From Beaujolais to Nice, My 2018 France Vacation - Day 5

After breakfast we checked out from Hotel Silky. Leaving the gastronomic capital of France, Wladimir took us from Lyon down south along the Rhone River. In about one hour we arrived at Tain l’Hermitage and our first stop –  Maison M. Chapoutier.

Going inside their big wine shop it was amazing to see how many different wines M. Chapoutier had in their portfolio. We got introduced to the staff responsible for taking us on a private tour. She led us out of the shop and after a short walk, arriving at the vineyards where the estate had started.

In fact the Chapoutier family had been working in the Rhone valley since 1808. The current owner Michel Chapoutier, a self-taught enthusiast, started his wine journey at 26, bringing new approaches and a powerful ambition to the estate, breaking a lot of past principles and prejudices, including the conversion of the family’s vineyards to biodynamic.

Michel was focused in expressing the terrior, avoiding the traditional ‘signature taste’  associated with Chapoutier, and bringing out the difference and specific features of the wines. He personally liked to challenge and encourage his team to try new ideas.

Seeing how the vines were trained on stakes to the ground because of the strong winds, when looking up the hill I saw the different plots of Hermitage under the various famous estates, like Paul Jaboulet Aine. We were shown the different plots under Chapoutier (De l’Oree, Le Meal etc.) which were vinified and bottled separately.

I also asked the reason why Chapoutier’s labels got Braille writing. It was in fact Michel’s way to pay homage to Maurice de la Sizeranne, the professor who perfected the Braille system in the 19^th century. Maurice was born in Tain and his family had owned a plot in Hermitage where Chapoutier sourced grapes to make ‘Monier de la Sizeranne’.

With the approaching of some dark storm clouds we quickly walked back to the tasting room, where we selected a number of wines to taste, including Hermitage Chante-Alouette (blanc), Crozes-Hermitage les Meysonniers, Cornas Les Arenes, and the mentioned Hermitage ‘Monier de la Sizeranne’. All of them were good and showing a lot of development potential.

I decided to buy several bottles of their renown wines to bring back home, including Saint Peray Hongrie Blanc 2017 (€28), Ermitage De l’Oree 2015 (€236) and Ermitage Le Pavillon 2013 (€413).

Leaving Maison M. Chapoutier Wladimir took us to the Hermitage hills, so that we could take a close look at the famous vineyards and after a slightly tiring walk uphill, we came to the pinnacle of Hermitage, enjoying a nice panoramic view of the Rhone river and Tain l’Hermitage below, as well as seeing closely the small chapel having a close association with the name of the place.

After the Crusades, the knight Henri Gaspard de Sterimberg decided to live as a hermit on the hill granted to him by the Queen of Spain, and replanted the vineyards there, which later became known as ‘Ermitage’, and gradually evolved to ‘Hermitage’. Imagining how the hermit would spend his time here in the same place 800 years ago gave an additional side in appreciating the wines.

Returning to the car Wladimir took us to the village centre where we had our lunch at Vineum. This restaurant was owned by Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, which also included a wine shop in the front. The restaurant was nice, bright and clean, but a bit busy and so could not be called relaxing in my opinion. We decided to order the Menu d’Aout (€27) and going for 2 wines to supplement (€8).

My entrée was Tomate Farcie, Caviar d’Aubergine au Sesame, Pesto. The stuffed tomatoes was a Nice specialty, made from minced pork with tomatoes and other ingredients, then stuffed back to the tomato before baking. The eggplant puree underneath was smooth and creamy, with some sesame added, paired with the drizzles of pesto on the side was a wonderful starter for the meal.

The main course was Filet de Daurade, Tian de Legumes, Jus au Safran d’Anthony Oboussier. The sea bream filet had its glistening skin pan-fried beautifully, with a buttery and juicy flesh. On the side was the colourful seasonal vegetable pieces cooked in the Provence style, nice and healthy. The special saffron sauce was rich and paired well with the fish.

The dessert was Peche Pochee au Vin, Riz au Lait d’Amande et Fruits du Mendiant. The peach was poached in wine so absorbing the flavours, with the rice cooked with almond milk, filling and rich, with some toasted almond scattered on top. A piece of chocolate with dried fruit was placed on top of the poached peach to add a crunchy texture to the finish.

After lunch we went back to Saint Joseph and visit Domaine Coursodon for another tasting. The family estate produced exclusively Saint Joseph, including white and red, in its 16 hectares vineyards, mainly in Mauves, whose granite ground was where the appellation originated. The family started producing wines at the end of 19^th century.

Now in the fifth generation, Jerome Coursodon managed the estate along with his father Pierre. Before going into the cellar, we were shown the vineyards (at a distance) on the steep hills. It certainly took a lot of manual effort from pruning, ‘fencing’ which was to attach the vines on props made with bulrush or straw to support them on the extreme slopes, to green harvesting and picking.

For the white wine, whole bunch of grapes were then pressed in the cellar using pneumatic press. The juice was then fermented naturally, plot by plot, followed by malolactic fermentation in either vats or barrels with weekly batonnages. For the red wine, the grapes would undergo cold maceration for about a week before fermentation, with 2-3 times remontage daily, followed by malolactic fermentation in barrels.  

Both the white and red were stored in the cellar for one year with regular racking before bottling. Two white wines were made, including Silice and Le Paradis Saint-Pierre, and four red wines were made, including Silice, Olivaie, Le Paradis Saint-Pierre, and La Sensonne. I was fortunate to be able to barrel-tasted some of the wines. I liked La Sensonne most and bought a bottle of 2016 (€36) to take home.

Wladimir then took us to Avignon, and after almost 2 hours arrived at the hotel we would be staying the next six evenings, Hotel du Cloitre Saint Louis. This 16^th century building was initially a Jesuit novitiate, and later on became a military hospital. Renovated in 1991, it now featured a contemporary wing. Our Deluxe Room was located in historical wing, overlooking the garden.

After a short rest we went to the lobby to meet up our guide for the remaining part of our journey, Laurence Minard. Laurence was a seasoned guide who had a lot of knowledge in the area, and she took us for a stroll in the city, introducing us the various landmarks, such as the old city walls and the famous Pont d’Avignon St Benezet, the medieval bridge spanning the Rhone but now had only part of it remaining, destroyed several times because of the flooding of the river.

Laurence took us to a part of the city where there was a plaque illustrating how high the water level had reached in one of the most serious flooding of the river in Nov 1840. Unbelievably that was about 3 metres high! We then walked past the Palais des Papes but since it was close to dinner time, decided to come back in another day for a more in-depth visit.

We then took a taxi to La Treille, a gourmet restaurant located in an old 18^th century house called Ile Piot. The famous chef Jean-Michel Leclerc transformed the place in 2012 to a stylish and warm setting featuring seasonal menus. Bordering the Rhone river, with a garden surrounded by large trees bringing in freshness even in summer.

Despite not very good in English, the lady serving us did her best to explain and make us feel comfortable, and we were very appreciative of her attention and friendliness. After ordering a bottle of Chateau Mont-Redon 2016, a Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, we decided to follow the recommendation and took the special menu featuring all lobster for our dinner.

I did not write down the menu so unfortunately could not recall exactly the details of each course but overall every one of them were very good and delicious. The chef had demonstrated creativity in making all the dishes featuring lobster highlighting different flavours and texture, and honestly this was one of the best meals for my entire trip, even if they didn’t have any Michelin rating.

The total bill for the dinner was €214, which was great value for money. I strongly recommended this restaurant if you were visiting Avignon. Asking the restaurant to help call us a taxi, we returned to the hotel feeling very contented for such a wonderful meal, impeccable service and great ambiance.