Day 12
Lovely meal at Au
Chapeau Rouge. Also Vouvray and Vendome
Au Chapeau Rouge (The Red Hat), in the heart of Chinon and
one of the best restaurants in the town, was the venue for this evening’s
excellent four course dinner (€29.00). You
can see the picture of the menu above but briefly, after an Amuse Bouche, our
starters were Marinated Mullet and Fondant of Rabbit with Foie Gras.
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| Marinade de Mulet, almost a carpaccio. |
Main courses were outstanding. CL enjoyed her Roasted fillet
of young duck while my Mousseline of local fish with a saffron sauce was
delightful. The local cheese, St Maure, was served with pear and was gorgeous.
The desserts were perhaps the weakest course but were still good. And the wine.
A 2008 Chinon by Philipe Brocourt, was light, bright and excellent.
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| Mousseline of local fish with a saffron sauce |
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| Chocolate and cherries. Great combo! |
First call of the day was to Vendome, about one hour forty minutes
from us but about half that for Parisians who have made it a popular weekend
retreat. Sometimes called “Little Venice”, the pretty town (Pop. about 18,000),
stands on a group of islands on the River Loir (yes, that spelling is correct,
it is a different river!).
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| A beautiful children's garden at rear of abbey in Vendome |
First call of the day was to Vendome, about one hour forty minutes
from us but about half that for Parisians who have made it a popular weekend
retreat. Sometimes called “Little Venice”, the pretty town (Pop. about 18,000),
stands on a group of islands on the River Loir (yes, that spelling is correct,
it is a different river!).
 |
| A 15th century wash house in Vendome |
Flowers and water are well used by the council and there are
some ancient buildings in the town that changed hands many times during the
Hundred Years War. The best known is the Abbaye de la Trinite with its striking
ornate facade. It dates back to 1034.
With the visit to Au Chapeau Rouge, we had to go easy at
lunch time and found just the solution in the middle of Vendome, a €3.90 deal.
It included a sandwich (mine a 12” baguette) with two fillings of your choice,
a drink (eg Coke or organgina) and a cookie (from a choice of three). Good
stuff and very good value.
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| At Domaine du Clos de L’Epinay in Vouvray with David (right) |
Vouvray, where they put the white grape Chenin Blanc through
its paces like nowhere else was an obvious call on the way back. We drove around
the little town and then into the heart of the vineyards. Thought that the
Domaine du Clos de L’Epinay looked inviting and we called in there.
Got a very warm welcome indeed from David who told us it is
a small operation, just two of the family and two employees involved. They were
badly hit by the hail earlier in the summer and may salvage just ten per cent
of the crop. “That’s nature,” he shrugged.
We had a very good tasting here in a small and homely room. Started
with the sparkling and here our purchase choice was the Tete de Cuvee Brut. The
demi-sec Cuvee Marcus is a house speciality (named after one of the children)
and is a gorgeous drink and the 2009 too formed part of the purchase as did
their dry Vouvray 2010.
