here are some photos, and Craig will try to fix his Domaine Tempier post so the pictures come back...
Italy...
http://picasaweb.google.com/craigt55/CraigAndAmyInItalyAndDomaineTempier#
France...
http://picasaweb.google.com/craigt55/DomaineTempier#
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Un Sejour a Domaine Tempier
Back in the 1990s, Domaine Tempier was an annual pilgrimage during our trips to France. I became good friends with winemaker Jean-Marie Peyraud and his wife, Catherine. But it's been 14 years since my last visit. It is funny that when you go back to visit friends after so long, it feels like you really haven't been away a long time at all.
Jean-Marie and Catherine are fantastic hosts. They live in a place called Cancebeu, some land on top of a knoll that Catherine's family bought back in the 1960s. From here you have a 180 degree view of the Mediterranean, from Sanary sur Mer over to La Ciotat. Around their house are Mediterranean pine trees, oaks and olive trees that they have planted. It is an amazing place.
Jean Marie met us at the train station at Toulon after a very long ride up from the Cinque Terre. After showing us around and having a short rest, Catherine cooked us a lovely meal of moussaka and a vegetable casserole. This was washed down with their delicious 2008 rose (Domaine Tempier makes one of the best anywhere) and a 2007 Cuvee Classique red. According to Jean Marie, 2007 is a great year, one of the best in a long time. And to top the meal off, in the French tradition, we had a plateau de fromage. This consisted of many different cheeses...cow, goat and sheep.
The next morning we went to a local market in Sanary sur Mer. These French markets are wonderful; farmers from all over the region sell their produce here. Just the colors are enough to satisfy, but along with that were the smells, the tastes, the sounds and of course the sight, right on the port of this lovely little sea village.
For lunch, we started out with a plate of oysters from the Ile de Re that Catherine got at the market. This was washed down with the Domaine Tempier 2008 white, a wine they make in small quantities and I don't think it is imported here. Following this was a wonderful tuna...tuna steaks cooked in the oven with onions and spices. With this dish we drank a bottle of the 2006 Tempier Classique and a bottle of 2004 Gros Nore Bandol. Wow! And of course more cheese.
In the late afternoon Amy learned how to play petanque. This is is the game you see played all over France, but especially here in the Midi. It is played with metal balls and is similiar to the Italian game of bacci. During our little game, Jean Marie and Catherine's daughter, Valerie, showed up with her husband, Olivier, and their three kids. The last time I saw Valerie and Olivier was for a party right before their wedding and now they have three very nice children. So of course everyone stayed for dinner and the food was great and the wine went down easily.
On Sunday, Jean Marie and Catherine had some things they had to do, wo Amy and I took the short train ride over to the seaside village of Cassis. I had stayed here a few times in the past and had always love it. It is one of those picture postcard little towns with fishing boats and cafes on the port. But since it was Sunday, half the town of Marseille was here!!! Wow, what a crowd! So Amy and I walked over to Port Mieux, a kilometer or so west of town. Here you have the 'calanques' which are deep gorges that form narrow bays. Back in Cassis for lunch, we had a very nice meal...soup do poissons, moules a la provencale (stuffed, grilled mussels), grilled dorade fish, pintade (kind of a guinea hen), a cheese plate and a mousse au chocolate.
So lets just say that we ate and drank very well over the couple of days that we were with the Peyrauds. On Monday, Jean Marie took us to the Domaine to taste the wines that are still in the barrels, the very new 2009s and the 2008s. Domaine Tempier is in the small town of Le Plan de Castellet. It was started in the 1800s but became a great winery in the last 50 years or so thanks to the dedication of Mr. Lucien Peyraud, who took it from a winery producing table wine to one of the world's great wineries. Lucien passed the work of the winery onto his sons, Jean Marie and Francois in the 1970s and now the wine maker is Daniel Ravier. About 40% of the production is exported to the USA by Kermit Lynch, in Berkeley.
Anyway, Jean Marie took us to the cellar and we tasted many of the different cuvees right out of the barrel. Here, the barrels are called foudres and they are giant oak casks, some new, some old. The red wine ages in these for about 20 months before being bottled in four different cuvees...Cuvee Classique, La Tourtine, La Migoua and Le Cabasseau. The last three are distinct vinyards that are around the area.
After tasting these wines we had a nice drink with Jean Marie's mom, Lulu Peyraud. Lulu is really a great lady. She is one of the people who inspired Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and is therefor partly responsible for a lot of the good food we eat today. It was great seeing Lulu again and talking with her after so many years. She is 92 now, but is so full of energy and vitality you would never know it.
When we got back to Cancebeu for lunch, Catherine had made us one of the most amazing lamb dishes I ever had. Pretty simple...lamb shoulder covered with herbs and olive oil roasted in the oven. Roasted with the lamb were new potatoes, cut in half and the cut half put on the pan, so the olive oil cooked right in. Wow. With this we had a 2001 La Migoua. After coffee, Jean Marie got out the Marc de Provence, which is similear to a grappa and is quite strong.
So thanks to Jean Marie and Catherine, we ended our Italian/French journey on a really high note. We are home now after the very, very long plane ride back and have many wonderful memories that will last forever. Thanks to all the folks that we met along the way who made this such a great trip.
Monday, October 5, 2009
the strongest wines
today reeling from a little taste of 2001 La Migoua f/b a Marc which is a domaine tempier reinforced aquavit style .... after roast lamb roast potato lunch after signature salad... after visiting the Domaine and having a little taste of wine with Lulu who is fascinating and charis,atiaue::::
Saturday, October 3, 2009
from italie to france
today is saturday I think and I can barely type as this is quite a different keyboard and I just drank Domaine Tempier 2008 white followed by a non Domaine Tempier but very tasty Bandol red wine with a very delightful lunch in the company of Craigs old friends from 1985 to 1995, last visit, Catherine and JeanMarie Peyraud and Catherines mother who is about 96 but does not miss a beat. They are retired from helping to run their family vineyard Domaine Tempier with their father and brother, nowadays spending more time on a great hilltop above Bandol France overlooking a lot of the coast.
I would like to write just a little more about the Cinque Terre because our 3rd day there was very special. For our daily hike we started by going by train back to RioMaggiore which was very very appealing early in the day, we sat on the breakwater watching fishermen load lines and early morning vegetable shopping, then quickly strolled along the coast to Manarola which is our favorite town to eat in. From there we took a shuttle bus up to a little town very untouristified and pleasant with 4 foot wide lanes and pleasant locals. Trail 6d goes north from there on a long traverse climbing slightly up the grape terraces. The terraces are so steep the ocean glimmers so far below it is magical not too scary. We passed a man pruning his vines way below us, with his red swiss pruning shears just like mine. The first third of the trail was all very high vineyards, the trail usually about half meter wide on the edge of a very old sandstone shale dry wall usually dropping off about a meter and a half. finally we skirted some old stone farmhouses stuccoed red and yellow and rose into some chestnut and pine wood canyons; still our destination town was far far below us. last the trail came down a steep but stone paved trail through old olive groves. Getting safely to town in Corniglia we had some red wine with pesto and Im no longer sure what; I know later that day at La Torre restaurant way above vernazza we had pesto lasagne, mussels in a seafood pasta and anchovies cooked with tomatoes and potatoes.
Anyway that night we said goodbye to nona Elia and the other delightful residents of Vernazza and most of the tourists because after that day thursday we have hardly seen any non europeans. from early morning friday til late afternoon we hopped from one italian train to another up to the border Vermiglia where we all had to make a run for the waiting French train. Quelle difference; immediately life became smoother, the trains had snack carts, everyone spoke soothing french and no longer interrupted each other; we did see one young kid get caught by the french train police for having incorrect train ticket stamps which was kinda interesting but he looked pretty sheepish not ruffianlike. The coastline immediately became entrancing as soon as we crossed from the gray sand italian riviera; the french riviera has handsome rocks, bays, coves, white sand and stunning mountains and hills behind
the place we are staying now is way high on the crest of a hill, a home that is designed somewhat star shaped in a really nice synthesis of provence farmhouse plus modern floor to ceiling windows; cool tile floors, really nice travel mementoes to enjoy on the walls but the real pleasure besides our hosts is the views; on 3 sides the hillside drops down to show not too distant bays and hills and some very special white stone topped peaks and some of the large white headlands above the calanque bays to the west of here towards Marseille. Today we went to the fish and vegetable market in the town just east of bandol before toulon; now after seeing the very lovely displays of the fresh lettuces tomatoes crownshaped artichokes endives and green beans qnd other vegetables; the carefully coiled sausages and other charcuterie and the sparkling array of fish I kindof understand what propelled the californians who studied provencal cooking to start our farmers markets up, Our hosts bought an enormous fresh caught tuna portion and oysters driven overnight from Isle de Re; and we had oysters homemqde bread a zingy salad and tuna with sweet onions and herbs: the tuna has distinctly different belly and steak tastes: the wine and then coffee was perfect: time to nap
but not till I recall for dinner last night the moussaka and the chard stems sauteed with herbs with domaine te,pier 2008 rosee and 2007 classique red just bottled this summer........
I would like to write just a little more about the Cinque Terre because our 3rd day there was very special. For our daily hike we started by going by train back to RioMaggiore which was very very appealing early in the day, we sat on the breakwater watching fishermen load lines and early morning vegetable shopping, then quickly strolled along the coast to Manarola which is our favorite town to eat in. From there we took a shuttle bus up to a little town very untouristified and pleasant with 4 foot wide lanes and pleasant locals. Trail 6d goes north from there on a long traverse climbing slightly up the grape terraces. The terraces are so steep the ocean glimmers so far below it is magical not too scary. We passed a man pruning his vines way below us, with his red swiss pruning shears just like mine. The first third of the trail was all very high vineyards, the trail usually about half meter wide on the edge of a very old sandstone shale dry wall usually dropping off about a meter and a half. finally we skirted some old stone farmhouses stuccoed red and yellow and rose into some chestnut and pine wood canyons; still our destination town was far far below us. last the trail came down a steep but stone paved trail through old olive groves. Getting safely to town in Corniglia we had some red wine with pesto and Im no longer sure what; I know later that day at La Torre restaurant way above vernazza we had pesto lasagne, mussels in a seafood pasta and anchovies cooked with tomatoes and potatoes.
Anyway that night we said goodbye to nona Elia and the other delightful residents of Vernazza and most of the tourists because after that day thursday we have hardly seen any non europeans. from early morning friday til late afternoon we hopped from one italian train to another up to the border Vermiglia where we all had to make a run for the waiting French train. Quelle difference; immediately life became smoother, the trains had snack carts, everyone spoke soothing french and no longer interrupted each other; we did see one young kid get caught by the french train police for having incorrect train ticket stamps which was kinda interesting but he looked pretty sheepish not ruffianlike. The coastline immediately became entrancing as soon as we crossed from the gray sand italian riviera; the french riviera has handsome rocks, bays, coves, white sand and stunning mountains and hills behind
the place we are staying now is way high on the crest of a hill, a home that is designed somewhat star shaped in a really nice synthesis of provence farmhouse plus modern floor to ceiling windows; cool tile floors, really nice travel mementoes to enjoy on the walls but the real pleasure besides our hosts is the views; on 3 sides the hillside drops down to show not too distant bays and hills and some very special white stone topped peaks and some of the large white headlands above the calanque bays to the west of here towards Marseille. Today we went to the fish and vegetable market in the town just east of bandol before toulon; now after seeing the very lovely displays of the fresh lettuces tomatoes crownshaped artichokes endives and green beans qnd other vegetables; the carefully coiled sausages and other charcuterie and the sparkling array of fish I kindof understand what propelled the californians who studied provencal cooking to start our farmers markets up, Our hosts bought an enormous fresh caught tuna portion and oysters driven overnight from Isle de Re; and we had oysters homemqde bread a zingy salad and tuna with sweet onions and herbs: the tuna has distinctly different belly and steak tastes: the wine and then coffee was perfect: time to nap
but not till I recall for dinner last night the moussaka and the chard stems sauteed with herbs with domaine te,pier 2008 rosee and 2007 classique red just bottled this summer........
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