Loire Dining on the Salt Route

For centuries in France the River Loire has been the route of important trade exchanges and goods transported on the river included hemp, limestone (tuffeau), slate, wine, and of course salt !  The boats that were built to transport the goods included barges of all kinds, flatbottomed river boats, wine and salt barges, sand dredgers, ferry and steamboats.

These days in Le Thoureil you will find many modern day examples of the old boats that used to sail the Loire from simple flat bottomed barques to the futreau with it's square sail and the covered toue cabanees. Used for fishing, sight seeing or pleasure you will find these boats dotted along the the quay. You will also find La Route du Sel, a great restaurant and wine bar that has recently changed ownership.

Taken over by Marie Monmousseau and Daniel Eastcott, we believe it is going to be well frequented this Summer. Marie is a talented and creative chef having worked at Le Muerice in Paris and Locatelli's in London so expect inventive cuisine with a modern twist.

 

As a big pasta fan I couldn't resist the tagliatelli made with a chestnut flour and served with winter vegetables and shaved parmesan. Great for vegetarians too as there is plenty of choice from both the starters and the mains. For those who prefer their meat dishes there is everything to choose from Duck, Veal, Poulet, Beef even a Chou Farci - cabbage stuffed with veal, cepes, chestnuts and foie gras. Fish gets a great showing too and here Marie has a Loire speciality Anguille de Loire fumée served with egg, horseradish & creme fraiche.

It was hard to part a spoonful of Sue's 'Gateau de Marie' away from her to taste. A light and extremely delicious chocolate fondant served with a confiture de lait and grilled sesame seeds. The Crémet du Thoureil was equally delicious, a fromage frais served with meringue and red fruits that was neither too sharp or nor sweet - just perfect!

We'll talk about Daniel's fabulous wine list in a later post but let's just say he is an excellent host and has a great knowledge of the wines of the Loire region. So if you are hoping to try Nicolas Reau's Grande Cuvée L'Enfant Terrible or sample a chilled glass of Bouvet Ladubay's Crémant de Loire Cuvée Excellence whilst the sun goes down and the hot air balloons go up - then this is a great place to be. Sante !

 

Guest Blog - Memories for a Lifetime & Education in Loire Valley Wine

We have been back in Chicago for more than a week now, and still have vivid memories about our stay with you at La Grande Maison. From the minute you met us at the train and assured Andy that "yes, there's a lot of old here," we felt relaxed, welcome, and right at home. We loved so many aspects of our visit, but there are some we want to mention specifically. Our bedroom, with the fireplace, built-in sink, and giant wooden beams took us back to another era. The food, from our amazing and welcoming wine-paired dinner, to the fresh croissants, hand-squeezed orange juice and yogurt each morning, to the variety of a daily picnic spreads, and the restful, rejuvenating pleasure of afternoon tea, was all perfect for us. We enjoyed the company of each of you on our long jaunts each day, and we also appreciated the lively distraction of the dogs!

The little touches in your décor, the thoughtful aspects of showing us the "special" places for picnics or the unique clos with the walls that the vines grew through, to showing us the "Sleeping Beauty" chateau on an extra bit of our trip, all made this a wonderful vacation for us, one that we will always remember. We had fun wandering around in the nearby vineyards and woods near your home, and also meeting your neighbor with his beautiful prairie planting.

All of this would have been enough for a refreshing and restful vacation for us, but then if you add the value of our education about wine, and the opportunity to meet your favorite local producers, and their generosity in showing us caves, vineyards, and lots of wines, we feel especially grateful. Our two favorite places were Chateau du Petit Thouars with Michel, and Franck and Catherine's Domaine de Pied Flond. All the wineries we visited were special, but these hold a special place for us.

At Michel's, the character of his wine came through and matched his passion for the craft of wine making. The way he shared his knowledge of making wine with us really communicated his desire to have people understand what goes into making good wine. From the age of the barrels, to the different tanks he was using for fermentation, to the storage of wine in his cave, he shared his knowledge in an especially personable way. And indeed, his wines were amazing. We particularly liked that 2005 Touraine AOC Rouge. When we drank it in the pigeonerrie overlooking the vineyards surrounding La Grande Maison, with that lovely dinner that you so graciously provided, it was one of the romantic highlights of our stay. Michel's wine provided a perfect accompaniment to that lovely evening.

A rare opportunity to see the chai at Chateau du Petit Thouars

Franck and Catherine, from Domaine de Pied Flond, were perhaps the most charming and enthusiastic winemakers that we had the opportunity to meet. Franck's candid conversation about the reason he was making wine in a different way from his father, but within the traditions of the seventh generation family business, were so interesting to hear. His passion for making excellent wine, even if in (relatively!) small quantities, could be seen both in the way he operated, and in the taste of the wine itself. After this wonderful tour, where he showed us everything about his business and took his time to explain answers to our many questions (and seemed to delight in understanding the English word "fill"), we were then in the company of Catherine, who shared his interest and his passion for their wine. She was a knowledgeable and gracious hostess in leading us through tasting their exceptional wines. She was very good at explaining what food would work well with what wine, and imagining the pairing helped Diane understand more about the subtle differences in some of the wines. Catherine even brought out a lovely plate of ham, sausage, and bread to accompany the wines.

Franck Gourdon of Domaine de Pied Flond

On our return to Paris, we had our first opportunity to enjoy and appreciate Franck's fine work as we drank a chilled bottle of his Rose de Loire on our hotel balcony. The afternoon was hot, and the wine was a perfect accompaniment for our last afternoon in Paris, and we drank it with joy overlooking the dome of the Hotel Invalides and the Eiffel Tower. We are looking forward to drinking his other 2 bottles in the near future (or keeping them as long as we can stand it!), as we share the wine and our stories with our friends.

Gardens at La Grande Maison

We have been telling our friends about our trip and sharing our pictures. All are envious, and we hope some may come and enjoy your exceptional hospitality. We also would love to return to La Grande Maison ourselves; if that doesn't happen, we will have memories for a lifetime to recall our stay and our education in Loire Valley wines.

Loire Valley Wines in London

If you love the wines of the Loire Valley and find them hard to track down in the UK then go no further than a lunch out at RSJ's in Coin Street. We popped in there during a recent visit to London. We chose a glass of Domaine de Nerleux Cremant de Loire as an aperitif which was spectacularly delicious, lemon, acacia and almonds. Sadly the Didier Dagueneau that we fearlessly chose from the wine list to go with our main course (at £56 ish a bottle) was out of stock so we chose a Huet Vouvray 2007 that when tremendously well with the Pan Fried Scallops.

Majestic Wines are stocking a few Loire wines these days and you can't go wrong with a Saumur Champigny from our friend Edouard Pisani Ferry at Chateau de Targe'. In fact they have a special offer across many of their wines at the moment that offers great savings if you buy two bottles. Majestic have also recently reduced the quantity you have to buy from 12 bottles to 6 per visit making it an even better bargain. Needless to say we came home with many more than that from all over the world!

Whilst still on the theme of Loire Wines we took the chance to visit the Gay Icons Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery sponsored by Rose d'Anjou Wines. The exhibition brings together ten selectors each of whom is a prominent gay figure in contemporary culture and society. Each selector named six persons that for them were inspirational or an icon for them The results are a fascinating insight into an iconic range of figures from the heroic, artistic, sporty, literary, political, famous and not so famous of our world.

We have been "drinking pink" this summer at La Grande Maison in celebration of the Gay Icons Exhibition, did I mention it was sponsored by Rosé d'Anjou? In honour of the event we still have cases of Rosé d'Anjou wine to give away to all our lucky guests. The first guests to arrive at La Grande Maison to produce their ticket stub from the exhibition will win a case of six bottles of this delicious pink packed with summer fruits. Subsequent guests will receive a free bottle of Rosé d'Anjou with every room booked (on production of their ticket stub or proof of visit on arrival).