This week, finally, we got to visit Delaire
The occasion was a dinner to showcase the wines of Domaines Ott – three estates in Provence, in the south of France. We were welcomed by a glass (or two for some!) of Louis Roederer champagne (Domaines Ott is part of the Louis Roederer Group), and we were served salmon and oyster canapés on the terrace while we all got to know each other or caught up with old friends. As you see from the photo above, the Estate has, possibly, the best view of any wine farm in the area; watching the light on the valley and mountains change as the sun set was a magnificent sight
Ushered into the elegant and spacious restaurant, which can seat up to 120, we began with Clos Mirelle Blanc de Blanc 2010 (AOC Côte de Provence) made not from Chardonnay, but from Semillon and Rolle, introduced by Christophe Renard, Domaines Ott export sales director.
Tasting just like lean champagne sans bubbles, this very elegant wine could not have come from any other country but France. White peaches, slightly salty, crisp, cool and delicious with a faint herb ending, it went perfectly with the first course, Ceviche of Farmed Cob with poached pear, hazelnut, honey blossom. There was a quite sweet foam on the Ceviche; the wine coped very well with it and really showcased the fish, as did the scattering of caramelised nuts which added great texture to a soft dish and complimented the wine – all in all, a very successful dish
The next course was Roasted Chicken with lobster bisque, West Coast mussels, hints of orange
and served with Domaines Ott Chateau de Selle Rosé 2010 (also AOC Provence)
This is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and, very unusually for Provence, Cabernet Sauvignon
The chicken was, we suspect, cooked sous vide and was incredibly tender and moist. Who would have thought that lobster bisque would go with chicken? It really was amazing. We were not so entranced by the nearly cooked mussels or the stringy spring onion/leek but the dish was a lovely match to the pale “eye of partridge”/onion skin rosé, which tasted of fresh, fruity, spritzy rhubarb with a spicy end rather like ginger ale.
The main course of Roast Duck, beef shin, smoked marrow fritters, plum and blue berries was rather overwhelming in its rich meatiness and cried out for some other ingredient on the plate
One of the fruit sauces, possibly the plum, was a little savage towards the wine, the Domaines Ott Bandol Rouge 2007 (AOC Bandol) which is a blend chiefly of Mourvèdre with some Grenache, Syrah and Sauvignon
It began with rich full fruit tastes and aromas of cassis, cherries and other berries. The wine had a sweet and sour character with black pepper notes and capsicum on the end and did age quite a lot in the glass
With the dessert of Compressed Chocolate Brownie, hazelnut praline, white chocolate sorbet and chocolate air, we were served the smooth fruity and nutty Delaire Port, a perfect match for chocolate. A wonderful plate of delights to end a super meal
The restaurant has beautiful faceted windows all along one side which give a view of the barrel cellar
and picture windows looking over the Banhoek valley on the other
All the wines are available from Reciprocal Wine Trading and the Port from Delaire
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