Never let it be said that Yapp Brothers are a parochial bunch who aren’t prepared to spread the good word far and wide.

Last week I stepped off the Bristol – Glasgow flight to join up with ace Catalan wine maker Christine Campadieu who had come from Collioure, via Barcelona and Berlin (where she had taken part in a gourmet wine dinner at Michelin 2 star, Regent hotel). To complete the international mix, I’d persuaded my Colombian wife to head up from London for a spin around the Highlands. Thus assembled, our polyglot hire car headed north up the A9 to host a tasting and dinner at The Cross at Kingussie, in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.

Christine Campadieu outside The Cross, Kingussie

David and Katie Young’s welcoming ‘restaurant with rooms’ is a must for any greedy wine lover who fancies a break in some wonderful countryside. A great deal of love and attention has gone into putting together a terrific wine list, which has been regularly commended, most recently Imbibe’s Small Restaurant Wine List of the Year 2011. In fact, the Youngs’ visit to Domaine Le Tour Vieille last year was the catalyst for this event.

To kick off the evening, Christine provided guests with an entertaining introduction to the wines of Roussillon and conducted an hour long tutored tasting covering eight wines from the estate. We then enjoyed white Collioure with an inspired Catalan dish of salt & pepper squid with anchovy aioli, before washing down Rothiemurchus Estate roe deer with red Collioure Pinède 2008. The local Blarliath cheese course accompanied red Puig Oriole 2008 before the finale of a wonderful chocolate brownie with heavenly Banyuls Réserva. I think Christine and Isabel were suitably impressed (possibly shocked) that I managed a digestif of Bruichladdich Octomore, the world’s peatiest whisky.

The next day, fortified by a hearty breakfast where attention to every detail was again evident (homemade HP sauce with locally-sourced sausages and black pudding, alongside Boston-style baked beans) and refreshed by a stroll up the river that feeds this one-time Tweed mill (where we spotted red squirrel), we headed South.

If you are heading into the Cairngorms, I would strongly recommend a visit to the Edradour Whisky Distillery just outside Pitlochry. It’s Scotland’s smallest distillery, a gem and what there is to know about Malt Whisky that our guide Frank couldn’t tell us, isn’t worth knowing.

Frank at Edradour Whisky Distillery

Occasionally food and wine combinations marry so brilliantly that they transcend the everyday and transport you to a different plain of appreciation. Just such a moment occurred at the end of a busy buying trip earlier in the year. We were sitting on the terrace of Le Safari restaurant in the Vieux Port of Nice, which is a nice place to be, and without giving matters much thought ordered a bowl of beignets de morue and a bottle of Domaine Bunan Bandol blanc. Our charming, but lived-in, be-pony-tailed waiter duly presented the requested wine along with the crispy cod fritters and a wickedly pungent aioli. Kazaam! Suddenly we realised we hadn’t spoken for 20 minutes and our plates were empty and the bottle at half-mast. You could try re-creating that at home but it would lack a certain je ne sais quoi.

All of which is a long-winded prelude to saying that white Bandol is underrated and that the Bunans’ is one of the best. Made from pure Clairette, vinified in stainless steel vats, the Mas de la Rouvière blanc has attractive agrume aromas and a crisp palate of orchard fruit enhanced by subtle herbal undertones. It has wonderful affinity for seafood and we shouldn’t leave it all to the Niçois!

The Mas de la Rouvière rosé needs little promotion. Jancis Robinson selected the 2010 vintage as one of her Top 12 rosés in the FT recently praising it as “opulent” and admiring its’ “lovely polished texture”. It is made from a blend of 80% Cinsault and 20% Mourvèdre and has an attractive ‘onion skin’ colour and savoury redcurrant flavours.

Coincidentally la grande dame du vin also selected the Bunan’s red Mas de la Rouvière 2004 (55% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 5% Syrah) for a fund-raising dinner at her Alma Mater Saint Annes’ College Oxford in July. It has a wealth of dark Autumnal fruit over a foundation of sun-kissed tannins and would offset an olive-rich daube to perfection.

The Bunans also bottle two pure Mourvèdres. One is a precious Vin de Pays du Mont Caume from vines that lie just outside the appellation of Bandol. It has lots of exuberant, youthful berry fruit and supple tannins and represents great value. The other is their heavy-weight flagship red called Moulin des Costes ‘Charriage’. It delivers a formidable broadside of herb-infused garrigue fruit, leather, underbrush, oak and tannin and will age well for at least a decade.

A couple of years ago over a long and languorous lunch at Le Café Anglais, with chef-patron (and FT food guru) Rowley Leigh, I was lamenting the fact that while the cuisine of Provence is justifiably celebrated its best wines are regrettably overlooked. Rowley is a man of action who requires little encouragement and before I knew it ‘Le Grand Aïoli’ had been born. Rowley had devised a Provençal feast with aim of pairing some of the region’s top wines with classic Mediterranean dishes. The inaugural Grand Aïoli, in June 2010, was a hedonistic affair with a mouth-watering menu encompassing olives, sardines, seabass and beef brisket accompanied by lashings of Cassis and a budget-busting Domaine de Trévallon. All those who attended seemed to enjoy themselves enormously – there certainly weren’t any complaints – so, I guess, it was inevitable that sooner or later we would do it all over again.

The second (and, having since reviewed the margins, almost certainly final) Grand Aïoli took place last Thursday at Le Café Anglais and, I have to say, Rowley surpassed his previous efforts. Word was definitely out in London’s foodie fraternity that good things were afoot as seasoned truffle-hounds like Fergus Henderson, Bill Knot, Matthew Fort, Jeremy Lee and Tom Parker-Bowles could be seen priming their palates with a blameless, coral-pink Coteaux d’Aix: Domaine Oullières 2010 at the bar before we were under starters’ orders.

Glistening bowls of pungent, fresh Aïoli appeared as diners were seated and plates of salt cod, prawns, radishes, sweetbreads and artichokes soon followed. With this magnificent medley we served an organic Bandol Blanc: Mas de la Rouvière 2010, which is made from pure Clairette and has inimitable wild herb scents and flavours which married marvellously with the garlic-infused mayonnaise.

Rowley Leigh serves Bourride

Next up came a Bourride of hake, Gurnard, monkish and John Dory that Rowley served in bowls en place and soon solicited sighs of gastronomic contentment. This piscine tour de force was accompanied by a rare Bellet Blanc 2010 from Domaine de la Source. Made from 100% Rolle this sapid, savoury, straw-coloured, niçeois white did nothing to assist an already straining budget but it did take the food and wine matching to new heights and amply illustrated that you get what you pay for.

A brace of bountiful reds was then brought into play to do justice to a stupendous ‘Grillade des Mariniers du Rhône’. The crowd-pleasing Côtes du Luberon 2009 from the ever-reliable Château la Canorgue stood up well to the culinary alchemy of very slowly-cooked skirt beef with onions and seasoning but the vinous high point was probably the celebrated (and horriblement cher) Château Simone from Palette. This majestic, antediluvian, anachronism is made from a blend of 17 different grape varieties including such rarities as Branforcas, Manosquin and Castels. It has the cassis, cedar and sandalwood characteristics of a venerable old Claret but a wild, untamed touch of the garrigues in the background too – no wonder Winston Churchill was a fan.

We rounded proceedings off with a divine apricot and almond tart alongside the peerless, orange blossom-scented Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2007 from Domaine de Durban. Although the west London skies were overcast you could feel the warming sun of the Côte d’Azur in the dining room of Le Café Anglais. Who knows? If we can find a generous benefactor we may even do it again next year….

It was a treat to be back at Le Gavroche for our annual Spring lunch yesterday playing to a full house of 100 diners keen to sample wines matched to a seasonal menu devised by Michel Roux Jr.

Le Gavroche

We kicked-off with a lively Vouvray Mousseux Brut from Domaine Aubert by way of aperitif, which guests could elect to taste with or without the addition of a dash of Gabriel Boudier’s peerless Crème de Cassis. The exercise of trying to serve canapés and drinks to 100 people in the bijou upstairs bar area at 43 Upper Brook Street always reminds me of seeing how many students can cram into a phone box. Fortunately, we have a loyal and resilient clientele and the intimacy of the surroundings definitely broke the ice.

Oeuf Poche Victoria - Le Gavroche

Once seated in the comfort and splendour of the downstairs dining room the revels could commence with a fine pairing of a rare white Chinon from Château du Ligré and a weightier, oilier, organic Côtes du Luberon from Château la Canorgue – both in the newly released (and very promising) 2010 vintage. I then talked guests through the first 3 wines and Le Gavroche’s Executive Director, Silvano Giraldin, told us how the dishes we were about to sample had been selected and prepared. Kent asparagus with aged parmesan and truffle vinaigrette proved a popular pre-starter and had a terrific affinity for the white Chinon (see previous entry) but the ‘Oeuf Poche Victoria’ that followed was a veritable show-stopper. This dish is an old Roux family favourite – a poached egg served on a bed of lobster on top of an artichoke heart. There were lots of different flavours at work here and personally I thought this offering favoured the Château la Canorgue.

Confit Collar of Lamb - Le Gavroche

Our main course was a sublime collar of lamb confit served with white beans and wild garlic. We partnered this with a youthful red Vin de Corse Sartène 2009 from Domaine Saparale. The wild Maquis scents and tastes of this unusual Nielluccio-Sciacarello blend married perfectly with the tender, salty lamb so it was going to be a tough act to follow. Fortunately, Ron and Elva Laughton from Australia’s celebrated Jasper Hill estate in Heathcote were in town for the Natural Wine Fair (www.thenaturalwinefair.com) and we indulged ourselves with their iconic Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 2005. Ron told us about his non-interventionist wine growing philosophy and explained why he is an ardent champion of ‘dry-grown’ (un-irrigated) root-stock despite the pressures of draught and global warning.

Vanilla Panna Cotta - Le Gavroche

A delicate dessert of vanilla panna cotta with Alphonso mango and ginger went down very well with Pascal Labasse’s Jurançon Mœlleux 2008. This unctuous sweet wine has a lovely palate-cleansing acidity to offset the tropical fruit flavours and I think it met with widespread approval.
We rounded off a very convivial event with coffee and Petits Fours and some stout-hearted folk even availed themselves of the digestif trolley before dispersing back into the daylight fully sated.

Jason Yapp holding court at Le Gavroche…

I am already keenly anticipating to our next visit in the Autumn because if you want to enjoy classic Gallic cuisine with superb service in elegant surroundings Le Gavroche sets the Gold Standard!

Having spent far too many birthdays in previous places of work where celebrations just seemed to involve some sub-standard cakes (a Swedish ball bearing manufacturer, an English Language School, a University and a larger B2B supplier to name just a few) it’s been a pleasant surprise to me just how much working at Yapp takes over your view of the world – and all for the better I should add!

I turned 44 last weekend – this is not really anything to shout about but I did base all the celebrations on wines from our list. As our house filled with various friends and family during the weekend, wine was always to hand and had been planned (with thanks to our Shop Manager) to, dare I say it, near perfection.

A fine selection of cheeses was rolled out to mark my specific birthday at Yapp HQ – and accompanied by quince cheese (that we’d tasted previously at our Christmas meal) – sadly, no wine as we were at work but it was certainly a good lead into the weekend. Friday night, before the deluge of people that descended I tried the first wine out with my wife (a regular event that she’s now thankfully become accustomed to) that was an often talked about match at Yapp HQ – Roquefort cheese, water biscuits and Jurançon 2008: Domaine Bellegarde – if ever I’ve tasted a perfect combination this has to be it – even Julie (my wife) was taken aback by the experience – strike 1!

After a day of, for want of a better phrase, “children” (mine and my nephew – all under the age of 6) we got them all tucked up and the adults ventured into the nearest town to our sleepy hamlet, where we devoured a fine Indian meal (The Sultan in Melksham if you’re ever down this way). With this we happily worked our way through a chilled bottle of Alsace: Pinot Blanc 2005 – all agreed (well, apart from my brother-in-law who refused to move away from his bottle of cider) that this was another hit – strike 2!

Sunday, we rolled out the big guns in both food and wine – we had a full rib of beef and, as an aperitif, we opened a cold bottle of the timeless Yapp Champagne (a not unexpected strike 3!) and then settled into the beef. A few of my tried-and-trusted ‘not for drinking on a school night’ bottles were opened – a Côtes de Provence: Domaine Richeaume: Cuvée Tradition 2008 and my last bottle of Brézème: Eugène de Monicault 2007 – perfect matches again, strikes 4 and 5 combined!

Then, to round it all off we re-ran the Roquefort cheese, water biscuits and Jurançon 2007 and a digestif of Bas Armagnac 1995 – our guests left full and with very contented smiles.

Maybe 44 isn’t as bad as I thought it might be. I could mention how I was due to get an iPad as a present but instead had to settle for a fridge freezer, but that I’ll save for another time…

Crémant de Limoux Brut

Working at Yapp HQ has always been an interesting experience and there’s never a shortage of recommendations about new vintages, new wines and particularly new food and wine pairings. As a man who came from the cider and cheese school of thought it’s been a real eye opener – not that cider doesn’t go with cheese but it’s the ‘chip butty’ of the food and wine matching world – good and basic but not all there is too it. So, proof of the pudding and all that – last Saturday I put my absorbed knowledge to the test. Some long-standing friends and their off spring assembled (Alex, the 5 year old had been so excited by the idea of a “sleep over” he’d packed his bag at 5.30am on the Saturday morning – I think the enjoyment of food and wine comes with a little more age and he was more excited about using his spider man “ready bed” in anger, but I digress).

Vin de Corse Sartène Rosé: Domaine Saparale 2009

The aperitif was triggered at the same time as we started getting all the small folk to bed – this may have been a slight error of judgement but we started with a favourite fizz – Crémant de Limoux Brut Cuvée Selection with a dash of Crème de Pêches – an ideal aperitif and as (from what I remember) Michel Roux Jr. once said was ‘great, as it made you really want to eat’ (this was at least the gist of the quote, and maybe not verbatim).

I was on the starter – being a disciple of all things Slater (Nigel, not the one from East Enders) I decided to keep it simple – pan fried scallops, fresh ginger, some lemon chilli flakes (from Austria of all places) and a watercress salad – it would have been churlish not to match this with the Yapp Corsican Rosé (Vin de Corse Sartène Rosé: Domaine Saparale 2009).

Irouléguy: Domaine Illaria 2007

The main dish was provided by Donna – I thought she’d arrive with something cooked but no, it arrived in raw form – she insisted that it had to be made there and then. I’d asked advice on this one  in advance – what to have with Basque Chicken? Our resident food and wine expert had a flash of inspiration on her drive home – have a Basque wine! Not rocket science maybe but the Irouléguy: Domaine Illaria 2007 was spot on and not a wine I’d tried before and a great hit around the table.

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise - Domaine de Durban

So, into the home straight with combinations I knew would be great but it was terrific to see the responses from our guests – when this goes right, it really is an eye opener. Raspberry brûlée with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise: Domaine de Durban 2007 then a selection of powerful blue cheeses with Jurançon 2008: Domaine Bellegarde then following the digestif of Bas Armagnac 1988 our guests retired sated, content and with smiles on their faces.

Jurançon 2008: Domaine Bellegarde

My daughter fell out of bed at 4.30am on Sunday morning that, like dominoes, woke up the other 3 children under the age of 6 but once again I think that may well be another story…