Goult: Mas de la Médecine (au lieu d’un Gite)

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In the heart of the Calavon Valley in the heart of the Luberon, the bed and breakfast Le Mas de la Médecine is on the southern flank of the quiet village of Goult, a short hop to the perched villages of Lacoste, Bonnieux (in the photo above from Goult), and Menerbes.

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Nestled within the peaceful countryside, Le Mas de la Médecine has one of most pleasing private gardens in the area.

Guests revel in the variety of plants and flowers which are landscaped in large high drainage plantings with small pools and stone.

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Potted flowers also adorn the large pool which extends from the main house towards the large lawn.

The inner courtyard of the Mas, a Provencal farm house, is festooned with ivy and flowers.

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Fig trees provide shade for guests having their morning breakfast. On cool mornings, guests may choose to take their breakfast in an interior dining room.

 

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There are five rooms decorated in vivid Provencal colors with traditional baked clay tiles. Natural light from the garden or the courtyard brightens the living space.

All of the rooms come with queen size beds, cable tv, and internet, and the bathrooms have a hair dryer, bath and shower.

 

Basics:

 

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Le Mas de la Médecine, La porte des Etoiles 84220 Goult, Tél 04 90 72 49 50. Email marcmunier@bbluberon.fr, Website

Directions: Heading east on D900 towards Apt, after passing Lumières, take D106 towards Lacoste across a small bridge over the Calavon. About 900M, take a left on chemin de la Bégude for 300M, take a right on chemin de la Marseillaise and the Mas is on your left.

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Murs: Mas de Roquejeanne (au lieu d’un Gite)

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A restored French farmhouse perched on a hillside amidst acres of unspoiled farmland with a stunning vista of lavender fields and cherry orchards, the Mas de Roquejeanne is a peaceful bucolic retreat in the Luberon.
PVB stumbled on this hermetically-sealed bed-and-breakfast when we were tasting cherries at the Malbec farm. Whereas there is not much going on in the nearby village of Murs except for one restaurant, the touristy Gordes is a few minutes down the road and the rest of the Luberon villages just beyond, and in the other direction down the Cols de Murs – Venasque, Carpentras and Avignon.
The Mas has four charming Provencal-decorated bedrooms of identical size with two single beds and bathroom. At 550 euros a week, with a generous petit déjeuner served on a covered patio looking out on the countryside, the Mas de Roquejeanne is a splendid perch from which to explore the Luberon and the Vaucluse.

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Basics

Domaine de Rocquejeanne: Contact Mme Taverne Chantal, les Vallons 84220 Murs-en-Provence, Tél 04 90 72 63 96, Daily and Weekly rates, Closed October to March

Email: info@rocquejeanne.com, Website

 

Finding A Gite in the Vaucluse: Here

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Gordes: L’Asphodèle (au lieu d’un Gite)

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The sweeping views are glorious from L’Asphodèle, a uniquely-designed bed and breakfast nestled in the verdant “grand calme” a mile up the hill from Gordes, the iconic village of stone edifices ‘perched’ on the side of large hill.

Upon your arrival at L’Asphodèle, your first glance of the vista is framed by a 45-foot pool ringed by large rocks where the far edge overflows, marrying aqua blue with the dense green of the evergreen oaks.

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Four of the five rooms, which are below the main house, have a loggia, a roofed, arcaded open porch, where you can meditate on your private views of the countryside and Luberon mountains on the horizon.

Each room has its own colorful Provencal personality, and a sitting area as well as chairs and tables in the loggia.  Beds are queens with an option of two singles, and the four rooms with a loggia have a dual heating and air conditioning unit.

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The continental breakfast – a copious buffet mind you – is served from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. either in a dining room or on a large terrace which faces the Calavon valley.

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Gordes is a movie set where everyone is hitting his or her marks (all in the proper places). Yes, it may be the quintessential Luberon version of mass market tourism, but the blast of adrenaline and excitement makes you feel vibrant and alive in an amusement park thrill ride sort of way.

And Gordes is one of the very few places in the Luberon where you take a table at a café, gaze at the beautifully laid out scenery, which looks just like a glossy brochure, and revel in the guilty pleasures of people watching – those upscale couples who are “être à l’abri du besoin” (free of money worries).

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At night, even in high seasons, the streets empty out, and the passive Château glistens against a cobalt blue sky.

The weekly market offering fresh produce and other locally-produced Provencal products takes place every Tuesday morning in the main square.

For casual dining and good wines, check out the Casa Rosario  a few yards north of the main square on the route de Murs, and the wine bar L’Estimanet on the main square.

Basics:

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L’Asphodèle, Lieu-dit Fontanille, Route de Murs, 84220 Gordes, Contact: Thierry Tarquis and Christophe Noguès, Tel : 04 90 72 01 30, Website

Directions: From the main square in Gordes where there is a roundabout, take the road up the hill opposite the Château – D15, the route de Murs. One mile up the slope take the second road on the left after the sign leaving Gordes. Follow the signs for about two-fifths of a mile to the L’Asphodèle. Note: Recommended to not use your GPS once you find yourself in Gordes.

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Mazan: Auberge du Vin (au lieu d’un Gite)

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From the large pool of the Auberge du Vin, you gaze out at an ocean of vineyards which seem to flow up to the slopes of the Mont Ventoux in the distance.

What guests treasure about the Auberge is its peaceful isolation: no neighbors, except the vines mind you, no traffic, and no obstructions to the mesmerizing views.

The Auberge is a French farmhouse converted into a bed and breakfast where wine courses ranging from half-day to three day sessions are conducted periodically throughout the year.

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Open all year, you can book accommodations at the Auberge without enrolling in any wine course, and the property, which also has two self-contained cottages, has hosted numerous weddings and their guests.

Located in Mazan, 16 miles northeast of Avignon, the Auberge du Vin is the home of Linda Field and Christopher Hunt. Linda is a WSET-qualified wine teacher who has taught wine courses and judged wine competitions in London before resettling in the Vaucluse.

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Bed and Breakfast guests staying at the Auberge tap into Linda’s wine knowledge of the region and her advice on visits to local wineries in the Ventoux, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueryas, and to the picturesque villages and charming restaurants in the region, including Avignon and the Luberon.

 

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In the farmhouse, there are four Master Bedrooms consisting of a hall, bedroom with options of king, queen and double single beds, and modern en-suite bathrooms with shower-room and toilet. One bathroom has a bath.

Guest can rent a self-contained cottage on a weekly basis which has two double bedrooms, shower-room and toilet upstairs, and downstairs a lounge, kitchen and bathroom.

 

Basics

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Auberge du Vin, 384 Chemin de la Peryrière, 84380, Mazan, Tel: 04-90-61-62-84, Email: info@aubergeduvin.com, Website

Provencal Breakfast served in courtyard or enclosed dining area

Wine Course Information on Website or here

 

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Saint-Rémy-De-Provence: Le Mas des Tourterelles (au lieu d’un Gite)

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If the animated buzz and bourgeois mien in the cafes and restaurants of St.-Rémy-de-Provence appear to mimic the frenetic energy of Paris, consider that St-Remy is a favored summer hangout of the Parisian smart set (French who say “je suis confu” instead of “je m’excuse.”) – a twenty-minute hop off the TGV at Avignon after an Express of 2 hours 54 minutes from the Gare de Lyon.

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The unique allure of St.-Rémy-de-Provence with its boutiques, galleries, museums – including the one of  Van Gogh –  is town-and-country sans the gauzy ring of suburbs: two minutes beyond the chic lies expansive Provencal countryside with awesome vistas of the Alpilles.

Where better to capture the dual essence of a stay in St.-Rémy-de-Provence than at Le Mas des Tourterelles, a thoroughy elegant Provencal farmhouse within a few minutes walk from the town center where you take déjeuner or diner, or an apero, at your leisure.

 

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Backstory: Nine years ago from Dartmoor, England came calling to St.-Rémy-de-Provence Carrie and Richard Ahern, who set about to makeover a farmhouse and barn into a classy bed & breakfast, sequestered within a private and beautifully landscaped property with a pool.

In the farmhouse, there are four Provencal-decorated rooms – all doubles, two upstairs, one with views, and the two downstairs doubles may be connected.

Upstairs in the old barn with a private entrance is a large apartment with a full kitchen and dining area for six, a salon and large bedroom. A private terrace looks out over the pool with a view of the Alpilles.

There is WiFi and parking, and guests tout the tasty continental breakfast and the over-the-top hospitality. A plus: their website is totally pro with ample pictures and descriptions.

Basics:

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Le Mas des Tourterelles, 21 Chemin de la Combette, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tel 04-32-60-19-93, Email: richard.ahern@sfr.fr, Website

Book early.

St-Rémy-de-Provence: Tourist Website

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Lacoste: Domaine de Layaude Basse (au lieu d’un Gite)

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“La Coste is a château that looks like a fortress, without the slightest regularity. The approaches are quite steep and unpleasant because of the rockslides and the height of the mountain. There is no shelter anywhere near the château, a defect from which Provence in general suffers, there being no patches of wood and very few virgin forests of white oak, the oak of France.

M de Montreuil, the father-in-law of Sade, 1772

In the heart of the Luberon just outside the village of Lacoste, the bed and breakfast Domaine de Layaude Basse lies under the gaze of the Château of the Marquis de Sade, totally renovated by Pierre Cardin. The upper floors and the grounds of the Château are open to visitors in the summer.

From an immense terrace and a large swimming pool, guests have a panoramic view of the Luberon and Mont Ventoux, taking in the villages of Goult and Bonnieux.

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You can roam through a shaded verdant garden and thirty acres of land that make up the Domaine, and greet a few of the friendly mules which your host Olivier Mazel raises.

Within the large renovated farm house, there are five rooms accessed through a private entrance. The stone-walled room on the ground floor has a door opening to the courtyard.

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The other rooms on the first and second floors have a contemporary white-dominated décor with king size beds.  A few rooms have a mezzanine for an additional bed.

All rooms have private bathrooms with showers and are air-conditioned. Children of age six and older are accepted.

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In the village of Lacoste, there are two cafés: the Café de Sade and the Café de France. The farmers market is on Tuesday morning. The village serves as the French campus for the Savannah College of Art and Design, which adds a dimension of youthful energy to the village.

In July, Pierre Cardin hosts the Lacoste Festival of music, opera, dance and theater.

Basics:

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Domaine de Layaude Basse, Chemin de St-Jean 84480 Lacoste, Contact: Lydia & Olivier Mazel, Tél : 04.90.75.90.06, Email: domainedelayaude@wanadoo.fr, Website

Directions: East on D900 towards Apt, after Lumières, take D106 to Lacoste across a small bridge over the Calavon. 1KM before Lacoste, left onto D108 to the Chemin de St-Jean, the Domaine is on your left. Coming from Apt on D900, take D108 all the way to the Chemin St-Jean and the Domaine.

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Nos Petites Opinions: New York Times Flops “Little Black Dress” Saga of Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany”

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Audrey Hepburn in the Opening Shot of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in LBD Made by Edith Head

In lurching through the world of fashion one is visited with the vague fatigue of brand hysteria, and to be mildly distrustful of it.

In the August 5 edition of the New York Times, the paper’s rapporteur of style and fashion Suzy Menkes detailed the “Little Black Dress” (LBD) exhibition at the Mona Bismarck American Center in Paris, writing in the second graph these winsomely innocent words:

“…..the dress did make it to America, perhaps most notably as Audrey Hepburn’s costume in the 1961 movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” But that dress was, of course, made by the Paris couturier Hubert de Givenchy.”

Of course not, Suzy; it’s a brittle illusion that Hubert de Givenchy made the dress pictured above. In research  for our July 1 post on the exhibit, PVB dug up le petit récit of the black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn.

In fact, Hubert de Givenchy did design a LBD for the opening shot, but the dress was deemed too risqué – it showed too much leg. The dress was used neither in the film nor as a model for the celebrated film poster.

Fact: The LBD worn by Audrey Hepburn was created and made by Edith Head. Grand merci Edith.

Note: The “Little Black Dress exhibition is organized by the Savannah College of Art & Design Museum of Art, and curated by Vogue Contributing Editor and Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) Trustee André Leon Talley. Its runs until Sept 22.

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St. Rémy de Provence: Compositions as Body Art by Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi at the Outrageously Trendy Mas de l’Amarine

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A virtuoso of raw force, the composer Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi has a quick hand – one with great élan for applying musical scores to the bare skins of those willing to model the music which he composed for an evening of dining at the Mas de l’Amarine in St. Rémy de Provence under the aegis of the Festival a-part.

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Upon decorating nubile women and sinewy men with notes and cords, Mr. Baboni-Schilingi explained that sections – electronically programmed –  would be brusque and rude during the serving of the entrées, followed by melodic and dramatic sections during the plat principal. His comments invoked a curious reflection of what wines to marry with the music ( a neighboring table went with a Château Barbanau Côtes de Provence rosé, whereas PVB’s table opted for a young Ventoux red from Domaine Fondreche, La Nature.)

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On Thursday evenings in the summer, the Mas de l’Amarine features jazz soirées toned up by a poolside champagne bar and a “grignotage” –  small plates and deserts prepared by a pop-up kitchen and a well-studied wine list.

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A precocious and protean talent, Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi’s bibliography already takes on textbook proportions. He was virtually born into music, starting piano studies at the age of 6, and began composing at the same age. At the age of 14, he won his first prize of composition, and graduated in contemporary music composition from Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano. In 2010 he obtained a a doctorate in musicology at the Ecole de Hautes Etudes.

He has realized installations with artists Arman and the Miguel Chevalier and he conceived the show/installation Hemera, in collaboration with light artist A. Poumarat. He is at work with the artists Christophe Bergon and Elias Crespin. Since 1999, he holds a class in composition of the Montbéliard Conservatory of Music and lectures in the Department of Contemporary Musicology Paris IV-Sorbonne.

Contact: Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, jbs@baboni-schilingi.com, Website

Also showing at the Mas de l’Amarine in the Festival a-apart:

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Natalie Luder: Natalie Luder, a Dutch conceptual artist who creates objects of all forms and shapes, with a broad range of colors and tastes, at times humorous, especially food. Website
ACBE (Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard) A French photographer, ASCB explores the human condition by constructing models herself, one such techinique is replacing human faces with those of fish. Website

Mas de l’Amarine

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Each deeply peripatetic by nature, the ebullient couple Alice Monnier & Bernard Coloma set out in 2011 to commingle art, design, luxury and cuisine into a high toned concept called  Mas de l’Amarine.

Alice is out of Lausanne Hotel School, then stops in Morocco, Swtizerland and Corsica with a yen for art deco and designer furniture. Chef Bernard’s journey began at the Eden Roc Hotel in St. Bart’s, then onto St. Tropez and the Baléares.

What the Mas de l’Amarine offers is a promise – like the one kids get hooked on when entering an amusement park – that here there is never any chance of feeling discomfort, hunger nor ennui.

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Everything about the aesthetically-cool Mas de l’Amarine has an unreal and a retouched almost perfect prettiness – it is really hard to find the right words to describe the feeling of its verdant park, polished modish décor and culinary delights except to say that it envelops you with a picture-book fantasy of unalloyed pleasure.

Ancienne voie Aurélia, 13210 St Rémy de Provence, Tel: 04. 90.94.47.82, Email: contact@mas-amarine.com, Website

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Ménerbes: A “Pianocktail” With the Mellifluous Voice of Margeaux Lampley, Once of Oakland, California

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Margeaux Lampley Chirping Out the Lyrics Below with Racey Gilbert on Drums (r.)

“I should hate you
But I guess I love you
You’ve got me in between
The devil and the deep blue sea”

 

For jazz enthusiasts in France comes calling the melancholy reflection that there is a diminishing number of  “boites” to take in the classic standards.

So what high excitement to hear – piecing the slanted rays of crepuscule which bleed the azure Provencal sky of its pigments – the unavoidably sentimental strains of Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver and other great composers of jazz.

On Saturday, August 10, the setting is a Jazz – Apéro at the Maison de la Truffe and du Vin in Ménerbes, or a Pianocktail, the portmanteau word (mot-valise) invented by Boris Vian in his novel L’Ecume des Jours. Vian came to mind this evening as he extolled only two love objects in life – les jollies filles and the jazz of New Orleans and Duke Ellington – and these two inspirations were incarnated in the single personage of the American chanteuse Margeaux Lampley, whose delicious voice waxed lyrically, accompanied by Jazz Apéro, a five-member group playing its third season of standards in Ménerbes.

Margeaux got a jones for gospel, jazz and soul when passing her formative years in Oakland, California – in the Bay Area where music is absorbed deeply as if by incantation.

She then leaned in on a legal career by picking up a law degree from Columbia University, before giving into her grande passion for music – un retour aux sources. Margeaux seeded her new dreams in a bohemian Paris, taking up jazz at the CIM music school and the Studio des Variétés.

With a métier in full bloom as a singer-songwriter whose compositions sway under the gravitational pull of jazz, pop, soul and latin music, Margeaux performs frequently in Paris and has dropped two albums.

In the Luberon, she is taking on a new adventure with her family with the recent purchase of a house and vineyard. Will a silhouette of Miles Davis grace a new wine label?

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The group Jazz-Apero is organized by Racey Gilbert, of Westport, Connecticut, and the Luberon. The group plays a series of six “pianocktails” from April to September in the garden of the Maison de la Truffe and du Vin in Ménerbes. The final performance is on Saturday, September 28, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Basics:

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Margeaux Lampley: Website

Jazz-Apero Band: Organized by Racey Gilbert, Percussion, with Philippe Perathoner, Piano; Pierre Fayole, Bass; René Fortuné, Saxaphone, and Olivier Migniot, Trumpet, Website

The final Jazz-Apero of the season on Saturday, September 28, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Maison de la Truffe et du Vin; 20€ entrance includes two glasses of wine; Children under 15 at half-price, under 10 free; Reservations: 04 90 72 38 37

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Maison de la Truffe et du Vin: Getting around the Luberon appellation for tastings at the far flung wineries can eat up days as well as petrol. On the lower floor you can taste Luberon wines from about 50 vineyards;  the wine shop sells bottles at the same price as you would pay at the winery. The ‘Maison” also has a shop on the main floor offering olive oil and delicacies of the region. Lunch and dinner (two nights a week) are served in the sculpture garden. The Wine Bar / Restaurant and Wine Shop are open daily from 12:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Monday and Thursday evenings. Place de l’horloge, 84560 Ménerbes, Tél 04 90 72 38 37 Website

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Vaucluse: Michelin Star Restaurants With Their Wine Lists Online. Only 5 Out of 16. Southern Rhone Reds to Quaff This Summer

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For those who invest extraordinary emotions into wine, the selection of a bottle(s) at a Michelin star establishment can provoke anxiety mixed with pleasure, the reason why for wine enthusiasts the carte des vins gets a first look before the dinner menu.

A glance at wine bottles cradled on nearby tables invokes a covetous and almost prurient envy. Placing your order, the pleasure forms initially in the anticipation; some childlike brain part is reawakened as if by instinct at first sight of the uncorked bottle and you re-experience an instantaneous joy like the first time your lips touched a chocolate ice cream cone.

For those determined to avoid the stare of a sommelier and the feeling of being ‘on the clock’ to make a selection, there is the meditative remedy of inspecting wine lists online before arrival. (A more aggravating habit is to consult wine guides on a smart phone at your table).

What a disappointment then to discover so few Michelin star restaurants in the Vaucluse that allow a pre-screening of their carte des vins online – only 5 out of 16. Incroyable!

Viewing wine lists online would have avoided mild surprises at various Vaucluse Michelin star restaurants, such as: Discovering that a local wine was no longer available as a new sommelier judged it “foutu”; a flummoxed staff unable to inform guests which local reds were Syrah-dominate; the abject absence of AOC Ventoux reds on the wine list; the over-stocking of Alsatian wines, the passion of a sommelier recently made redundant.

A shout out to these establishments with their cave des vins online:

Restaurant Le Saule Pleureur: Chef Laurent Azoulay, 145, Chemin de Beauregard – 84170 Monteux, Tél. 04 90 62 01 35, (photo above) Closed Monday and Tuesday. Website

Superb selection of Southern Rhones includes many good bottles for under 50€ such as AOC Ventoux, Domaine de Fondrèche, “Persia” 2009 at 38 €. Splurge: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château La Nerthe, Cuvée des Cadettes, 2005, 144 €

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 Le Vivier: 800 Cours Fernande Peyre, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Tel 04 90 38 52 80, Website

Patrick and Céline Fischnaller have great passion for wine; their cave is rich with pleasure. Vindemio Amadeua by Jean Marot, 2006 at 50€. Splurge: Laurent Tardieu, 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes at 96€. New arrival is a 2011 CDR Rasteau of George Perrot dubbed “hedonistic and medium to full-bodied” by the Wine Advocate.

Auberge La Fenière Route de Lourmarin, 84160 Cadenet, Tél. 04 90 68 11 79, Website

Reine and Guy Sammut are your hosts at this elegant hotel restaurant near Lourmarin. AOC Luberon Château La Verrerie Grand Deffand 2009 at 60€; Splurge: Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château Gigognan Cardinalice 2005 at 130€.

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La Petite Maison: Place Etang, 84160 Cucuron, Tel 04 90 68 21 99, Email: info@lapetitemaisondecucuron.com, Website

The ebullient chef Eric Sapet has mastered the art of marrying fine cuisine with great wines. A 2011 rosé from AOC Côtes de Provence Domaine Miraval at 30€ (yes, the precursor to the overpriced 2012 rosé in the ostentatious bottle of Joile / Pitt); AOC Luberon Bastide du Claux 2010 Malacare at 30€; AOC Gigondas, Santa Roc 2009 at 60€.

Le Moulin à Huile: Quai Maréchal-Foch, Route de Malaucène, 84110 Vaison-la-Romaine – Tél. 04 90 36 20 67, Website

Esteemed chef is Robert Bardot. Note: No prices indicated. Côtes du Rhône 2010 Domaine Trapadis (Bio), Splurge: 2005 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe – Vignobles Brunier

 

Southern Rhone Reds to Quaff: Hold off on 2010 Châteauneuf du Pape

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A stupendous vintage in 2010 in the Southern Rhone yielded great vintages at the top properties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, such as the 2010 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape that had Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate in a delirious state, saying that it “is one of the all-time great Vieux Telegraphes I have tasted in the last 3+ decades…incredible concentration.. Forget it for 3-4 years, and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

So what was Parker colleague Jed Dunnuck thinking when he popped into the Mistral Kitchen for a hearty repast and cracked open the 2010 Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, informing readers in a minatory tone in the Hedonist Gazette of the Wine Advocate that the bottle had not closed down (not yet so he says, but risky business to open).
Closing down denotes a period when a rich superb wine loses its sharpness and fragrance a year to 18 months after bottling, and requires several years – depending upon the vintage – to regain its full potential.
It is disquieting to think that no other purpose was served except the drinker’s vanity in not leaving this bottle in the cellar where it could achieve its full potential. A 2007 Vieux Télégraphe would have been a good choice. Curious that the 2010 is not listed on the Mistral Kitchen’s wine list. Could have the establishment pulled the bottle out of storage just to suck up to their fringe wine celeb guest? Whatever, when in the Rhone this summer, take a pass on the 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Papes produced by the appellation’s great estates.

For quaffing red wine this summer at an upscale restaurant, balance price with quality by perusing the wine list for the following vintages:

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Châteauneuf du Pape: 2005, 2006, 2007

Gigondas: 2006, 2007, 2009

Vacqueryas: 2007, 2009, 2010

Cotes du Rhône Villages: 2007 and 2009 (favor Cairanne and Rasteau)

Côtes du Rhône, AOC Ventoux, AOC Luberon: 2009, 2010

 

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