The front cover. The background is an ancient geological map of Sancerre.
This book is the offspring of A Wine & Food Guide to the Loire, which was published in 1996. Since that time, the Loire has changed so dramatically that Friedrich felt she needed to write a three-volume opus in order to do justice to the improved quality of the wines and to describe the dynamic, eco-conscious young vintners in each and every one of its appellations.
Volume One focuses on the wines of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume and their satellites. Such is the progress made in what Friedrich calls “the Kingdom of Sauvignon blanc,” that she has completely revised her opinion of that popular but often underestimated grape. Its best wines now rival the finest Chablis. Wines made from Pinot Noir, the region’s second most important grape, grow more charming and more riveting with each vintage. What’s more, they are all affordable.
You’ll find: detailed descriptions of several hundred winemakers and thousands of wines, explanations of the region’s food specialties, as well as restaurant, hotel and tourism recommendations.
This is a self-published, print-on-demand book. By October 2011 it should be available at amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. You can buy it now, or at any time, through Lulu.com where it is listed under the "Cooking" category. There is a direct link on the Home page,in the right hand margin.
p. 176: Domaine de Villalin: 2010 Quincy. One of my favorite spots for a Sunday meal in Paris is La Mascotte on the rue des Abbesses. A thoroughfare cheek-by-jowl with tourist joints, La Mascotte is old Paris in the best sense, a vintage Art Deco hang-out for neighborhood types – from theatre folk like Michou and Pierre Richard, to primped up octogenarians from the world’s oldest profession to their spinsterish or widowed counterparts, to local kids on their own and behaving like adults. The wine list is impressively intelligent, reasonably priced and, the by-the-glass selections, when drunk at the bar, may be the best wine bargains in town. Belly up to the bar, order a couple of glasses of white – this Quincy for example – and a platter of, say, Girardeau oysters, freshly shucked by the shucker outside, and, my, that’s a nice way to pass an hour.
My last visit, however, was for Sunday lunch, in the dining room, with impossibly erudite, resolutely hedonistic Hugues. Among the many specials that day was a fricassee of abalone. “You rarely see this,” Hugues said. “The fishing of abalone (ormeaux, in French) is prohibited and only allowed in very limited areas and strictly limited seasons.” We ordered that, along with some charcuterie and line-fished striped bass.
Normally during a meal like this I would start with an appetizer, move on to a bottle of white, then a bottle of red and then a digestive. But I had a wee hang-over, the result of a girls’ night-in, during which much Grey Goose and many bottles of vino were consumed.
So, with abalone and striped bass un vin blanc s’impose. I had intended to leave the Loire and order a Pinot Gris from Scheuller. They were out of it. Thus, the Villalin.
It was perfect. As I’ve said, 2010 is turning out to be one of my favorite Loire vintages and here was a splendid example. Characteristic of the whites of this vintage, its color was so pale as to be almost translucent. Vigorous yet light, fresh as the autumn air, beautifully structured and scented with citrus and gooseberry, it could not have been more satisfying. I was not surprised when our waiter said, “People are crazy about this. It sells like hot cakes.”
