A perfect Sunday in Bordeaux

It was one of those Bordeaux blue sky mornings! We woke late, thanks to the jet lag, then enjoyed a quick breakfast of fresh baguette and croissants from the local boulangerie. 

We strolled down to the Chartrons Market. Known locally as the "Bo Bo" market (meaning Bohemian Bourgeois or "trendster") one can choose from a vast array of produce- fresh fruit and vegetables, artisanal cheeses, wine, bread, patisserie, fresh and pre-cooked meats, poultry and seafood dishes. 

But the highlight for us, and our priority any sunny Sunday that we are lucky enough to be in Bordeaux, is the oyster stalls. There 6 oysters of your choice (which grade/size?) are shucked to order, and best washed down with a glass of Bordeaux Blanc. These oysters are so fresh one can taste the salty waters of the Basin d'Arcachon where these were harvested on the previous low tide.  A perfect Bordeaux lunch. Then we grabbed some macarons for later.

Macaron stand Chartrons market #bordeaux #sunday #dimanche #marche #macarons #france

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 5:39am PDT

Bordeaux was heaving, with the Euro finals in full swing. We found a bar near the Garonne to watch France v Ireland. 

Fete le Vin, the Bordeaux wine festival, was underway as well . Crowds of wine lovers spilled from the wine tasting stands along the banks of the Garonne clutching wine glasses but were seemingly well behaved. 

After the French match many of the tens of thousands of football fans from the nearby Fansite in Place de Quinconces headed to the wine stands. We found these 2 wearing the famous French coq symbol...

I suppose you would call these guys coq-heads? Allez les bleus! #france #bordeaux #euros

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

We had a stroll through the wine festival site but decided not to taste, due to the crowds. 

Instead we decided to retreat to our apartment for a quiet Apero, before heading out to dinner. We enjoyed a glass of wonderful Domaine de la Croix Irrésistible rosé, cru classé from Provence.

Apero #bordeaux @domaine_de_la_croix #rose #provence #wine #wineandfood

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 10:03am PDT

We took a short stroll across the Pont de Pierre to Restaurant l'Estacade. It features a lot local seafood dishes. One of those menus where its hard to decide what to choose. It has a very good wine list with some top local wines, plus a good selection from other parts of France (which is a bit bit shocking in Bordeaux) and interesting wines by the glass thanks to Coravin. The service is excellent and the restaurant has a stunning view across the Garonne looking back to Place de la Bourse and central Bordeaux. 

It's a perfect place to watch the sun set in this stunning natural ampitheatre, with water meeting sky, and framing the stunning architecture of the Bordeaux waterfront.

Gorgeous evening in #bordeaux

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 1:11pm PDT

At 11pm we had a fantastic view of the Fete le Vin son et lumière (sound and light show ).

 


Then at 1130pm we ordered a half bottle of Gosset rosé Champagne and moved to the deck to watch the fireworks exploding above our heads over the Garonne. An amazing ending to a perfect Sunday in Bordeaux.

Spectacular #bordeaux @bordeauxfetevin

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Jun 26, 2016 at 3:02pm PDT

White Wine and Cheese - The Wine Gang recommend some South West whites

Homage au Fromage, by Jane Parkinson

23 September 2014

It might seem controversial to die-hard red wine fans, but the modern school of thought among those in-the-know is that white wine is a much better all-round wine partner for cheese.
Why? Because its inherent freshness cuts through cheese’s fatty content much better than a chewy red wine would. And so perhaps it’s one of the wine world’s best-kept secrets that South West France – with all its indigenous and delicious white grape varieties to offer – is in fact a Mecca for cheese-friendly wines. So let’s dive in.
White cheeses that are chalky in texture and/or salty in flavour, like goat’s cheese and halloumi, are notorious for working wonders with Sauvignon Blanc. But this isn’t an exclusive pairing by any means, so for something slightly different but just as successful a match, try the dry white wines of Gaillac, which are made from punchy native grapes such as Mauzac and Loin de l’Oeil and are tongue-tingling, crisp, fruity and salty. Sometimes these whites even have a drop of Sauvignon Blanc blended into them too,.
Crumbly cheeses, such as feta, Wensleydale and Caerphilly are also best served with a fruity and fresh white wine. To match these, it’s worth buying a bottle of dry white wine from Côtes de Gascogne. Local grapes here such as Ugni Blanc, Gros Manseng and Colombard (as well as Sauvignon Blanc sometimes too) make fruity, slightly textured white wines with bags of apple-flavoured freshness.

Richer, Alpine-based cheeses, such as Comté and Gruyère, as well as Spain’s most famous sheep cheese Manchego, are crying out for wines with plenty of depth to the flavour all the while being tense with freshness. And so step forward the white wines from the Basque region of Irouléguy, or even the dry Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh wines. These really make the most of indigenous varieties such as Gros Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu by being zingy, sometimes smoky, and full of nutty and herbaceous flavours.
These wines would also serve a richly-flavoured Cheddar well, but if you’re interested in tracking down something unique, go for a Chardonnay from the Pyrenean region of Ariège which can have a lovely nutty and waxy flavour.
As we all know, sweet wines are hedonistic in their own right, but even more so when paired with two types of cheese styles; salty blue cheese such as Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola, and washed rind powerfully-flavoured cheeses like Munster or Epoisses. There are two no-brainer places to look in South West France to meet your wine needs here. Firstly the sweet Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh wines, often made with Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, they’re full of luscious honey and apricot flavours. Or else go to Gaillac and indulge in their delicious honeycomb and marmalade-rich sweet wines.

"Offal the beaten track" : food and wine event in Sydney.

Chophouse, one of our favourite Sydney CBD restaurants is holding a winter dinner on 3rd June. It's called 'Offal the Beaten Track' and features some interesting cuts of meat and a superb array of interesting unusual wines/grape varieties.

The dinner includes one of DiscoverVin's white wines - Domaine Bellegarde "Pierre Blanche" Jurançon Sec 2009 - a superb dry white from an organic producer in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south-west of France.  

We attended a wine dinner at Chophouse last year and it was a fantastic night- excellent food, service, atmosphere and generous wine pours.  For more details see the menu below.

Seems like this will be a great night of "culinary exploration for the adventurous"! 

Event: Slowed cooked food and wines of South West France Sydney

Looking forward to seeing some of our Sydney friends in Sydney! This will be a great night of tasty slow cooked food and some great wines to match. Excellent value! Call Chophouse 1300 246 748

DiscoverVin support Mater Chicks in Pink

All courses on the menu were pink

DiscoverVin were happy to support the "Mater Chicks in Pink" with a fundraising dinner at C'est Bon in Wooloongabba, Brisbane on April 15. The "Mater Chicks in Pink" support women diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  Over $2000 was raised on the night.

Celine and the team at C'est Bon put their heart into the event, gathering support from their suppliers, decorating the rooms, working for free and wearing pink aprons in the kitchen. All of the staff worked for free and the suppliers donated all food and wine used, so that as much money as possible could be raised for the cause!

Homemade Gravelax with Honey Dill Mustard Creme.

All of the food had a pink theme.  The Domaine de la Croix Rosé was the perfect wine for the dinner.  The salmon pink colour of the wine was ideal and looked wonderful with the Pink Fish.  The colour and the soft fruit flavours were lovely with the Homemade Gravalax served with a honey dill mustard creme.  

The wine's dry and savoury aspects on the palate meant the Irresistible Rosé also worked well with the Free Range Chick in Pink.  The soft and supple wine was lovely with the oven roasted free range chicken supreme coated in beetroot crust on spinach and exotic mushroom risotto beurre pink.

Vivid pink dragonfruit & lychee sorbet was spectaular finale.

The rosé was also a good accompaniment to the pink dessert - The Dragon, the Crunch and the Ballet Dancer.  This was a vivid pink dragonfruit and lychee sorbet in a brandy basket.  Superbe!!

Pink stripes for the plates

The kitchen team in their chicks in pink aprons.

Bordeaux wine & food dinner Adelaide - Universal Table wine club

Wow what a great night! One of those kind of unexpectedly good nights, where beforehand you think, this should be good, but then it turns out to be excellent. Fantastic food, great wines (well to be honest we expected that!) and fabulous company.

DiscoverVin recently travelled to Stamps Restaurant in Adelaide at the invitation of the Universal Table wine club. This is a wine club with about 100 members that was started by Michael Hill Smith, who at the time was the first Master of Wine in Australia. It used to meet regularly at his restaurant - The Universal Wine Bar. It was a privilege to be asked along to the Club. It was potentially a tough crowd for a wine distributor - knowledgeable, experienced and potentially world weary as probably there was not much they hadn't experienced in the past. Possibly that was part of the pleasantly unexpected experience - rather than a  pedestrian night, there was a real buzz about the food and wine. Adjectives like "outstanding", "exquisite", "revelation" punctuated the conversation.








































We had decided to present Bordeaux wines plus a few others and it seemed to hit the mark.

We had 5 courses of fantastic food - seasonal, creative, clearly cooked with care and passion by Brenton. A great front of house team, Matt and Alex led by Anita. 

We started with a taste of Domaine de la Croix Irresistable Rosé , Cru Classé in Provence poured from magnums, while people arrived and chatted - a great start to the evening.

First course of seared scallop with cauliflower panna cotta, roquefort scented cream with the delicious Arlaux Grande Cuvée Champagne (a small family producer making wine from  premier cru vineyards). Amazing to look at and a taste sensation on the palate. The champagne partnered the sweetness and richness of the dish very well.

Second course: An amazing course of Rainbow trout , rolled up with smoked salmon and served with caviar, leek , mussels, potato and red sorrel. Technically impressive and great textures and flavours. Served with Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chateau Haut-Peyrous Peche au Carrelet (Graves) 2009 and Chateau Tour des Gendres Moulin des Dames Blanc (Bergerac) 2009. The first made by Marc Darroze and lightly wooded. The second by the acclaimed Luc de Conti and more wood treatment and richness. It created a great debate as to which was the better match - but we were splitting hairs! It was all superb!

Next up was a delicious course of boned roasted rabbit with fennel jam, celeriac puree, sweet and sour quince. Again this was not a simple dish - beautifully cooked and complicated but delicious and integrated flavours. This dish showed of a trio of New Bordeaux from the right bank. The Chateau d'Aiguilhe 2008 (Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux) - on the cover of September edition of Decanter magazine, Chateau Rouget (Pomerol) 2006 and Chateau Dassault (St Émilion) 2006. Three delicious merlot based wines. These wines demonstrated the power and finesse of the wines of the right bank. The D'Aiguilhe in particular drew a lot of attention. This wine epitomises 'New Bordeaux"- ancient vineyards - probably dating back to the time of the Romans, now producing wines using modern techniques and vineyard management to get the most from this fantastic site/terroir. No wonder by this stage the restaurant was buzzing!

Next was a slow cooked beef check with liver and bacon pie, potato and horseradish puree, beetroot and fine herbes. Another delicious dish and a perfect foil to two older cabernet based wines from the left bank. Legende de la Tour Carnet (Haut-Médoc) 2004 and Chateau Lanessan (Haut -Médoc) 2004. Both of these wines are starting to develop some aged flavours and integration of the tannins and fruit. Delicious. The Legende de la Tour Carnet is a good example of a second-label. Tour Carnet is a grand cru producer and puts the grapes from parcels of younger vines (usually less than 15 yo) into the second label. This makes a wine more approachable at a younger age and is very good value for money. The Lanessan is one of our best sellers - it is drinking just beautifully at the moment.

Finally, cheese! We believe this is a club tradition or at least a preference to a sweet dessert. We showed off the spectacular Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure Extase 2003. Incredibly luscious botrytised fruit, great balance and length and not cloying on the finish. As good as many fine sauternes but great value for money at this level of quality. Dessert in a glass and went well with the cheeses.

It was a great night and we hope to be back next year to show off some more wines to the Universal Wine Club in Adelaide. We thoroughly recommend Stamps Restaurant to all our followers.

Bordeaux Dinner at Bistro Vue

DiscoverVin hosted a wonderful Bordeaux Wine Dinner in partnership with Bistro Vue in Melbourne on Tuesday 14 August. A selection of our Bordeaux wines were expertly matched to a divine menu prepared by the uber-professional but relaxed and skilled team at Bistro Vue.

Smoked eel and an Oyster. Delightful Amuse Bouche served with Chateau Haut Peyrous Bordeaux Blanc

The first wine: Chateau Haut-Peyrous Peche au Carrelet 2009 was a lovely Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend from the appellation of Graves. The winemaker is Mark Darroze who purchased this property and modernised it, introducing organic production methods in 2008. The Peche au Carrelet refers to the fishing nets used in the nearby Garonne river to catch local crustaceans fish and eels. So this was an inspired match by chef Chris Bonello and sommelier Maurizio Severgnini to serve this wine with a fresh oyster and some smoked eel.

The Haut-Peyrous was continued and served with the first entrée - crispy prawns, warm lettuce and wild garlic. The body/tail of the prawns were separated from the heads which were also fried and so could be popped into the mouth to savour the intensity of flavour! The Haut-Peyrous was a great foil with enough body and acid to stand up to the slight oiliness of this dish.

Next a look at an older right bank wine: Chateau Lanessan 2004 from the Haut-Medoc. This is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is an interesting producer, held in the same family for seven generations but recently modernising production methods and bringing in young, highly skilled winemaking team to rejuvenate the wines. This one is now drinking beautifully. It still has lots of lovely fruit but the tannins are softening and integrating with the fruit. A classic "claret" style, ready to drink. It matched a delightfully subtle terrine of ox tail - served in thin slices like a carpaccio and served with some cornichons and leaves. Delightful pairing of the older left bank Bordeaux and this dish - a modern twist on a Bistro classic.

We then had a spectacular main course of Flinders Island milk-fed lamb served with beetroot, the leaves of the beetroot and mash. The photos above show a before and after shot of the lamb! The lamb had been cooked sous-vide to maintain its tenderness. Wow! Rich flavours and very tender without  disintegrating into a grey mush. To accompany, 2 younger but very special wines Fleur de Clinet 2008 (Pomerol) and Clés du Pape Clémont 2008 (Pessac-Leognan). Both of these showed the power but restraint of good Bordeaux. They also demonstrated the quality and value for money of the second label wines of these famous producers - Chateau Clinet and Chateau Pape Clémont - usually made from younger vines and designed to be more approachable in their youth. Beautiful fruit, nice tannin and structure but balanced - and approachable now. Another inspired match with the lamb.

Cannelé Cannelé- A deconstructed approach to a Bordeaux classic. Served with Chateau Le Pradey St Croix de Mont, delicious dessert wine.

An then an amazing finale of Cannelé Cannelé - using all the elements of cannele (custard, rum, cinnamon) in a spectacular looking and tasting dessert. Each element had taken considerable time an skill and when reconstructed the whole was a crowd-pleasing triumph. And alongside it Château La Pradey Saint Croix de Mont 2009. This is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, affected by botrytis and lusciously sweet but not cloying on the finish. And then coffee, tea and a cannelé those crisp on the outside, moist and gooey on the inside petits cakes much loved by the Bordelaise. A delightful end to a memorable meal.

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The atmospheric dining room, set up for 30 guests for DiscoverVin's Bordeaux Dinner at Bistro Vue.

The Wines of Bordeaux

Tuesday 14^th August 2012

Amuse bouche

Smoked eel & oyster

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1ère entrée

Crispy prawns, warm lettuce, wild garlic

2009 Château Haut-Peyrous Blanc, Graves

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2ème entrée

Oxtail terrine

2004 Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc

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Plat principal

Flinders Island milk fed lamb

slow cooked in Claret

2008 Les Clés de Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan

2008 Fleur de Clinet, Pomerol

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Dessert

Cannelé, Cannelé

2008 Château la Pradey, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont

DiscoverVin sponsor Le Tour Lounge

Can Cadel back it up for  2012?

DiscoverVin is sponsoring Le Tour Lounge at 

118 Oxford St, Sydney.

Shhh! Bikes along with Under New Management and Ride Magazine, official magazine for the Tour de France are organising le Tour Lounge.

For the Casual and the Committed

There will be a Projector replaying each stage during the day. Selected live stages at night.

Be there on Sunday 15 July when the Tour reaches  the Pyrenees Cols.  DiscoverVin's  Taste the Tour Pack will be available for tasting and orders can be made.

 

Genovese Coffee available all day,  Bikes for sale and even French Classes.

http://shhhbikes.com/news/le-tour-lounge/