Fishy tales @La Chope, Tours

We now seem to be establishing a tradition of going to La Chope in Tours in early October to tackle and enjoy their famous plateau fruits de mer 'Royal' for two people. In order not to break this fine tradition we went for lunch on Wednesday 4th October. As we were five we went for two plateaus plus and extra crab. 

Royal: 1 tourteau, 10 langoustines, crevettes grises, 14 crevettes roses, 6 huîtres, Fines de claires n° 4, 6 huîtres spéciales Gillardeau n° 5, 6 huîtres
Normandes n° 3, bigorneaux, bulots.

For our apéro we chose Rémi Cosson's delicious 2016 Noble Joué – a blend of three Pinots: Gris, Meunier and Noir. Then the plateau started to arrive:    

 

The first tier of the plateau arrives 

 Now the second.....

(above and below)

To accompany the plateau: 2013 VV Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie, 

Gadais Père et Fils  

Wickedly rich chocolate mousse to finish you off....

If you like seafood La Chope is definitely recommended.

The Harbour Inn, Bowmore sur lie!

The Harbour Inn, Bowmore

One of the views from the restaurant 

Last night we had a very enjoyable meal in The Harbour Inn, Bowmore. We ate in the section that looks out over the harbour and the bay. CRM and I shared a tasty selection of antipasto on a slate. There was plenty there for two as a starter. CRM and her mum then chose the pan fried hake – a generous filet that was perfectly cooked. You could tell without tasting that the fish was just right as the milky flakes glistened.

I went for the chargrilled squid and rabbit confit paella, which was a flavoursome and interesting variation on a traditional paella. 

Without studying the wine list in detail we went for a 2015 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Vieilles Vignes sur lie from Château du Poyet in La Chapelle Heulin and which belongs to the Bonneau family. It had some attractive weight from the 2015 vintage but good refreshing acidity without being sharp. Drinking well now it would be no problem keeping this for another five years or more.  

Happy to recommend The Harbour Inn – we would certainly go back.        

Antipasto – cooked and cru ham, salami, chicken, Kalamata olives and celeriac 

2015 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, 

Vieilles Vignes, Château du Poyet 

Pan fried hake with mash potato, wilted spinach etc.

Paella of chargrilled squid and rabbit confit

Couple of Loires enjoyed recently: 2010 Muscadet + 2014 Touraine Gamay

2010 Vieilles Vignes, Les Grands Presbytres, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie

Nelly Marzelleau through Gadais Père et Fils

Fine fresh but weighty Muscadet demonstrating what a good vintage 2010 is, Good aging potential so absolutely no need to rush to drink this up. Avoid serving too cold, otherwise you miss its weight and complexity. 

 

 2014 Le Reinet, Touraine Gamay, Bruno Curassier

Wonderfully juicy, succulent black fruits showing what a delicious vintage 2014 can be. Bruno Curassier is probably right to recommend that you don't serve this warmer than 15˚. It can go a tad warmer but soon loses its attractive freshness that counterbalances the rich fruit and becomes cloying. Look forward to trying the 2015.   

Trio of Loires recently enjoyed

 2003 Moelleux Vouvray Domaine de la Taille aux Loups 

Rich honeyed concentration from the heatwave year, this sweet Vouvray from Domaine aux Taille aux Loups worked well as an apéro – just a glass or so – but also with pheasant cooked in cream and apple and finished with a little Calvados and some more cream. Long finish but not especially complex, although certainly would have aged for decades if I hadn't pulled the cork.  

 2013 Pierre de la Grange Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie, Domaine Pierre Luneau Papin

Attractive, fresh, lemony, saline young Muscadet from Domaine Pierre Luneau Papin. This spends seven months on its lees before bottling. We enjoyed this with simply fried halibut steaks. It also worked well as a contrast with a starter of scallops and black pudding also a good, refreshing apéro. I'm sure would have been perfect with shellfish including oysters.     

 Secret des Vignes 2012 Saumur Champigny, Ackerman 

Secret des Vignes 2012 Saumur Champigny (11.90€) is the first of three samples of the Secret des Vignes sent to me from Ackerman. 2012 is not the easiest Loire vintage and while this shows some of the characteristic acidity of 2012 it has impressive concentration of black fruits. Still youthful though drinkable now it would benefit by being left for another year or two. The back label suggests this Champigny could age for 5-10 years, which given its concentration (for the year) is a fair estimate. Also in this series is a Saumur Blanc and a Coteaux du Saumur, which I will be trying over the next few days. The 2012 Saumur Champigny was a promising start.