Besançon

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stefan
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Besançon

Post by stefan »

(Long, boring, and not much wine talk.)

In France I have been busy with an Autumn school, a conference, and a workshop, but Lucie and I have managed to have some fun. Metabief, a winter resort, is rather boring in the off season, but Besançon was a revelation for us. It is a very pretty place with a city population of around 125K and metropolitan population that is almost twice that. In some ways it is a smaller version of Paris, with a river lined with attractive structures going through the center and excellent public transportation via busses and a brand new tram. The restaurants are moderately priced and good without being fancy. Unlike Paris, the air is clean, the natives are friendly, and you don’t have to watch your step to avoid dog poop. Lucie and I were sorry that we had booked travel to Paris on Saturday rather than Sunday.

I said that the natives of Besancon are friendly, but this is a monumental understatement. Everywhere you find people who go out of their way to be helpful. For example, after visiting the Citadel (the main tourist attraction in Besancon; it is not to be missed) Lucie and I went to the Citadel bus stop. A few minutes later a Ginko van (Ginko is the name of the bus company) pulled up and told us that the bus could not make it up the narrow road to the Citadel because of illegally parked cars. I asked what we should do and was told that we have to walk down the hill. That is not far, but I told the man that Lucie had a broken toe. After conferring with the driver he said, “are you staying in the center? We can drive you to your hotel.” In Paris we would have gotten a shrug of the shoulders, or, more likely, no one would have come to tell us that the bus was not running.

Friendly item #2: We managed to get a booking for Wednesday lunch at Vin et L’Assiette. This is a tiny restaurant on the second floor over a wine shop that has the same owner, Bernard Leroy (good name for a wine geek, yes?). Jan booked for noon after we had a miscommunication—the conference day on Wednesday lasted until 12:45. I called the owner after returning to our hotel at 1:15 to say that we could be there in 10 minutes. He said, “10 minutes; no more. We are not crowded and want to close.” Nevertheless, he gave us a friendly greeting when we arrived. We opted for the menu, which consisted of a properly prepared faux filet with a delicious sauce, a fantastic mousse au chocolat for me that had three different textures, and a great creme brulee laced with Jura Savagnin (which tastes a bit like a dry sherry) for Lucie. Bernard selects the wine after he hears the diners’ preferences. He gladly gave me an extra glass when I asked. We enjoyed some discussions about wines, and at the end of the meal Bernard invited us to come the next day at 11 to taste some wines in the store (which is really a cave). I said that I was in meetings until 3, so he suggested 5 and we agreed. Here is what Lucie wrote to one of our non BWE wine friends about our visit to Bernard’s the next afternoon:

“He has a wine store on street level and behind that is his own private cellar complete with curved limestone bricked ceilings and walls, all different kinds of wine storage (boxes stacked, racks, cut-out areas in the walls) all dust covered and smelling wonderful with a long table down the center aisle. He used to do wine dinners down there but he is our age and said he's too old to do that now running up and down two stories with food, etc. First he pulled out a white local wine from the Jura and then as we talked and he realized we love wine he would pull out one bottle after another saying things like "when I drank this two years ago it was completely closed but we'll see now. And then he would point to cases stacked of different vintages or different wine makers and seemed to know exactly where everything was without checking a list. An he did have cases!!! We sat there for three hours while various friends of his would drop in and have a glass and he would introduce us as "his Texans, Janet and William", and then kiss my hand. We have an invitation to dinner at his house the next time we're in Besancon and an offer of a house if we ever stay a longer time. We had to leave to walk to the conference dinner at 8pm. I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast as we've been eating so many good dinners you have to cut back somewhere but by the time we finally ate dinner, after all the wine in the last 4 hours, I was about ready to pass out from hunger.”

While we were tasting, Bernard was contacted by someone who wanted a to dine that night at Vin et L’Assiette. He put the call on hold and asked if we could stay for dinner as his guests. We declined because we had to go to the conference dinner [aside: We asked Bernard about the venue for the conference dinner; he said it was “clean”, which I interpreted as meaning “it will not make you sick”, but a French friend said that it meant that the food was proper but unexciting], which disappointed our new friend. He then grudgingly accepted the phoned in reservation.

As is often the case when wine people get together, the wine took a back seat to the camaraderie. Although I liked the wines I did not imprint them. The last wine Bernard served was a Bordeaux. I think it was a Lalande de Pomerol named Chateau Bel-Air-Marquis-something-or-other, maybe from 2005. What was unusual about this wine is that it is, according to Bernard, vinted in concrete. I vaguely recalled that Chateau Soutard is done that way, and I think Bernard confirmed this (his English is far superior to my French, but 3+ bottles of wine added considerable noise to the communication lines). Perhaps Alex will help out if he has had the stamina to get this far in the post. While fine for drinking now, both Bernard and I felt that the LdP is 5+ years from full maturity. The other wines were also interesting, but in different ways. The first was a Jura Chardonnay-Savagnin blend that tastes more food friendly than pure Savagnin. The second was a Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah-Grenache blend from the south of France. The Syrah was dominate, which Bernard said was a big change from six months ago. Bernard said that the wine should not be held for more than a couple of years while I guessed that in five years the mixture would come into balance. I think the wine has the structure to age. The third wine was a tasty ’08 Cote Rotie from a producer I did not know.
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dstgolf
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Re: Besançon

Post by dstgolf »

Stefan,

Great report bringing us back in time. We had a wonderful stay here about 15yrs back and like you we were sad to have to push on. Beautiful location with the old town stuck centered in a looping limb of the Doubs river that continues through to Burgundy with the Citadel dominating the town. They had a pretty good holocaust museum in the Citadel back then. Friendly people,good food and a little more civility than Paris. What a nice combination. Our first encounter with one of our favourite cheeses Comte was in Besancon and first Jura wine experienced here. Lots of good memories and sounds like you two ahve discovered a little gem in France....one of many.

Thanks for the report and keep us up to date with the rest of your travels and say hello to Tim for us when in Paris.
Danny
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Jay Winton
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Re: Besançon

Post by Jay Winton »

Great report!
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stefan
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Re: Besançon

Post by stefan »

Thanks, guys. The Citadel is really impressive and the holocaust museum is a must see even if it leaves you emotionally drained. "Little more civility than Paris" is a huge understatement even by Canadian standards. Comte is one of Lucie's favorite cheeses, and she indulged as much as she dared. I also like Comte, but my constitution prevents me from doing more than nibble.

We are having a great time in Paris now and look forward to meeting Tim for dinner on Friday and Saturday. A friend of Michael P. will join us on Friday and François might also (I guess he had a conflict that was not yet resolved when Tim left for Barcelona). Tim booked us at two places that allow him to bring in wine, so the wine we brought from Texas will be consumed before we leave France.
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DavidG
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Re: Besançon

Post by DavidG »

Fascinating read Stefan. This will go on our list of places to visit.
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Tom In DC
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Re: Besançon

Post by Tom In DC »

Terrific trip report, stefan - also filed away for our travel wish list.
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AlexR
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Re: Besançon

Post by AlexR »

Stefan,

I did read your post all the way through :-).
And thank you, of course, for sharing.

It relates the kinds of things that make me love France...

Anyway, you wrote " I think it was a Lalande de Pomerol named Chateau Bel-Air-Marquis-something-or-other, maybe from 2005"
I'm thinking that this was probably Château Bel Air Chevrol, a wine I like very much and featured on my blog www.bordeauxwineblog.com

Hoping the rest of your stay is just as enjoyable.

All the best,
Alex
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stefan
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Re: Besançon

Post by stefan »

Thanks, guys.

Alex, that can't be the wine as it is made in stainless steel vats according to your blog. I am pretty sure that Marquis is part of the name. I'll email Bernard to ask.
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Re: Besançon

Post by AlexR »

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stefan
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Re: Besançon

Post by stefan »

Thanks, Alex. Neither looks right. Bernard replied to my email but did not respond to my question about the wine, which was at the bottom of my message. I should have taken notes.
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dstgolf
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Re: Besançon

Post by dstgolf »

FYI: Re Comte Cheese from the Globe & Mail recently for those who are interested. Something that isn't clarifed but interesting to note in aged cheese like parmesna,gouda and comte the crunchy particles aren't harded cheese particles or salt crystals but TYROSINE crystals that give cheese a tectural effect that I love. If interested enjoy the piece to follow on comte cheese and just remeber green label highest level,brown so-so and lowest level(less than 12 points) only called French Gruyere when looking to buy.


French Comté is my ideal winter cheese. Produced in the mountainous Franche-Comte region (which borders Switzerland), it’s a tasty player in fondue or raclette, melts beautifully in any dish and also packs well with a hunk of salami for an afternoon of cross-country skiing.

I am so addicted to Comté that I would also pick it as my sole “desert island” food. I figure it would satisfy my cravings for a variety of flavours (caramel, salt, nuts, spice), textures (supple creaminess and addictive crunchy tyrosine crystals) and would pair very well with any fruit I may discover (my island is very lush). Each wheel shipped to my island (I’m assuming I’m there for life) would differ in flavour depending on the season’s milk, subtle differences in the cheese-makers’ methods and the age of the cheese. Comté is ripened a minimum of four months but often 18 months or beyond.

I would revel in the knowledge that I was consuming one of the world’s most fussed-over foods. (Before being sold, each wheel must past a 20-point grading system; anything scoring below 12 cannot be called Comté.) The milk comes mainly from the red-and-white Montbéliarde breed of local cows whose high protein milk is especially suited for cheese-making. By law, each cow is required to have 2.5 acres of personal grazing space.

Comté has its very own aroma wheel composed of 83 descriptors. A short list includes the scents of coffee, melted butter, wet hay and hard egg yolk. This complexity has much to do with the art of ripening the 45 kilogram Comté wheels. The affineurs (responsible for ripening) treat each cheese individually, moving them to cooler or warmer parts of the cave as they see fit. The cheeses sit on spruce shelves covered in microflora that aid in flavour development. The maturing wheels are then tapped with a tiny hammer (called a sonde) by the experienced affineurs who can tell from the sound variance within the cheese how the cheese is developing and if there are any unwanted holes or cracks.

If you’ve never had Comté, its bold flavours may stop you mid-conversation. Comté is widely available, you’ll probably find it at different ages. Don’t always opt for the oldest you can find, the younger cheeses have a more supple texture and milkier, tangy flavour that is also appealing. The highest grade wheels of Comté will have a green label (and may be called Comté Extra). A darker yellow paste indicates a cheese made from summer milk (cows grazing outdoors) and a paler cheese indicates winter milk.
Danny
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DavidG
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Re: Besançon

Post by DavidG »

Danny, you are making me hungry!
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