From the underground: Death Cap and Sparkling Wines

Day 9
From the underground: Death Cap and Sparkling Wines

A misty morning led to us going underground for this Sunday afternoon. The Death Cap was one of countless mushrooms seen in the underground Musée du Champignons in St Hilaire-St Florent, just outside Saumur, but the first call was to the premises of BouvetLadubay well known around the world for their quality sparkling wines.

Disgorgement machines, the more modern ones!

The visit began with a tour of the underground cellars- it seems virtually every winery hereabouts has conveniently cool cellars adapted from former tuffeau quarries. Temperatures are about 12 degrees, all the time, ideal for wine and mushrooms.

Underground art.

The méthode traditionnelle is used here and we were given examples of the old way of the famous “disgorgement”   and the more modern mechanical time-saving method. 

The tasting line-up

The cellars, in under a local hill, are extensive and impressive and we had glimpses of the lives of the quarry workers and saw how the caverns have been adapted to the wine makers’ use. Bouvet Ladubay, with 460 awards for their wines in the last forty years, is a big name in the world of sparkling wines.

Death Cap (in a glass case!)

We were looking forward to our tasting which was carried out above ground. We had four to taste in all, including an unusual red sparkler, and our favourite was the Decanter bronze medal winner Saphir Brut 2011, fruity and fresh with a nice acidity. A few bottles are on their way back to Ireland, maybe! Might have to return to Saumur for more.

Horse's Mane or Pom Pom growing

A few miles up the road, we came to the fascinating Mushroom Museum. Not just a museum as the underground caves are used to grown many varieties, including some that, thanks to Ballyhoura Mushrooms, we are familiar with. 

Pink Oysters growing. Get them from Ballyhoura Mushrooms at Farmers Markets

Enjoyed strolling through the various mushroom beds and reading the info. There is also a massive museum section there with information and representations, in 3B and photograph, of virtually every mushroom in the world.

More oysters growing, just a different colour

By the way, the sun did come out after lunch and it turned into quite a pleasant afternoon and evening, the only big cloud in the sky on our drive home from Saumur coming from the towers of the local nuclear station.

Amuse Bouche

He (Charlemange) was moderate in his eating and drinking, for he hated to see drunkenness in any man. All the same, he could not go long without food, and he often used complain that fasting made him ill. He rarely gave banquets and these only on high feast days, but then he would invite a great number of guests. His main meal of the day was served in four courses, in addition to the roast meat which his hunters used to bring in on spits and which he enjoyed more than any other food...... He was so sparing in his use of wine that he rarely drank more than 3 times (i.e. three cups) in the course of his dinner.

From The Story of Wine by Hugh Johnson

All the fun of the fair on a sunny Saturday in Chinon

Day 8 (Part 2)
All the fun of the fair on a sunny Saturday in Chinon

The annual vintage market continued in Chinon this sunny afternoon.

Highlight was an old fashioned threshing. Thirsty work and, for a short spell, we withdrew from the streets to visit the Caves Painctes of Chinon, the headquarters of the Confrerie de Bons Entonneurs Rabelaisiens. Didn’t quite make the cut for membership. You have to drink a glass of wine. What’s the problem, you say. The problem is the glass takes a whole bottle and you must finish it without a pause!

It is an interesting visit into the caves under the town, some 100 meters under the fortress above. Got some drops of water on my shirt at one point and the guide told me it had taken two months to get down from the top. After a nice tasting of red, rose and red, we were soon out in the sun and a different kind of fun.

Cross-roads (well, rond-point) dancing

Tractor driver lets off smoke at a "heckler"

Fun time

I have a bigger one!

Some fine horses here today

Lining up for tasting at Caves Painctes of Chinon

Horse have shite of way

No French Fair complete without one.

Sheaf throwers

Rabelais and his work crew

Sheaf style.

Faces of Chinon at today's Marché a l'Ancienne

Day 8 (Part1)
Faces of Chinon
at today's Marché a l'Ancienne
A Vintage Fair.

Very enjoyable morning. Back now to the town centre for more vintage fun!

Spoiled at Le St Nicolas Gourmand

Day 7 (Part 2)
Spoiled at Le St Nicolas Gourmand

The local Caveau des Vignerons run the St Nicolas Gourmand, a beautiful little restaurant alongside the wine-tasting (and buying) shop on the main street of St Nicolas de Bourgueil. We bought some wine there yesterday and got a great welcome when we arrived for dinner this evening. They have three menus and we choose the middle one, four courses for €28.00.

Naturally, we got a little help with the wine and were delighted with the Lorieux 2010, a terrific local Cabernet Franc for €19.50. We were also told we could take the remains away in a bag if need be and, as we had a 25 minute drive back to Chinon, the “remains” did indeed end up in a bag. Along with the bottle, we also got a copy of the menu as a souvenir. 

We were delighted with the meal and the service and here are pictures of most of the dishes.

Starter of smoked salmon.

Grey snails of Anjou "perfumed" in a soft garlic,
a house speciality. Starter.

Slice of leg of lamb au Porto Truffe (a gorgeous sauce)

Medallions of warmed local St Maure goat cheese

Strawberries on shortbread biscuit

Hot  Pave de chocolat moelleux

sauce caramel a la fleur de sel. Translates best as gorgeous!

Chenonceau: The Ladies’ Chateau

Day 7
Chenonceau: The Ladies’ Chateau

No problem with planning permission in 16^th century. Just demolish most of the existing structure and build your own. That was how Thomas Bohier and his wife got to build the fantastic Château of Chenonceau that now straddles the River Cher in the Loire.

It is one of the loveliest of the Loire chateaus and also one of the most popular. Big crowds there in the heat today (31 degrees at one point) but the system works and you get good value for your eleven euro, thirteen if you include the Wax Museum as we did. You also get to see some marvellous gardens, a 16^th century farming village, a maze, a picnic area (in the car park) and more.

One of many impressive fireplaces

Catherine Briconnet, the wife of the first owner Thomas Bohier, was the first of a chain of strong willed women associated with Chenonceau. Others included Diana de Poitiers (a favourite of Henry II), the Henry’s widow Catherine de Medici (who topped Diana’s bridge with a gallery) and Louise of Lorraine who on the death of her husband Henry III dressed in mourning white, decorated her room in black and spent the rest of her days in prayer. 

Louis XIV (official potrait)

And there were more fascinating ladies right up to the 20^th century when Simone Menier was in charge when two galleries of the chateau were transformed, at her family’s expenses, into a hospital for the wounded of the Great War. During World War 11, Chenonceau was on the line of demarcation and then Simone carried out numerous actions for the resistance. Simone, who died in 1972, was a member of the Menier family, the chocolattiers, who bought the chateau in 1913 and still own it today.

Diane's garden, from the gallery

You don’t have to pay to view the exterior of Chateau. You are free to stroll along the river banks. Perhaps the best way to see it is by boat. Some people arrived by canoe while we were there. And so too did a family on a rib. They cut the engine as they viewed the impressive building and then had trouble starting it. The man tried a few times without success and then really put a bit of muscle into the effort, so much so that he fell backwards into the water! But no problem as the river is very shallow at this point.

Louise de Lorraine in mourning white

You could spend a whole day here, especially if you are interested in gardens. We were fascinated by the flower and vegetable garden. But you will be well catered for with a number of restaurants, including a self service and a creperie plus a gourmet one in the Green Garden. And there is also a nice ice cream stand there.

19th century visitor Gustave Flaubert

It is all very impressively organised. We had no problem finding our way around with the help of the  leaflet that you get in your own language on the way in. It is full of photos and information on the various rooms and gardens and the map is brilliant. Must say this was one of the best visits I’ve ever enjoyed and well worth the thirteen euro.

Celosia (in the flower & vegetable garden)

Food, wine and beer at the town market. Then a wee tour as temps rise!

Day 6

Food, wine and beer at the town market. Then a wee tour as temps rise!

Stars and stripes. Market hats

There was a superb market, large and with much variety, in Chinon this morning. Food, followed by clothing and footwear, accounted for the major part of the stalls.

Kids eye the sweets

Amazingly, we ended up coming home with a bag of Asian food. The intended main course is Chicken with Black Mushrooms while a couple of enormous Spring Rolls are also included along with two little bags of an orange coloured liquid whose purpose we had to work on.

Mussels!

It seems that the sauce, possibly a ginger based one, is to be paired with the Spring Rolls (below). In any case, the rolls, full of shoots, nuts and chicken bits, wrapped in rice paper and topped with prawns, were absolutely delicious with the slightly spicy sauce. What a starter for two euro each!

Garlic

And the main course, the Chicken with Black mushrooms, was incredible. So tasty, especially with the savoury rice from the same stall. Getting worried here as CL is beginning to clear her plate before I do. 

Mother and Child in St Martin's

These two courses underline what I’ve been preaching the past few years about the value of markets and traiteurs in France. One of our best meals so far cost us just over seventeen euro, twenty two if you add the lovely bottle of Vouvray, also bought in the market. Don’t know what the strawberries cost but they are for desert.

The morning wasn't the warmest but the temperatures rose as the day went on and I spotted it reach 31 degrees in the car. Our terrace, sheltered on three sides, goes even higher, so a mid-day visit to the pool was necessary.

Nuclear power

In the afternoon, we headed for the lovely village of Candes St Martin and its ancient church where the saint died. A tough walk in the conditions took us to a magnificent viewpoint over the confluence of the Vienne and Loire Rivers and the view also included the local Nuclear Powered Electricity Plant from which lines of enormous pylons march through the vineyards.

River trip on the Vienne. The bit of sand behind separates it from the Loire,
though the two rivers soon join to your left

Over the river then and on to the wine area of Bourgueil and to St Nicolas de Bourgueil in particular. Here we called to the recommended Caveau des Vigernons and bought our first bottles of the local red (made from Cabernet Franc, just like neighbouring Chinon) and also booked a table in their restaurant for tomorrow evening.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil.
A roundabout.

Detained in a French Restaurant!

Day 5

Detained in a French Restaurant!

Knuckle (we call it shank) of lamb 

What is it about some French restaurants that they seem to want to keep you there all night? The answer, methinks, is understaffing. Our server at L’Ardoise in Chinon, a Michelin mentioned bistro and a busy place, was worked off his feet and, despite valiantly trying, could hardly be expected to keep up with the demands of about fifty persons in our downstairs section.

Delays just got longer and, while I didn’t time ours, the couple next table did and said they waited fifty minutes for dessert. We had to struggle to get dessert and the bill and then the credit card machine before escaping into the dark and a night-time temperature of 24 degrees.

On top of all that the menus were on big blackboards. Okay. But when customers came in you were trying to look through them to see what is available and besides the server has to explain the menu to each new arrival. Time wasting and crazy. What not have the regular menu on paper, the specials on the boards? Even the way the wine was handled was awkward. You had to go down to a display of bottles to pick your red and then to another display to choose white or rose. Never seen anything like it.

Yet the food, aside maybe from the desserts, was good. CL’s starter of Foie Gras Poele sur son Carpaccio de bouef and my Mille Feuille avec sentures de maquis and chèvre were quite satisfactory if not outstanding.

We each had the same mains and this was the highlight. It was Knuckle of Lamb cooked for 7 hours and served with rustic potatoes. Really gorgeous. And the wine, a Chinon Red 2012 (18 euro per bottle) wasn't bad either. 

The main visit today was to see the 16^th century Chateau d’Azay de Rideau. It seems that many French also made it their day to visit and the place was busy but far from uncomfortably so. Built between 1518 and 1527, this château is considered one of the foremost examples of early French renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river (a tributary of the Loire), this picturesque château has become one of the most popular of the châteaux of the Loire valley.

Stain glass detail from one of the windows

The huge building had to have its king’s room and that forms part of the tour and Louis XIII and Louis XIV stayed here. Quite a lot of other impressive rooms here also, including the Billiards Room! Didn’t get to stay in the King’s Room but did enjoy a lovely lunch in the nearby Creperie du Roy.

Headed off then to nearby Sache which is known as the town of Balzac, the 19^th century novelist, and we saw his chateau and also the 12^th century Auberge where he came for a drink or two. The Auberge is still going strong but today’s menus are on the expensive side. Another well known figure, the 20^th century American sculptor Alexander Calder, also called this town home and one of his large mobiles dominates the small town square.

12th century auberge in Sache

Calder's mobile

We also paid a visit to Villaines les Rochers. Since the Middle Ages, willows from the local river valleys have been made into baskets, anything from fruit holders to baby carriages and even bigger. Must say that I was fascinated by a tour of the local co-op and there are three or four other enterprises making baskets and related items in the town.