We recently hosted a Trade tasting to launch our release of ‘archive’ vintage wines. Held at the Zetter Hotel, one of our long-standing on-trade accounts in Clerkenwell, London; this event provided our trade customers the opportunity to get together to sample some terrific older vintages as well as a selection from our current wine portfolio.

These tastings are always difficult to get right in terms of scheduling, as, in the competitive world we work in, there are often a plethora of rival tastings, lunches, or dinners for Sommeliers/restaurant managers to choose from. Indeed, on the day of our tasting, there were another three large events on in London, so we were very happy to see so many of our restaurateur friends on the day.

Featuring great wines always helps attendance levels and our line-up showed very well on the day. From the whites it was nice to revisit a Yapp staple (albeit in a new vintage) with the Sébastien Chéreau Muscadet de Sèvre et Main 2009,  a fresh, crisp, citrus flavoured wine with a good body of fruit. A real lip-smacker that leaves you wanting more. For the reds, the Pic Saint-Loup l’Arbouse appeared to be a firm favourite amongst the tasters, quite an earthy wine with rich fruit, warming tannins and touch of spice; it is a great wine for these autumnal months.

The archive table (unsurprisingly) was the busiest. This featured:- Domaine de Trévallon 2000, Jasmin Côte Rôtie 1999, Clape Cornas 1999, Chave Hermitage Red 2001, Chave Hermitage Red 1996 and Jasper Hill ‘Georgia’s Paddock’ Shiraz 2002. All of these wines had a supporter or more on the day, my personal favourites were the Trévallon 2000, which had reached a decent maturity with a nice balance between the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Syrah. Trévallon is never an ‘easy’ wine, it certainly always stands out amongst its contemporaries, and it sat quite heavily against its neighbours on the day. The Clape Cornas also deserves a mention, as it seemed to meet with a broad approval.

That is not to say that everyone had the same view on all of the wines. Whenever you taste an older vintage of any ‘classic’ wines, everyone has an opinion. Some preferred the Chave 1996 to the 2001 whereas others thought the 2001 was more open and ready for drinking on the day than its older sibling. Younger palates varied from those of more ‘mature’ age. The French disagreed with the English (hardly surprising) and the English disagreed with the English (even less surprising).

Eventually it was time for lunch and the debates (and a notable number of open bottles) meandered their way upstairs to Bistrot Bruno Loubet, The Zetter hotel’s buzzing bistro. Here we were treated to Bruno Loubet’s fantastic fare. We have already blogged about a previous visit to this much lauded restaurant so I will avoid being repetitive. Suffice to say, no one left on an empty stomach and there were many appreciative comments passed from our tables. My favourite dish was the Mauricette snails and meatballs with royale de champignons. Plump snails out of their shells, alternated with mouth melting, veal meatballs, all of which surrounded a deceptively light mushroom mousse. Later on after lunch, Bruno popped over for a chat and he explained that this dish was a celebration of his grandmother’s cooking when he was a child. Only he has taken it and given it a modern ‘British friendly slant’ (hence the lack of snail shells on the plate).

The lunch progressed well into the afternoon as bottles were passed from table to table for ‘re-examining’ and ‘updating’ of tasting notes. Eventually, our jolly group of tasters and diners began to dwindle as people ventured back out onto the streets of Clerkenwell. We always tend to finish off with a cleansing ale and quick chat about the day’s events, but this noble tradition was dashed with the appearance of a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee NV, generously proffered by Roger Jones of The Harrow Inn at Little Bedwyn. Of course it would have been churlish to refuse and so we dallied a while longer as we reflected on the wine and the food of the day.

Many thanks to Bruno Loubet and his front of house team and to the Event Team at the Zetter for their contribution to a successful day. Bruno’s food certainly warrants a visit, with his relaxed, bistro take on some classic French cuisine. I hope you have as much fun matching the Yapp wines that can be found on the wine list to his dishes as we did.

Last week, I co-hosted a Provencal Dinner and wine tasting, ably assisted by Jason Yapp and the genial Chef-Patron of The Ambassador, Clive Greenhalgh.

For a nominal £10 fee, guests were free to partake in a 15 wine, tasting tour of Provence. With the bottles spread down The Ambassador’s long bar and Jason and I on dispensing duties, it made an enjoyable start to a cracking evening. We met lots of new people as well as some old familiar faces and it was great fun sharing the aromas and flavours of the region’s assorted wines with an inquisitive and appreciative audience. With such a diverse range of grape varietals including Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Vermentino in the whites and Cinsault, Syrah, Folle Noir and Mourvèdre amongst the reds, there was a wine and style for everyone and that’s not including the three different rosés on show.

All the wines showed well on the night and here are details of my 3 favourites:

White
Cassis: Clos Sainte Magdeleine 2008 – £16.75
This is always an interesting wine. Clairette, Marsanne and Ugni Blanc give a wine with a herb/pine aromatic nose and mouth-filling citrus flavours with an intriguing oily texture that carries the developing flavours that last for a long finish.

Rosé
Côtes du Luberon: Château la Canorgue 2009 – £12.25
Grenache Noir, Cinsault and Syrah form lovely red berry aromas that continue on the palate. Crisp and refreshing, it is a real taste of summer in a glass.

Red
Côtes de Provence: Domaine Richeaume Cuvée Tradition 2008 – £15.50
This has a fantastic nose, full of fruit, spice and herbs. On the palate, the Syrah provides the warming richness with a spicy core. Cabernet Sauvignon contributes to the backbone of mouth-chomping berries and robust, yet yielding tannins as well as a lingering touch of mint.

Following the tasting, there was an option to stay for a three course Provencal feast for a bargain £25. There were six wines available to purchase from the tasting to consume with the dinner. My table opted for a Coteaux d’Aix: Domaine Oullières Blanc 2009 (£9.25) to go with the generously portioned Pissaladière with Cornish Sardines. It’s salty, savoury flavours were well matched with the fleshy, oily sardines.

For the main course of Rump of Lamb with Olive Oil mash, peppers & lemon thyme, I just had to go back to the minty Domaine Richeaume. Hats off  to Clive for a superb dish. The lamb was cooked to perfection and the Domaine Richeaume’s complex flavours combined well with the tender meat and the delicious, rich mash.

Forgoing apricot tart we all shared a French cheeseboard. A glass of Côtes du Ventoux: Château Valcombe 2005 (£9.95) was the perfect all-rounder to finish with. Plummy fruit, light spiciness and rounded tannins lead to a smooth finish and there was still enough dry, acidity to cut into the stronger cheeses and leave one wanting more.

Overall, it was a great evening and although officially ‘work’ it never seems as such when you have such a relaxed, fun crowd sharing the experience. From the favourable comments on the night, it really reminded me of how interesting and educational these events can be.

If you are not on the Yapp mailing list, do get in touch or sign up on the Yapp website, as we regularly advertise our upcoming tastings and dinners via our mailing. Alternatively, our website is constantly updated and you can find the latest events here Yapp events.

The Ambassador, 55 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL.

Tel: 020 837 0009

www.theambassadorcafe.co.uk

JH

The Riverside Restaurant in West Bay, Dorset, just east of Bridport has been in the safe hands of the Watson family for 50 years and ought to be subject to a preservation order.

This rather anachronistic resort, which retains a certain ‘I’m only here for the beer – kiss me quick’ charm at first seems an unlikely setting for a gastronomic gem save for (I concede) its proximity to the sea. Visitors have to cross a narrow footbridge to gain entry to the Piers Gough and Roger Zogolovitch designed premises which were installed in 1976 at a higher elevation to the original turn of the century cabin after successive floods.


The keys to the Riverside’s success are its simplicity (which extends to both the décor and the cooking) and the fastidious attention to detail of the hands-on patron Arthur Watson who has been at the helm here since 1964 when he was demobbed from the Navy. Nothing is over-fussy at the Riverside, this is an establishment that is very confident in its offering which is principally very fresh seafood that is simply and expertly cooked with minimal adornment. The wine list is well thought out and presented in a manner to appeal to both experts and novices and the service is both relaxed and professional – which is much harder to achieve than it sounds.


At this juncture I ought to declare a personal interest. When I started working for our family business almost 2 decades ago it was Arthur who gave me my first break with a guest slot for a ‘Spring Selection’ of 3 white wines. These were a 1991 Saumur at £8.25, a 1992 Quincy at £11.90 and a 1997 Hermitage from Chave at £16.50 – and those were their selling prices!


Arthur still takes a keen interest in the Riverside’s wine list (assisted by sommelier Joe Taylor) and if I call in with some wines to sample he sometimes gives me a spot of lunch at the bar – which amply justifies the 110 mile round trip from Mere. Last week I dropped by with a few new discoveries and was treated to an enormous plate of fresh langoustines that were bisected lengthways, in a manner of which Damien Hirst would have been proud. They were absolutely heavenly with a (small) glass of rosé Chinon from Château de Ligré as one might deduce from the accompanying photograph. Despite the fact that the restaurant was packed with over 80 diners (on a Wednesday lunchtime) Arthur also proffered a Dover Sole that it would have been churlish to turn down. The delicate white fish went down extremely well with a nervy young Charentais Sauvignon from Domaine Gardrat. The coffee by the way is excellent too.


As regular readers of this blog will know I eat out well and frequently but I know of very few restaurants that are as consistently satisfying as the Riverside.


Here’s to the next 50 years!

Living in a village can be strange. Period. It’s a microcosm of the bigger outside world and where everything is roughly 10 times more emphasised than it probably should be – everyone knows everyone and everything, is the way it seems to work.

My wife had her birthday last Monday and another friend in the village had her birthday a few days after and before we knew it over a few glasses of Gigondas Grand Montmirail 2005 one Sunday lunch we’d agreed to head off to Jamies Italian to mark both occasions. 

So, the village being the village, with the grape vine working 10 times more effectively than it probably should (Facebook playing it’s part as always) 10 of us headed over to Bath to Jamie’s – 10 being a useful number as you can only book a table if you have more than 8 in the party, even though it did feel a little like the Jolly Boys Margate Beano from Only Fools and Horses for those of you who can remember that far back..

Having worked in marketing for many years, I was as interested in how Jamie Oliver’s brand was working in the restaurant, as I was the food. He’s a part of our collective culture, we all feel like we know him personally and he’s been indirectly responsible for many a decent dinner party over the last 10 years. All of us were looking forward to going to ‘Jamie’s’ – what a brand!

The restaurant in Bath looks small as you enter but stretches way back – it has the same look and feel of the Jamie Oliver books and television programmes – that has been pretty consistent since the Naked Chef first hit in 1999 – it all felt familiar even though we’d not been there before.

So, putting the brand to one side, we looked at the menu – we opted for the antipasti planks to kick start the meal – the Italian cheeses working particularly well, with buffalo mozzarella, pecorino and an excellent chilli jam. My choice of pasta for the next course had been scratched from the menu (the linguini alle vongole) as it had sold out (it was near 10pm after all) but I’d already had an alternative lined up – sausage pappardelle – slow cooked Italian sausage, tomatoes, red wine and parmesan with crunchy herby breadcrumbs. So, having changed direction down the page I changed my planned wine route as well.

Working at Yapp Brothers, my knowledge of French wine has naturally grown (although I’m the first to admit I still have plenty more to learn) but I decided to transfer what I knew I liked in French wine to the Italian list, by grape variety (I know terrior plays a major role but on the fly this approach seemed to make sense..) I’d chosen beef for my main dish (beef carpaccio and rocket salad) so opted for a bottle of Shiraz Di Sicilia 2007 Villa Francesca – in the Yapp list I’d have chosen an Alain Graillot Crozes Hermitage 2007 so I was hoping for some similar tastes to match with my beef. The Shiraz Di Sicilia was similar in style and suitably peppery, perhaps not up to Mr Graillot’s standards but enjoyable all the same.

It was well past 10 and our 10 were the last to leave – the restaurant works on all levels, a place to enjoy all things “Jamie”, it’s relaxed and not at all expensive – I think we’ll be going back at some point soon – we might even go for lunch and indoctrinate our small children to this omnipresent brand!

 

For the benefit of anyone who has been off planet or hibernating Bruno Loubet is back in Blighty with a bang after a 10 year self-imposed exile in Brisbane. Now ensconced at the chic but très sympathique Zetter Hotel on Clerkenwell Road, Monsieur Loubet is doing what he does best viz. sensibly-priced bistro classics uplifted by an inspired personal flair. Bruno’s great gifts lie in getting the basics right (attentive, well-informed service, good freshly-baked bread (in a flower pot!), generous table spacing, no cynical table turning) and knowing just how far to embellish a dish without overdoing it.

A short, confident menu of 7 starters and 7 mains (see below), plus a couple of specials, left one spoilt for choice and our lunch party of 3 rather greedily invented an absent friend in order to satisfy our curiosity. ‘Revised’ Lyonnaise salad features batons of de-boned, deep fried pig’s trotter (as opposed to ear), grated (then fried) potato, poached egg and pancetta. This is the salad for people (like me) who don’t love salad and is sure to become a much demanded mainstay. Mauricette sails (named after Bruno’s mother) were also exemplary, as was beetroot ravioli, but the tub-thumping, show-stealing starter was a Guineau fowl boudin blanc with leek fondue and chervil sauce. Delicate of texture, punchy of flavour and beautifully presented this is Michelin star quality cuisine at knock-down prices. A blameless Cai dei Frati Laguna from a modest but soon to be extended wine list met with general approval being mid-weight, oily, unoaked and affordable.

 Our mains continued to show blinding form. Quail and pistachio Dodine again illustrated technical expertise and imagination. Beef Daube, in its own cast iron pot, was bien classique and Pan-fried breast of wood pigeon with a quinoa and giblet sauce was also superbly executed. A brooding Côte Rôtie 2001 from Jasmin was very fairly priced at £57 and was a fine match for our meaty main courses. Fully sated we eschewed desserts but the coffee was strong, dark and delicious and promptly served as by this stage we anticipated it would be.

My strong advice is to book a table promptly as queues must build and prices will probably increase accordingly. We’ll be back very soon. It doesn’t get much better than this at these prices. 9.5/10

Following an extensive and extremely informative morning tasting of J Dumangin Fils Champagnes, some colleagues and I entertained Gilles Dumangin to lunch at the beautiful Howard’s House Hotel in the quaint Wiltshire village of Teffont Evias.  Neither the village nor the hotel could have looked more stunning on such a glorious Spring day and I felt sure we would be in for a most enjoyable interlude.

Our attentive host, Noele Thompson, brought the menus to us in a comfortable ante-room and, while we made our choices from the short but wonderfully varied menu, we were delighted to hear another party of diners ordering a bottle of Gilles’ Grand Réserve Champagne.   Deciding, though, that we had had our fill of Champagne for one day, we ordered a bottle of 2007 Vouvray Sec from Domaine Champolou which pleased everyone and, with subtle honey nuances that made it seem almost off-dry, it was a sublime pairing with my starter of Twice-Baked Blue Cheese Soufflé with a walnut and poached pear salad.  There was much praise from my colleagues for their starters too and these included a Leek Risotto topped with breast of local pigeon and Home Cured Salmon with a smoked salmon mousse.

The dining room at Howard’s House is small and well-appointed and looks out onto the walled garden and terrace.  Both made an idyllic picture in the sunshine and I could see why the hotel is a popular venue for weddings.  Chef Nick Wentworth’s ethos is to cook simply with the very best of predominantly local ingredients which are sourced from the hotel’s own potager garden and from a stable of impressive local suppliers and we could certainly see this theme coming to life at our table.

Our main courses arrived with appropriate timing and were as exquisitely presented as the starters.  I plumped for Braised Blade of Devon Ruby Red Beef with a root vegetable purée, spinach and confit shallot and I couldn’t have been happier with my choice. The beef was cooked to perfection, the texture of the meat being almost like a Boeuf Bourgignon – meltingly tender and rich.  My fellow diners reported a Fillet of Wild Halibut with fondant potato, baby asparagus and a brown shrimp dressing to be full of flavour and beautifully cooked and the Roasted Tenderloin and Confit Belly of Pork with a wholegrain mustard mash and calvados sauce both looked and smelled divine.  A bottle of Côtes du Rhône Saint Gayan, from the superb 2007 vintage, accompanied our main course and it was extraordinarily good with the beef.

As decadent and delicious as the desserts sounded, and I was sorely tempted by Rhubarb Crumble with Dorset clotted cream, we all decided to go straight for coffee, choosing a mixture of double and single espressos.  When they were brought to the table, each cup looked to have exactly the same measure but, by this time, no-one really cared and the coffee itself was as strong and flavourful as a good espresso should be. 

All in all, this had been a most delicious and convivial lunch.  In fact I can’t remember one so good in a long time. I was keen to hear that a new dining terrace opens in the garden on 1^st May and I have made a mental note to return on a sunny summer’s day to partake of a relaxed al fresco lunch with friends.