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I'm off to Bordeaux today for the highlight of this trip, and this is the reason I chose to stay next to
Gare de Montparnasse. I checked out early in the morning, rolled my suitcase downhill, and got inside the station looking for breakfast. My first choice was actually McDonald's, as I love to try local offerings everywhere I travel. But I didn't see anything interesting that was "French" on their menu, and that was a little strange.
I spotted a
Yann Couvreur Cafe and knew this would be my breakfast spot. It's a no-brainer. I got myself a couple of
viennoiseries and a
chocolat chaud.
Croissant - absolutely nothing to complain about here.
Kouign amann - very crunchy from the sugar coating. Love it.
I boarded my TGV headed for
Gare Bordeaux Saint-Jean, and the journey was uneventful except for a little cute doodle two seats away from me. Upon arrival in Bordeaux, I grabbed myself a taxi and headed north to my hotel.
La Maison d'Estournel has been opened for around 6 years after an extensive, 2-year renovation following its purchase by Michel Reybier, the current owner of Château Cos d'Estournel. It was previously known as Château Pomys and was the residence of Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel, the founder of the winery.
I've arrived just in time for lunch, so I sat at a table out on the terrace. It's a beautiful day outside, and it's pretty hot here with temperatures nearing 30°C. The kitchen here is overseen by Jérôme Banctel, the chef behind
Le Gabriel, which holds 3 Michelin stars and is located in
La Réserve in Paris - another piece of Michel Reybier's hospitality empire.
The amuse bouche was a
duo of salmon and tuna tartare, garden vegetables, passion fruit citrus gel.
The bread was pretty nice. It was nice to have some proper French bread.
Everything here is supplied by a business under Michel Reybier, including the olive oil. This had the bitterness and was pretty nice.
La langoustine : en carpaccio, radis et condiments du jardin - I do like the fruity flavors, but the ginger was a little unexpected. It actually worked well with the Cos d'Estournel Blanc.
Of course I had to put this on bread.
La lotte : en vapeur façon curry, avocat brulé, riz et coriandre - this was, for lack of a better description, fish curry. The curry sauce itself was fruity and sweet. The monkfish was moist and bouncy. Interestingly, the rice was seasoned with acidity and sweetness.
It was lunch so I took it easy with wine, ordering just a glass of white.
2017 Cos d'Estournel Blanc - nose of green apple, a little flint, a hint of pungent notes but not pipi de chat. Got the acidity on the palate, but also rounded.
I finished lunch reasonably quickly so I could go upstairs and get away from the big group of Kong girls (港女) loudly celebrating someone's birthday, and also the group of rich Russian businessmen's wives. I got myself a
Cos Room on the second floor, overlooking the gardens and the vineyards beyond.
I arranged for a tour and tasting at
Château Cos d'Estournel for the afternoon, and took one of the hotel's bicycles and rode the short distance over.
I had actually visited the chateau during the 2008
En Primeur campaign in early 2009, just after the installation of the gravity flow production line. So I didn't really need a tour of the facilities, but I figured I'd come back and take another look after all these years. Today happened to be the final day of harvests, and they were actually cleaning up.
It was finally time for our tasting, and the standard tour provided for the pouring of 3 wines:
2018 G d'Estournel - very minty, earthy, and pretty oaky. Very smoky, with ripe fruit and a little vanilla. Very approachable, and fairly soft for its age.
2015 Les Pagodes d'Estournel - the nose was bigger and more smoky, with more leather and savory notes, along with a hint of brett. Pretty supple on the palate.
2014 Cos d'Estournel - the nose was smoky with nice cedar notes. This was a leaner wine, much more concentrated, and the tannins are still here.
I got back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I also nibbled on the cookies and grapes that had been left in my room. Very nice...
I took things easy and had dinner at the hotel. Truth be told, there aren't a lot of places one can dine at once you're in the villages outside Bordeaux city, as Hairy Legs and his crew found out... But they serve the same short menu for lunch and dinner so I chose the meat dishes I passed over for lunch.
This
vichyssoises was pretty nice.
Spring rolls with shrimp and Thai sauce - very meh. As an Asian, this just seeemd really banal.
They kept pushing this "special" off-menu dish of
soft-boiled egg with caviar, and after declining it at lunch I finally said OK.
I thought they initially described the caviar was "locally sourced" and "from Saint-Emilion" but in the end it's
Kaviari golden (oscietra)... which I believe is not locally sourced.
Well, egg on egg on toast is always nice, but for a jaded diner this wasn't anything special.
Caviar is meant to go with Champagne,
n'est-ce pas?
Champagne Michel Reybier - some toast on the nose, but not too much depth here. It's clean and easy to drink.
Le foie gras : en terrine, compoté acidulée de fruits du jardin - the terrine was fine, but the accompanying
frisée had too much salt.
Service was a little off tonight, as my main course arrived before I had finished my starter... Not what I would expect from an establishment like this.
La canette : marinée au miel de nos ruches, pommes de terre nouvelles et jus de canard - the flavors of the duck were unexpected. They were deeper, almost slightly fermented, as the meat was marinated for 12 hours. Actually this reminded me a little of Chinese preserved sausage, just a little on the sweet side. The meat was chewy but not too dry. The skin of the duck was chewy, and really nice. The new potatoes on the side were oh so soft and slippery, but a little too salty for me.
L'ananas : fresh pineappel, citrus gel, lemongrass sorbet and coconut foam - this was tropical and refreshing. I do love pineapples when the bromelain isn't trying to dissolve my tongue...
We've got pineapple juice with basil and olive oil.
Dining solo meant I wasn't able to open a full bottle for dinner, so once again I made do with wine by the glass.
2019 Cos d'Estournel - minty, smoky, young but certainly accessible. Not so tannic on the palate.
It's my second night in France and I'm still jetlagged. Time to retire upstairs and catch up on some stuff before my battery runs out...
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