Vin bio at Aux Crieurs de Vin
The weather was shocking in Burgundy, hovering around -4C in Beaune so Gen and I headed North to Troyes in the south of Champagne, where the weather was forecast to be a lot warmer.
Troyes is a beautiful, ancient town near the Aube. It isn’t a wine town but it is renowned for the tripe sausage andouillette. The highly Germanic architecture makes for a better photo though:
This guild emblem by an old wine store opposite the cathedral of Troyes (love the Catholics) was also great:
The highlight, though, was the superb food and wine at Aux Crieurs de vin on Place Jean Jaurès. This store has a reputation that goes beyond their small store: they organise a major fine wine fair (organic and biodynamic in theme) and organic food market each year in Troyes and represent some of the top names in market: Courtois, Lapierre, Foillard, Léclapart, Selosse, Prévost, Pacalet and many others.
I’ve been lucky to dine at some really amazing restaurants over the years but places like this are hard to be: honest, exceptionally well prepared traditional French dishes from the best quality ingredients with excellent well priced wine.
We started with a Binner Auxerrois 2007 and a Courtois Sauvignon 2007. The Binner was clean, well made, good aperitif wine. The Courtois made wine was cloudy, cidery, very floral and interesting, dry on the palate but sweet on the nose. Tastes like a wine that has just finished fermenting. The kind of wine most wine makers would dismiss as not even being finished, an example of why such wines are silly. Yet, I found it really interesting, with aromas you rarely if ever see on wine. There has to be something in that.
We ordered some Bellota ham which was sensation:
The indescribable flavor of the jamon was perfect with the David Léclapart l’Apôrte champagne. This wine, which shows an array of amazing aromas from roasting coconut to cumin, daisies to almonds, continued to change and evolve over two hours. Anyone lucky enough to find a bottle of this should let it breath for at least one hour after opening or even consider gently decanting it. The palate showed quite a bit of tannin which made it superb with the fatty, salty ham.
We continued to enjoy it with a chou farci (stuffed cabbage) and andouillette de Troyes (pork intestine sausage stuffed with pork tripe):
Both dishes were wonderful with the wine. The spiciness of the minced pork and veal in the chou combined with the spicy aromas of the wine. The texture of the wine was similar to that of the andouillette: that is, a slight coarseness which was, all said, quite pleasing.
The cheese was also excellent: a Laguiole, Comté, vieux Gouda (36 months) and a bleu d’Auvergne. The wine was best with small slivers of the very strong Gouda.
As we discussed great but little known wines with the owners, more and more glasses came forward. I was introduced to the very good wines of Bertrand Gautherot, in the form of his champagnes under the label Vouette et Sorbée. The Blanc d’Argile had a superb structure and length, such finesse; the Fidèle was of equal quality. These are wines for Champagne lovers without the more funky elements of Selosse, Léclapart of others. We also had a glass of the bistro’s own label sparkling Pinot Blanc which was fine but hard after these other very great wines.
The next day we felt that we had no choice but to return for another meal at Aux Crieurs de Vin. This time, we ordered a bottle of Jerôme Prévost La Closerie “Les Béguines”. This is a 100% Pinot Meurnier wine. Prévost is a protégé of Anselme Selosse and makes even less wine, a mere 5,000 a year. The nose was wild, complex, like a great Burgundy that you chase around the glass. We started with a plate of Bellota lomo next to another plate of Bellota ham. The wine worked best with the much superior ham.
For a main, I again had andouillette while Gen had a caillette Ardèchoise (spicy rissole from Ardeche).
Such is the complexity and intensity of these kinds of wines they they work well with veal, beef or even lamb. They are wines first and sparkling wines second. Like the Léclapart, this wine developed over the hours. It felt like a less technical wine, easier to drink, you could take your mind of the technical and stylistic elements if you wanted. Very great.
If you’re in the region, Aux Crieurs de Vin is an absolute must visit.
