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
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.
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
The restaurant has beautiful faceted windows all along one side which give a view of the barrel cellar
All the wines are available from Reciprocal Wine Trading and the Port from Delaire