Tonight, despite my efforts to host the event, I was taken out by two Lyonnais chemistry professors to Les Oliviers, a lovely but small restaurant located fairly central to Center city. My one friend is a semi-regular there, so was greeted like family and apprised of the several additions to the menu (in the English sense of the word) that night. In the end, all three of us settled on the Menu de March, which for me consisted of an eggroll filled with crab meat, bay scallops and assorted julienned vegetables followed by a seasoned veal patty in a pumpkin-cumin sauce with some crisp Serrano ham (a dish far better than it sounds). As I am still fighting off a cold, my tasting was a bit impaired, but follows are my best impressions. With the first course, we got:
2006 E. Texier Brzme Blanc was not nearly as crisp as I expected, but still quite lively and restrained for a Roussanne. I attribute the decreased acidity to the year, but I don't have enough experience with this wine in other years to be certain. Quite charming in a rounded but restrained way and a good match with our starters (one of my companions got a suprme de volaille dish that was superb and still the wine worked). Although very nice, I think both of us winegeeks regretted not trying the '07 Brun Beaujolais Blanc instead.
2006 Bergerie de L'Hortus 'Cuve Classique' Pic St. Loup was a choice made by my winegeek friend Christophe, as I vainly sought for a lighter red wine to pair with our main courses of veal and foie gras. This being Lyon, not a Loire red on the menu, and surprisingly no good Beaujolais choices either. Christophe's a fan of Hortus (interesting since his tastes run quite close to mine) and this wine indeed turned out not to be spoofy at all, but rather a classic old vine Carignane sort of wine, briery and brambly with ripe -- but not overripe -- fruit and a fairly light body. Still not a wow sort of wine, but a very reasonable pairing with our food. Good going, Christophe!
It's also worth noting that this restaurant was actually our second choice, the first being Les Adrets on the Rue de Boeuf. Jean and I had one of the meals of our life there 7 years ago, complete with a bottle of '98 Graillot Crozes that was painfully young then; Christophe assures me that there are still bottles of that '98 Graillot on the menu there, but alas they were booked solid, courtesy of a 2005 Bib Gourmand designation. Just as well, perhaps, as Jean might never have spoken to me had I gone there without her, regardless of the reason.
A great night with good food and friends, and talk of French politics and French academic life, which remarkably aren't easy to distinguish.
Mark Lipton
2006 E. Texier Brzme Blanc was not nearly as crisp as I expected, but still quite lively and restrained for a Roussanne. I attribute the decreased acidity to the year, but I don't have enough experience with this wine in other years to be certain. Quite charming in a rounded but restrained way and a good match with our starters (one of my companions got a suprme de volaille dish that was superb and still the wine worked). Although very nice, I think both of us winegeeks regretted not trying the '07 Brun Beaujolais Blanc instead.
2006 Bergerie de L'Hortus 'Cuve Classique' Pic St. Loup was a choice made by my winegeek friend Christophe, as I vainly sought for a lighter red wine to pair with our main courses of veal and foie gras. This being Lyon, not a Loire red on the menu, and surprisingly no good Beaujolais choices either. Christophe's a fan of Hortus (interesting since his tastes run quite close to mine) and this wine indeed turned out not to be spoofy at all, but rather a classic old vine Carignane sort of wine, briery and brambly with ripe -- but not overripe -- fruit and a fairly light body. Still not a wow sort of wine, but a very reasonable pairing with our food. Good going, Christophe!
It's also worth noting that this restaurant was actually our second choice, the first being Les Adrets on the Rue de Boeuf. Jean and I had one of the meals of our life there 7 years ago, complete with a bottle of '98 Graillot Crozes that was painfully young then; Christophe assures me that there are still bottles of that '98 Graillot on the menu there, but alas they were booked solid, courtesy of a 2005 Bib Gourmand designation. Just as well, perhaps, as Jean might never have spoken to me had I gone there without her, regardless of the reason.
A great night with good food and friends, and talk of French politics and French academic life, which remarkably aren't easy to distinguish.
Mark Lipton