Gourmet Buzz: Cahors, foie gras, and more

Does your zodiac sign dictate your taste? Or are you one of those who say, “I don’t know much about wine but I know what I like?” Sir Terence Conran’s London restaurant, Plateau, is putting on Astrological Master Classes in wine appreciation. Read, Wine for Stargazers. I’m a Gemini so, according to the wine-astrologists chez Plateau, I like sharp, snappy flavours and icy-cold drinks and am partial to a well-chilled, zingy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Wrong! Glad I didn’t throw out £70 on that one. Instead I took myself off to Cahors. “Why on earth would you want to go there?” enquired a well meaning friend. “Cahors wine tastes like bananas with their own chat show! Don’t bother”, he spluttered. I took that as a challenge, and set out on the Toulouse shuttle. I’ll show this bugger, make him eat his banana, stuff it up his chat show!  Just so you can get your bearings, Cahors is located on the Lot river, between Toulouse and Bordeaux. During the middle ages the wine was shipped downriver to the sea. By the 14th century “the bold black Cahors” was exported all over Europe (there were no World Wines then or fusion cuisine; Ducasse/Robuchon/Gagnaire were unknowns!) History has it that the dark colour, caused by baking the grapes and the must before fermentation, made the perfect replacement for blood lost in battles!  My first stop was to dump the Vuitton chez Sabine and Claude Patrolin’s Le Mas Azemar, a picture-perfect 18th century mas which now welcomes guests for wine tastings, fragrant home-cooked dinners around a table d’hote, and the best nights sleep available away from home. Next, on to taste 21 Cahors Excellence 2000 wines,. Up the stone steps, behind the cathedral to La Chantrerie I climb. Must remember to leave the Manolos behind next time!  I begin with the one you probably know best: Alain Dominique Perrin’s Le Pigeonnier from Chateau Lagrezette. You may have been at the bash, in 2003, celebrating the 500th anniversary of winemaking in the region, where Tina Turner tasted a tipple with other A-List celebs. But it’s not all having a knees-up. Perrin and über-oenologist Michel Rolland have been working hard to improve the quality and reputation of Cahors wines. Go on, it’s chic to order a Cahors but you should know the best names to drop, darling. Tasting 21 is not difficult if you know how to “crache”; just take it behind your teeth, as if you’re blowing bubble-gum, and whoooosh! Practise in the bathroom – it’s great fun, but probably best not to wear the white Marc Jacobs until you’ve got it down to perfection.  A mix of peppery, waxy, earthy, black cherry fruit with smoky licorice undercurrents. Big, rich, smooth, warm with some tannin, lovely with an oven-roasted goose, is how I would describe most of the Cahors Excellence. Look for names such as Chateau Lamartine, (pure Malbec grapes). Or Chateau de Cèdre, hand-picked on the 12 hectares—no chemicals, hard work but “we must respect the terroir,” they insist.  At Chateau Gadou, the vineyards are planted on 35 hectares of gravel-rich hillside in the heart of the Lot Valley. The Durou family have been making wine here since the 18th century. “I am the fourth generation,” explains Fabrice Durou, handing me a glass of Renaissance which, made with 100% Malbec grapes, he assures me I could happily drink now or keep for three or four years. Durou spends most of his time in the vineyards, travels a bit to receive awards such as La Trophee Prestige 2003. “Look out for our Tradition, which is 80% Malbec, complemented by Merlot and Tannat,” Durou advises. And, good news for white wine lovers is the delightful Blanc de Gaudou. “Notes of honey, apricots and grapefruit, a blend of Sauvignon and Sémillon. The grapes are hand-picked and taste this way because of sun and early morning mist, and the vines are mostly over 100 years old,” explains Durou. This young winemaker is so passionate, he almost makes you want to down tools and follow him into the vineyards, like the Pied Piper.  To find out more about Cahors wines:Union Interprofessionelle du Vin de Cahors430 avenue Jean Jaures, 46000. CahorsT: 05 65 23 22 24  Chateau Gaudou will ship everywhere:Fabrice Durou,Chateau de Gadou, 46700 Vire-sur-LotT: 05 65 36 52 93www.chateaudegaudou.com  When Jean Francois Delort’s father bought a chateau to the South of Toulouse it was “an impulse buy” and it was being left to crumble. Two years ago, Jean Francois decided he’d so had it working as an investment banker. “I knew I wanted to get out of the rat race, I was sick and tired of commuting between Milan, Paris, New York.” Sounds like the guy’s crazy? Yes? No! Delort resigned from the bank, making sure he got his Christmas bonus, “to re-do the roof of the chateau,” he admits. He also admits that he rather fancied the life of chatelain/lord of the manor, entertaining friends, doing a bit of huntin’ shootin’ fishin’. “But I soon got bored and started to cook foie gras in the chimney. When friends came, they begged to take it back to Paris.” That’s when Jean Francois made his next career move. “Of course I couldn’t continue cooking the foie gras in the chimney if I was going to sell it professionally; draconian French hygiene and veterinary laws forbid that”. So Jean Francois travelled around and found some friendly duck farmers to supply him and his partner Francois Belissent.  Of course it wasn’t long before, with demand growing, it was prudent to open a depot in Paris, so now you don’t have to schlep down to Toulouse; you can go and get the genuine fresh from the farm products. Foie gras frais, au natural, mi-cuit with figs, pruneaux or pain d’epices. No parts of the duck are ignored; get it smoked, confit, its manchons, gesiers and its cuisse confit. Get it in glass jars, porcelain dishes, vacuum-packed. And,…