningly sweet off-brand spritzes, which we thoroughly enjoyed outside on the terrace watching the tumult within.<br />
<br />
We had a reservation elsewhere that night. But it testifies to the awesome appeal of Brasserie Georges - the magnetic force of its churning mass-capitalistic dreamscape - that my friend made sure to return there for a solo meal the following night before his train back to Paris.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGDoghcw0UVvoQiYBemKsSWxJgJx2CZA-G-UIlkrvAHqrIWRMJgpOQ5e0mPVMC04m39IEfzktj0ogQqBoVRxV84g6cXULGyLyv7G0U85BJiuOIuukHwmPy-t18z0svUSfP8MaRx4pUqg7/s1600/brasserie+georges+lyon+lamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGDoghcw0UVvoQiYBemKsSWxJgJx2CZA-G-UIlkrvAHqrIWRMJgpOQ5e0mPVMC04m39IEfzktj0ogQqBoVRxV84g6cXULGyLyv7G0U85BJiuOIuukHwmPy-t18z0svUSfP8MaRx4pUqg7/s400/brasserie+georges+lyon+lamp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.brasseriegeorges.com/accueil.aspx">Brasserie Georges</a><br />
30 Cours de Verdun Perrache<br />
69002 LYON<br />
Tel: 04 72 56 54 54<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
Brasserie Georges recently held a <a href="http://www.lyoncapitale.fr/Journal/Lyon/Actualite/Breves/La-brasserie-Georges-vend-ses-assiettes">sale of its dishware</a>. Had I been in the neighborhood, I'd have been tempted.<br />
<br />
A 2016 piece by <a href="http://www.delyonenlarge.com/2016/06/20/10-choses-ne-saviez-brasserie-georges-a-lyon/">De Lyon en Large</a> featuring interesting facts about the Brasserie Georges. They helpfully point out the swastikas figuring in the floor tiling predate the symbol's appropriation by Hitler.<br />
<br />
More Lyon:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/le-fleurie-lyon-69007.html">Le Fleurie, 69007</a>aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-81025032222733591422017-06-08T17:50:00.000+02:002017-06-08T17:59:48.450+02:00deck & donohue la terrasse at bob's bake shop, 75018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOQEfDIi-t4Y2_Evn5Mboagjh0XgoSSxxgRLYDDZSF0hfVJmdlD9psVwZMQhpVFJlk8WYHuRvQJm9XcFk8g3MqJlXAH-jg6PxPOwjfO-c3acOf7dRJbPQrlx1KDgW1mQanv3dCg5K7Xj6/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+bob%2527s+bake+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOQEfDIi-t4Y2_Evn5Mboagjh0XgoSSxxgRLYDDZSF0hfVJmdlD9psVwZMQhpVFJlk8WYHuRvQJm9XcFk8g3MqJlXAH-jg6PxPOwjfO-c3acOf7dRJbPQrlx1KDgW1mQanv3dCg5K7Xj6/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+bob%2527s+bake+shop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As of early May, Montreuil micro-brewery <a href="http://deck-donohue.com/">Deck & Donohue</a> has teamed up with 18ème-arrondissement vegetarian canteen <a href="http://www.bobsjuicebar.com/bake-shop.html">Bob's Bake Shop</a> to liven up the latter's enormous terrace all summer.<br />
<br />
Spearheading the project is Daniela Lavadenz, Thomas Deck's superhumanly energetic fiancée, who previously honed her skills in the kitchen at <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/08/righteous-following-au-passage-75011.html">Au Passage</a> and the dining room of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/05/another-excellent-restaurant-le-six.html">Le Six Paul Bert</a>. At <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DeckDonohueLaTerrasse/">Deck & Donohue La Terrasse</a>, she offers a small menu of well-plated snack foods faithful to both the project's ambitions - a casual beer-garden <i>sans</i> garden - and its host, a vegetarian restaurant. The fried-food-and-frankfurter tendencies of the standard beer-garden concept are therefore replaced with hummous, marinated peppers, a slurpably brilliant <i>salmorejo</i>, and roast potatoes with <i>chimichurri </i>sauce, a nod to Lavadenz's Bolivian heritage. Supplementing the terrace's four taps of joltingly fresh Deck & Donohue beers are a bevy of natural rosés by the glass, from the likes of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/julien-merle-beaujolais-legny-nathalie.html">Julien Merle</a>, <a href="http://www.chateaubas.com/">Château Bas</a>, and <a href="http://rivaton.vinsnaturels.fr/">Frederic Rivaton</a>.<br />
<br />
To anyone like myself, reluctant, during summertime, to plunk down beaucoup euros for lengthy meals at fine Paris restaurants that invariably lack air-conditioning or even basic ventilation, Deck & Donohue La Terrasse offers a form of salvation. But the project's appeal will be tested by its location north of métro Lachapelle, a heavily immigrant neighborhood whose female residents have recently drawn <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2017/05/24/a-paris-des-femmes-denoncent-le-harcelement-de-rue_5133251_3224.html">significant</a> <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/france/2017/05/19/la-chapelle-une-no-go-zone-interdite-aux-femmes-a-paris_1570841">media</a> <a href="http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75018/harcelement-les-femmes-chassees-des-rues-dans-le-quartier-chapelle-pajol-18-05-2017-6961779.php">attention</a> to routine harassment its streets. Salvation, in this case, comes with a healthy dose of social consciousness.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57jWhhFbhwqnhhvZ__krvQWxBX7VsMwKfprxkqn-J5dO6Qv_G7kaf89wy8OHyhNGH8os4_FCPoTzql5DD6kgCuw3XfIs9jcWolzKgoihUrNwjAxaR3b4EIp5VwVDDlrhTvlfNMuk2dyS8/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+carte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57jWhhFbhwqnhhvZ__krvQWxBX7VsMwKfprxkqn-J5dO6Qv_G7kaf89wy8OHyhNGH8os4_FCPoTzql5DD6kgCuw3XfIs9jcWolzKgoihUrNwjAxaR3b4EIp5VwVDDlrhTvlfNMuk2dyS8/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+carte.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
I'll be the first to admit there is something curious about loafing, beer in hand, in a site that hosted, just a year ago, a <a href="http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75018/xviiie-plus-d-un-millier-de-refugies-evacues-de-la-halle-pajol-29-06-2016-5925987.php">refugee camp</a>. (Two, very different types of loafing, one can't help reflecting.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCz_q0G2kzCxaDCQo0Zo8TiB4FfqnspbydzmeZ38jI7CaC-o6khJSqSL7o03UDdq-coQyZdrxSdLtIopfrGYoXZLijoPEhxip7SYFuN5UCqHwhS1ldNLWCvYogkM7-t3QPJnAB4nOA021/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+marinated+peppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCz_q0G2kzCxaDCQo0Zo8TiB4FfqnspbydzmeZ38jI7CaC-o6khJSqSL7o03UDdq-coQyZdrxSdLtIopfrGYoXZLijoPEhxip7SYFuN5UCqHwhS1ldNLWCvYogkM7-t3QPJnAB4nOA021/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+marinated+peppers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/immigration-et-diversite/article/2016/06/24/migrants-a-la-halle-pajol-a-paris-l-eternel-recommencement_4957591_1654200.html">2016 article in Le Monde</a> quoted Bob's Bake Shop founder Marc Grossman on the refugee crisis facing his and other establishments on the esplanade Nathalie Sarraute: "It's like a recurring nightmare. We suffer enormously. But if we don't complain louder, it's because the first victims are them, and not us."<br />
<br />
The scene on the esplanade is very different in the summer of 2017. The refugee camp has withdrawn. The recent media storm concerning sexual harassment in the streets surrounding Lachapelle has resulted in a perceptible and, one hopes, enduring police presence in the neighborhood. At one end of the esplanade is the loud, jungle-like terrace of bistro-club <a href="http://www.lespetitesgouttes.com/">Les Petites Gouttes</a>. Further north is a terraced American-themed bar.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-D2KudarERnh8myzQbcdU2Lf7JGiN0syTPHkAUrlVCN3SUHTPLLVD4pIXD00-2OPAmmQzA_prRGmZsUNo8kEfr3KxJaLAACoZMfFcHbKn6bHeh40hENorfN-mb-V9zzvZ0lEha6HMmvr/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+rose%25CC%2581+selection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-D2KudarERnh8myzQbcdU2Lf7JGiN0syTPHkAUrlVCN3SUHTPLLVD4pIXD00-2OPAmmQzA_prRGmZsUNo8kEfr3KxJaLAACoZMfFcHbKn6bHeh40hENorfN-mb-V9zzvZ0lEha6HMmvr/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+rose%25CC%2581+selection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sandwiched between them is Bob's Bake Shop, and Deck & Donohue La Terrasse - an unshowy arrangement of benches, logo-printed sun-chairs, and picnic tables, some covered with striped tents. Lavadenz alternates between the interior kitchen and the tap-stand just outside; Deck and other staff run dishes, pull beers, and welcome guests.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9e2854o1WHM9M2RBbhrdypLKpu1L_lG7U1v4WSBCBOXpqLW3mLSgiYzYmr-YEqlQIWHxhxakj0Zhaw8VWbjj5pS77MqEzSHJPa-oQ0o46JfAM_Tge_zQwVnh2OOarLXrELuWt7zj8NOVJ/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+burrata+peaches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9e2854o1WHM9M2RBbhrdypLKpu1L_lG7U1v4WSBCBOXpqLW3mLSgiYzYmr-YEqlQIWHxhxakj0Zhaw8VWbjj5pS77MqEzSHJPa-oQ0o46JfAM_Tge_zQwVnh2OOarLXrELuWt7zj8NOVJ/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+burrata+peaches.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The atmosphere is unhurried and familial, perfect for slow-gathering summer evenings among disparate groups of friends.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAHDdXbi2d_omDuOkrb7TXoVUSZte1Y2qcJoAzD2VSCNZY6yE_i-Wkd-1eveQ7G4rXg31nntYQ622jNZDCUKD3Cn1SNdy3sVYPmRxgv0DHDX1sfuWTg8Ln_jxSgg2Mav3P7iVtUMW2a65/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+taps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAHDdXbi2d_omDuOkrb7TXoVUSZte1Y2qcJoAzD2VSCNZY6yE_i-Wkd-1eveQ7G4rXg31nntYQ622jNZDCUKD3Cn1SNdy3sVYPmRxgv0DHDX1sfuWTg8Ln_jxSgg2Mav3P7iVtUMW2a65/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+taps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A longtime devotee of all the Deck & Donohue beers in bottle form, I relish the opportunity to taste them on draft. The recently-released <a href="https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/deck-donohue-clems-summer-wheat/274730/">Clem's Summer Wheat</a> seemed more vivid and substantial than usual in my pint glass the other night, but it may have merely been a trick of the blinding sundown.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd-Ox9fe45hLAHhnFM4qQTMxfDYox9ZyCp6hAweovIHyTwKMHxCV3CkNUiPXQ5SYp6g3huP6aBBbWrTh0kGx7s28e1fD7G4qzTiphkKN5FQstYJLdY-i849zc4jvKdtAm7ChWn9PvA4gT/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+clem%2527s+summer+wheat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd-Ox9fe45hLAHhnFM4qQTMxfDYox9ZyCp6hAweovIHyTwKMHxCV3CkNUiPXQ5SYp6g3huP6aBBbWrTh0kGx7s28e1fD7G4qzTiphkKN5FQstYJLdY-i849zc4jvKdtAm7ChWn9PvA4gT/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+clem%2527s+summer+wheat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Neurotic and guilt-stricken by nature, I can never help wondering, between sips at Deck & Donohue La Terrasse, about the quixotic nature of patronizing leisure spaces in downtrodden neighborhoods.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCP5NPy0WrKmcF08qFQpJt981bLzO_C7SFHIZmU-HScMPnbNL0a8_5lX1oScrsWIA3G4lmu6o4FRWMhQKv2-DA5xqOvFeNtXd-DFwYf0VRGrPYC8nyXKXldkctbXLvXR9Xi-6976rwp4CE/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+salmorejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCP5NPy0WrKmcF08qFQpJt981bLzO_C7SFHIZmU-HScMPnbNL0a8_5lX1oScrsWIA3G4lmu6o4FRWMhQKv2-DA5xqOvFeNtXd-DFwYf0VRGrPYC8nyXKXldkctbXLvXR9Xi-6976rwp4CE/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+salmorejo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Does my presence as a client at Deck & Donohue La Terrasse contribute anything to the area, besides a tad more noise pollution? Could a nightly influx of non-threatening peaceable craft beer-drinkers into the neighborhood go some way towards dissuading economically-marginalized men from venting their frustration in misogynist gestures? Is that what was happening in the first place?*<br />
<br />
The only answer to these questions, as I see it, is to keep sipping. I'll probably pass the much of the summer on this terrace. What Deck, Donohue, Lavadenz, and Grossman are offering Lachapelle is, in itself, pure goodwill.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpsdVmdvCJmc40u2vJAi0FU8DhX0wccMWKwziUGMVto8w1peaLWHKIbhqZljSIzTdhH4l7XYXBM1vuZNgVhO_P7k9iDDq2t7mZmMBJ5IdvZySoCh9cSZ4YGqSj5dVIz28jmHfgduCjIve/s1600/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+spoon+and+daniela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpsdVmdvCJmc40u2vJAi0FU8DhX0wccMWKwziUGMVto8w1peaLWHKIbhqZljSIzTdhH4l7XYXBM1vuZNgVhO_P7k9iDDq2t7mZmMBJ5IdvZySoCh9cSZ4YGqSj5dVIz28jmHfgduCjIve/s400/deck+donohue+la+terrasse+75018+spoon+and+daniela.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* The delicacy of the subject is such that the original petition by Lachapelle area women against sexual harassment was followed by a <i><a href="http://www.liberation.fr/france/2017/05/19/la-chapelle-une-no-go-zone-interdite-aux-femmes-a-paris_1570841">counterdemonstration</a> </i>of Lachapelle area residents insisting that the district is, contrary to most media coverage, perfectly decent. It is unfortunately true that, in France's contemporary political climate, even a noncontroversial stance like defending women's rights can be usurped by anyone peddling ugly ethnic bias couched in gallantry: "Defend <i>our</i> women!" etc. Not being a woman, I can't speak to the subject from direct experience, except to say that Lachapelle station does seem to warrant sustained police presence, if merely to discourage its tenacious pickpockets. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://parisbymouth.com/bobs-bake-shop/">Bob's Bake Shop</a> + <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DeckDonohueLaTerrasse/">Deck & Donohue La Terrasse</a><br />
Halle Pajol, 12 Espl. Nathalie Sarraute<br />
<div>
75018 PARIS<br />
Métro: Lachapelle<br />
<br />
Deck & Donohue La Terrasse is open Wednesday-Sunday, 4pm - midnight, summer 2017.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d10493.66656436039!2d2.3627797!3d48.8883964!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x416ccb02798a790d!2sBob's+Bake+Shop!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sfr!4v1496760396469" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
I wrote a bit about Deck & Donohue in this <a href="https://parisbymouth.com/montreuil-paris-great-escape-2/">piece about Montreuil for Paris by Mouth</a>.<br />
<br />
Paris by Mouth also has a good round-up of coverage on <a href="https://parisbymouth.com/bobs-bake-shop/">Bob's Bake Shop</a>. </div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-60489863293656905022017-05-27T19:08:00.000+02:002017-05-28T12:29:31.527+02:00pork universe: l'avant comptoir du marché, 75006<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJEkH08xhrjC9l5btym8kI8iJ33vMcxmBpKi2bqwfP2UuBPdBgdaqFH51fZ-fD2r2H6zM8xxA-LbSGGjcJ-d4EDmHN3ybyrpvvhqwUG9wDrcE4bT_02ZKiFj1dqT18I94_Cr5X2RFD-Wy/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1280" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJEkH08xhrjC9l5btym8kI8iJ33vMcxmBpKi2bqwfP2UuBPdBgdaqFH51fZ-fD2r2H6zM8xxA-LbSGGjcJ-d4EDmHN3ybyrpvvhqwUG9wDrcE4bT_02ZKiFj1dqT18I94_Cr5X2RFD-Wy/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I stand in awe of the sheer cheek of Yves Camdeborde's L'Avant Comptoir wine bars. Camdeborde had the insight to reproduce San Sebastian pintxos bars in Paris, a city where dining standing up is considered an abnormal act, like sleeping suspended from a ceiling.<br />
<br />
The success of L'Avant Comptoir and later L'Avant Comptoir de la Mer has validated Camdeborde's approach. No one has replicated it; very few have tried. The L'Avant Comptoir concept has become like the ancient megafauna of island nations, which, lacking any serious competition or natural predators, grew to outlandish proportions.<br />
<br />
L'Avant Comptoir du Marché, a relative juggernaut compared to the other two, opened in early fall of 2016 in the marché du Saint-Germain. The bar's entrance consists of car-wash-like mud-flaps bearing images of grinning pigs. A lurid red pig sculpture hangs like a martyr above the dining floor. It looks like something purchased from a Russian home décor emporium. One glance at such garish design indulgence normally sends me scampering like a refugee back to the skeletal bistros of the 11ème. If I nevertheless enjoy the occasional visit to L'Avant Comptoir du Marché, it's because there's a heroic irony how Camdeborde employs all the shlock arsenal of industrialised mass restaurateurism in the service of selling artisanal products: excellent pork and natural wine.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVCetoMX0R9JT9EHAPAfd6_kzOTAFPdYmL7iQp_fMB69cQ45dKnbBZgMZyn0zPkg0cJ6IEPILj0W0mx88BLkb9Oco3E3Y19umkbjVeNXzsNhQg36Acgw8B90YeB1xuPhLEVrXmZgEVGKJ/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVCetoMX0R9JT9EHAPAfd6_kzOTAFPdYmL7iQp_fMB69cQ45dKnbBZgMZyn0zPkg0cJ6IEPILj0W0mx88BLkb9Oco3E3Y19umkbjVeNXzsNhQg36Acgw8B90YeB1xuPhLEVrXmZgEVGKJ/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
That light seasoning of commercial insurrection unites the restaurant group's otherwise wildly inconsistent menu offerings.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7HQ-1oddGE0vxzaR51qx8YdrOTOCEtO_jDhTXNh3NEv_mTGqaPj24LSqOZU10o89IubE5Z6SWoP-V5g3YhzI9YvPbuS1eBJa3n861J6nJngumx0Rh6H5vCTvcs0N8-oIcx27IYDTZyea/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+shot+du+sang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7HQ-1oddGE0vxzaR51qx8YdrOTOCEtO_jDhTXNh3NEv_mTGqaPj24LSqOZU10o89IubE5Z6SWoP-V5g3YhzI9YvPbuS1eBJa3n861J6nJngumx0Rh6H5vCTvcs0N8-oIcx27IYDTZyea/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+shot+du+sang.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The 2€ 'blood shot' (a blend of cooked pork blood and bearnaise) is meaty and warming, a liquid <i>boudin noir</i>, nowhere near as daring as it sounds. Tripe with arugula, fish roe, pickled red onion, and a cream emulsion was silken and delicate, belying its throwaway plating.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyG2_B7WdOLcBKHLTse3IeeTqjS1KM3tPPx3eF5-CmdMW8Odp5Oe3CYdF_fkL2L9-CM7qS6niXc4Qxck1Hjbeq44nfnk_iabl9NA-V5LyGG-MXCYFtgsiUIhyDvFSAz16OXGaOZRLWXOD/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+fraise+de+veau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1222" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyG2_B7WdOLcBKHLTse3IeeTqjS1KM3tPPx3eF5-CmdMW8Odp5Oe3CYdF_fkL2L9-CM7qS6niXc4Qxck1Hjbeq44nfnk_iabl9NA-V5LyGG-MXCYFtgsiUIhyDvFSAz16OXGaOZRLWXOD/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+fraise+de+veau.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
But in the kitchen's commitment to devising strange new presentations for pork, the ratio of hits to misses is pitiable. On a recent visit, a friend and I shook our heads in bug-eyed horror at a warm vinaigrette of pigs' feet and beets, the rare dish that looks and tastes the same at first bite as it would after being rejected by the stomach. It was gruesome even on an ergonomic plane: the beet liquid gorily leaked into the rest at the slightest touch of a fork.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKRbBjsWHPfd0pd2Yvv5iavNRvWEn2Ck3xMR-uGVXgwGgCqg6TJ4l1W0hhCF6_2AEhaGTjweANGpv91lhxz_4i3Ph7VENWvgVHkRqwcKHHpPvMEzMoA0EtjT6-d3TiBoHQfweWmoQOS6G/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+pig+feet+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEKRbBjsWHPfd0pd2Yvv5iavNRvWEn2Ck3xMR-uGVXgwGgCqg6TJ4l1W0hhCF6_2AEhaGTjweANGpv91lhxz_4i3Ph7VENWvgVHkRqwcKHHpPvMEzMoA0EtjT6-d3TiBoHQfweWmoQOS6G/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+pig+feet+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Equally bizarre, but less offensive, was a pork soup, in the murky depths of which floated raspberries whitening in the heat. I won't forget it, but nor do I envision ever consuming such a dish again, short of getting stranded on a deserted island with a sow and a raspberry bush.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_jGn0BbT1r9Oz_SwTxytAwIPaBZeuI-2Aib5ZZJMePXbCmzc6YNG4PvtKn3W3lNlOtf25AxWH6tFCiZMGYWNf5Yz3AZYcvw6ooS6mssVy3DPmBRq3zLbVtruLkgFiFvC-eM2-H3wcFNP/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+pork+soup+with+raspberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_jGn0BbT1r9Oz_SwTxytAwIPaBZeuI-2Aib5ZZJMePXbCmzc6YNG4PvtKn3W3lNlOtf25AxWH6tFCiZMGYWNf5Yz3AZYcvw6ooS6mssVy3DPmBRq3zLbVtruLkgFiFvC-eM2-H3wcFNP/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+pork+soup+with+raspberries.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I love pork as much as the next guy. But I like it in familiar forms: sausages, charcuterie, ears, feet, ribs, etc. Until we abandon the earth as uninhabitable, probably during the second or third Trump administration, I'd prefer not to eat like an astronaut.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfV5wr9ckaN5Dz8P70w-XFqOtN-HEiKACIsF4dG_4Lnq4Cek2_fRYp9IGGYjnsHAZqakPvJZICGr4_74jgoFP2DFhp8BR6KtjIfB0g7WTp0rhwHZBiOdGazdqOzfDYblZOStlmA8pL5DQ/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfV5wr9ckaN5Dz8P70w-XFqOtN-HEiKACIsF4dG_4Lnq4Cek2_fRYp9IGGYjnsHAZqakPvJZICGr4_74jgoFP2DFhp8BR6KtjIfB0g7WTp0rhwHZBiOdGazdqOzfDYblZOStlmA8pL5DQ/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+menu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Happily L'Avant Comptoir du Marché is stocked with an impressive range of more familiar cured meats. The bar is most successful where it hews closest to the Basque bars that inspired it. Quick no-nonsense service of wine and good ham, standing-room only. Service at L'Avant Comptoir du Marché is typically very good - for the restaurant opening, Camdeborde astutely hired former <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2012/01/all-right-ingredients-jeu-de-quilles.html">Jeu de Quilles</a> proprietor Benoit Reix, a noted chef himself with long experience in the natural wine scene.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PDEXIEJUauuvxMjTIEy_Ojz-j7A0RYt0xJfAiYlfEWvFqUQkGeYMJIADZLKz2Zox1ZeXqZ3BRxIubTsViY-KhiUWplxCylHqFSSc-JyCdrAODJ7QCCHSYYlO1uF7lUOANFf1y-5H5vsk/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+ham+dufaitre+premises.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PDEXIEJUauuvxMjTIEy_Ojz-j7A0RYt0xJfAiYlfEWvFqUQkGeYMJIADZLKz2Zox1ZeXqZ3BRxIubTsViY-KhiUWplxCylHqFSSc-JyCdrAODJ7QCCHSYYlO1uF7lUOANFf1y-5H5vsk/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+ham+dufaitre+premises.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
My friends and I washed away the memories of the pool of pigs' feet with a bottle of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/remi-dufaitre-beaujolais-saint-etienne.html">Rémi Dufaitre</a>'s 2016 handsome Beaujolais-Villages "Prémices." Dufaitre and his neighbor and mentor <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/jean-claude-lapalu-saint-etienne-la.html">Jean-Claude Lapalu</a> were the golden boys of the 2016 vintage; while their natural vigneron peers in crus to the north suffered greatly from hail that year, the winemakers of Saint-Etienne-La-Varenne and Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières were largely untouched, allowing them to make the most of an archetypal vintage. I first noted the promise of the 2016 "Prémices" when tasting it from tank back in November; at L'Avant Comptoir du Marché this spring I was elated to re-encounter its buoyant dark-cherry fruit unfaded in bottle.<br />
<br />
L'Avant Comptoir du Marché's wine selection is lightly weighted towards the Beaujolais; it is further distinguished by the routine appearance of back vintages, particularly in the bar's magnum selection. After my last visit I made a resolute promise-to-self only to order magnums when I return.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiZ4pR5vVA36JhROZyxn6XkqFx9VgY0wF2A3NSRL8dXjfU31PXcmikytarZkhD0EY58ME1PkmhdpoioFL8sX9mq-59iQFlcv85Rm_7X8m-iLfCFATawvCW939JN0Jb6cGhFJKdSy5f7vt/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+sculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiZ4pR5vVA36JhROZyxn6XkqFx9VgY0wF2A3NSRL8dXjfU31PXcmikytarZkhD0EY58ME1PkmhdpoioFL8sX9mq-59iQFlcv85Rm_7X8m-iLfCFATawvCW939JN0Jb6cGhFJKdSy5f7vt/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+sculpture.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I will indeed return, despite weirdo dishes, despite the routine tourist crush, despite the unhygienic free-for-all of pickles, butter, and creepy "rillettes" that are merely whipped fat. Mostly because, almost a decade after the opening of the original L'Avant Comptoir, there is still almost nothing like its concept in Paris.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lHH3BHupuCZMSCR8dm5NGyZ8M0Tb4K_GG3BL_fGEO6ZvI-4vDp6dQa9MeeB-KHHiHfNbNCuM7sSibgQyTlAbGc-L40vC4s-3KOvauq7JduuWE9nVuc3bvFx5OxnRkCOD8oDWaGvy6rCq/s1600/Glyptodon_%2528Riha2000%2529.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lHH3BHupuCZMSCR8dm5NGyZ8M0Tb4K_GG3BL_fGEO6ZvI-4vDp6dQa9MeeB-KHHiHfNbNCuM7sSibgQyTlAbGc-L40vC4s-3KOvauq7JduuWE9nVuc3bvFx5OxnRkCOD8oDWaGvy6rCq/s400/Glyptodon_%2528Riha2000%2529.jpg.838x0_q80.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megafauna.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm tempted to say that entering L'Avant Comptoir du Marché is like entering an alternate universe where questionable taste has been rewarded with popular success and limitless critical esteem. But that universe is our own. It is our agricultural system, our economic system, our political system. Camdeborde's genius has been to subvert this and embrace it at the same time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4W7tpG4SihKxq3i9kKN03MD-d8-TYktxlR3Xb0mTywd7IiRTY3sgSiHbgzlCMP5yGbx50xegn-oiv2A3hsMIb0nfUxoX6KG4QrEgIipM5k9qN5BVZqZilcYAOAqc73Arn6xkn5f60uZZ/s1600/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+mudflaps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4W7tpG4SihKxq3i9kKN03MD-d8-TYktxlR3Xb0mTywd7IiRTY3sgSiHbgzlCMP5yGbx50xegn-oiv2A3hsMIb0nfUxoX6KG4QrEgIipM5k9qN5BVZqZilcYAOAqc73Arn6xkn5f60uZZ/s400/avant+comptoir+du+marche%25CC%2581+75006+mudflaps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lavantcomptoir/">L'Avant Comptoir du Marché</a><br />
14, rue Lobineau<br />
75006 PARIS<br />
Métro: Odéon<br />
No phone.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d10501.350568796652!2d2.3355959!3d48.8517716!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x5e1b8f613d7795b8!2sL'Avant+Comptoir+du+March%C3%A9!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sfr!4v1495903977285" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Related Links:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/09/ups-downs-avant-comptoir-75006.html">My 2011 post about the original L'Avant Comptoir</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lefooding.com/en/restaurants/restaurant-l-avant-comptoir-du-marche-paris">Le Fooding</a> on L'Avant Comptoir du Marché.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.timeout.fr/paris/bars/lavant-comptoir-du-marche">Time Out</a>'s piece on L'Avant Comptoir du Marché contains some witty dialogue from Yves Camdeborde.<br />
<br />
Even an alien life-form would get the gist of L'Avant Comptoir du Marché after reading Wendy Lyn's exhaustively service-oriented rundown at <a href="http://www.wendylyn.paris/eat-drink/new-opening/lavant-comptoir-du-marche-ultimate-swine-bar/">Paris Is My Kitchen</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gillespudlowski.com/161957/restaurants/paris-6e-tout-est-bon-dans-le-cochon-du-marche">Gilles Pudlowski</a> on L'Avant Comptoir du Marché. Here, as in pretty much all of the above reviews, the author has dutifully trotted out various promotional catchphrases ("The pig is king!" etc.) that almost surely originated with the restaurant group itself.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-49126157382843573482017-05-02T13:40:00.001+02:002017-05-02T13:41:13.696+02:00c'est extra: le bel ordinaire, 75010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ91ibasHDJlJ3f_U_ByzpupO-ZuRhn4Lw7no1erYhm0yEz4NRZKs-Y2kgUYx65pKeYNnrek0EdsCNXZA9H7FHZ52xq-cl4_kY8ObgyFxRZW9jo9huWlZIDixzATrJbqyyjaDea6K26cbv/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ91ibasHDJlJ3f_U_ByzpupO-ZuRhn4Lw7no1erYhm0yEz4NRZKs-Y2kgUYx65pKeYNnrek0EdsCNXZA9H7FHZ52xq-cl4_kY8ObgyFxRZW9jo9huWlZIDixzATrJbqyyjaDea6K26cbv/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The latter-day service-industry explosion of Paris' 10ème arrondissement is remarkable for its enthusiastically globalized aesthetics. You have Asian fusion bistrots, craft beer pizza joints, fish-n-chips, Parisian burgers, bentos galore, and Syrian take-out: a full-on Soho occurring between rue du Faubourg Montmartre and the boulevard de Strasbourg.<br />
<br />
What the 10ème lacks, since Pierre Jancou flipped <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2012/10/gem-laden-vivant-cave-75010.html">Vivant</a> and Kevin Blackwell closed his beloved bistrot <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2010/11/simple-comme-un-boujour-autour-dun.html">Autour d'Un Verre</a>, is that most Parisian of commodities : a convincing wine destination.<br />
<br />
On bustling rue Paradis, culinary journalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_Demorand">Sebastien Demorand</a>'s gleaming new épicerie-bar-à-vin <a href="http://www.lebelordinaire.com/">Le Bel Ordinaire</a>, with its airy dimensions, its tall shelves modeled on scaffolding, its pristine rear kitchen, rather resembles another new-fangled London-scaled endeavor. Indeed, it is one. But its charm, for now, lays in how well it fills the neighborhood wine bar void, providing a calm and tasteful apéro spot for the quartier's hurried young professionals.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpi2CIgfbhw48J9vWFaLdd5qlHUcZN2UTAUxEQOfjo1VJsYaW8oMr22Yw2QwQUeshhRguGsksA8dBpMPfoMzsAPKApdSDgYIUYZnMd6Ta4_uOjVJptQkbv418r6Y7scj6LcGmbVqcOa_u/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpi2CIgfbhw48J9vWFaLdd5qlHUcZN2UTAUxEQOfjo1VJsYaW8oMr22Yw2QwQUeshhRguGsksA8dBpMPfoMzsAPKApdSDgYIUYZnMd6Ta4_uOjVJptQkbv418r6Y7scj6LcGmbVqcOa_u/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Le Bel Ordinaire was built into the shell of a former lighting shop. I can only marvel at the negotiations Demorand must have gone through to install the kitchen. One long table spans the room, a curious under-exploitation of the space that I assume is a temporary situation. (Two tables could probably fit without unduly hindering retail sales.) Both occasions I've visited Le Bel Ordinaire have been as a party of two; on both occasions I've hesitated before guiltily seating myself at the end of the communal table, space which would more profitably be reserved for a party of three. I suppose I have an aversion to seating myself directly next to or between other parties in such bright lighting. What works for a beer hall can be an odd fit for a fly-through apéro spot.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywNtmQOLdpZpdJqiyYOj81_Ajjs0tmBqktA7gLr3vBrvM4mJb9VqxiCKbUmGA9vUte4ZEWzmC79XSwAfBXg7pWBfTSlYuKXOruh-FgLXQ1viSPiCGf_OBwpgpwfPR3qBPqyjvenCMySjr/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywNtmQOLdpZpdJqiyYOj81_Ajjs0tmBqktA7gLr3vBrvM4mJb9VqxiCKbUmGA9vUte4ZEWzmC79XSwAfBXg7pWBfTSlYuKXOruh-FgLXQ1viSPiCGf_OBwpgpwfPR3qBPqyjvenCMySjr/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+menu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The menu, which emphasizes products sold on the shelves, is a free-form array of small plates and inexpensive nibbles. Some components are very persuasive, like the impeccably meaty and well-presented kalamata olives.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBmbl_oBxjukFtKtnCZxctyLDMsa_kLbNhImnx04XEiGNTmPMvD1xxX5XOu3gUV6CBunpa5EqQRtIAyjHEyGjSsaN_LtAPw6xVa0wYnssOOle51wm8ag9YH1nJyQ2vxlx2uiCOcfAg04n/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+olives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBmbl_oBxjukFtKtnCZxctyLDMsa_kLbNhImnx04XEiGNTmPMvD1xxX5XOu3gUV6CBunpa5EqQRtIAyjHEyGjSsaN_LtAPw6xVa0wYnssOOle51wm8ag9YH1nJyQ2vxlx2uiCOcfAg04n/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+olives.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Other dishes - some limp, sear-less octopus - seem to evidence a chef still adapting to a new kitchen and the desires of a new clientele.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7v6YZiboW4Ht4JzOyaYgOLBGyqXfqE8AVTYzsVMAJlhjr4os1o4eOOLT-mhgHycztixtzKZebCd_AGDMsxFfQ5s1Zum7K3UcLTbnuVHiPZBg5il8PykVJt68cbEVsHdzi14ghR-UEzp8u/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+asparagus+and+octopus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7v6YZiboW4Ht4JzOyaYgOLBGyqXfqE8AVTYzsVMAJlhjr4os1o4eOOLT-mhgHycztixtzKZebCd_AGDMsxFfQ5s1Zum7K3UcLTbnuVHiPZBg5il8PykVJt68cbEVsHdzi14ghR-UEzp8u/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+asparagus+and+octopus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The kitchen, run by former <a href="https://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-semilla/">Semilla</a> cook Nicolas Fabre, has no discernible signature for now. But I sense that is sort of the point of Le Bel Ordinaire, a retail-bar intended as repository of diverse French and international specialties. As the fashion designer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junya_Watanabe">Junya Watanabe</a> would often mumble to his staff after screening a video of the new season's men's collection, "The theme is no theme."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwXUT_w3N5fAvisfrwLDIwNg-LDXQ7L-NJXkfTCRkuVh4FKv_rP5PXtJl8tvqiiVAjjpaI_BCaJO5-M_3VzW8GGuDq9om0EZO4tqG5zIkguQJkz0Z8fnJ5DVvvZrgvSxxc5y49T6X5geN/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+shelving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwXUT_w3N5fAvisfrwLDIwNg-LDXQ7L-NJXkfTCRkuVh4FKv_rP5PXtJl8tvqiiVAjjpaI_BCaJO5-M_3VzW8GGuDq9om0EZO4tqG5zIkguQJkz0Z8fnJ5DVvvZrgvSxxc5y49T6X5geN/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+shelving.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wpG2gWHsPp9e-dSHe0Gk5MOfUHDaf9Dq7yK1SJehUydmT4T-ifYhpCfVXsUyB2XSHi4BE0xeU8RjLgcOxDRVRqAHKwtWclDSIXBwS3sHOPxEbwD3AEBKhQPQSEG2d1DKmlaABOSRU1Lm/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+cheeses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wpG2gWHsPp9e-dSHe0Gk5MOfUHDaf9Dq7yK1SJehUydmT4T-ifYhpCfVXsUyB2XSHi4BE0xeU8RjLgcOxDRVRqAHKwtWclDSIXBwS3sHOPxEbwD3AEBKhQPQSEG2d1DKmlaABOSRU1Lm/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+cheeses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Le Bel Ordinaire is well-placed among the innumerable offices of the 10ème, offering both "le afterwork" and a selection of gourmet gifts to bring home to the missus or mister afterwards. The wine selection, almost exclusively natural wines, is daring given the otherwise eagerly commercial posture of the endeavor. Demorand and his partner, Cyrille Rossetto, financed Le Bel Ordinaire partly through crowd-funding, and have stated intentions to open several other locations across Paris. Their website contains an impressive serenade to would-be investors.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwn2GozBH-x0vTxObFkgpIqmp0nlS6V_CopzvK2-umvpnPXbNxkPsvqaUg1ZgPCh8lQK6OjoOtOH22Ipe5HL0hEU3-IwKGgvEM1z5rWECqKMtMo-U-tZZwFJedSkneDC3JnGdmrCyNPMw/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+wines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwn2GozBH-x0vTxObFkgpIqmp0nlS6V_CopzvK2-umvpnPXbNxkPsvqaUg1ZgPCh8lQK6OjoOtOH22Ipe5HL0hEU3-IwKGgvEM1z5rWECqKMtMo-U-tZZwFJedSkneDC3JnGdmrCyNPMw/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+wines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Will those future investors share Demorand's passion for excellent low-sulfur cru Beaujolais, for the changeable Provençal wines of <a href="http://www.domaine-milan.com/">Domaine Milan</a>, for the ever-rarer domaine wines of the talented but weather-cursed Montlouis maestro <a href="http://www.domaine-jousset.fr/">Bertrand Jousset</a>? One hopes so. For now Demorand's selection is especially laudable for containing the odd unusual back vintage, like the bottle of 2010 <a href="http://www.naudin-ferrand.com/en/index.php">Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand</a> Hautes-Côtes de Nuits blanc I shared on my first visit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8MnLhKUlyIgQW2bs-qSTbLbauVbreT9rg234nEyPumXuqhK0W0qwq-7dT46vokkUykL6Ka1DwlHjCM761hyO91NAtATJr6pXSAMRigCklJr_6VuZB0FvvfSs0gBZz_hlTcPrDeNPjarq/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+naudin+hautes+cotes+de+beaune+blanc+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8MnLhKUlyIgQW2bs-qSTbLbauVbreT9rg234nEyPumXuqhK0W0qwq-7dT46vokkUykL6Ka1DwlHjCM761hyO91NAtATJr6pXSAMRigCklJr_6VuZB0FvvfSs0gBZz_hlTcPrDeNPjarq/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+naudin+hautes+cotes+de+beaune+blanc+2010.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Taut yet fleshy, with chiming green apple and flint, the wine wore its seven years like an eye-blink. When the final two glasses revealed finer grain and lifting white floral notes, I realised I ought to have asked for a carafe.<br />
<br />
The experience of such a lovely wine in a faintly supermarket-like setting recalled a visit in 2008 to <a href="https://www.eataly.net/it_en/shops/turin-lingotto/">Eataly</a> in Turin, where my erstwhile employer and I shared a bottle of 1990 <a href="http://www.cavallotto.com/en/">Cavalotto</a> Barolo with aged Piemontese steak. Demorand and Rossetto, if they aren't yet attaining that level of profit-raking high-low grandeur at Le Bel Ordinaire, have all the means and the savvy to achieve it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwWrXu1LS3cEZHip9bf5IzTid8YbM3nYIpgB4iG7EubRPn6qWq-_YZZSB7s6xe-N-C8brAfA06feYMGachCDmxDNWjSsLANf44gXVcclTOBgV6RW4W_Ae2MWMP-uqm13ap9g0FC1fQPtX/s1600/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwWrXu1LS3cEZHip9bf5IzTid8YbM3nYIpgB4iG7EubRPn6qWq-_YZZSB7s6xe-N-C8brAfA06feYMGachCDmxDNWjSsLANf44gXVcclTOBgV6RW4W_Ae2MWMP-uqm13ap9g0FC1fQPtX/s400/le+bel+ordinaire+paris+75010+wine+bar+epicerie+lights.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.lebelordinaire.com/">Le Bel Ordinaire</a><br />
54, rue de Paradis<br />
75010 PARIS<br />
Tel: +33 1 46 27 46 67<br />
Métro: Poissonière, Cadet, or Bonne Nouvelle<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2624.079472833328!2d2.3470866508844708!3d48.87576150733645!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x47e66e14d0d00001%3A0xe84d6bb00189f37!2sLe+Bel+Ordinaire!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1493650554352" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Related Links:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lefooding.com/fr/restaurants/restaurant-le-bel-ordinaire-paris">Le Fooding</a> on Le Bel Ordinaire.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.timeout.fr/paris/bars/le-bel-ordinaire">Time Out</a>'s review rather curiously turns into a sales pitch for Le Bel Ordinaire's long-term business plan.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-21370297131607235892017-04-27T11:08:00.001+02:002017-04-27T11:14:01.453+02:00out in the street: vignes, 75019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoptvD2SNCXn3OgaV2AE702tKiaS5mkJ1Ij56j6IXz3illqlpmeQ8jOWPrASEhyphenhyphenGv8DZ_isWjjS1YljUNIzN00xQz0sq3gKRbuXdNvYiFKxury5Gmx6qSR2nSsqeKm_Q7TNlBhHFxvh33v/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+opening+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoptvD2SNCXn3OgaV2AE702tKiaS5mkJ1Ij56j6IXz3illqlpmeQ8jOWPrASEhyphenhyphenGv8DZ_isWjjS1YljUNIzN00xQz0sq3gKRbuXdNvYiFKxury5Gmx6qSR2nSsqeKm_Q7TNlBhHFxvh33v/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+opening+party.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vignes' opening party, before the terrace seating was installed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The great legacy of the <i>cave-à-manger</i> neologism has been to turn most new Paris wine shops into functional bars. You'd have to be either insane or misanthropic to open a wine shop that merely sold wine in Paris these days. The same license permits wine retail and restaurant activities and the line between what constitutes a restaurant and what constitutes a bar (which designation requires a more expensive and regulated Licence IV) is in effect extremely blurry. As often as not, lack of a License IV redounds to a proprietor's benefit, because he or she retains the bulletproof excuse that the kitchen is closed whenever it becomes necessary to decline to serve the visibly drunk or deranged. Inspections are rare, so proprietors are under no obligation to apply the same standards to normal happy drinking humans. Wine shop becomes ostensible restaurant, actual bar, albeit one that tends to close by midnight.<br />
<br />
The latest to gainfully skate this line is the former manager of Thierry Bruneau's popular 12ème arrondissement wine bar <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/03/siffleur-de-ballons-bar-75012.html">Le Siffleur de Ballons</a>, Frédéric Malpart, who opened his <i>caviste - bar-à-vin </i><a href="http://vignes-paris.com/">Vignes</a> in Belleville back in March. Like Malpart's former workplace, Vignes boasts a clean, blonde wooden décor, airy white lighting, kind staff bearing simple meat and cheese plates, and an open-minded selection of organic, biodynamic wines.<br />
<br />
Unlike Le Siffleur de Ballons, Vignes has a handful of spacious terrace tables, and gives out on the broad boulevard de la Villette. It is instantly the only terraced bar serving a natural wine selection in Belleville*, and a valuable addition to the neighborhood renaissance presently underway.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeGoCKU3Qz1ZWWLzPoLS79YPjl6Jku7YPlBA8uXnrWkROjwAR1rPuX8d_EfSQyTGzLuyisewU2-XDdubCpZWxmGC6gL9V48-46p8Jb5vpUjDrWtY84S2wevNNBWYjjtugRqfAorvkay9P/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeGoCKU3Qz1ZWWLzPoLS79YPjl6Jku7YPlBA8uXnrWkROjwAR1rPuX8d_EfSQyTGzLuyisewU2-XDdubCpZWxmGC6gL9V48-46p8Jb5vpUjDrWtY84S2wevNNBWYjjtugRqfAorvkay9P/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Malpart is a genial and unhurried guy whose tastes split the difference between full-throttle natural and merely well-made wines. His selection at Vignes is less kitchen-sink than nearby <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/la-cave-de-belleville-75019.html">La Cave de Belleville</a> (where the wine selection has improved since opening), less ideological than his other closest neighbor, <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2014/10/la-cave-michel-75010.html">La Cave à Michel</a>. One isn't assured, by its very position on the shelf, that a wine is sulfur-free, but then, relying on that sort of assurance is just another way of avoiding thinking about natural wine.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0UILGZKKmjMwaYfK8Wy8Ini0xy7oqoHpVF-8rPUVTFsKoZlSjqSm43PDp8rSxJ1mUNo2LjLM3qJPei8vEOxjuf-N59blrvFDEdhSuHRpqQdTOB4zWHXpfyU_OjNVNzvd5r1XSME8TgiX/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+signage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0UILGZKKmjMwaYfK8Wy8Ini0xy7oqoHpVF-8rPUVTFsKoZlSjqSm43PDp8rSxJ1mUNo2LjLM3qJPei8vEOxjuf-N59blrvFDEdhSuHRpqQdTOB4zWHXpfyU_OjNVNzvd5r1XSME8TgiX/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+signage.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Suffice it to say that I find more enjoyable bottles at Vignes these days than at, say, <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/01/small-victories-septime-cave-75011.html">Septime Cave</a>, where the selection has become a bit hodgepodge of late, and where heavy tourist demand seems to be taking a toll on hospitality.**<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35K3opo2McK5ky-JrcqWN7K7mw-QZvufzJvUCwg9kDypuRGc0JghzBfPHWp_ZDEw-HQrBd2dQ6b2qPFX4BpmoOyassmHE8J-UFZ8-wfL2kh9Bka3ze6aCaV1WmvPs381eC3gDLIpUYG-4/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+white+selection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35K3opo2McK5ky-JrcqWN7K7mw-QZvufzJvUCwg9kDypuRGc0JghzBfPHWp_ZDEw-HQrBd2dQ6b2qPFX4BpmoOyassmHE8J-UFZ8-wfL2kh9Bka3ze6aCaV1WmvPs381eC3gDLIpUYG-4/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+white+selection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
On a recent visit to Vignes my friend C introduced me to the wines of Saumur vigneron <a href="http://mifuguemiraisin.com/sylvain-dittiere-3/">Sylvain Dittière</a>, who formerly worked for <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/02/loire-road-trip-pt-ii-clos-rougeard.html">Clos Rougeard</a>, among others, and who now releases wines as La Porte Saint Jean. His 2015 "La Saut Mignon," from sauvignon, was a vivid, leesy expression of the grape's characteristic herbaceous qualities, supple and unfiltered. The wines' prices are a tad ambitious, though, and sit oddly next to the plebeian font Dittière has chosen for the labels.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlttX8FpSyS6V_SaLaCbS7muLAKmehYnP_iStZCVKioomTL9PjNkz_PnnZm1DjIjEwJzyWkX02qom_ZVYw6j2bm2rEclGBLJGq8Czip5xwaxuziclxBEhRUWzdHqbs5MS5gEXBQFIwJEnk/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+la+porte+saint+jean+sauvignon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlttX8FpSyS6V_SaLaCbS7muLAKmehYnP_iStZCVKioomTL9PjNkz_PnnZm1DjIjEwJzyWkX02qom_ZVYw6j2bm2rEclGBLJGq8Czip5xwaxuziclxBEhRUWzdHqbs5MS5gEXBQFIwJEnk/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+la+porte+saint+jean+sauvignon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Also in fine form that night was Beaujolais vigneron <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Raphael Champier</a>'s bristling, buoyant 2016 Beaujolais-Villages "Les Lurons," from a flat, old-vine granite parcel between Saint-Etienne-des-Oullières and Odenas. Almost everyone's 2016 Beaujolais is a joy to taste after the extractive 2015 vintage, but Champier and others on the Brouilly-BV border had none of the hail issues of their peers further north. The 2016 "Les Lurons" is a small-scale masterpiece, abundantly black-berried, light on its feet, a positive steal for the price.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNOSlvoJzq9pCjecDjNuRUc4MZ0kgrVJN0Q7J872m5M3IdESX0oty_WeD8YpWoHPuDADhTiYPw6pzHdL91eaKkVAO_WIGv9ONA6zE7BdpKPj4mYosORMwgiRxnQCjPK_gsTYTVezdiZz4/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+raphael+champier+les+lurons+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNOSlvoJzq9pCjecDjNuRUc4MZ0kgrVJN0Q7J872m5M3IdESX0oty_WeD8YpWoHPuDADhTiYPw6pzHdL91eaKkVAO_WIGv9ONA6zE7BdpKPj4mYosORMwgiRxnQCjPK_gsTYTVezdiZz4/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+raphael+champier+les+lurons+2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Vignes isn't reinventing the wheel, not with its format, nor with its slightly workaday charcuterie and cheese offerings. But, like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/dining/wine-review-beaujolais-villages.html?_r=0">a great glass of Beaujolais-Villages</a>, it's doing a small thing very well, and deserves to remain in high demand.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZZAzm_7wM426CBa3WKBpNOawb6NTpiemOLPiKjQ-F29Efm5Pi38VuVfomAZI00N5pXVzGGDZJL_CrRgABSQYXwMfULCdJ6yR0K5-dD8h01ARwKdc97nBT42RrVaK5wBBv-6yQqrVkcbf/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+charcuterie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZZAzm_7wM426CBa3WKBpNOawb6NTpiemOLPiKjQ-F29Efm5Pi38VuVfomAZI00N5pXVzGGDZJL_CrRgABSQYXwMfULCdJ6yR0K5-dD8h01ARwKdc97nBT42RrVaK5wBBv-6yQqrVkcbf/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+charcuterie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O8yphj2hUI8" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-T2Q8RvnqfEl5EfXlWCuUrLGN7G5ValoQtgacrDQWgaLv6Ad9iO7kCYY9kYL8rxKwwhApg4Yip27TE8hk_5ahtKLimllizOXNt_8yHzb714gZIjYcGAaIk7p90dfRVVadriJegcGBcq3/s1600/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-T2Q8RvnqfEl5EfXlWCuUrLGN7G5ValoQtgacrDQWgaLv6Ad9iO7kCYY9kYL8rxKwwhApg4Yip27TE8hk_5ahtKLimllizOXNt_8yHzb714gZIjYcGAaIk7p90dfRVVadriJegcGBcq3/s400/vignes+caviste+paris+75019+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* I am discounting the otherwise marvelous <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LaFontaineDeBelleville.paris/">La Fontaine de Belleville</a> for being more of a café, and for closing quite early, and for being situated quite at the farthest limit of Belleville proper. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">** I received a disproportionately spiteful scolding from a staff member at Septime Cave the other day after opening a cabinet to verify a bottle's vintage, something I had been doing routinely without incident there for the three years before that particular staff member's arrival. The outburst came as a shock, an abrupt breach in the Septime group's otherwise sterling hospitality standards. My friend and I paid and left, abandoning the bottle we'd been sharing until then. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://vignes-paris.com/">Vignes</a><br />
76, boulevard de la Villette<br />
Métro: Colonel Fabien or Belleville<br />
Tel: <span style="white-space: nowrap;">01 44 52 96 53</span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d10496.39539713976!2d2.3527400282056945!3d48.87539211699826!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0xcf7b887d95c1bab!2sVIGNES!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1493283677237" style="border-style: initial; border-width: 0px;" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;">Related Links: </span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;">More natural wine bars right nearby: </span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/02/le-grand-bain-restaurant-75020.html">Le Grand Bain, 75020</a></span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2014/10/la-cave-michel-75010.html">La Cave à Michel, 75011</a></span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/la-cave-de-belleville-75019.html">La Cave de Belleville, 75019</a></span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;">Fred Malpart's old workplace, still going strong: </span><br />
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/03/siffleur-de-ballons-bar-75012.html">Le Siffleur de Ballons, 75012</a></span><br />
<br />
My 2016 post on <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Raphael Champier</a>.<br />
<br />
A nice piece on Sylvain Dittière at <a href="http://mifuguemiraisin.com/sylvain-dittiere-3/">Mi Fugue Mi Raisin</a>.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-86510999596969382192017-04-25T17:30:00.001+02:002017-04-25T17:47:43.519+02:00don't change: osteria ferrara, 75011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIaKqEAaN9IJkQOc0uMwqMmdELyai2xU7vAasRaMII4wbI1JkNJspRskGkKcxIYmKnma3k40Xq50kIKP4ii03cXcHuQsSTsDkQbEQE7UDEm__h4G74JwG2McEk6SZpyoXvIB8rrvVfSD/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIaKqEAaN9IJkQOc0uMwqMmdELyai2xU7vAasRaMII4wbI1JkNJspRskGkKcxIYmKnma3k40Xq50kIKP4ii03cXcHuQsSTsDkQbEQE7UDEm__h4G74JwG2McEk6SZpyoXvIB8rrvVfSD/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The similarities with between the restaurant Sicilian chef Fabrizio Ferrara opened last fall - <span style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: underline;">Osteria Ferrara</span> - and his former restaurant, the beloved <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/05/the-ideal-caffe-dei-cioppi-75011.html">Caffe dei Cioppi</a>, are easy to recognize. At the new restaurant, an understated and tasteful redesign of the former bistrot occupant, Au Vieux Chène, one encounters the same unshowy preparations, the same loose risotto, the same divine sbrisolona, the same just-edgy-enough wine list.<br />
<br />
It's a more interesting exercise to note what has changed. Paris, for one thing.<br />
<br />
In the years since Caffe dei Cioppi closed, Ferrara's contemporaries <a href="http://www.passerini.paris/">Giovanni Passerini</a> and <a href="http://tondo-paris.com/">Simone Tondo</a> have raised the bar for Parisian Italian cuisine with their own, more expensive namesake restaurants in the same immediate neighborhood. Burrata has become as unavoidable as <i>saucisson sec</i>. The frighteningly-named <a href="https://www.bigmammagroup.com/fr/accueil">Big Mamma Group</a> has conquered middlebrow east Paris with a fleet of packed restaurants serving a simplistic, wincingly commercial take on pan-Italian cuisine.<br />
<br />
In 2017, Osteria Ferrara impresses most by its quiet sense of maturity. There is ample space between the tables. From the stereo, nary a boom-bap nor a distorted chord. In the culinary hotbed of east Paris - where small-plates of offal are as common as mezcal and wine labels resemble the undersides of skateboards - sophisticated, product-driven dining can sometimes feel like the province of youth alone. Stepping into the calm predictability of Osteria Ferrara feels, in the best way, like dining at the grown-ups' table.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHduYf8mAzPDiSTamE41pyqmk22o0qaoL84zbN4DnZfiGLVg9hGjxqXxYio8l2Z28p4uwBfq2c945zxCK0D41yceFkKPzEhB0E6Ei9OngRBJU_SBlbF2KrXtKl_UjZsBsg4TOBUURmpY-/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHduYf8mAzPDiSTamE41pyqmk22o0qaoL84zbN4DnZfiGLVg9hGjxqXxYio8l2Z28p4uwBfq2c945zxCK0D41yceFkKPzEhB0E6Ei9OngRBJU_SBlbF2KrXtKl_UjZsBsg4TOBUURmpY-/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+interior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Restaurateurs in Paris often seem to have a repertoire of two design strategies to put clients at ease: slovenliness, in the form of an excess of empty bottles or random paraphernalia, and goofiness, in the form of silly artwork or slogans. Osteria Ferrara's décor is laudably stern and text-free, its only mild extravagance some latticed bamboo lampshades that cast a pleasing web of shadow over the ceiling.<br />
<br />
It's not really worth dwelling on the menu, which is almost an exact replica of Caffe dei Cioppi. Writing about the latter restaurant in 2013, I <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/05/the-ideal-caffe-dei-cioppi-75011.html">remarked</a>, "The only thing more astonishing than the fact that no one else in Paris has replicated Ferrara's blueprint is that Ferrara himself has not replicated Ferrara's blueprint."<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Eh voilà! </i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8S9s8TziTNmgipv-Ez7XWXMZWY2g5ZNmGeecZdNHxQ-TsQ6AFFr_rst3GQ_vlLC4YleDsqPVzH8biPl5WRpIXVo60OQ03pg_BsJZDXBhPMOWZ0M_hEA0M2RZ5fcLxTttOdOXTwtZ50ECg/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8S9s8TziTNmgipv-Ez7XWXMZWY2g5ZNmGeecZdNHxQ-TsQ6AFFr_rst3GQ_vlLC4YleDsqPVzH8biPl5WRpIXVo60OQ03pg_BsJZDXBhPMOWZ0M_hEA0M2RZ5fcLxTttOdOXTwtZ50ECg/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+menu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The staff were very thoughtful in splitting our shared appetizers and mid-course between two plates, when I proposed dining <i>à l'italienne</i>, with meat following a risotto course. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8adIMMu6uoVGRMPp0rGhtgyXDXKHK2R8IpYNrsa0DAfMTEMDysQNnl2TqVjaBthhRKLcHSoFk93Vkk4Y02dHSfCbAd6tBu7YkaxAZ9oX30LxM0YD8gmsyX-mTqaNZ8nvWRKTkzwQGCaJ/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+burrata+half+portion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8adIMMu6uoVGRMPp0rGhtgyXDXKHK2R8IpYNrsa0DAfMTEMDysQNnl2TqVjaBthhRKLcHSoFk93Vkk4Y02dHSfCbAd6tBu7YkaxAZ9oX30LxM0YD8gmsyX-mTqaNZ8nvWRKTkzwQGCaJ/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+burrata+half+portion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienEI_pB0EMsFnpm9lNGf9-3lAI5l9I1NKtBtLmKpyzZqvnv8yendRrj2JrXyVUa1PuuYlWZnvQ1EaLonAhyphenhyphenFjvKsV4bwJqjxEhiyv2Fhi5tGPnXJdp4QFIUJgcJ937o3bPSablg02uebr/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+risotto+half+portion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienEI_pB0EMsFnpm9lNGf9-3lAI5l9I1NKtBtLmKpyzZqvnv8yendRrj2JrXyVUa1PuuYlWZnvQ1EaLonAhyphenhyphenFjvKsV4bwJqjxEhiyv2Fhi5tGPnXJdp4QFIUJgcJ937o3bPSablg02uebr/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+risotto+half+portion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
While it would have been poor form, we probably could have split the main course as well. The Native Companion's tuna steak was positively gargantuan. I was very happy devouring the entirety of a delicately seasoned veal liver.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTfBH0JyslACdF8BJ8QbF7c_WGcIzrhF-i7DUW7WG3bKa5HabSYgrwnIbtEK2APO7bQaqTcMQuYJzqeTejd7s1xVdqMlIRQcW4xcco2fU857sMAuN8E2qnlQ4fCdQc4K8HId_gRqQvjZi/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+tuna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTfBH0JyslACdF8BJ8QbF7c_WGcIzrhF-i7DUW7WG3bKa5HabSYgrwnIbtEK2APO7bQaqTcMQuYJzqeTejd7s1xVdqMlIRQcW4xcco2fU857sMAuN8E2qnlQ4fCdQc4K8HId_gRqQvjZi/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+tuna.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ5e9MXZdyaDc1nTidoUlHTjVAYp0BvIInacKR2Q0247-IRRa3-3sibz8qYRug0reRbMesyoDZ0JNci1QDcykaKWEi3G3wFDDAUPkARZuwKLnSQI-oFQs9BGD8H3aP_TtQAm8Yu5nQQ9B/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+liver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJ5e9MXZdyaDc1nTidoUlHTjVAYp0BvIInacKR2Q0247-IRRa3-3sibz8qYRug0reRbMesyoDZ0JNci1QDcykaKWEi3G3wFDDAUPkARZuwKLnSQI-oFQs9BGD8H3aP_TtQAm8Yu5nQQ9B/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+liver.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The aforementioned restaurants Passerini and Tondo have, along with Fabien Lombardi's 9ème arrondissement pizzeria <a href="http://faggio.fr/">Faggio</a> and Pietro Russano's <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/08/bravo-la-retrobottega-75011.html">La Retrobottega</a>, have gone some way towards identifying intelligent Parisian Italian cuisine with simultaneous a focus on natural wines. Osteria Ferrara meets them about three-quarters of the way, which I'd argue is an intelligent approach with Italian wine, given that Italy's natural wine scene is rather less <i>organized</i> - in the gang sense - than France's.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjod7LG8R2H4ogk3ZvS-Cu5WC1bR0LFJFj6mZwa24OHrElIuRNL5D9OIfUxL8uLRvV7clTyclw1ILijBKMgQl8c-Gcbg1j3JsdIj3waPkgIwrp4xPQ1WIksWxhJAzs2wt-_0ke9XKKPfd69/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+red+wines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjod7LG8R2H4ogk3ZvS-Cu5WC1bR0LFJFj6mZwa24OHrElIuRNL5D9OIfUxL8uLRvV7clTyclw1ILijBKMgQl8c-Gcbg1j3JsdIj3waPkgIwrp4xPQ1WIksWxhJAzs2wt-_0ke9XKKPfd69/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+red+wines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFCQenngbx9ZJtNjv-Vcaj_GuFbEo5MgMYoxy16uj3PukZjZVycVXcVubMDBh98G4MDtt3SELtJASnqwDfEf_M7n65BV2IBMNud5pq0un8PnUcrVKY-vy6vhrTXP1HnuJUiS43ZpvpKy2/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+white+wines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFCQenngbx9ZJtNjv-Vcaj_GuFbEo5MgMYoxy16uj3PukZjZVycVXcVubMDBh98G4MDtt3SELtJASnqwDfEf_M7n65BV2IBMNud5pq0un8PnUcrVKY-vy6vhrTXP1HnuJUiS43ZpvpKy2/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+white+wines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
With our meal we chose a 2013 vermentino by <a href="http://www.selvadolce.it/vini/vb1.html">Tenuta Selvadoce</a> entitled "VB1." Biodynamic, unfiltered, vinified with natural yeast, it had a lot going in its favor. But I profess to seeing no reason to skin-macerate a Ligurian vermentino; the effect was to render somewhat extractive and <i>impegnativo</i> what might otherwise have been a more elegant, aromatic coastal white.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4n9n9kyfbN1_4UqDbtMZnjo9f6KjXwJdM4NnqvL9nY5-L42wAMEJJdmBArQLr7ygbCMeeApkOTIr1woifZlrgU4B2gGMHr_MvQLlQiw5iUpG8SwhZoWxiad0IwbLyu79YCrTB3-yDz2X/s1600/selvadoce+terrazze+dell%2527imperiese+bianco+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4n9n9kyfbN1_4UqDbtMZnjo9f6KjXwJdM4NnqvL9nY5-L42wAMEJJdmBArQLr7ygbCMeeApkOTIr1woifZlrgU4B2gGMHr_MvQLlQiw5iUpG8SwhZoWxiad0IwbLyu79YCrTB3-yDz2X/s400/selvadoce+terrazze+dell%2527imperiese+bianco+2013.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
If anything, I'd be happy to see a few more well-made conventional choices on Osteria Ferrara's list. In its current state, they're almost all corralled into an uninspired subheading, "Vini d'Eccezione."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsQdMzIy0_eUXFIYJhnj3gSx42QTkWN-oeZkBVqeak-XVjVvZIxQRWOFcGd7GTqXk9x_FYZpiwq4AaiOFZARdEl9hmg8YSWmWTJQTTuoidU7J9PiTljCuKwfTgqBLGjjpv3G71RqI0cpi/s1600/osteria+ferrara+75011+wine+list+page+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsQdMzIy0_eUXFIYJhnj3gSx42QTkWN-oeZkBVqeak-XVjVvZIxQRWOFcGd7GTqXk9x_FYZpiwq4AaiOFZARdEl9hmg8YSWmWTJQTTuoidU7J9PiTljCuKwfTgqBLGjjpv3G71RqI0cpi/s400/osteria+ferrara+75011+wine+list+page+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
(I have never understood the logic of this approach. Why unnecessarily remind high-spending clients that they are spending a lot of money? It might not even be a lot of money, to them. One man's <i>vin d'exception </i>is another's <i>vin de soif</i>. Do restaurants do this merely to avoid frightening low-spending clients, who might glance at a three-figure Barolo and skedaddle? Do restaurants seek such clients?)<br />
<br />
In any event, I'm sure I'll have ample occasion to explore the rest of the restaurant's list. The Native Companion, before we'd even ordered our meal, announced: "I can't wait to bring my mother here!"<br />
<br />
I get along fine with her mother. But I'd return to Osteria Ferrara with them even if I didn't.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sLm3Khusq_8" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/osteriaferrara/">Osteria Ferrara</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
7, rue du Dahomey</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
75011 PARIS</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Métro: Faidherbe-Chaligny</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Tel: 01 43 71 67 69</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2625.3631308602908!2d2.381097950883554!3d48.85128550905998!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x47e67208ccfb8f3f%3A0x537ba22d5a6ebe6d!2sOsteria+Ferrara!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1493133582535" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Related Links:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My 2013 piece on the former <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2013/05/the-ideal-caffe-dei-cioppi-75011.html">Caffe dei Cioppi</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://lefooding.com/en/restaurants/restaurant-osteria-ferrara-paris">Le Fooding</a>'s succinct list of the dishes they had at Osteria Ferrara.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://sortir.telerama.fr/paris/lieux/restos/osteria-ferrara,29836.php">Télérama</a>'s enthusiastic 2016 endorsement of Osteria Ferrara.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
François-Régis Gaudry's laudatory piece on Osteria Ferrara at <a href="http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/saveurs/restaurant/paris-11e-osteria-ferrara-ou-l-italie-en-version-originale_1844883.html">L'Express</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.simonsays.fr/caffe-dei-cioppi-est-de-retour-cela-sappelle-osteria-ferrara">François Simon</a> has it right when he says it's "hard to slip a blade of reproach" at anything about Osteria Ferrara.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.paris-update.com/fr/restaurants/non-french-restaurants/22861-osteria-ferrara">Paris-Update</a>'s reviewer took care to mention her appreciation that Osteria Ferrara <i>didn't</i> suggest the traditional Italian meal format of antipasto > pasta or risotto > meat or fish. Different strokes, I guess.</div>
</div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-66154979829571648062017-03-30T13:14:00.000+02:002017-03-30T13:14:28.745+02:00n.d.p. in beaujolais: gilles paris, chiroubles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwbHT9hHqZlLathZTp_wAslkcg1TFIeOET1VxLtju3pWxL7iNcIhoEdEbc7ozlTu8mtj6F7xUK-tvkocilXiYReWiuhITja77lIDm6WbazhwupsZ633m9xa23RQXBZ7CmdJWQy2aYVXNQ/s1600/gilles+paris+beaujolais+july+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwbHT9hHqZlLathZTp_wAslkcg1TFIeOET1VxLtju3pWxL7iNcIhoEdEbc7ozlTu8mtj6F7xUK-tvkocilXiYReWiuhITja77lIDm6WbazhwupsZ633m9xa23RQXBZ7CmdJWQy2aYVXNQ/s400/gilles+paris+beaujolais+july+2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I harvested a few days with Chiroubles-based natural winemaker <a href="http://vins-du-beaujolais.com/domaine/domaine-christine-et-gilles-paris/">Gilles Paris</a> back in 2015. It was a disorienting experience. It was the hottest weekend of a heat-wave year, which did no favors for the ambience inside Paris' windowless white transport vans. I also could rarely discern whose vines we were in. In each new parcel I'd ask, "Are these your vines?" and Paris, shaking his head, would inform me they were those of a neighbor who sold to the cave cooperative, or that they belonged instead to his brother Jérôme, who was absent. Paris, it seemed, led a team he rented out to other growers before harvesting his own parcels. In the end I had to depart before setting foot in Paris' vines.<br />
<br />
Over dinner during harvest, and throughout innumerable apéro-hours after, I pestered Paris for a tasting at his cuvage. He kept demurring, citing his workload as then-President of the <a href="http://www.beaujolais.com/">Beaujolais Interprofession</a>. The fact that he and I continually ran into each other while out drinking proved this to be a rather thin excuse. We grew friendly, even as I withheld forming an opinion on his wines, for simple lack of information on them.<br />
<br />
It was only over two years later, touring Paris' new winery in Fleurie this past February, that I finally confirmed where he'd been vinifying, and where Jérome Paris had been all this time. That the details of Paris' unfiltered, low-sulfur cru Beaujolais wines had become mysterious was, of course, entirely inadvertent. In Paris' mind, he's just being a normal Beaujolais <i>débrouillard</i>, an effective operator, keeping his head down till the work is done.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHCKoak4d8NR1CRucNqrkEAK6IJFIz_Ixo2XIxslLp5GO7azRrJf0T4Dk4XGs9hK4jjbEAulbwMVKQfWJDxExeqGlCXwdevAQEvFq7eI2BOUNvPxMQse_9NoGxrWXo4m_4wJJAPC8Jkhv/s1600/harvest+gilles+paris+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHCKoak4d8NR1CRucNqrkEAK6IJFIz_Ixo2XIxslLp5GO7azRrJf0T4Dk4XGs9hK4jjbEAulbwMVKQfWJDxExeqGlCXwdevAQEvFq7eI2BOUNvPxMQse_9NoGxrWXo4m_4wJJAPC8Jkhv/s400/harvest+gilles+paris+2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvesting outside of Gilles ex-mother-in-law's house, August 2015.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Paris is one of five brothers, all of whom work with vines in some way or another. Paris and Jérôme both sell a portion of their grapes and bottle the rest as wine. Their brother Philippe sells entirely to négoçiants and the cave cooperative. Their other brothers Hervé and Christian are vineyard workers for other estates. Originally from Quincié-en-Beaujolais, Paris moved to Chiroubles when he married his ex-wife, Christine, whose family had vines in the cru. He made his first wines in 2005, and soon began to sympathize with the natural vinification principles of the natural winemakers in neighboring Fleurie and Morgon.<br />
<div>
<br />
Following his separation with his wife, Paris found himself without a cuvage of his own for several years, which explains his reticence when I asked to taste from tank. When we met in 2015, he was vinifying <i>chez </i><a href="http://saviosoaresselections.com/domaine-22/">Le Chat</a>, at the latter's winery in Marcellins. When I tasted with Paris in February 2017, he had only halfway moved in to the new premises in Fleurie. There were a handful of tanks finishing fermentation, and two rows of old wooden barrels in the cellar below.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIqxjJr8oUFAe2vl1oaVQoGj-w7VDbPrO9go1xjH0CTedQ2NM79_aipSUeQToUafoLsR0MUg81YLh0swSgHD2jfylhkeHCqo2V7lcjKEAsUfaPQlzgM69Q-DrmpSQwWjF57TNJ07yctyW/s1600/gilles+paris+cuvage+fleurie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIqxjJr8oUFAe2vl1oaVQoGj-w7VDbPrO9go1xjH0CTedQ2NM79_aipSUeQToUafoLsR0MUg81YLh0swSgHD2jfylhkeHCqo2V7lcjKEAsUfaPQlzgM69Q-DrmpSQwWjF57TNJ07yctyW/s400/gilles+paris+cuvage+fleurie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
"2016 is the twelfth time that I'm making wine. And it’s the first time that I challenge even those who don’t like natural wine to say that it’s natural wine. There’s no flaws, no volatile, no nothing. I think it’s the first time I've gotten everything together," says Paris, adding, "I said that to someone the other day and they said, 'Yes, it’s because it’s not your grapes!'"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBLbHNJ8wOTCGtygAfNoVq2_SKXTyJzPmK5w60-LBP9qfFfhsr4P61NNcxZiuEVaDgTAfZt8eqewp-S5H-o5lLXeu3hLSUYpcJEIgKpy10m2Ev6PN-I-EnqL6SyST0hTf6f6ozfW2THH1/s1600/gilles+paris+cellar+fleurie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBLbHNJ8wOTCGtygAfNoVq2_SKXTyJzPmK5w60-LBP9qfFfhsr4P61NNcxZiuEVaDgTAfZt8eqewp-S5H-o5lLXeu3hLSUYpcJEIgKpy10m2Ev6PN-I-EnqL6SyST0hTf6f6ozfW2THH1/s400/gilles+paris+cellar+fleurie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Paris' 4.5ha of Chiroubles were hard-hit by the storms of 2016. Nor were his parcels in Morgon and Fleurie spared, as they were situated in the <i>lieux-dit</i> that formed the path of the storm: "Douby," "Grand Pré," and "Champagne."<br />
<br />
Paris, like his friend and fellow 2016 hail-victim <a href="http://dutraive.jeanlouis.free.fr/">Jean-Louis Dutraive</a>, received a derogation allowing him to purchase fruit to make up for his losses. Where Dutraive purchased a formal négoçiant licenses, however, Paris decided simply to exploit the vintage-specific derogation, purchasing fruit from the same crus he usually produces: Chiroubles, Morgon, and Fleurie.<br />
<br />
His Chiroubles in 2016 derives from a neighbor with higher-sited, conventionally-farmed parcels that were spared the hail. In February it was showing admirably; barrels I tasted shared a chalk mineral note amid their fresh, black-cherry fruit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwbNcqDw1xT-xsi5-boezrWjAfgEjF4MgNkwb7hkYABk0wQYyWWSoFlIsarrUr6KLXEZx9WlDX2clDHTLKYXUH_0WwJjTYHPL6WEH2vL7nOqZItLUrjap-9TUXz9t698NDxIgot9W-bjQ/s1600/gilles+paris+in+cellar+beaujolais+fleurie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwbNcqDw1xT-xsi5-boezrWjAfgEjF4MgNkwb7hkYABk0wQYyWWSoFlIsarrUr6KLXEZx9WlDX2clDHTLKYXUH_0WwJjTYHPL6WEH2vL7nOqZItLUrjap-9TUXz9t698NDxIgot9W-bjQ/s400/gilles+paris+in+cellar+beaujolais+fleurie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
He brought Fleurie fruit in 2016 from some of his close friends in the village. As he himself admits, it's showing better than ever. In the past I've found Paris' <i>lieu-dit</i> "Champagne" a little over-extracted, whereas the heat of the 2015 vintage partly obscured his success in that year's <i>lieu-dit</i> "Grand Pré" cuvée. In 2016, with fruit partly from "La Madone," his Fleurie is lighter on its feet, more dashing.<br />
<br />
His 2016 Morgon, for its part, derives from the southernmost edge of the appellation, where it meets Brouilly. I'm less familiar with the terroir of this corner, and indeed I had a little trouble recognizing the Morgon I know in the wine.<br />
<br />
Most fascinating was a small tank of a cuvée Paris intends to call "Le Rescapé," 'the survivor.' It's a tank made from the leftover, hail-ravaged fruit he and his friends arduously collected from his own Chiroubles vines in "Le Fontenelle" and "La Cour Profonde."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKw8Tt1VFniNm8MFZ8VNUSNbjNXO_jOGAkXlkx1Gujlj6N1UDx1hW3ZXfTWN532hcoE6jnBr7UBpdyFLbe7vSVayEiW5U-0kOj77BEjy22QM1mXtQiEhU8R67bGurXxxIXb7SLXnPFWR5/s1600/gilles+paris+2016+chiroubles+le+rescape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUKw8Tt1VFniNm8MFZ8VNUSNbjNXO_jOGAkXlkx1Gujlj6N1UDx1hW3ZXfTWN532hcoE6jnBr7UBpdyFLbe7vSVayEiW5U-0kOj77BEjy22QM1mXtQiEhU8R67bGurXxxIXb7SLXnPFWR5/s400/gilles+paris+2016+chiroubles+le+rescape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Grippy and bright, with a lip-smacking greenness to its high-toned, crispy cherry fruit, the wine was, finally, an embodiment of the historical tasting notes one occasionally reads of Chiroubles. Its colour was as lively as it was cloudy.<br />
<br />
It's also keener than anything Paris has produced before. He practices semi-carbonic maceration without destemming, with moderate vatting, around 15 days for most cuvées in 2016. He doesn't pre-refrigerate the harvest before vatting, instead relying on cooled pumping-over to moderate spikes in temperature.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSYcYTZFJEAfLGsUjGvBeKT8VG_dZVGjOSvhuS2-GQ7tAsseHXq5-8ldYwRWXFlzNV91FVyWkNltdwlwnW15zwHn_6M7Vxw2v229e2N0QWDQACUa4hzsOuVcfuqpXC8zVUVgC0NSXavXV/s1600/gilles+paris+fleurie+champagne+2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSYcYTZFJEAfLGsUjGvBeKT8VG_dZVGjOSvhuS2-GQ7tAsseHXq5-8ldYwRWXFlzNV91FVyWkNltdwlwnW15zwHn_6M7Vxw2v229e2N0QWDQACUa4hzsOuVcfuqpXC8zVUVgC0NSXavXV/s400/gilles+paris+fleurie+champagne+2008.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
I'd speculate that the coarse, sometimes tannic qualities I've found in previous vintages' wines derive from the frequent recourse to pumping-over. It's tricky to go long on semi-carbo without pre-refrigeration; there is a tendency for the wines to harden.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtEiJuOEdxfkdvrrbSrXwWsUHSvtSvICcN8fja6ZFCdCHErNr9vtUm_kwd0PCKrFYEzyIviMHh_YJV27GlOpCVA9qOA7mP8d_0UWNw4PuBkvf8NrMmIKck-8UjLcASj-5-scOc-kwEtq7/s1600/gilles+paris+chiroubles+vieilles+vignes+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtEiJuOEdxfkdvrrbSrXwWsUHSvtSvICcN8fja6ZFCdCHErNr9vtUm_kwd0PCKrFYEzyIviMHh_YJV27GlOpCVA9qOA7mP8d_0UWNw4PuBkvf8NrMmIKck-8UjLcASj-5-scOc-kwEtq7/s400/gilles+paris+chiroubles+vieilles+vignes+2014.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
When all goes well, however, it's fascinating to taste these long-macerated, unfiltered, often unsulfured wines, which moreover sidestep the latter-day imaginary brouhaha about cool carbonic maceration. One which sticks in mind from the 2015 vintage was "L'Espérée," a parcel cuvée from north-facing vines which had escaped the worst of the seasons' heat. Its lift and its suave dark fruit set it apart that year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUxnypPduSoCWNeDhQcSYwChKIxDf8-wB6QZXvkVI9YX7fIKEcOwSulr_FBsBjQE4M8R6CJko8_WZYCWhZpdEukTlD-Epqrz_26sSoGh2rBEvs7r4PsuVqfJdT00k0FvksSn6mF1plIl1/s1600/Gilles+Paris+Beaujolais+Chiroubles+2015+wines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUxnypPduSoCWNeDhQcSYwChKIxDf8-wB6QZXvkVI9YX7fIKEcOwSulr_FBsBjQE4M8R6CJko8_WZYCWhZpdEukTlD-Epqrz_26sSoGh2rBEvs7r4PsuVqfJdT00k0FvksSn6mF1plIl1/s400/Gilles+Paris+Beaujolais+Chiroubles+2015+wines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Paris also commercialises the nascent bottle production of his brother Jérôme, who is recovering from a battle with cancer. The bottles have very similar labels to the Gilles Paris wines, but are worth discussing in a separate post, particularly Jérôme's stunning Régnié.<br />
<br />
Gilles Paris isn't certified organic, but forgoes herbicide use on all but the steepest and most densely-planted parcels of Chiroubles. Now that his tenure as president of the Beaujolais Interprofession has ended (he was succeeded in 2016 by Morgon's <a href="http://www.domaines-piron.fr/">Dominique Piron</a>), he hopes to devote his time to full organic conversion. With the help of some investors, he's replanting sectors of his domaine to wide-spaced rows, to facilitate tractor work.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the second storm of 2016, that of late June, brought ruin to some of Paris' new plantings. They'd been plowed too late in the year, and the heavy rain brought the freshly turned earth right down the hill.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHyA7L0QceYStdTNfm7qsRRwD9X0emrHXJGmKsR6o5bASvrT8DF-3FROi9LtD3tnQzfTkaFTSDIi36r75hwLN1gepDT1ZlkUgdUqHwgO8lsJ2gqCR4Xsdm6s_RB8gFh6FMcELx3pqaEkh/s1600/fallen+hill+chiroubles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHyA7L0QceYStdTNfm7qsRRwD9X0emrHXJGmKsR6o5bASvrT8DF-3FROi9LtD3tnQzfTkaFTSDIi36r75hwLN1gepDT1ZlkUgdUqHwgO8lsJ2gqCR4Xsdm6s_RB8gFh6FMcELx3pqaEkh/s400/fallen+hill+chiroubles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overlooking the "La Fontenelle" <i>lieu-dit </i>in February 2017<i>.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Episodes like this demonstrate why Chiroubles is arguably the most challenging terroir of the Beaujolais. Other sites have steep slopes and high vine density, of course. Erosion is also a problem on the Côte de Brouilly. But nowhere else in Beaujolais does one find Chiroubles' combination of steepness, storm exposure, and thin, sandy granite soils.<br />
<br />
I asked Paris what was to be done after a storm like that. He just shrugged and said he'd have to get excavators and earth-mover to bring the earth back up the hill. Then he'd salvage what vines remained and replant the rest.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEq2LILB0I1LtmqAb_MZY8p4u2h1rfrio0bsuTBpjoVY-3WrD5aITnWuxxCk3Y_4lBAxCEbRp9mJStTRhouUE84H6_lXcZf-H9L41ccD59hAiD7wlYguS9_7HKyEJPEHSAIXkzuDUm4Zt/s1600/gilles+paris+aaron+ayscough+ahiru+store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEq2LILB0I1LtmqAb_MZY8p4u2h1rfrio0bsuTBpjoVY-3WrD5aITnWuxxCk3Y_4lBAxCEbRp9mJStTRhouUE84H6_lXcZf-H9L41ccD59hAiD7wlYguS9_7HKyEJPEHSAIXkzuDUm4Zt/s320/gilles+paris+aaron+ayscough+ahiru+store.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We found ourselves in Tokyo at the same time in 2015. Here we are at <a href="https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/bars-and-pubs/ahiru-store">Ahiru Store</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
<div>
<a href="http://vins-du-beaujolais.com/domaine/domaine-christine-et-gilles-paris/">Gilles Paris</a><br />
Les Genêts</div>
<div>
69115 CHIROUBLESTel: 04 74 69 12 48</div>
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
A few nice photos on the website of Paris' erstwhile Swedish importer, <a href="http://dryckesbutiken.se/producers/gilles-paris-chiroubles/">Dryckes-Butiken</a>. I seem to recall they're no longer working together.<br />
<br />
One of Paris' bottles was the unwitting subject of some truly excruciating wine writing at <a href="http://www.wine-allthetime.com/home/2016/6/14/christine-et-gilles-paris-morgon-douby">Wine. All The Time</a>. You could recruit for ISIS with writing like this: here is the decadent west.<br />
<br />
Beaujolais 2016:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2017/02/chateau-des-rontets-gazeau-montrasi.html">Château des Rontets, Fuissé</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Nicolas Dubost, Saint-Germain-sur-l'Arbresle</a><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/12/romain-des-grottes-beaujolais-saint.html">Romain des Grottes, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/yann-bertrand-beaujolais-nouveau-ptit.html">Yann Bertrand's First Primeur</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/beaujolais-harvests-2016.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2016</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/christophe-pacalet-beaujolais.html">Christophe Pacalet, Cercié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/sylvere-trichard-selene-beaujolais.html#more">Sylvère Trichard & Elodie Bouvard (Séléné), Blacé</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/09/jerome-balmet-beaujolais.html">Jérome Balmet, Vaux-en-Beaujolais</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/lauberge-du-moulin-saint-didier-sur.html">L'Auberge du Moulin, Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/07/jean-francois-promonet-beaujolais-leynes.html">Jean-François Promonet, Leynes</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/06/herve-ravera-marchampt-beaujolais.html">Hervé Ravera, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/justin-dutraive-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Justin Dutraive, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/julien-merle-beaujolais-legny-nathalie.html">Julien Merle & Nathalie Banes, Legny</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/la-fete-des-conscrits-villie-morgon.html">La Fête des Conscrits, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Domaine Leonis (Raphael Champier & Christelle Lucca), Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais, Autumn 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">Xavier Benier, Saint-Julien</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/domaine-chasselay-beaujolais-chatillon.html">Jean-Gilles Chasselay, Châtillon d'Azergues</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/marcel-joubert-beaujolais-brouilly.html">Marcel Joubert, Quincié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/02/nicolas-chemarin-beaujolais-marchampt.html">Nicolas Chemarin, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/anthony-thevenet-villie-morgon.html">Anthony Thévenet, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/romain-zordan-fleurie.html">Romain Zordan, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/yann-bertrand-les-bertrands-fleurie.html">Yann Bertrand, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/thillardon-chenas-paul-henri-beaujolais.html">Domaine Thillardon, Chénas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/sylvain-chanudet-fleurie-domaine-de.html">Sylvain Chanudet, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/patrick-jo-cotton-brouilly-beaujolais.html">Patrick "Jo" Cotton, Saint-Lager</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/pierre-cotton-cote-de-brouilly.html">Pierre Cotton, Odenas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/auberge-du-col-du-truges-villie-morgon.html">L'Auberge du Col du Truges, Le Truges</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/julie-balagny-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Julie Balagny, Moulin-à-Vent</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/la-cuvee-des-copines-beaujolais-2015.html">La Cuvée des Copines 2015</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/beaujolais-harvests-2015.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2015</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais Bike Trip, Summer 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes, Vermont</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jean-paul-thevenet-morgon-beaujolais.html">Jean-Paul Thévenet, Pizay</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jules-metras-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Jules Métras, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/remi-dufaitre-beaujolais-saint-etienne.html">Rémi et Laurence Dufaitre, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/jean-claude-lapalu-saint-etienne-la.html">Jean-Claude Lapalu, Saint-Etienne-La-Varenne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/ndp-in-beaujolais-benoit-camus-ville.html">Benoit Camus, Ville-sur-Jarnioux</a></div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-56443613403574167872017-03-23T15:53:00.000+01:002017-03-23T15:54:49.299+01:00small stakes: le desnoyez, 75020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTESSfaceb8NZapO4hoB0T6ZHTusHh_GMPRXAH0kUJs1Tf6aQCEXljxJmTuiiQjaGLZGt0tVtLv5ubDdrj3jCnJP_T6SM1WR9B9hch0qcBw9osAGk5UQ7HQUwp1JegIrLXwtbl_e67R6gy/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTESSfaceb8NZapO4hoB0T6ZHTusHh_GMPRXAH0kUJs1Tf6aQCEXljxJmTuiiQjaGLZGt0tVtLv5ubDdrj3jCnJP_T6SM1WR9B9hch0qcBw9osAGk5UQ7HQUwp1JegIrLXwtbl_e67R6gy/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A few years ago during the Loire tasting salons I had a brief but memorable conversation with a friend who was then in the initial stages of preparing to open a natural wine bar in New York. I had confessed I wasn't very excited by many new Paris restaurants: everything seemed pokey, limited, a little predictable. He replied that, on the contrary, he adored the Paris restaurant scene, precisely because it was so modest, small-scale, and restrained. "You never eat like that in New York," he said. Everything there was comparatively over-the-top.<br />
<br />
It's true that there isn't the same pressure in Paris, as there is in New York or London, to achieve a high check average, massive turnover, or both. In Paris the combination of affordable commercial rents, low cost-of-living (compared to other capitals), and abundant small restaurant spaces allows for a level of intimacy in dining that has all but disappeared in other major cities.<br />
<br />
Restaurant <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Le-Desnoyez-1031858706935469/">Le Desnoyez</a>, opened on a shoestring budget by former food blogger <a href="http://lasolitudeduchorizo.blogspot.fr/">Jean-Marc Sinceux</a> in Belleville in autumn of last year, offers a level of intimacy in dining that has all but disappeared even in Paris. The place seats about fourteen. In another capital, such a Lilliputian restaurant might need to enforce a twelve-course tasting menu. Here in Paris, Sinceux proposes an inexpensive bistrot offering, albeit one enlivened by a slim selection of offbeat natural wines and by his surprisingly painterly way with plating.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8eRoJnmjHHGuC7oGDr7e6L2MV2S8c7JfBRBqBDUOYH8mFJ1z-J_lFzwtrHOV_e2fTPoPrE6vNuPtj9x0_naCR6Qn8VFzRsteC4my5EOSEZqHDQkJSO_AjBjF4RmMjbc1HAPjuXwlNTee/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+merlu+bouillon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8eRoJnmjHHGuC7oGDr7e6L2MV2S8c7JfBRBqBDUOYH8mFJ1z-J_lFzwtrHOV_e2fTPoPrE6vNuPtj9x0_naCR6Qn8VFzRsteC4my5EOSEZqHDQkJSO_AjBjF4RmMjbc1HAPjuXwlNTee/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+merlu+bouillon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bouillon of merlu, tinted purple with heirloom carrots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was only on my second visit to the restaurant that I remembered Sinceux and I had met before, five years ago, over a dinner with Loire winemaker <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2011/08/strange-but-true-francois-blanchard-at.html">François Blanchard</a>. His wasn't the only familiar face I'd meet in connection with Le Desnoyez: the leather designer <a href="http://mylenepratt.com/">Mylène Pratt</a>, whose bags and leather-bound wine lists I see often at natural wine spots around town, also works at the restaurant and helps out with the wine list.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTgXoUJJsIbAoQ17o63jlWi3kR4leS9taNTmcFmaVk1iapSEfvSjv3VI6xTbqp9AkilRLJLO-5QHv_p9TzXQkmtki6sxXFa0Cl1vxzO-jQGkTkorqh9W5HXmGqkoRYQmyP_5PVtg4Md06/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+wine+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTgXoUJJsIbAoQ17o63jlWi3kR4leS9taNTmcFmaVk1iapSEfvSjv3VI6xTbqp9AkilRLJLO-5QHv_p9TzXQkmtki6sxXFa0Cl1vxzO-jQGkTkorqh9W5HXmGqkoRYQmyP_5PVtg4Md06/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+wine+list.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Sinceux admits that he'd like to offer more wine, but the restaurant has no storage space, leaving him at the whim of whichever agents and visiting winemakers find it convenient to make one and two-case deliveries. As it is, the one-page list is idiosyncratic and affordable. I enjoyed François Ecot's 2015 Vin de France aligoté, "Troma-Onirique," which wears its light touch of residual sugar impressively well, resulting in a generous, even tropical expression of an otherwise stony grape.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodqhmhPqyTDUBo-zr6zMW_-yfJcSYOqLilP91_HXax5vbEja-AgY3XDTebn1MYYdUo_dnX73IaciFGR3Mw6uFHJPMDJAxz1jMl7Lv0BHa7eU0hOTQf-9rxh2n792JlnrYvymtU2npOZ7X/s1600/francois+ecot+troma+onirique+aligote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodqhmhPqyTDUBo-zr6zMW_-yfJcSYOqLilP91_HXax5vbEja-AgY3XDTebn1MYYdUo_dnX73IaciFGR3Mw6uFHJPMDJAxz1jMl7Lv0BHa7eU0hOTQf-9rxh2n792JlnrYvymtU2npOZ7X/s400/francois+ecot+troma+onirique+aligote.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The menus for both lunch and dinner are short and to-the-point. But one would no more complain of a lack of choice, in such a setting, as one would attending a friend's dinner party.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1KL-xTPU8aF-yA83FUO2LaYvYmTfqz-uzUdE3zSjJLcGaHPLiBxzzGfAMM9UjOAXLu8QcUmWFFD3CznZuS2YQpqH1K0hNfJgi_kZFVlhyAxlbybwSDFcAXtE-ROlFvaia1xyCqtB4-D0/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+carte+menu+midi+lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1KL-xTPU8aF-yA83FUO2LaYvYmTfqz-uzUdE3zSjJLcGaHPLiBxzzGfAMM9UjOAXLu8QcUmWFFD3CznZuS2YQpqH1K0hNfJgi_kZFVlhyAxlbybwSDFcAXtE-ROlFvaia1xyCqtB4-D0/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+carte+menu+midi+lunch.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFX3P2T5DrT4ZRdaHa6jfjt0Ri9AsiCewnWik6e45JINv5AIxR4zRmsdw9-9Ge02ltyQZ6cvo4GKOWSPUfoswB1ISVjwvMuJZxr3XXbnkpRyr5sVDv70-VIEbmQ3_bc4bvEN4wVnI1iRj3/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+menu+carte+soir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFX3P2T5DrT4ZRdaHa6jfjt0Ri9AsiCewnWik6e45JINv5AIxR4zRmsdw9-9Ge02ltyQZ6cvo4GKOWSPUfoswB1ISVjwvMuJZxr3XXbnkpRyr5sVDv70-VIEbmQ3_bc4bvEN4wVnI1iRj3/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+menu+carte+soir.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Particularly if the friend cooked as well as Sinceux, whose cuisine is unpretentious, pleasureful, and casually pretty. A meal at Le Desnoyez hums with the amusing discordance between the restaurant's rickety student-café décor and the irreproachable quality of most of the dishes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzPTvkgKuwKwPeTL8A796UadFPepn6ELS4uKWOabLTT9m9B6io37Bmmb8M2kLNLMux6mmXQkT_sXTa6v8kOzPZPGuyYLyGA6qK8A_TiKJYdWmnPvmP0JPYmVgU_2rq_bkjQWn6YTFLDX2/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+mackerel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzPTvkgKuwKwPeTL8A796UadFPepn6ELS4uKWOabLTT9m9B6io37Bmmb8M2kLNLMux6mmXQkT_sXTa6v8kOzPZPGuyYLyGA6qK8A_TiKJYdWmnPvmP0JPYmVgU_2rq_bkjQWn6YTFLDX2/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+mackerel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A plate of mackerel and turnips shone with the pale colours of a winter sunrise. A fig-laced terrine arrive sporting a jaunty beret of radish.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjaPOPmHllQBtvG_zpm5rL9cJQnP6vRHTUhMep44VHAqiclrwIH1uRLuSQP8mvCLex9nbm4PHwj66646d3_o1vXoknezCp73gngbreC7pjCJ-kRVxF80o7uVBdUlE7JlkFFtSI-s9zZj2/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+terrine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjaPOPmHllQBtvG_zpm5rL9cJQnP6vRHTUhMep44VHAqiclrwIH1uRLuSQP8mvCLex9nbm4PHwj66646d3_o1vXoknezCp73gngbreC7pjCJ-kRVxF80o7uVBdUlE7JlkFFtSI-s9zZj2/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+terrine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
A clafoutis felt a bit perfunctory, as did desserts on the whole. But we can only expect so much of a one-man-show like Le Desnoyez.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTfUEmHdjYEK8_F5VatWN-BRDFPpINgtrRU27Tukn4kBmVFhDeIvo4pAH9vpWkyhmXReQSV79zbfwfj-qSUFkPHspK8hTkbDn3_xSSMhWc1thZmIgGzB43ix6ysnHFsCNyiNEYiUSjchR/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+clafoutis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTfUEmHdjYEK8_F5VatWN-BRDFPpINgtrRU27Tukn4kBmVFhDeIvo4pAH9vpWkyhmXReQSV79zbfwfj-qSUFkPHspK8hTkbDn3_xSSMhWc1thZmIgGzB43ix6ysnHFsCNyiNEYiUSjchR/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+clafoutis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The risk in writing about achingly sincere, semi-pro, tiddlywink restaurants like Le Desnoyez is not, as some writers would have you believe, that press attention will bring hordes of clientele and the restaurant will change. The risk is that these things don't happen, and the restaurant disappears. Then I've wasted a morning writing about something that no longer exists. (This is to say nothing of the considerably more important loss to the restaurant's operators.) Le Desnoyez would do well to stock a few more expensive wine selections, and to add one or two share-able, bar-friendly items to the menu in efforts to fill the four bar seats more reliably. Even in Paris, for a restaurant on the scale of Le Desnoyez, those four seats are probably make-or-break.<br />
<br />
I suggest filling them. Sinceux is a nice guy and Le Desnoyez, homey, affordable, and low-key, is the closest thing you can have to a night-in while still dining out.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGr5JUlT1eXDseBzkvcOWhIouo9ZcNG1z6WQ0z7qs_gHOCOVrG4tP-elshhHcEAc69wqGdufvPt6sHXspn1wJIMCijQ18SfJS-vGH22girdKp3LCApZx-bhZhjNHgB8qr6_J9cPAqfHMKB/s1600/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+spoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGr5JUlT1eXDseBzkvcOWhIouo9ZcNG1z6WQ0z7qs_gHOCOVrG4tP-elshhHcEAc69wqGdufvPt6sHXspn1wJIMCijQ18SfJS-vGH22girdKp3LCApZx-bhZhjNHgB8qr6_J9cPAqfHMKB/s400/le+desnoyez+restaurant+75020+sinceux+spoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Jean-Marc Sinceux and Spoon, the native companion's dog.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tsHlKYElKX0" width="400"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Le-Desnoyez-1031858706935469/">Le Desnoyez</a><br />
3, rue Desnoyez<br />
75020 PARIS<br />
Métro: Belleville<br />
Tel: 06 61 19 18 31<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d10497.290884586442!2d2.3786722!3d48.8711241!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x177b095e470578ba!2sLe+Desnoyez!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sfr!4v1490280553669" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
Jean-Marc Sinceux's blog, <a href="http://lasolitudeduchorizo.blogspot.fr/">La Solitude du Chorizo</a>.<br />
<br />
Le Desnoyez was by far the smallest of the small-ish restaurants I rounded up for a piece in <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c16fa68a-f885-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71">The Financial Times</a>.<br />
<br />
An enthusiastic review of Le Desnoyez in <a href="https://www.timeout.com/paris/en/restaurants/le-desnoyez">Time Out</a>.aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-53299907533407165502017-02-28T16:09:00.002+01:002017-02-28T16:10:05.360+01:00hot bath: le grand bain, 75020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHUXRTjDil7Xi8qKT01mcpy4C8AGHtRLeJd9-pfBxU4NFfpvks9Lf7sN5_ejNWHMcXxVRXEyALyd067FRHvRJxC9utw_OXkxaeqWFbf8VD2tUwnBRB71tvTp-UJW5Pd8FrZmPIoTe-J11/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHUXRTjDil7Xi8qKT01mcpy4C8AGHtRLeJd9-pfBxU4NFfpvks9Lf7sN5_ejNWHMcXxVRXEyALyd067FRHvRJxC9utw_OXkxaeqWFbf8VD2tUwnBRB71tvTp-UJW5Pd8FrZmPIoTe-J11/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Chef Edward Delling-Williams is a key figure in the diaspora of mostly-Anglophone chefs emanating from the kitchen of restaurant Au Passage. It may have been James Henry's masterstroke to try that restaurant's intelligent, informal menu format in the <i>haute-Marais</i>, but it was Delling-Williams, his inviting and upbeat successor, who refined and normalized it, making Au Passage, for years, one of the city's most reliably charming tables. (A position it largely maintains.)<br />
<br />
Delling-Williams' long-awaited new project is <a href="http://www.legrandbainparis.com/en/home/">Le Grand Bain</a>, a bar-restaurant opened in partnership with <i>chef de salle</i> and wine director Edouard Lax and interior designer Alexandre Janssens on the Belleville graffiti haven rue Dénoyez. The restaurant opened quietly last December, after significant delays that saw months of Delling-Williams plying his trade itinerantly around other Paris restaurant kitchens.<br />
<br />
Anyone who passed through Au Passage during his tenure probably expected Delling-Williams to make a big splash in the kitchen at Le Grand Bain. Yet for now, with few exceptions, his work at the new venture has been remarkably unshowy. Delling-Williams knows by heart the burgeoning audience that exists for a savvy small-plates restaurant in Paris in 2017. In Le Grand Bain's crisp, brut space, he is playing to that audience with the irresistible panache of a seasoned croupier.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWUBUDwaDKcf6Kph_Jg9UyHGWnqOYzpgU_wV0BopQ6N-YbIf52YudNYw7JZMoIJlQ0F8qQCUjxFQ5AhIg0FWXb5yKJPxLyYad2e5-o0x7M7rYZm-rbeH3Sl806lmOBhvExZKoNopuU0rJ/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+bar+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWUBUDwaDKcf6Kph_Jg9UyHGWnqOYzpgU_wV0BopQ6N-YbIf52YudNYw7JZMoIJlQ0F8qQCUjxFQ5AhIg0FWXb5yKJPxLyYad2e5-o0x7M7rYZm-rbeH3Sl806lmOBhvExZKoNopuU0rJ/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+bar+scene.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The restaurant is arrayed around a splendid II-shaped bar, capped by a column on the interior side. Tables are packed tight against the walls, with a more spacious chef's table bathed in the projector-like light of the roomy rear kitchen. The toilet, it bears mentioning, is immaculate and practically the size of an arrondissement. I have worked for restaurateurs who would have found a way to wedge a two-top in such a space.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEBuVGvfpwCoSw4qDk4IiOovuonw2RZPmPW1-vHWZawAOBBzDbjRIfqyB5_Mht_BCjLIDQSTbzyc390GJNv5TWg4JQHu8IP0jRu50Q4nS4aOzjqe9EBqluGMyxJxbh9n9mTpkaK1psL_A/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+carte+blackboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEBuVGvfpwCoSw4qDk4IiOovuonw2RZPmPW1-vHWZawAOBBzDbjRIfqyB5_Mht_BCjLIDQSTbzyc390GJNv5TWg4JQHu8IP0jRu50Q4nS4aOzjqe9EBqluGMyxJxbh9n9mTpkaK1psL_A/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+carte+blackboard.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
I had heard a rumour at some point that Delling-Williams planned never to repeat at Le Grand Bain dishes he'd made at Au Passage. This turned out to be a rumour, as a familiar mousse of chicken liver attested on my first visit. But repetition is no crime in the contemporary Paris small-plate ecosystem, where I'm overjoyed merely to avoid burrata on any given night.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFbnk5aFvwNVSppy9bhmoeUoLGIwPgTIvVHYMv3yLD9K0eg7_zsoghXGhRYdbVZ1PodpWaRTnhGZn2I5sIHTHuGhoiLOyw7rNlV-Qg01j3lfnwdOsaW4XSrCl-CgusVTF3ByHzmPT-jpB/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+chicken+liver+mousse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFbnk5aFvwNVSppy9bhmoeUoLGIwPgTIvVHYMv3yLD9K0eg7_zsoghXGhRYdbVZ1PodpWaRTnhGZn2I5sIHTHuGhoiLOyw7rNlV-Qg01j3lfnwdOsaW4XSrCl-CgusVTF3ByHzmPT-jpB/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+chicken+liver+mousse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Anchored by a few simpler meat dishes that scan as normal main courses, the menu leans equally on crudo-like preparations and hearty vegetable dishes. Flamed mackerel atop julienned raw cabbage was bright and brittle-skinned. The raw cod in another plate was unimpeachable, pure and lace-like in texture. These dishes had the feel of improvised riffs, sharing sauce presentations and overall construction, substituting flavour combinations.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6_sYv4PHitC9-dvgVy2Wp0SXlWPKdW4c2IhLFN7zI5EPLKZ_puM-yM_p995KoxofUNytFQ8UT43KvwkRpPuA1u1BM__VYI5NBO_uAwtBl43dqxAzWedGa6MP5RUvAKvHbe8KM2JtK_x1/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+flamed+mackerel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6_sYv4PHitC9-dvgVy2Wp0SXlWPKdW4c2IhLFN7zI5EPLKZ_puM-yM_p995KoxofUNytFQ8UT43KvwkRpPuA1u1BM__VYI5NBO_uAwtBl43dqxAzWedGa6MP5RUvAKvHbe8KM2JtK_x1/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+flamed+mackerel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxph_haatzlBdzpXb_uiXqZ3kIc-44d7DlXyFAEOx0enLGsVB9Iiw3u_lvd6dwVCbwmeDhuAvoMep8PwO4XywTKGr6ZMKYK1YcOk9TwF7QwxILKTn5SJXdqxwemzO8vXQ3zsZKfdXh6L/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+cod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVxph_haatzlBdzpXb_uiXqZ3kIc-44d7DlXyFAEOx0enLGsVB9Iiw3u_lvd6dwVCbwmeDhuAvoMep8PwO4XywTKGr6ZMKYK1YcOk9TwF7QwxILKTn5SJXdqxwemzO8vXQ3zsZKfdXh6L/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+cod.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Curiously, for such a cosmopolitan, contemporary place, many of the most successful dishes were those that hewed to a simpler bistrot format. A parsnip soup was airy and nuanced; beef heart with kale felt like an inspired prelude to scaling a mountain.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKBCPyBhxK0UM8gUn3beINpWfBZ1k2AE03vc1KeshOjLNurAvyLJRtwkU_CnL0_NwrwUK4dsnFK5fhwfi-lECpQZNPKt4xJtGAm_Jz5uQ0s6kXG0rsxnqRmk68SolNs87NtBgFwN4YeaI/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+parsnip+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKBCPyBhxK0UM8gUn3beINpWfBZ1k2AE03vc1KeshOjLNurAvyLJRtwkU_CnL0_NwrwUK4dsnFK5fhwfi-lECpQZNPKt4xJtGAm_Jz5uQ0s6kXG0rsxnqRmk68SolNs87NtBgFwN4YeaI/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+parsnip+soup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK-4IhG6owXGmbJ9Rqr5Xhk7_wCaUMF9NJt_flmVdU2luogAZHL6q6UMl0_HMG3QhwTGOL18TE4iFm2GKU8dkcArN7gSKVDbQN857Rzw9dcobFT1bK8ObAguIDToI8o204e9EzEG5hNF3/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+beef+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKK-4IhG6owXGmbJ9Rqr5Xhk7_wCaUMF9NJt_flmVdU2luogAZHL6q6UMl0_HMG3QhwTGOL18TE4iFm2GKU8dkcArN7gSKVDbQN857Rzw9dcobFT1bK8ObAguIDToI8o204e9EzEG5hNF3/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+beef+heart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">N.B.,this looked a lot better before we hacked at it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Certain dishes feel more manifestly thought-out, not always to their benefit. A plate of smoked oysters once arrived dramatically beneath a bell-jar of trapped smoke, which object, I thought as I slurped, must take up awful lot of storage space. A handsome and succulent slice of Beef Wellington the size of a sand-dollar was a very promising start to a trademark dish - but it felt slightly dear at 12€, and seemed to beckon for horseradish.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk16AZL0bASuhvQ1wW7WkSOdseGV6J_xXaPA0kC06fz4q-spVZbhQTK8RqiiHGmB7xGI2qDRqdVTllttjnOO6mZOHWq6iZjR4qM584pTGkxZ04ihJ7Fq8n4hBUF3O7-KnQ6hv9Qc_20EL/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+smoked+oysters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVk16AZL0bASuhvQ1wW7WkSOdseGV6J_xXaPA0kC06fz4q-spVZbhQTK8RqiiHGmB7xGI2qDRqdVTllttjnOO6mZOHWq6iZjR4qM584pTGkxZ04ihJ7Fq8n4hBUF3O7-KnQ6hv9Qc_20EL/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+smoked+oysters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRnXK2hYMjGowC-ah5D6b8TrVAcKv22DAmfoWyExdHcwus1FBnckddArYTh1DhAa6UmSNzpyswrv9SlfuJ-49Co4wtongbj_dty4dh9Cg4BZ0_lQzyP1Dk_chyFrb5y9W8TqkJqu2Yefq/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+beef+wellington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRnXK2hYMjGowC-ah5D6b8TrVAcKv22DAmfoWyExdHcwus1FBnckddArYTh1DhAa6UmSNzpyswrv9SlfuJ-49Co4wtongbj_dty4dh9Cg4BZ0_lQzyP1Dk_chyFrb5y9W8TqkJqu2Yefq/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+beef+wellington.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward Delling-Williams' Beef Wellington. It's even fun to say.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Edouard Lax's modest natural wine list, meanwhile, is well-priced and benefits from a few truly unexpected selections, like organic Jura estate <a href="http://www.domaine-villet.fr/">Domaine Villet</a>'s marvelous 2011 Arbois, a bottle I've gone so far as to return to the bar expressly for. The wine's sinuous salinity and mature fruit represent for me a platonic ideal of Jurassien chardonnay.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVwrxjjTO4TCWl_ESp8xjY6ZunxBNM81C9yKlsKv3ygKV7wEJswKDlGFoynTLmhJx1Nm6odZYRA5RqoMtAjJh5A3AdVQBA3vpg8fkjCvnYuSXWW0B-QPHpYaHYqsgqmdNKrh5d78nMzTH/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+domaine+villet+arbois+chardonnay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHVwrxjjTO4TCWl_ESp8xjY6ZunxBNM81C9yKlsKv3ygKV7wEJswKDlGFoynTLmhJx1Nm6odZYRA5RqoMtAjJh5A3AdVQBA3vpg8fkjCvnYuSXWW0B-QPHpYaHYqsgqmdNKrh5d78nMzTH/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+domaine+villet+arbois+chardonnay.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18QkWfFAXbVsrsgYck_oW9ff5QNybVof1UaC8VD2EbQTINa94Hwi-hNceWRvtBox8uz8Odx5kR8WrrZQv8NLsuNpB9ssEyP8Gei2KhN5YhTtuCRwr8dcev1AKOOvI4mt8iDapW62fkht5/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+wine+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18QkWfFAXbVsrsgYck_oW9ff5QNybVof1UaC8VD2EbQTINa94Hwi-hNceWRvtBox8uz8Odx5kR8WrrZQv8NLsuNpB9ssEyP8Gei2KhN5YhTtuCRwr8dcev1AKOOvI4mt8iDapW62fkht5/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+wine+list.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Le Grand Bain's pricing is daringly low, even for Belleville, a neighborhood forever on the doorstep of gentrification. Portion sizes are small, and larger tables are encouraged to take more than one of many items. This dynamic is rare in Paris due to the thrifty, risk-averse nature of French diners, who, regardless of age group, share a positive horror of over-ordering. Most Paris restaurants can enforce a sustainable check average only via tedious menu <i>formules</i>. Le Grand Bain's implicit wager, which I support, is that diners here can be encouraged to spend a little more if the surroundings are sufficiently lively. Delling-Williams, a born ringleader, is preternaturally well-suited to pull it off.<br />
<br />
A perpetually packed-house places more of a burden on the service team. But that is what it's there for, after all.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFe4M6RIr8t0aUr7RWGyosor-kLmx2Qo37zUpSGLkKMy8nLLkDIGmcEyHY8TricnKDrKcmQU5p7cIPGsfT7WEzceZgNiVyZ_tBLY71-GG86MQDBrEElmricMeyZJ4-gwm5heDhDP07WtiU/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+frosted+nuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFe4M6RIr8t0aUr7RWGyosor-kLmx2Qo37zUpSGLkKMy8nLLkDIGmcEyHY8TricnKDrKcmQU5p7cIPGsfT7WEzceZgNiVyZ_tBLY71-GG86MQDBrEElmricMeyZJ4-gwm5heDhDP07WtiU/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+edward+delling+williams+frosted+nuts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I would be concerned about four-tops ordering only the "Frosted Nuts" and chatting for hours.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Le Grand Bain recently announced seven-day opening hours, as well as a special Sunday Roast service, all encouraging news.<br />
<br />
The inexpensive, come-one-come-all, seven-days-a-week vibe feels appropriate for Le Grand Bain, as it might for the restaurant's elder step-siblings <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/02/martin-wine-bar-restaurant-75011.html">Martin</a> and <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/sign-of-times-jones-75011.html">Jones</a>. The atmosphere at these restaurants is not intended to evoke an event meal at a destination restaurant. They represent - and largely cater to - a generation of diners who prefer fine cuisine be offered with <i>l'air de rien</i>.<br />
<br />
Le Grand Bain offers a form of comfort food, in this way. As Sylvia Plath, another fan of bell-jars, said, "There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMBTOxftgWfetbfQ2BUnrk8YQhYBQO66C7KYRrb0j1nkDvSWiR9BPLY_H9zV7OQZihOkvQIMieFlDzLnBUVg7OJhy9gUKZFBwGTXgO3rsD_fiNm3JmpUW_svY7AF9LF0hytvTzL5emvhp/s1600/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+brillat+savarin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMBTOxftgWfetbfQ2BUnrk8YQhYBQO66C7KYRrb0j1nkDvSWiR9BPLY_H9zV7OQZihOkvQIMieFlDzLnBUVg7OJhy9gUKZFBwGTXgO3rsD_fiNm3JmpUW_svY7AF9LF0hytvTzL5emvhp/s400/le+grand+bain+paris+restaurant+brillat+savarin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The remains of a plate of excellent Brillat-Savarin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://www.legrandbainparis.com/en/home/">Le Grand Bain</a><br />
14, rue Dénoyez<br />
75020 PARIS<br />
Métro: Belleville<br />
Tel: 09 83 02 72 02<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d10497.180337021804!2d2.378566!3d48.871651!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0xb2912581f39bf13b!2sLe+Grand+Bain!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sfr!4v1488228771525" style="border: 0;" width="400"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lefooding.com/en/restaurants/restaurant-le-grand-bain-paris">Le Fooding</a>'s helpful list of ingredients and decor elements at Le Grand Bain.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.timeout.fr/paris/restaurants/le-grand-bain">Time Out</a> took the unusual step of having their reviewer review a friends-and-family opening party at Le Grand Bain. Whatever, right?<br />
<br />
Emmanuel Rubin used his blurb review of Le Grand Bain in <a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/sortir-paris/2017/01/25/30004-20170125ARTFIG00032-le-grand-bain-tapas-debridees.php">Le Figaro</a> to throw shade on Le Fooding. It seems a possible misstep to knowingly dub Paris' younger, more open-minded dining public the "parishioners" of a rival publication. But I leave this to the professionals.<br />
<br />
French <a href="http://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/food/articles/restaurant-le-grand-bain-a-paris/50293">Vogue</a> really phoned-in their piece on Le Grand Bain. Writing like this gives one a newfound appreciation for hack food writers, for at least they are aware of what food writing is. </div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-14177150207549425672017-02-20T09:15:00.000+01:002017-02-20T09:15:20.183+01:00not drinking poison in nice: la merenda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmppORwQwAuoZmu1tjji7OGW2VTefbCqcPv_NHH1QAN7RYCemBkgHSdN-Q1L5ggJhnCsw6xePa_h25epK9B5kGIqcUR05QneQAxJwRjotoyL8AZ0G3niXaPSiLy2U_YdG1Y0_ktX2IGLjS/s1600/la+merenda+nice+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmppORwQwAuoZmu1tjji7OGW2VTefbCqcPv_NHH1QAN7RYCemBkgHSdN-Q1L5ggJhnCsw6xePa_h25epK9B5kGIqcUR05QneQAxJwRjotoyL8AZ0G3niXaPSiLy2U_YdG1Y0_ktX2IGLjS/s400/la+merenda+nice+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Native Companion and I were in Nice for New Year's. Before we returned to Paris I was able to convince her to submit to the rigmarole necessary to assure a lunch table at <a href="https://www.lamerenda.net/La_Merenda_Site_Officiel/La_Merenda_Nice.html">La Merenda</a>, the city's most storied address for traditional Niçoise cuisine, run since 1996 by chef Dominique Le Stanc. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
La Merenda famously has no phone, so one must personally pop by to request a table later in the day. As it happened our agenda that morning consisted of wandering aimlessly around the port, so this fit right into our schedule. The restaurant's popularity far exceeds its tiny space, however, and tables were understandably slow to turn that day. We had to circle back round twice after the appointed time came and went. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I didn't mind. I was enchanted the moment I laid eyes on La Merenda's sparse menu, scrawled on a blackboard posted to its frosted windows. If menu writing is a kind of literature, Le Stanc's menu at La Merenda possesses the hymn-like simplicity of Kafka's shortest works - "<a href="http://franzkafkastories.com/shortStories.php?story_id=kafka_the_wish_to_be_a_red_indian">The Wish to be a Red Indian</a>," perhaps. In the space of one sentence, Kafka proposes a subject before shearing it away in stages, until nothing remains but a profound absence. All the daily repetition of kitchen work and the generational repetition that has yielded traditional cuisine - all that absence of novelty - is contained on La Merenda's blackboard. The rarity of such a statement - anywhere in the world, let alone breezy, tourist-stricken Nice - gives La Merenda a curious power. At lunch, one can even overlook the dismal wine selection. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGwxmNtex9k3NkBzoWQuV_xPmaipwzzH1KBrSayloGAWaOh7Hn8ZecKTpqje1YCG8ALk5nAbOYZA8Zby4LCqQ5rwRBvptbPWMREWJpxYno3pmkhb5MzaLovFdtZfZk4cLmtIafQpPpWNC/s1600/la+merenda+nice+menu+carte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGwxmNtex9k3NkBzoWQuV_xPmaipwzzH1KBrSayloGAWaOh7Hn8ZecKTpqje1YCG8ALk5nAbOYZA8Zby4LCqQ5rwRBvptbPWMREWJpxYno3pmkhb5MzaLovFdtZfZk4cLmtIafQpPpWNC/s400/la+merenda+nice+menu+carte.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The menu contains the entirety of the wine on offer at La Merenda. It is overpriced conventional local wine. I've worked with many talented chefs who don't give a fig about wine. That's kind of their prerogative, given that successful chefs usually have a wine guy on-hand to proffer something potable. Le Stanc's position is more perverse, for he inflicts his wine-indifference on a well-heeled clientele who in most cases would probably be in a position to consume more (and more expensive) wine, if encouraged. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qbPClHTHoVxdTQDF4DDUw1cbjHabFnsSgiiVWx94I0kzpfeQ6Ow5T0lK94lXBlVj6jemVDROnvEGoF_t51K3al1YdIj0viLuLcuD3RsmUDp5-DgrllzyQ_O0HTyifbrcW9SRpl8P82Ua/s1600/la+merenda+nice+sad+wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qbPClHTHoVxdTQDF4DDUw1cbjHabFnsSgiiVWx94I0kzpfeQ6Ow5T0lK94lXBlVj6jemVDROnvEGoF_t51K3al1YdIj0viLuLcuD3RsmUDp5-DgrllzyQ_O0HTyifbrcW9SRpl8P82Ua/s400/la+merenda+nice+sad+wine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Should wine sales comprise a key plank in the financial basis of a good restaurant? Is good wine a necessary component of a meal? I admire Le Stanc's courage in posing these questions. At lunch on January 2nd I was more than willing to entertain them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(Mulling it over, though, I can't shake the feeling that wine non-lists like La Merenda's are basically back-pats to the barbarians who actively deny the complexity of the subject of wine, or, for that matter, any subject outside their immediate realm of expertise.) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi668f9eUjvNFEqyznpS82FnUjYIiiOUwwzLafPZvgAOs7dm4enWdKPr3Wy2OMjFCBM0mREpKgTDyQcAtTDse0hY6Nm8hAbt66kQUgmjfmuRRyThVY3_unLarKkZE38qbqWqU4kwXVcG3_C/s1600/la+merenda+nice+beer+brasserie+du+conte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi668f9eUjvNFEqyznpS82FnUjYIiiOUwwzLafPZvgAOs7dm4enWdKPr3Wy2OMjFCBM0mREpKgTDyQcAtTDse0hY6Nm8hAbt66kQUgmjfmuRRyThVY3_unLarKkZE38qbqWqU4kwXVcG3_C/s400/la+merenda+nice+beer+brasserie+du+conte.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At least the beer is organic. And La Merenda's continued success is all the more impressive for occurring in the absence of good wine, not to mention a telephone or credit card machines. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Before he arrived at La Merenda, Le Stanc led a storied career, culminating in two Michelin stars for his work as chef at Chantecler du Négresco. That he abandoned such a position to work on the grandmotherly scale of La Merenda is posed as the ultimate head-scratcher in just about every press mention of Le Stanc. I don't know. La Merenda's service style is diametrically opposed to that of Michelin-starred hotel restaurants, to an extent that precludes the possibility of coincidence. I'd wager Le Stanc simply became allergic to the inane pomp of "fine" cuisine. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxr2JNQccy-RRK4HpJJNrPN4vfLSa6txkh22jgp0nngTTNZaWPPXGWNSThvNZHyRv1DTiJa-4_4OuMEeiZG6zh11nJblbJ5F98MPdLF8wta0DIa8Uw5Hp21USnzovlvYTayN815tG91y_/s1600/la+merenda+nice+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxr2JNQccy-RRK4HpJJNrPN4vfLSa6txkh22jgp0nngTTNZaWPPXGWNSThvNZHyRv1DTiJa-4_4OuMEeiZG6zh11nJblbJ5F98MPdLF8wta0DIa8Uw5Hp21USnzovlvYTayN815tG91y_/s400/la+merenda+nice+salad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This reactionary dynamic seems to cut both ways at La Merenda. The subject of wine, as I mentioned above, has basically been abandoned as frivolous. But menu plating, across the board, evinces wondrous sternness and purity. No dishes arrive with an excess of components. Some, like a plate of nuanced, savoury tripe in thin tomato sauce, accompanied by delicately fried <i>panisse</i>, are nothing short of perfect. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicq0EvvGmGaEMoldCnU1z9OoAt0hB7Qa0ES8DZvKPzBeOXLUhijfrcLfw9XTUYP2nEetA5mNK0ULvhj66IhppPXQVnKUgTmMhDTJuIlyqjcOawMyoFTMnk1ZNpSrAX0TfDu1M3L52RoQzK/s1600/la+merenda+nice+tripe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicq0EvvGmGaEMoldCnU1z9OoAt0hB7Qa0ES8DZvKPzBeOXLUhijfrcLfw9XTUYP2nEetA5mNK0ULvhj66IhppPXQVnKUgTmMhDTJuIlyqjcOawMyoFTMnk1ZNpSrAX0TfDu1M3L52RoQzK/s400/la+merenda+nice+tripe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Other dishes wear their simplicity less elegantly. The olives topping the arugula salad are pre-pitted. The restaurant's celebrated pasta <i>au pistou</i>, while striking and tasty, remained the kind of pasta that could be celebrated only in France. Almost anywhere in Italy it would be merely correct.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RUKlsOEWumoTj8ODwOsUp5eog9tMhd_h3nWNIipXDgWCXNHJNGCvz63tF8sVKL3IeUYSE-jIqXk06sOJsKEzpZHvZCBSoMxBtJW7R1dSND-b37yWQk4koHFcIk07tnt1A8WeqIA-xyMe/s1600/la+merenda+nice+pasta+au+pistou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RUKlsOEWumoTj8ODwOsUp5eog9tMhd_h3nWNIipXDgWCXNHJNGCvz63tF8sVKL3IeUYSE-jIqXk06sOJsKEzpZHvZCBSoMxBtJW7R1dSND-b37yWQk4koHFcIk07tnt1A8WeqIA-xyMe/s400/la+merenda+nice+pasta+au+pistou.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The <i>tarte de blette</i> (chard tart) we ordered for dessert was more impactful. For non-natives like myself such a dish presents terrific cognitive dissonance. The Niçois specialty, presented larded with sultanas beneath a snowfall of baking sugar, highlights the relation of chard to rhubarb, with the former having just the slightest cabbagey accent to its sweetness. It was the rare dessert that felt like it could double as an appetizer. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycp010kChEDYecGRzHE4rZozefgOaCMNd2mlxdS2CAj81IFiVFd6cjWewE0U17mLkDTVvNQOsHWTJdatlORhx4fRNqCTa1_D_Bc6ebv7blSlgN1c8sH52xfecJAHCla8zqUp1m92V4Hkt/s1600/la+merenda+nice+tarte+de+blette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycp010kChEDYecGRzHE4rZozefgOaCMNd2mlxdS2CAj81IFiVFd6cjWewE0U17mLkDTVvNQOsHWTJdatlORhx4fRNqCTa1_D_Bc6ebv7blSlgN1c8sH52xfecJAHCla8zqUp1m92V4Hkt/s400/la+merenda+nice+tarte+de+blette.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
La Merenda shines only intermittently under a close-read. Taken in perspective its resplendence becomes unquestionable. The menu, when it changes, does so almost imperceptibly. Le Stanc's decades-long fidelity to his menu inspirations is nothing short of moving in an age when great chefs are afforded every opportunity, and every incentive, to riff and improvise. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The result is a timeless restaurant that overcomes its faults by existing at a savvy remove from questions of taste. Like an old recipe, its worth is validated by its persistence. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xVi_LzdE11IEVHzm9pfqBwX689BkpP0snhTRCeMXRheliNkz41orjwy1Xf-FRoPEQOCYpMkXQyXtOxxj6Lva01Q6vmjGY1VULOlsTbXNxZEEN9gGsMhT1AZ6jhziTRe61gbVrfd6Lymy/s1600/la+merenda+nice+lentilles+saucisses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xVi_LzdE11IEVHzm9pfqBwX689BkpP0snhTRCeMXRheliNkz41orjwy1Xf-FRoPEQOCYpMkXQyXtOxxj6Lva01Q6vmjGY1VULOlsTbXNxZEEN9gGsMhT1AZ6jhziTRe61gbVrfd6Lymy/s400/la+merenda+nice+lentilles+saucisses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.lamerenda.net/La_Merenda_Site_Officiel/La_Merenda_Nice.html">La Merenda</a></div>
4, rue Raoul Bosio<br />
<div>
06300 NICE</div>
<div>
No telephone.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Related Links: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In 2015, <a href="http://www.parismatch.com/Vivre/Gastronomie/La-Merenda-meilleur-restaurant-de-France-835781">Paris Match</a> ventured La Merenda could be "the best restaurant in France." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A 2013 piece on La Merenda in <a href="http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/saveurs/restaurant/dominique-le-stanc-star-du-restaurant-la-merenda-de-nice_1247685.html">L'Express Styles</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.simonsays.fr/nice-la-merenda-cuisine-pastorale">François Simon</a> had a few thoughts on the curious service at La Merenda in his 2012 blog piece. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A 2011 piece about La Merenda by <a href="http://www.gillespudlowski.com/26174/restaurants/nice-le-meilleur-bouchon-du-monde">Gilles Pudlowski</a>, including a good summary of Le Stanc's long career. Pudlowski too throws in some nonsense about it being the "the best <i>bouchon</i> in the world." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A rave about La Merenda at <a href="http://www.foodtourist.com/ftguide/Content/I431.htm">Food Tourist</a>. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://lefooding.com/en/restaurants/restaurant-la-merenda-nice">Le Fooding</a>'s review format is particularly suited to a restaurant like La Merenda. Pretty much the entire menu is recited.</div>
</div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174461443579168085.post-60155153827290313972017-02-10T13:16:00.001+01:002017-02-10T13:16:27.993+01:00n.d.p. in maconnais: château des rontets, fuissé<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHnanL7wbjH2TPUo1KMBGTmWTbYDfXr3jFRIZkJDMfI4M-K5dI7Suaj2WPItqLCE55a3gEUncWtaac9tUbYPvlm_gyBJRM4YxrDb8PiWZvtZZqHb_xQUPvJ1a2P9Sha4BKMooSYEpT4LU/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+steel+tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFHnanL7wbjH2TPUo1KMBGTmWTbYDfXr3jFRIZkJDMfI4M-K5dI7Suaj2WPItqLCE55a3gEUncWtaac9tUbYPvlm_gyBJRM4YxrDb8PiWZvtZZqHb_xQUPvJ1a2P9Sha4BKMooSYEpT4LU/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+steel+tank.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The forecast called for rain, but my friend E and I had passed a perfectly calm, sunny day visiting winemakers around <a href="http://www.saint-amour-bellevue.fr/">Saint-Amour</a> last July. Among the crus of Beaujolais, Saint-Amour is a curious culture unto itself, a throwback to the era of négoçiant supremacy, an economy kept afloat by the unthinkably dumb people in France and abroad who regularly purchase the wine for Saint Valentine's Day. (I have never met anyone who has done this, but apparently such people exist. Just thinking about them makes me feel better about the invariably inconsequential gestures I muster for the same holiday.)<br />
<br />
Not the most ravishing day of tasting, in short. But we had a pleasant makeshift lunch on the picnic tables in the square in Leynes, where later, in a quest to find coffee, we entered a truly strange, deserted bar, overrun with dogs and exotic birds. The owner descended from upstairs before we could scram, so Nespresso it was. We asked to sit on the terrace. The sky had begun to cloud over.<br />
<br />
E and I huffed our cigarettes, bolted our bad coffees, and pulled on our helmets. I seem to remember it was a straight shot up a knobbly one-lane road to our last appointment of the day, where, finally, we'd taste some Saint-Amour worth falling for, along with some stunning Pouilly-Fuissés. It felt somehow appropriate, skidding up to the gates of the <a href="https://www.chateaurontets.com/index.html">Château des Rontets</a> at precisely the moment the storm broke.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDxLcArlXtoGG2t20LlJ_raWgOoMR0MKQXyl5B-s77Je5UAxVfAjJJVp_hzXrhHEAxbKaCMDfec4rEjIcwEOYg9X6emHMK5tavNwpgJda1PW76bnYC_nfC7sak1V-WLAY1faBfoYmdRQT/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDxLcArlXtoGG2t20LlJ_raWgOoMR0MKQXyl5B-s77Je5UAxVfAjJJVp_hzXrhHEAxbKaCMDfec4rEjIcwEOYg9X6emHMK5tavNwpgJda1PW76bnYC_nfC7sak1V-WLAY1faBfoYmdRQT/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+exterior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I soon had the pleasure of making introductions with winemaker Fabio Montrasi under pelting rain. "I had your wine in Paris once!" I cried. "I'm writing a book on the Beaujolais!" <br />
<br />
Montrasi soon ushered us inside. I paused to snap what I knew would be my only terrible photo of Château des Rontets' vines for the visit.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidss9z3Ky3c4Sc4bTYmuIQImfJQEgwFiJcH0_XL78xXnA6Gn8MoRM_9j0JFQRNBy6Eik9af2fPOwAdYZ-jRm0WlChLjfBIwZEFRU3KaxzbQtEmEOOLi_PW1oJWpEq25qaeazdhxCGb1Vll/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+clos+varambon+vines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidss9z3Ky3c4Sc4bTYmuIQImfJQEgwFiJcH0_XL78xXnA6Gn8MoRM_9j0JFQRNBy6Eik9af2fPOwAdYZ-jRm0WlChLjfBIwZEFRU3KaxzbQtEmEOOLi_PW1oJWpEq25qaeazdhxCGb1Vll/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+clos+varambon+vines.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clos Varambon in the rain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Montrasi's wife and winemaking partner, Claire Gazeau, was absent on the day we visited. The couple met during their former careers as architects, before moving to the château, which was in Claire's family, in 1995. They had both taken winemaking courses as Macon-Davayé in preparation for their new life as vignerons, and immediately set about converting the domaine to organic agriculture, for which they became certified in 2005.<br />
<br />
Despite 22 years in the region, Montrasi somehow evinces the energy and open-mindedness of someone just embarking on his second career. I sense that over their time in the region the couple has proceeded slowly, but methodically, to increasingly natural vinification practices, refining them as they go, with the result that certain cuvées have only recently begun to reveal their true potential.<br />
<br />
Their Saint-Amour is the most obvious example. It derives from the Côte de Besset <i>lieu-dit</i>, a half-hectare parcel the couple recovered from a <i>métayer</i> in 2005. I remember really disliking the bottle of 2014 I tasted once in Paris, finding it too strict and probably over-sulfured. Yet the 2015 - a much more difficult vintage - was showing marvelously from tank that day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLz4gUupoq9sDeA_oetBQ3-XWVq7BziNKjik_h65N7k6s4V-gva6xqIQJN_zNcyNbtkFSPskc1yLTTAwaLnvP1waw95QpM5tFpUnSvRO-RxglmcIpXi7m8r5pS6WQxXFCekH27ce4e24d/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+fabio+montrasi+erin+schlumpf+tasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLz4gUupoq9sDeA_oetBQ3-XWVq7BziNKjik_h65N7k6s4V-gva6xqIQJN_zNcyNbtkFSPskc1yLTTAwaLnvP1waw95QpM5tFpUnSvRO-RxglmcIpXi7m8r5pS6WQxXFCekH27ce4e24d/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+fabio+montrasi+erin+schlumpf+tasting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Montrasi remembers the first two vintages being marred with bret. "With the time it goes away a bit, but it was quite savage," he says. There followed several vintages of hail. "Let’s say 2009 was the first year that things began to put themselves in place. Now it goes better. We continue to vinify in the same way: it’s a carbonic maceration without sulfur, a pure carbo, without pumping over or pigeage."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6eQxrMA-hN7NTyvr5TLYGarwLUB9HDdOWXWtv83QJE9hZ3v55HatOAYYqBjv9JF1oGKRT0qY9owY_h5YOg3rKkT1k9I5nqDuxbOLi1NnpaiP7rR9HFzvZnx7uryT5LBa3kx_vP3tJIQC8/s1600/chateau+des+rontets+saint+amour+2015.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6eQxrMA-hN7NTyvr5TLYGarwLUB9HDdOWXWtv83QJE9hZ3v55HatOAYYqBjv9JF1oGKRT0qY9owY_h5YOg3rKkT1k9I5nqDuxbOLi1NnpaiP7rR9HFzvZnx7uryT5LBa3kx_vP3tJIQC8/s400/chateau+des+rontets+saint+amour+2015.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The 2015 was an 18-day maceration beginning at ambient temperatures. Gazeau and Montrasi do not filter the wine, and I was happy to taste it intact and unchanged later in the year, after bottling, at <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/04/yard-nye-smith-restaurant-paris-75011.html">YARD Restaurant</a> in Paris. With the potential exception of an astonishingly great tank sample of <a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes</a>' new 2016 Saint-Amour, which I tasted this past weekend at La Dive Bouteille, the Saint-Amour of Château des Rontets is since 2015 the breakaway quality leader of the appellation. The couple's 2016, also tasted from tank sample this past weekend, is also in a brilliant place, limpid and floral, with a compelling earth note on the finish.<br />
<br />
When Montrasi showed us the cuvage, I remember being surprised at its small size. Most of the year it is their shipping and labeling area.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PjpA3IZLGn9MBkifxNrjgnd1jSn10SXijBC814uM5YEV5hht3wAx81b3FlzZ6vozGQKbRUdlL0r0u8QHubUXVnDzME7VlOB9RKuc83nCJdUkKewHBdgtAFXuXcPsLt8ZOcco60GZ2qmj/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+crowded+cuvage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PjpA3IZLGn9MBkifxNrjgnd1jSn10SXijBC814uM5YEV5hht3wAx81b3FlzZ6vozGQKbRUdlL0r0u8QHubUXVnDzME7VlOB9RKuc83nCJdUkKewHBdgtAFXuXcPsLt8ZOcco60GZ2qmj/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+crowded+cuvage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
"We don’t have much volume of wine," Montrasi explained. "Here we use just for the <i>debourbage</i> and the pressing, then the fermentation all goes on in the cellar."<br />
<br />
The couple's three principal cuvées of Pouilly-Fuissé are all vinified in oak barrel, of which only a very small proportion is new. Their "Clos Varambon" and "Les Birbettes" bottlings are both produced from the <i>clos</i> surrounding the château, while "Pierres Folles" is produced from an unusual granite-soiled parcel at the top of the "Vers Chanes" <i>lieu-dit </i>a little further south. <br />
<br />
"Pierre Folles," aged in 400L foudres, is predictably the outlier, its monochrome white fruit and light heat tending to show a little clumsy beside the other two cuvées. Still, it's a style of chardonnay that has no shortage of fans.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwncFW8u-oV_aRvMt9dEgi79t1tWnZB9rtHL_rim0dKPDwkCJhBXfJ9bWYQN01t4wAQDEQGIbHKJgJ1lfiE5CJ7LalzYp2JHMljIjTgw0eTaAu00al5w3ZIGkBTcTUGHPpxb6l2P9H9zM/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+foudre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwncFW8u-oV_aRvMt9dEgi79t1tWnZB9rtHL_rim0dKPDwkCJhBXfJ9bWYQN01t4wAQDEQGIbHKJgJ1lfiE5CJ7LalzYp2JHMljIjTgw0eTaAu00al5w3ZIGkBTcTUGHPpxb6l2P9H9zM/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+foudre.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
"In general it gives wines that are larger, a little less vertical, a bit wider, which are generally better in years with more freshness," Montrasi acknowledges. "They have the tendency to be too rich and round in hotter years."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a similar register, the couple produced a one-off wine in 2015 they titled "Una Tantum," meaning, "one time" in Latin. It's an assemblage of the <i>fin de press</i> from all their cuvées, which from this hot vintage means it's quite heavyset and glycerolic, with banana shortcake profile. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For years now, the couple's winemaking ideals have found best expression in "Clos Varambon" and its old-vine counterpart, "Les Birbettes," </div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l_DOgPFEnOeuLIBq7NTo7EjEyvrmIKyEpK9cLPc7Uysknmo1bUhw8jmdt71NGUcfV59wSFpFQUFjoWQSYSNziapb3VxhTVigZEky68-dS5VQF4wdKs_5jfIMVqnqpOVB5gC4pJoBlEpL/s1600/1606+chateau+des+rontets+barrels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l_DOgPFEnOeuLIBq7NTo7EjEyvrmIKyEpK9cLPc7Uysknmo1bUhw8jmdt71NGUcfV59wSFpFQUFjoWQSYSNziapb3VxhTVigZEky68-dS5VQF4wdKs_5jfIMVqnqpOVB5gC4pJoBlEpL/s400/1606+chateau+des+rontets+barrels.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These are scintillating, delicate Pouilly-Fuissés, blossomy, mineral-cored. "Les Birbets" sees 20 months oak-aging and emerges significantly more coiled. Both wines are lately hitting an impressive sweet spot, just pure enough to please natural wine aficionados while pristine enough not to offend anyone else.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueFX4mrTPwxarPk5zq7pRRlf7qz3LmKR9Eo0GpQ17J55LrgAEqoNWJ4e4rmMYQHBd_1JwmMR0oHEr_F4yppbtL9Z0tgjemufK0ChNykjzYka_X6rjT1ZtRADm-NRguJSnilkzedjxk7iP/s1600/birbets+2014+chateau+des+rontets.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgueFX4mrTPwxarPk5zq7pRRlf7qz3LmKR9Eo0GpQ17J55LrgAEqoNWJ4e4rmMYQHBd_1JwmMR0oHEr_F4yppbtL9Z0tgjemufK0ChNykjzYka_X6rjT1ZtRADm-NRguJSnilkzedjxk7iP/s400/birbets+2014+chateau+des+rontets.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The couple add low quantities of sulfur during elevage and at bottling. Montrasi admits he isn't a fan of the more oxidative styles of chardonnay one encounters in natural wine circles. "I perceive that it displaces the wine," he says. "The oxidative aroma is not the one that interests me the most."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This sensibility sometimes feels rare lately among vignerons who work as naturally as Gazeau and Montrasi. Montrasi, for his part, is used to being an outsider. Before we left, we spoke briefly about the wines of his native Lombardy. He professed he didn't know them at all, and I suddenly appreciated just how far he's come since his architecture days. </div>
<br />
"I started to drink a bit of alcohol at 27 years old," he says. "When I was little I must have drunk the leftover glasses, and I got very sick, and after that I couldn’t even smell alcohol for a long time." <br />
<br />
<div>
<a href="https://www.chateaurontets.com/">Château des Rontets</a><br />
71960 Fuissé<br />
Tel: 03 85 32 90 18<br />
<br />
Related Links:<br />
<br />
A good profile of Château des Rontets at the site of their US importer, <a href="http://tedwardwines.com/producers/ch%C3%A2teau-des-rontets">T. Edward Wines</a>.<br />
A long profile in Italian of Gazeau and Montrasi at <a href="http://reportergourmet.com/5081/chateau-de-rontets-i-pouilly-fuisse-di-claire-e-fabio-montrasi.html">Reporter Gourmet</a>. <br />
A long, idiosyncratic French interview with Montrasi at <a href="http://blog.phileaswineclub.com/rencontre-fabio-montrasi-proprietaire-chateau-rontets/">Phileas Wine Club</a>.<br />
<br />
Beaujolais 2016:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1074554979"></span>Nicolas Dubost, Saint-Germain-sur-l'Arbresle<br /><span id="goog_1074554980"></span></a><a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/12/romain-des-grottes-beaujolais-saint.html">Romain des Grottes, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/yann-bertrand-beaujolais-nouveau-ptit.html">Yann Bertrand's First Primeur</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/11/beaujolais-harvests-2016.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2016</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/christophe-pacalet-beaujolais.html">Christophe Pacalet, Cercié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/10/sylvere-trichard-selene-beaujolais.html#more">Sylvère Trichard & Elodie Bouvard (Séléné), Blacé</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/09/jerome-balmet-beaujolais.html">Jérome Balmet, Vaux-en-Beaujolais</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/08/lauberge-du-moulin-saint-didier-sur.html">L'Auberge du Moulin, Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/07/jean-francois-promonet-beaujolais-leynes.html">Jean-François Promonet, Leynes</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/06/herve-ravera-marchampt-beaujolais.html">Hervé Ravera, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/justin-dutraive-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Justin Dutraive, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/05/julien-merle-beaujolais-legny-nathalie.html">Julien Merle & Nathalie Banes, Legny</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/la-fete-des-conscrits-villie-morgon.html">La Fête des Conscrits, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/domaine-leonis-raphael-champier.html">Domaine Leonis (Raphael Champier & Christelle Lucca), Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais, Autumn 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/04/xavier-benier-beaujolais.html">Xavier Benier, Saint-Julien</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/domaine-chasselay-beaujolais-chatillon.html">Jean-Gilles Chasselay, Châtillon d'Azergues</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/03/marcel-joubert-beaujolais-brouilly.html">Marcel Joubert, Quincié</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/02/nicolas-chemarin-beaujolais-marchampt.html">Nicolas Chemarin, Marchampt</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/anthony-thevenet-villie-morgon.html">Anthony Thévenet, Villié-Morgon</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/romain-zordan-fleurie.html">Romain Zordan, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2016/01/yann-bertrand-les-bertrands-fleurie.html">Yann Bertrand, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/thillardon-chenas-paul-henri-beaujolais.html">Domaine Thillardon, Chénas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/12/sylvain-chanudet-fleurie-domaine-de.html">Sylvain Chanudet, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/patrick-jo-cotton-brouilly-beaujolais.html">Patrick "Jo" Cotton, Saint-Lager</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/11/pierre-cotton-cote-de-brouilly.html">Pierre Cotton, Odenas</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/auberge-du-col-du-truges-villie-morgon.html">L'Auberge du Col du Truges, Le Truges</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/julie-balagny-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Julie Balagny, Moulin-à-Vent</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/10/la-cuvee-des-copines-beaujolais-2015.html">La Cuvée des Copines 2015</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/beaujolais-harvests-2015.html">Beaujolais Harvests 2015</a><br />
<br />
Beaujolais Bike Trip, Summer 2015:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/09/georges-descombes-beaujolais-morgon.html">Georges Descombes, Vermont</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jean-paul-thevenet-morgon-beaujolais.html">Jean-Paul Thévenet, Pizay</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/jules-metras-fleurie-beaujolais.html">Jules Métras, Fleurie</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/07/remi-dufaitre-beaujolais-saint-etienne.html">Rémi et Laurence Dufaitre, Saint-Etienne-des-Ouillières</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/jean-claude-lapalu-saint-etienne-la.html">Jean-Claude Lapalu, Saint-Etienne-La-Varenne</a><br />
<a href="http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.fr/2015/06/ndp-in-beaujolais-benoit-camus-ville.html">Benoit Camus, Ville-sur-Jarnioux</a></div>
aaron ayscoughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12595822449248202660noreply@blogger.com1