Sorry I am a bit late with my news letter this month but it took me a while to get back to the daily routine and I had so much paper work to catch up with since my return from the Vendanges wine trip!!
And what a trip we had - 1,350 Kms later and 5lb heavier! We possibly had the most varied tour this time around than on any of the previous ones. From Wim at” Le Bouc a Trois pattes”( 6,000 bottles a year) to Samuel at Daumas Gassac ( 600,000 bottle a year), from a ”casse croute” at Clovallon to a top fine dining experience at L’Auberge du Presbitere a Vaillhan the range was mind blowing!
We also managed to escape the worst of the flooding, while we saw the damage caused by some of the most violent storms seen in living memory. Not the ideal conditions for picking the grapes but it seems that they managed to preserve the crop and 2014, while limited in yield, looks like a very good year in terms of quality. We visited and tasted some fantastic wines over the week at La Grange de Phillips, Le Bouc a trois Pattes, Mas De Daumas Gassac, Domaine de Clovallon, Mas D’Alezon, Domaine Rimbert a Berlou ,while the lunches and dinners at the Auberges of Combret, de Vaillhan , and Villemagne deserved top marks as well as Olivier O ‘Bon Temps at Magalas, and Frederic au Faitout at Berlou who also help us with the discovery of new Domaines in the comfort of the restaurants. For me the highlights of the week were the wine tasting at Clovallon organised by Lits, a sommelier extraordinaire and Alix the young wine maker as well as the guided tour in the Daumas Gassac Domaine with Samuel who seems to have a strange effect amongst the ladies in the group.......but maybe not as much as the young man on the skate board during our dinner in Magalas....I will explain only if you ask me during your next visit!! I also want to thank J-Marie Rimbert for his warm welcome at Berlou and of Course Bernard and Catherine at Faugere for a great evening. Bernard’s risotto was the best I tasted ever!
I am already planning the 2015 calendar and will let you know as soon as the dates are finalised, it looks like we are going to have one in April, one in June and one in September so you have no excuse to miss it next year!
We came back on the 21st of September and that afternoon I went for a bit of foraging in the woodlands of Perthshire as whilst I was away La Garrigue was very busy and I came back just in time to avoid having to change the menus because of a fungi shortage. It has been nonstop from then with Christmas bookings, menus, advertising, end of month, and events to be finalised for the end of this year .
I am now up-to-date with all that, and we are going to start with the 12th Stage of our Gastronomique Tour De France on the 29th of October when La Garrigue is going to Normandy with an evening menu themed around Calvados, Cider and Camembert and other goodies as part as the UK Calvados Week, it was a great success last year so I hope the bookings are going to be as strong this time around. I tasted some of the Calvados of course; someone has to, and the French cider is not bad either...click for our menu.
Our next event before starting the December and Christmas festive menus will be on the 27th of November. By public demand the second Vegetarian/Gluten free evening for 2014 following the one in July...click for our menu.
I am also pleased to confirm that this year again we will be open on Christmas Day. We will once again offer 2 seating times at 12.15 and 16.30. Bookings are already coming in fast so if you want us to take care of your turkey again this year don’t wait to long...click for our menu.
As you can see plenty to keep us busy until the end of 2014 then....we will open a new chapter...
I hope to have the pleasure of your company soon.
A bientot,..J-M
And what a trip we had - 1,350 Kms later and 5lb heavier! We possibly had the most varied tour this time around than on any of the previous ones. From Wim at” Le Bouc a Trois pattes”( 6,000 bottles a year) to Samuel at Daumas Gassac ( 600,000 bottle a year), from a ”casse croute” at Clovallon to a top fine dining experience at L’Auberge du Presbitere a Vaillhan the range was mind blowing!
We also managed to escape the worst of the flooding, while we saw the damage caused by some of the most violent storms seen in living memory. Not the ideal conditions for picking the grapes but it seems that they managed to preserve the crop and 2014, while limited in yield, looks like a very good year in terms of quality. We visited and tasted some fantastic wines over the week at La Grange de Phillips, Le Bouc a trois Pattes, Mas De Daumas Gassac, Domaine de Clovallon, Mas D’Alezon, Domaine Rimbert a Berlou ,while the lunches and dinners at the Auberges of Combret, de Vaillhan , and Villemagne deserved top marks as well as Olivier O ‘Bon Temps at Magalas, and Frederic au Faitout at Berlou who also help us with the discovery of new Domaines in the comfort of the restaurants. For me the highlights of the week were the wine tasting at Clovallon organised by Lits, a sommelier extraordinaire and Alix the young wine maker as well as the guided tour in the Daumas Gassac Domaine with Samuel who seems to have a strange effect amongst the ladies in the group.......but maybe not as much as the young man on the skate board during our dinner in Magalas....I will explain only if you ask me during your next visit!! I also want to thank J-Marie Rimbert for his warm welcome at Berlou and of Course Bernard and Catherine at Faugere for a great evening. Bernard’s risotto was the best I tasted ever!
I am already planning the 2015 calendar and will let you know as soon as the dates are finalised, it looks like we are going to have one in April, one in June and one in September so you have no excuse to miss it next year!
We came back on the 21st of September and that afternoon I went for a bit of foraging in the woodlands of Perthshire as whilst I was away La Garrigue was very busy and I came back just in time to avoid having to change the menus because of a fungi shortage. It has been nonstop from then with Christmas bookings, menus, advertising, end of month, and events to be finalised for the end of this year .
I am now up-to-date with all that, and we are going to start with the 12th Stage of our Gastronomique Tour De France on the 29th of October when La Garrigue is going to Normandy with an evening menu themed around Calvados, Cider and Camembert and other goodies as part as the UK Calvados Week, it was a great success last year so I hope the bookings are going to be as strong this time around. I tasted some of the Calvados of course; someone has to, and the French cider is not bad either...click for our menu.
Our next event before starting the December and Christmas festive menus will be on the 27th of November. By public demand the second Vegetarian/Gluten free evening for 2014 following the one in July...click for our menu.
I am also pleased to confirm that this year again we will be open on Christmas Day. We will once again offer 2 seating times at 12.15 and 16.30. Bookings are already coming in fast so if you want us to take care of your turkey again this year don’t wait to long...click for our menu.
As you can see plenty to keep us busy until the end of 2014 then....we will open a new chapter...
I hope to have the pleasure of your company soon.
A bientot,..J-M