We recently returned from a full 7 day trip to the South of France so I wanted to add some of our vacation highlights for future reference. I also used these threads to help plan my trip here and here.
The main goal of the trip was relaxation. My wife and I have both have been putting in some serious hours at work lately, so the plan was to take our time through the region, get a feel for the culture and mainly eat some great food and drink plenty of wine.
We got into Nice from London around noon on a Saturday and drove about 30 mins to Cannes. We were not interested in the actual city of Cannes, but we didn’t want to drive a lot on the first day and wanted to get a little beach time in. Thankfully the weather cooperated with our plans as we were on the private beach in front of our hotel within 30 mins of checking in. A dip in the water, chilled rose at our comfy beach chairs, topless women walking by, vacation has officially started! We were at the Hotel Martinez, which we would recommend as the service and amenities were great. Rooms were a little dated, but it’s a minor gripe. The hotel has a 2 star Michelin on the property, La Palme d’Or. This was probably our most disappointing meal the whole trip. We had one of the tasting menu options and the highlight was a 48 hour braised Veal that is probably one of the best braised dishes I have ever had. The rest of the menu was average to poor and the service was painfully slow which is hard to excuse. We did have some lovely Taittinger blanc de blancs to start and the local wines paired with the menu were really enjoyable.
The next morning we drove 2 hours to the beautiful town of Bonnieux for a 3 night stay at the Bastide de Capelongue. This small resort in the hills of Bonnieux has impeccably kept grounds, 17 individual rooms and its own 2 star Michelin restaurant named after the chef and part owner of the resort, Edouard Loubet. The property includes Edouard’s garden where he gets most of his produce and herbs for the restaurant. We would highly recommend this hotel if your aim is total relaxation. We spent most of time going for walks in the countryside and in the small town of Bonnieux, reading books by the pool, napping, that sort of thing. The restaurant is great, but expect some steep prices. We talked to the chef a lot as he was one of the few english speakers, and while it’s very clear he loves him some him, he does have a passion for using the freshest in season ingredients and his preparation is spot on. We ate there twice and some highlights were mussels in an herb and celery emulsion; remoulade of cabbage, pickled mushrooms, shaved brussel sprouts and shaved white truffles (fancy coleslaw); wild mushroom and truffle soup; and perfectly cooked pigeon stuffed with foie gras. The 2 dishes that really got me were snails in a parmesan and herb infused broth and a rack of lamb simply cooked on top of a bed of rosemary over an open fire. The lamb was so tender and had a great smoky flavor from the burning rosemary and the snails just melted in the mouth. Also worth a mention is the amazing breakfast provided each morning as part of the hotel package. Probably the best pastries I have ever had brought to your table straight from the oven each morning. Fresh fruit, juice, coffee, local cheese, etc are all very fresh and a great way to start the day.
On our second day in Bonnieux, we drove 45 mins to Chateauneuf du Pape to meet some friends from London at Chateau de Beaucastel. Beaucastel put on a great tour and tasting and the rocky soil and beautiful grounds are worth the visit. You can see my notes here. After Beaucastel we went into the actual town of CDP to visit Domaine la Barroche and winemaker and son of the owner, Julien Barrot. This was a fun contrast to Beaucastel as la Barroche makes wine out of their garage in the back of their family home. This was truly their family home as we noticed Julien’s grandma’s knickers hanging from the clothes line on our walk to the garage! Julien was a great host as he guided us through a tasting of his 2008’s from barrel and his 2007’s from the bottle. Didn’t take notes, but really enjoyed the whole range and purchased a couple bottles of each. Really impressed with the Cuvee Fiancee which is 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah. The Terroir and Signature are great values at 15 and 30 euro’s respectively. After all the wine tasting, my wife and I broke off from the group and walked around the town of CDP and ended up walking into La Mere Germaine for a late lunch. Food was average, but the location could not be more convenient to our car that was still parked down the road at La Barroche. Goes without saying to this group, but CDP is a most visit if you are in the area.
The next day we made the 30 min drive to Avignon to check out the city and have lunch at Christian Etienne. I’m not sure how I got the expectation in my head, but I expected a little more from Avignon. It was nice, but I prefer the charm of the smaller towns that are abundant in this part of France. I will say, that Christian Etienne is worth the trip though and setting couldn’t be better from the terrace overlooking Palais des Papes. It was a warm day so the lobster tasting menu seemed to be a fitting choice as well as a bottle of the 2007 Beaucastel CDP blanc. We actually started with some NV Bollinger and an amuse of pumpkin soup with an onion infused cream that was outstanding. 1st course was lobster claws on a potato bellini and a lobster and dill crème fresh. Hard to go wrong there. 2nd course was nice chunks of lobster over a fresh cannelloni stuffed with a carrot puree. 3rd course was the lobster tails over braised brussel sprouts and a wonderful brown butter sauce. All prepared perfectly and the Beau was a great match for the lobster. After cheese and dessert courses we were ready to explode, so we went for a nice walk before making the drive back.
Wednesday we set out for a 2 hour drive to Montpellier. We made a quick stop at the roman aqueducts at Pont du Gard. Very beautiful views here and worth a visit if you are in the area. In Montpellier we stayed a little boutique 5 room hotel called Baudon de Mauny. Very cool hotel that is basically an old mansion in the middle of the city that has been perfectly restored. The room and bathroom were massive with modern furniture and great king size bed which is hard to find in this part of the world. Montpellier was a fun city because almost half its residences are under 30 due to the large university population. We spent some time at the Musee Fabre which has a nice range of pieces from very old to modern. One restaurant of note was La Maison de la Lozère. This was probably the restaurant that over delivered on expectations the most. We started with their NV Gosset house champagne and a couple different amuses with the best being a really fresh shrimp ceviche with apples and cucumber for that perfect crunch to go along with the tender shrimp. 1st course was a healthy slab of seared Foie gras with a citrus gelee and crispy cracker for texture. 2nd course provided huge scallops over tomato confit and a citrus foam. Simple, but the scallops were so fresh they just melted. My main was a perfectly pink veal loin over a celeriac puree and l’aligot, which are the most amazing cheesy mashed potatoes. Cheese course and dessert course and yet again we were about to burst. The menu included local wine pairings that all worked well and at only 100 euro’s a head for everything, this was easily the best value of the trip.
After 2 nights in Montpellier, we drove about an hour to the tiny town of Le Paradou. We stayed at La Maison du Paradou which is another small, 5 room inn that is more like a B&B than a hotel. It’s owned by a couple of semi retired Brits so it was nice to get our English back on. Our room was first rate with a huge modern bathroom and a big comfy bed. We spent the day exploring all the small towns in the area, Le Baux, Saint Remy and Maussane are all within 10 mins of Paradou. Probably the best activity we did the whole trip was at the Cathedrale d’Images in Saint Remy. It’s hard to explain, but basically you are standing in the middle of a huge rock quarry and they put on this slideshow of Picasso’s work all over the walls. The show is matched to music and goes through various periods of his life. It was pretty stunning to see. If you put Cathedrale d images Picasso into youtube you can see some of the video’s people have taken, but it doesn’t do the actual experience justice. They change artists every year, but I think we lucked out with Picasso.
Our final big dinner of the trip was at L'Oustau de Baumaniere in Le Baux. This is foodie heaven and it lived up to expectations. We started with some house champagne that I don’t recall the name of and some tasty amuses. Our 1st course set the tone with fresh raviolis stuffed with foie gras in a leek infused foam and topped with shaved black truffles at the table. It was simply amazing and my favorite course of the entire trip. Next was a duo of red mullet with 2 different kinds of tomato salsa. Again, so simple but the quality of the ingredients takes it to new heights. The main was a mound of sweetbreads in a light puff pastry cone with mushrooms and a truffle sauce. I should probably lower my retirement saving rate as this course probably took 5 years off my life, but it was so effing good. Cheese course, dessert course, yada yada, you get the idea. Should mention we went with a half bottle of the 2007 Vieux Telegraphe CDP Blanc La Crau and a half bottle of the 2000 Clos dep Papes CDP with our menu. Hard to find better food and service. Worth every penny.
I should mention that the overall scenery in this part of the world is simply beautiful and rivals Tuscany for such a great natural setting. It was really fun to be there when the leaves were changing as well as the all the vineyards were starting to go reddish/orange. I really hope this report helps anyone planning a trip to this part of the world. I focused on the food because that is my favorite part of traveling, but we did a bunch of other stuff if anyone has any questions.
Cheers!
Posts: 2204 | Location: OC, CA (Currently in London) | Registered: Aug 01, 2007
Excellent travelogue, and thanks for those very descriptive culinary extravaganzas. The fresh scallops over tomato confit and citrus foam sounded fantastic, especially when followed by "cheesy mashed potatoes" and the pink veal loin! However, with the amount of Foie gras consumed, I would prescribe some mature Bordeaux to clear the arteries, which will help more than the CdP or Champagne! Anyway, that was an excellent week of calorie excess!
Great notes Glenn and glad you had such a good time at the Oustau. Our last experience over two nights was an exact mix of the dinner you described there [our first night] and the disappointing one at the Palme d'Or; both in terms of food and service - but the setting and scenery are memorable.
Since we were there I believe Charial has brought in another top Chef which may well have improved consistency.
One of the coldest pools I have ever swum in though although bigger than most and nicely placed in the grounds.
Posts: 331 | Location: London, England | Registered: Feb 09, 2007
Terrific post, really. I can just about taste the wines and the lobster, etc. It is a great area for sure. Thanks for the post, GlennK. (Where does Languedoc start?)
Originally posted by irwin: (Where does Languedoc start?)
Montpellier is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Languedoc is a historic province in southern France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea & Spain South & West and the Rhône River in the east. MONTPELLIER and TOULOUSE have long been the leading cities. The southern portion of the region, Bas (Lower) Languedoc, is composed of a low limestone plain, where almost half of all French wine is produced. In the north, in the Cevennes Mountains, sheep raising is the principal activity.
__________________ Ed Bowers Live simply, Laugh often, Wine a lot!!!
Great job
