You may be wondering where Aveyron is eh? If you're familiar with Toulouse and Montpellier in the South of France, then the department of Aveyron is sandwiched in between these two French cities on the southwestern edge of the Massif Central which covers most of central France. The area has long been growing grapevines since the middle ages but the onset of the highly destructive phylloxera and wars have left much of the Aveyron vineyards abandoned until a resurgence began in the early 70s.
We tried an amazing Aveyron wine recommended by Jos from Le Bon Funk yesterday as we picked up our takeaway goodies, and we were floored by how good the wine was! Made by Nicolas Camarans with 100% Fer Servadou, which is indigenous to the region, with minimal SO2 and neutral oak, the wine had a slightly cloudy but attractive maroon-ruby core colour. Highly perfumed and bright with cherries, dried cranberries, fresh citrus peel and layered with tobacco & spices, the slightly chilled bottle of "Fer de Sang" 2018 paired really well with LBF's endive salad with grapes, seeds and beautiful rosette shavings of tête de moine cheese.
The fennel pollen used on Le Bon Funk's finger-licking (and consistently good) whole heritage roast chicken worked brilliantly with the slightly leafy undertones of the wine. These herbaceous notes (reminiscent of tomato leaves more than green capsicum), together with an underlying earthy & mineral-driven flavours provided much of the complexity Jos talked enthusiastically about when he showed us the labels. In fact, LBF's culatello (cured ham) & guindilla (pickled chilli peppers) that we got also provided some tasty and interesting pairing combination for the slightly smokey tones in this "Fer de Sang".
Now we can't wait to go back and try "Maximum", "Mauvais Temps" & "Selves" made by Nicolas Camarans too, and pick up another wonderful meal by Chef Keirin and team! If you haven't had anything planned for the next few "Phase 2 Heightened Alert" weekends, do check out what LBF has to offer!
