A visit to the annual Rocamadour cheese festival

Rocamadour wine! Not bad so we bought some lovely rosé.

Later that night - Rocamadour cheese with our rosé in the evening sun.

Malbec Days 'soiree gastronomique'

Very good evening last night at 'Soiree Gastronomique' as part of the Malbec Days extravaganza happening all over this weekend in Cahors.
It all takes place in the beautiful setting of the site of the magnificent Pont Valentre 14th century bridge which spans the River Lot as it flows through the centre of the town.

 

All the Cahors wine producers were present  plus a few from Argentina and Chile, making over 600 wines to choose from for tasting.

To compliment the wines was a huge array of regional culinary delights  in the form of canapes and mises en bouches - little mouthfuls of intense flavours - beautifully arranged and produced in situ by several of the region's top restaurants, including the Michelin starred Chateau de Mercues.

Little criply fried croquettes of pied de cochon served with a wasabi cream,  tiny macaroons filled with beetroot and foie gras or Rocamadour cheese and and tiny pots of cassis panna cotta topped with an intense Malbec jelly were just a few of the light and delicious bites on offer.

Up to 400 people attended the event, including journalists from USA, UK, China snd Japan (who will hopefully help to raise the profile and popularity of this great wine) and being held on the hottest evening of the year so far made for a great atmosphere as people spilled and milled outside.

Steak Baguette at sunset

Mmm this was delicious - steak with Roquefort butter and a salad of crisp lettuce, avocado and walnuts with a walnut oil dressing plus, of course, a wonderful glass of Cahors (Mas del Perie, Les Escures 2007).

A very rare site

OK this sparkling wine is just absolutely delicious!
It's a very rare site as it's the first sparkling wine ever to be produced from 100% Malbec grapes. The producer is Jean-Luc Baldes from Clos Triguedina in Cahors - they also produce the marvelous Prince Probus 100% Malbec red (or black!) wine.
We bought the wine on a recent visit to the chateau on one of our wine tours. M Baldes himself was there to pop the cork and lead us in tasting his new creation. The label says:
Discover this wine full of aromas of raspberries, blackberries and cassis fruits. Bul's was crated by Jean-Luc Baldes, the malbec specialist from Clos Triguedina in Cahors. There he's known for blending his family tradition and history along with his own award winning, innovative style.
But you can only buy it at the chateau so if you want to taste it - come to Cahors - it is definitely worth it!

A Cahors 100% Malbec sparkling Rosé.

Weather forecast In the Lot

Terroirs of Cahors interview

Interesting Cahors wine article with an
Interview with the President of Union Interprofessionelle du Vin de Cahors

Bon Appetit!

The menus were a big hit with our cycling guests last week.
May is an exciting month at the markets as all the fresh new spring produce starts to appear - such as the rosy pink rhubarb I found and roasted gently in the oven with a little brown sugar, ginger and star anise to give a warmly spiced compote which went beautifully with a fresh, chilled creme brulee.
Sweet red Gariguette strawberries abound now and were gorgeous piled in a crisp golden meringue atop a wicked mix of creme fraiche and white chocolate with a swirl of some of the crushed fruits spiked with a dash of 'creme de framboises' - lush!
Asparagus is everywhere and absolutely delicious, especially fresh steamed with a topping of just frizzled jambon cru and one of our own hen's eggs lightly boiled.
Also newly arrived are the beautiful mauve clumps of new season's garlic just waiting to be finely sliced onto tomatoes with an olive oil and balsamic dressing for a gutsy salad to be enjoyed with some crusty pain de campagne or simmer them together with some fat leeks and new white spring onions in  full cream milk and light stock to make a delicious creamy soup - finish with a sprinkle of chopped chives for a real allium feast!
The menus also included a Roquefort, walnut, lardons and fresh pear salad - similar to the one Jamie made on his Jamie Does France show this week, but with a walnut oil dressing and a few slices of just-ripe pears added; a sticky caramelised Tarte Tatin and a rich, crumbly  walnut tart with fig ice cream - both made from last autumn's harvest of our own trees.
And that's just the starters and puddings - bon appetit!

Marchiliac sur Celé

Visited this small village in the Celé valley with an ancient abbey.
More photos on our Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/LotCyclingHolidays