First and foremost, SORRY that I have been putting off this write-up for a while … procrastination and all that … plus the fact that I was dreading looking through my very yellow-tinge blurry photos…
I do apologize in advance for my lack of photography skills and if I happen to have taken any unflattering shots of anyone, I swear that they were unintentional.
I always try my best to avoid the rush hour office crowd, but duty calls and after much swerving around throngs of suited men with their man-bags, I eventually made it unscathed to the Andaz Studio, a rather impressive-looking private dining room.
It has been just over a year since I attended the last Chablis event at The Chancery, where I may have had a few too many glasses beyond my usual limit – but it was an enjoyable evening, which is what was most important.
I am unfortunately (still) very bad at remembering names and details of wines (alongside my poor note-taking during dinner – food distracts me too much), but thankfully I have the ever-reliable Mr Blyde who is like a walking wine-encyclopedia.
We began with an aperitif of ‘Pas Si Petit’ Petit Chablis 2014 from La Chablisienne, a quality-orientated cooperative that represents a quarter of the region’s vines. We sipped on this whilst nibbling on Scandinavian-inspired canapes by Martina and Magdelena of NORDISH – refreshing and light slices of cucumber filled with crab and avocado salad, as well as miniature Norwegian fishcakes and remoulade.
We then proceeded to seating ourselves at the table where we enjoyed starters by Hana of Pickled Plates – a summer vegetable salad with roasted radishes with brown butter dressing, pan-fried whiting and tempura samphire. The whiting was cooked well with a delicate, firm flesh, and I loved the tempura samphire with its light and crisp batter.
This was paired with Alain Geoffroy’s 2014, a richer Chablis from a family business estate that was established since 1850.
For our main course, we were well-fed by Rosie of A Little Lusciousness – each of us served a generous cut of soy and miso-glazed pork chop on the bone with spring onion rice, and a Japanese raw slaw dressed in rice vinegar and chilli dressing. The meat was tender and well-marinated, and I liked the slaw which complemented the dish.
This was paired nicely with Julien Brocard’s La Boissoneuse 2014, made from biodynamically grown grapes.
And finally it was time for dessert, but alas, no sweet dessert was to be seen on the menu (blasphemy!) – Douglas murmured a small apology. But there was cheese, A LOT of cheese. I thankfully am also rather partial towards cheese, so that was able to satiate my appetite for the moment. For my sweet cravings, I already had my freezer well-stocked with mini magnums – I always remember to top-up my emergency supplies.
A platter of cheese with mini flags (England vs. France) were served alongside older and more powerful wines from Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites.
Stichleton from Nottinghamshire vs. Bleu d’Auvergne
Baron Bigod from Bungay vs. Camembert from Normandy
Montgomery Cheddar from North Cadbury, Somerset vs. Comte
And of course there was plenty more wine to be poured from communal buckets …
Domaine William Fevre, Vaulorent, Premier Cru 2012
Jean Paul et Benoit Valmur Grand Cru 2012
Clotilde Davenne Les Preuses Grand Cru 2008
Domaine Laroche Les Blanchots Grand Cru 2007
And now for some random action/candid shots from the evening …
‘Twas a lovely evening to be re-acquainted with Chablis – I still have my little rock (fossil?) key-chain hiding somewhere in my bedroom. Maybe under the bed where there still lie the bottles of Chablis from the previous event.
I’m not quite sure how well they age, but I guess I’ll take my chances (!)
Currently lacking a bit of inspiration for creative writing, but I did consider finger-painting a wine-inspired art piece …
Due to other commitments at present, I shall have to put that in my pending folder for now. Watch this space x
The Cheekster, signing out x