Last May I spent an amazing week in Bordeaux (which will happen again in May, 2017) tasting and drinking some of the most incredible wines in extraordinarily beautiful châteaux, including Château Margaux and Château d”Yquem.
This last week we headed off to Burgundy and Sancerre, and spent a heavenly night in the Château de Vault de Lugney, just outside of Avallon.
Château de Vault de Lugney
The Château was built between the 13th and 16th centuries and is a peaceful and very romantic property.
The Chef, Franco Bowanee, and his staff are from the Île de Maurice (Mauritius Island) and their food is French with island spices and overtones.
We had the tasting menu and were delighted with the crème brulée with foie gras and the chef’s (the chef’s wife) version of a St. Honoré.
Gâteau St. Honoré
We drank a very complex and delicious Chablis from Domaine Testut and a local red from Vézelay.
The cooking class the next morning was on vegetables freshly picked from the Château’s garden. There was a truffle risotto with truffles gathered by the owner’s daughter, Julie.
Truffles
Truffle Risotto
We hopped over to Sancerre where our lodging was not remarkable, but our dinner at the restaurant La Tour was especially delicious. The beef with perfectly cooked root vegetables and the dessert, with a pistachio mousse, were the highlights.
Beef with root vegetables
Pistachio Mousse
And we tasted some fabulous Sancerre wines, notably the 2015, Domaine Vacheron and the 2015 Domain Merlin Cherrier.
