Another brilliant meal @La Promenade, Maison Dallais, Le Petit Pressigny

Menu @La Promenade 

Menu Tradition: Entrée, plat, dessert – 43€
Entrée, poisson, plat, dessert – 54€

 

Last night we were back at La Promenade – Maison Dallais – in Le Petit Pressigny where we had another fabulous meal. It was so good that it was very difficult afterwards to pick out our favourite courses. Despite the damage Brexit has down to Sterling in relation to the Euro its remains good value for the exceptional quality.

For our apéro we enjoyed an excellent bottle of 2015 Noble Joué from Michel Rousseau.  

 The mise en bouche includes foie gras 

 Foie gras in a Madeira jelly, haricots verts et ceps 

 Huîtres speciales, compotée d'artichaut, ecume de mer  

Tourteau frais decortique, crème de petit pois, pince au beurre de thym 

(above and below)

 

 2015 Le Chenin de la Colline, 

François Plouzeau 

– enough weight and richness to make it a good match with the fois gras.

It also worked with the oysters 

The four of the five of us went for the additional fish course – a perfectly cooked piece of merlan (whiting) with en croute de persil, coquillages et citron confit. 

Côte de sanglier caramelisée, jus d'oignon, 

embeurrée de chou et marrons grillées

 The justly famous glistening mashed butter with a little potato

Fine bottle of Philippe Alliet's 2010 l'Huisserie, Chinon  

 Negative profiterole before the hot sauce is poured on it 

Then as the sauce is poured 

 .... to reveal the chou pastry under the 

dome of chocolate

 Paris Brest 

 

Mignardises.....

Impeccable Sunday dinner@Le Bon Laboureur, Chenonceaux

 2013 Les Cabotines, Montlouis, Ludovic Chanson 

Last Sunday (14th June) we had a Sunday dinner at Le Bon Laboureur in Chenonceaux, which is always consistently good and the service is invariably very professional. We kicked off with Ludovic Chanson's fine 2013 Les Cabotines, Montouis. This sec both confirms that Ludovic continues to make fine wine but also underlines the strength in Montlouis, even though the appellation is quite small. We followed this with the 2009 Philippe Alliet L'Huisserie. It is a while since I have drunk one of Philippe's Chinons and this was very impressive.      

 Langoustines 

 

 A velouté of asparagus with an oeuf mollet

Tartare of dorade et gambas marinées – very good  

 Green and white asparagus with two different sauces

 Pigeon (above and below)

 Conjugaison de ris et tête de veau au présent et au passé,  

jus de veau et sauce gribiche

 Saddle of lamb with a herb crust

 2009 l'Huisserie, Chinon, Philippe Alliet

Lovely rich concentration, soft tannins – impressive   

 pre-dessert

 

 The spectacular omelette norvégienne    

with fraise & vanille icecream 

flamed with eau de vie de framboise

 

le coup de grâce – cherries in kirsch

2009-1990 Chinons@RSJ Restaurant

1990 Clos de l'Echo

 

Last night at the RSJ Restaurant there was a dinner and tasting of Chinons stretching from 2009 back to 1990.

Aperitif

2009 Sauvignon Blanc Domaine de Bablut, Vin de Pays 

Tighter, more mineral and refreshing but less opulent and exotic than it was last year.  

2009 Domaine de la Perrière, Baudry-Dutour
This is Baudry-Dutour's easy drinking cuvée from gravel vineyards close to the Vienne. Attractive red fruits with refreshing acidity.   

 

2009 Chinon Beaumont, Catherine and Pierre Breton

From vineyards on the undulating clay and limestone slopes around Beaumont-en-Vèron. This had considerably more weight than the Perrière – partly due to the different terroir but also from doubtless lower yields. With black fruits and spice, soft tannin, the Beaumont is drinking well now but can be kept for a good five years. I have been critical of some of the Breton wines but this 2009 was showing well.   

These two wines were served with a balontine of foie gras & confit of duck with fruit chutney.

Then onto two vintages of Baudry-Dutour's Vieilles Vignes
2006 Vieilles Vignes Domaine de la Perrière, Baudry-Dutour

2002 Vieilles Vignes Domaine de la Perrière, Christophe and Jean Baudry

These, which come from gravel vineyards, showed the importance of vintage in the Loire. The 2006 being fuller and richer with plum and liquorice flavours reflecting the good summer of 2006, which was potentially a very good vintage until the rain and the onset of rot at vintage time meant that the grapes had to be hurriedly gathered in. However, there are some very good 2006s, if not quite at the level of 2005. 

2002 was one of those Loire years when September and October saved the vintage after a poor summer. Sunshine and an easterly wind allowed the grapes to ripe and the drying conditions concentrated the grape juice. Less concentrated than 2006 and more in the red fruit spectrum with more present acidity. Like many 2002s it has lovely balance.

Both cuvées are aged in barrique. The 2002 was made before the creation of Baudry-Dutour in 2003.

1999 Coteau de Noire

Next up two wines from Philippe and Claude Alliet. Philippe is a cousin of Christophe Baudry and he set up his domaine in 1985 and is widely acknowledged as one of the top Chinon producers.

1995 Vieilles Vignes

1999 Coteau de Noire, Philippe Alliet

1995 Vieilles Vignes, Philippe Alliet 

The Alliets acquired the Coteau de Noire in the early 1990s. On the steep limestone coteau a little to the east of the town of Chinon, the 1999 comes from vines of less than 10 years old and is all the more impressive for this. Elegant concentration, structure and length, this is another example of how well the rather unregarded 1999 vintage is now showing.

Without food the 1995 Vieilles Vignes (from vines on gravel) shows some of the angularity that has been typical of this vintage with present tannins and acidity. With food the sweet, evolved fruit comes through.  

1990 Clos de L'Echo, Couly-Dutheil (in magnum)

When this was first opened we were rather concerned that this might be past it, initially light and quite bricky in colour this developed in glass with attractive and charming sweet fruit with a touch of rather grainy tannins. Given that the storage conditions for these two magnums of Clos de l'Echo had not been the best, they were showing pretty well. Doubtless any examples of the 1990 stored at Couly-Dutheil's cellars in Chinon would be more youthful. 

Served with braised veal, mashed potatoes, carrots, spinach, red wine jus.

B-D's Chinon Blanc is closed with a screwcap

2009 Chinon Blanc Baudry-Dutour

We created some controversey at the end of the evening by deciding to serve this with the cheese – a Brie de Meaux. Tasted blind few people I fancy would pick this out as Chenin Blanc – many would opt for Sauvignon Blanc with its zippy, grassy, citric fruit although in the finish it does have that characteristic touch of bitterness typical of many Chenins.

Along with a number of the assembled company I thought it went well with the cheese bringing out the wine's fruit, while others thought that it didn't work at all and were rather aghast at the idea of serving white wine with cheese.

South Korea sommeliers discover the top wines of Chinon

 

Main street in the pretty little village of Crissay-sur-Manse

 'Le chinon vaut le détour pour les sommeliers coréens

C'était une première. Cinq grands sommeliers coréens ont dégusté les crus de Joguet, Baudry-Dutour et Alliet à Crissay-sur-Manse. Une belle découverte.'

Report in today's La Nouvelle République. Read the rest here.

 

 

A quarto of Chinons

2007 Coteau de Noire, Philippe Alliet

A very enjoyable lunch last week with Jean-Ernest and Liliane Sauvion at their lovely Western Touraine retreat, we drank a quarto of Chinons – one from 2007 and three from the 2005 vintage. A very enjoyable bottle of Château de Targe, Saumur Mousseux (70% de Chenin Blanc, 30% de Cabernet Franc) as an apéritif to prepare our palates.   

We tried them blind. First up was the dense, powerful and well structured 2005 Vieilles Vignes from Philippe Brocourt in Rivière on the south side of the Vienne. I guessed that this was either 2005 or 2006 and said that I like the concentration but that it needed more time. Brocourt is not a producer I know and we were impressed, especially as it costs around 7 or 8€.

 Saumur Mousseux, Château de Targe

The second Chinon was both lighter in colour, less structured, softer and more ready to drink. I guessed wrongly that it was older. I should have thought that it might be a 2007, which indeed it was – the Coteau de Noire of Philippe and Claude Alliet. Although it was well made its price tag of some 20€ made it less good value than the preceding Brocourt. Admittedly, however, we are not comparing the same vintage and the cost of production is at least the same, if not more, in a difficult year like 2007. Furthermore Philippe Alliet has a deservedly high reputation built up over a number of years, so can fairly charge a relatively high price for his Chinon. 

The third Chinon – 2005 L'Angelot, Domaine de Beauséjour from Gérard and David Chauveau in Panzoult – was our least admired wine of the four. Less concentrated than the Brocourt with more acidity and some dryish tannin, it was also the most rustic of the Chinons. 

We finished with a very recognisable flange bottle – could only be a Couly-Dutheil. I guessed 2003 Clos de l'Echo because of the rich, concentrated, soft but slightly cooked fruit with some granular tannins in the finish. In fact it was the 2005 Clos de l'Olive.     

Philippe Alliet's Coteau de Noire: photos from October 2009

 

Château de Chinon from Coteau du Noire

If I remember rightly (and I must check) Claude and Philippe Alliet started planting the steep slopes of their Coteau du Noire during the 1990s. Slopes that had not seen vines since the time of phylloxera because there are many easy sites to work in Chinon rather than these magnificent south facing slopes on one of the steep parts of the limestone coteau. The Alliets are based in Cravant les Coteaux but the Coteau du Noire is a little further west in the commune of Chinon, itself, and not far from Joguet's Clos du Chêne Vert. 

 Steep slopes of the Coteau du Noire contrasting with the slopes gravel terraces of the Vienne  

  

Not quite as steep as parts of the Mosel but far from flat!

  

The small chai (above and below)

 

  

From the Coteau through the rather grand entrance  

 

2009 Cabernet Franc 

2009 Chenin Blanc 

Clos de la Grille, domaine at the base of the coteau