I arrived in London yesterday. I did the following things: took one of the best naps of my life, a glorious hot shower and promptly put my “party pants” on to celebrate Christina‘s 30th. Our first stop of the evening was one of her favorite spots in London- the fabulous Terroirs.
I finally got to meet one of Terroirs’ founding partners Doug Wregg, Director of Sales and Marketing at Les Caves de Pyrene. He is one unique dude and I always look forward to his completely zany and hilarious e-newsletters. Terroirs is THE spot to head to in London if you want to drink some of the world’s best natural wines and eat very well executed French bistro fare.
Doug was generous enough to donate a bottle of chenin blanc pet nat to the Christina Bday celebration cause and to get things started off on the right sip. It was Benoit Courault‘s P’tit Chemin- yummy, cidre-y and an empty bottle in about 10 minutes.
Terroirs has two floors- the top level with wine bar and some tables (more of a lunchtime vibe) and downstairs with another smaller bar and more tables complete with mood lighting (definitely an evening vibe). One thing I loved was being able to look up and see framed photos, little relics and other bits and bobbles of winemakers I respect and adore- Sebastien Riffault, Olivier Cousin, Thierry Puzelat to name a few.
Another thing I loved was the view from my side of the table when we finally sat down to eat. The rillette and pork terrine studded with pistachio were awesome.
Doug chose the first wine for us to go with the charcuterie and it was one of my favorite of the evening- 2009 J’En Veux from Jean-Francois Ganevat. This Jura wine is a blend of something like a dozen different grapes. Here is a little excerpt from Terroirs’ wine list about it, spot on I might add:
“Ampelographical archivists will lick their lips over indigenous oddities such as Petit Béclan, Gros Béclan, Gueuche (white and red), Seyve-Villard, Corbeau, Portugais Bleu, Enfariné, Argant (that’s what he has the most) which lead the roll call. With its amusing label of a bloke sconing liquid from a beer mug this vin glouglou (9.5%) is best served chilled to highlight and enhance the bombinating cherry clafoutis and pomegranate juice aromas and flavours – behind which lurk bubbly-yeasty notes (imagine the smell of earth after rain).”
Yeah, 9.5% abv. !!! We promptly devoured it.
I also devoured my dinner which was one of the best and crispiest duck confit I’ve ever had or seen.
The Bavette, flank steak ever so tenderly cooked, was also pretty damn great. The dish was even more appealing because of the inclusion of bone marrow and pommes anna on the plate. That’s right, I said inclusion. I’m gettin fancy with you people today.
Christina and I wanted a Southern French wine for the main course since everyone was getting some hearty dishes. Doug guided us to the Southern Rhone and Domaine Gramenon.
The 2010 Sierra du Sud was a really lovely syrah. It balanced a richness of flavor with a really elegant texture. Bravo Doug! Thanks for all the stellar picks!
Seriously- what a wonderful evening. I am uber jealous of Christina for being able to head to Terroirs whenever she feels like it. I can’t wait to get my (cholesterol laden) ass back there.
PS- how come all my favorite wine bars are named Terroir? They must be in cahoots.
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