This post belongs in wine, asylum and epicurean. Oh, well.
Annecy (pronounced ANN-see) is an historic town and beautiful lake in Savoie. Even though I’ve spent a lot of time in Savoie, I had never visited; I’m not usually in Savoie on vacation or in the summer.
On a mixed work/vacation trip, Sally and I left three free days in the Alps, including her birthday, and we made no plans. The day before her birthday we were in an Italian Alpine park above Aosta. The food was serviceable; the wines were better, especially the red.
[Sidenote: I am developing quite a taste for Alpine reds; usually very light in body, dark in color, zingy with fresh acidity and intense with tart red (and sometimes black) fruits. Indigenous varietals rule!]
I enjoyed a glass of:
2013 Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, Cave du Mont Blanc - Varietal is apparently Prie, and a clone specific to Morgex. I’ve never heard of it. Medium straw color, faint but attractive aromas feature lemon, hay, white spices (coriander, ginger). The palate is very mineral, with some of that iron character you can find in white Burgundy from north of Meursault. This is not much lighter and not at that level, but is pleasant and appetizing, finishes rather short. Rated 85.5.
We enjoyed most of a bottle of:
2013 Cave des Onze Communes Fumin - This was a big step up. Fumin is an indigenous red varietal previously considered a rather rough blending grape. Modern growing and winemaking have raised the quality and it is now being bottled by several producers. The aromas were fierce with intense red cherry fruit, something briary, something peppery. The palate was light to medium in body but with a boatload of both acidity and somewhat unrefined tannins. Still, it was mouthfilling and a real pleasure with the flavors a perfect match for the plain veal, spinach, carrots and potatos. Rated 88.7, up to a point of improvement possible over the next year or two. If the tannins resolve a little, this could be a treat.
I then went on line, found a Michelin star restaurant in Annecy for the next night, so booked a hotel in the town as well. The hotel was more of an adventure than we wanted, the restaurant a much better one.
I had two GPSs with me, they gave conflicting directions to the hotel. Neither was right. We inched our way through monumental traffic jams twice, neither time did we see anything like the hotel. We finally parked a ways away and called. Essentially, the hotel is on a pedestrian street and it’s almost impossible to pull a car up to the door (I found out this morning that there’s a way).
The hotel has *** in French national system (which goes to 5). I normally find the ratings reliable, in this case it was a cruel joke. The dump merited one star at most. The tiny room had a tiny window like you’d expect in a prison, showing views about six feet left, ahead and right, of walls. The room had one ceiling light of about 15 watts. There were two equally feeble, but really hot to touch table lamps on either side of the bed with bizarre switches. The wall plugs were hard to access. The carpet in the room was dirty, as opposed to the one in the hall, which was filthy. The soap dispenser in the shower didn’t work, but neither did the air conditioner. The wi-fi was klutzy, you had to log in afresh each time you left it alone for 2 minutes and it was complicated. The decor consisted on one repro painting and would have been better with none.
Dinner at La Ciboulette was a very welcome relief. It also has its bizarre features:
of Michelin stars: 1
of wines BTG: 0
of ½ bottles on list (including 500ml): 100+
It turns out you can actually order a flute of Champagne or a dessert wine BTG, but I didn’t find that out until later. Meanwhile, the wine list offered mostly very young vintages, but had fair prices and a few really nice things.
The food was Michelin star quality. Sally’s langoustine appetizer was good, not wonderful. My dish of cepes, enhanced by a small piece of (intentionally) half-cooked salmon and a cream sauce was much better. Sally’s main of monkfish was excellent as was my veal with girolles. I didn’t taste Sally’s desert, but she was happy. The chariot de fromage was adorned with cowbells (cheesy?) but the selection of Savoyard cheeses was outstanding.
Even though we got a reservation just the day before, the place was comfortably full; comfortable except for two priests who were having the tasting menu with some very upscale bottles (2 bottles when we left and the older one was looking at the wine list). I wish Mr. Bergoglio would have a word with them.
The wines:
2014 Domaine Rimauresq Cotes de Provence Rose (from 500ml) - This was a knockout, up there with the best roses I’ve had this year. Very intense, spicy, piquant balanced aromas with wild strawberry led to a very dry, lively palate with a hint of watermelon and lemon. Served very cool but not iced, it still tasted like a really great sorbet. Rated 92.6.
2001 Chateau Fourcas-Dupre Listrac (from 375ml) - Moderate aromas of red currant, beef blood, iron and earth. The palate is medium to full bodied, with a reprise of the aromas and hints of black fruit (blackberry?). The balance is excellent. The finish is long and intricate, with fine intensity. Rated 91.1, ready to drink but no hurry in 375ml. Red Bordeaux remains one of the screaming values in the world of wine if you shop well and have patience. In a Michelin-starred restaurant, this 14 year old half-bottle cost $23.
This morning we wandered around Annecy, I have to admit that the old town is beautiful. As our hotel was named ‘Hotel du Palais de l’Isle’, I assumed it would be on the lake. Turns out there is a stunning building of that name that looks like a ship built into a canal or stream flowing through old town into the lake. The better rooms look out on it. The architecture in the old town was almost worth the agony of the hotel (not quite). We fled back into the mountains this afternoon.
Dan Kravitz
