From Beaujolais to Nice, My 2018 France Vacation - Day 2

Waking up refreshed despite having no air-conditioning, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in Auberge de Clochemerle, with the beautiful view of vineyards on the hills as the background. After a quick check-out, Jean-Luc Longere, owner of Domaine Longere, came to meet us at the hotel. Jean-Luc was a happy new grandfather, with his first grandchildren born recently.

Picking up the food prepared by the hotel’s restaurant, he took us for a ride to his vineyards, located in the neighboring village Perreon. During the way he explained to us the different areas of Beajoulais and the misperception of inferior quality of wines within the region, stemming from the Beaujolais Nouveau and the mechanical, flat-land vineyards many might expect.

But seeing with my own eyes did change that whole perspective. On this ‘Yellow Beaujolais’ area where most of the Beaujolais Village wines were produced, I had seen a lot of steep slopes on the hills, and those hills were also much higher than Cote d’Or.

Jean-Luc then parked his car and led us for a nice walk in the hills, and we stopped numerous times to admire the nice panoramic view of the area. We observed that there were different pruning arrangements, with the gobelet dominating but also seeing many adopting Guyot and cordon pruning.

Jean-Luc himself was a strong believer in the school of Guyot (for Chardonnay) and cordon (for Gamay), as he regarded the leaves under gobelet pruning would shield the grapes from the sun and when it rained the humidity would also get ‘caught’, increasing chances of mould development.

He showed us how in his 5-hectare vineyards everything were tended, with manual harvesting and a lot of great attention paid to the biodiversity of the vineyards. Readily we saw many types of insects, and there were also a wide range of wild herbs and vegetation.

Jean-Luc casually pulled some of those from the fields and we were amazed by the fragrance. There were thyme, mint to some more exotic herbs we were not familiar, and even wild carrot. He also warned us that some of the herbs would cause allergic to the skin so we should be careful what we picked.

I truly felt the passion Jean-Luc had put into the vineyards, and he told me how he had changed the vineyards from the era when there were heavy uses of pesticide and chemicals in the days of his father and grandfather, to the lively organic vineyard now. He was the sixth generation of the family and wanted to make the environment sustainable for future generations to work and live on.

The amount of effort and care was simply amazing. And honestly I had never felt so much vibrancy in the vineyard, having visited quite a lot in different parts of France. I wholeheartedly complimented Jean-Luc on his vision and dedication.

In the midst of his vineyard, Jean-Luc arranged a special wine tasting for us. He had earlier in the morning came to set up, bringing the glasses and wines, and stored them in a chill box. And again I felt so honoured to have the chance to taste his wine here, considering this matured gentleman taking them uphill and setting them up for us.

The first wine tasted was named after his two daughters, Nos 2 Elles. A Beaujolais Blanc, highly refreshing and floral, and was a wonderful aperitif. We then tasted the Beaujolais-Villages Le Vin de Roches, which was made from grapes from exactly the parcel we were standing at the moment. It was an easy-to-drink wine with nice fruity notes.

The whole experience was so surreal and enjoyable, and despite the temperature a bit on the high side with the breeze it was a great time for us. We took a lot of photos together and this was certainly one of the best wine tasting experience so far.

Then we continued our trek and walk to the edge of the forest, where Jean-Luc had set a table with chairs for us to enjoy a picnic lunch. From his backpack he took out all the utensils, the plates and food, and I felt bad knowing that he took these heavy things all the while on his back and did not ask any help from us.

We had a great time eating the nice food prepared for us by Auberge de Clochemerle, while enjoying the good wines from Domaine Longere, starting with the Beaujolais-Villages Blanc En Vercheres which was more concentrated and complex.

There was another thing that really touched our heart dearly. Knowing that my wife didn’t drink wine when we were chatting in the walk, Jean-Luc had immediately called his wife to arrange a bottle of their own grape juice to deliver to the picnic site so Ivy could enjoy the good produce of the vineyards over lunch.

Apart from his own wines, Jean-Luc also brought along a Chateau des Jacques Moulin-a-Vent for us to compare. He was surprised when I could tell him the property belonged to Louis Jadot as in fact I had tasted the wine before.

The wine was nice and I can tell readily the oak influence, strong in structure but somehow feeling a bit ‘disengaged’ from the environment. Jean-Luc agreed with me and we happily continued to drink the wines from his domaine and had a great time together.

Although we wanted to stay longer, we had to move on to the next part of our trip so Jean-Luc took us back to his house, where we visited his cellar and had our dessert, while he shared with us the interesting Petillant Rose, slightly sweet and pairing great with the fruit. By that time we were so full that we could not have the praline cake anymore.

I decided to buy a wine to bring back home to remember this great experience, going for ‘Jarre’ 2016 (€18), a wine Jean-Luc experimented using the big clay jar traditionally used for winemaking in Roman times. He reminded me to open the bottle and decant for at least four hours before drinking. I really looked forward to open that later, and promised Jean-Luc I would write him my tasting note then.

At the end Jean-Luc also gave me a bottle of Nos 2 Elles as a gift, and we exchanged facebook contacts. I hoped in the future I could come back to visit him, and also spent some time with him to go through the harvest. That would be one of my dreams came true!

Back to the hotel and Wladimir was already waiting for us, and we proceeded to our next stop – Oingt. This was another medieval village originating around the same time as Perouges, with an unique golden hue of its buildings, coming from the stones in the local quarry.

It is interesting to know that these stones used to be inexpensive material but nowadays because the quarry and such stones were no longer available, anyone who wanted to construct a house of the style would actually need to buy the reclaimed stones from old houses.

Walking around the village we visited the church and from the high vantage point taking a good look at the nearby area. But probably because of the hot weather, and being in the middle of the summer holidays, there were not that many people around the village. We visited a few shops but then decided just to chill out in a bar for some cold drinks before heading back to the car.

After a short ride we arrived at Domaine les Gryphees, in the Bois d’Oingt village, and received a warm welcome from Cecile Durdilly, wife of owner Pierre, and she showed us to the cellar where it was cooler so we could escape from the sun. Cecile was obviously proud of her husband and son Guillaume, who also worked in the business and now having his own estate in Moulin-a-Vent.

Now the eighth generation, the estate was named after the fossilized oyster found in the chalky clay soil of the vineyards, called Gryphaea. Cecile showed us quickly around the cellar, but because they were still clearing the area to get ready for the coming harvest it was a bit crowded and messy.

The estate used mainly concrete vats for fermentation, but there were also stainless steel vats for the white and sparkling. We then moved to the tasting room, tasting four wines, including respectively Beaujolais Blanc, Beaujolais Rose, Beaujolais-Villages and Moulin-a-Vent.

I personally liked the rose and Moulin-a-Vent more, with the rose fruity and easy to drink, plus a taste riper than most other rose I had experienced in the region. The Moulin-a-Vent was also nice but it was currently too young to show its full quality. I decided to buy the Moulin-a-Vent 2016 (€12) to explore how it would evolve given more time in bottle ageing.

Wladimir then drove us to Lyon, and we arrived at Hotel Silky, our home for the next three days. It was a 4-star hotel in the peninsula between the Saone and Rhone river, in a prime location close to the old city by walking distance. Fully equipped with air-conditioning and elevator, the room was decent and comfortable.

After taking a short rest we then walked to the old city for our dinner at Le Tire Bouchon, renown for its traditional Lyon cuisine. It was located on the famous street Rue du Boeuf, where there were 3 Michelin 1-star restaurants on the short street, really showcasing the gastronomic reputation of Lyon.

We were seated on the mezzanine and on the window side, so throughout the meal we were able to look down at the activities on the street below. The restaurant was busy and all packed on the evening, and we saw lots of locals coming so telling us that it must be quite authentic in taste. After ordering a bottle of water and some wine, we decided to go for Menu La Memoire du Gout (€39).

My starter was Creamy ‘Tourteau’ Crab with Avocado, while Ivy went for Duck Foie Gras with Apricot and ‘Mendiant’ Chutney. Resembling a tart with the bottom layer being the avocado mash, it was certainly delicious, with the crab meat mixed with cream to provide a smooth texture and there was a grilled prawn on top which was seasoned beautifully. Some fresh vegetable was accompanied on the side and they were fantastic too.  

For the main course I chose the Grilled Fish, with Pistachio and Citrus Sauce, while Ivy went for Prawns with Eggplant Caviar. The fish was seared nicely with the skin crispy while the meat still moist, and the pistachio adding an interesting crunchy bite. The sauce was gorgeous and there were plenty of the pumpkin puree which was creamy and sweet. Another tasty dish.

The dessert was Poached Peach with Verbena Broth, while Ivy tried the Red Fruit Vacherin Minute. The peach was decent, locally grown and was dipped in an alcoholic broth flavoured with Verbena, a sort of herb flower. A bit exotic to me, but quite nice nevertheless.

With two glasses of wine to pair my dishes the total bill on the night was €91. It seemed there were a few other dishes that were popular among customers but unfortunately we had no room to try. We all enjoyed the dinner and the food was prepared in the traditional Lyonnaise style so this would be a good place to come for that experience.