Thursday, July 1, 2021

Wine & Food of Le Tour 2021, Stage 6: Tours to Châteauroux

Where are we? In the Indre, a department in central France that is part of the region of Centre-Val de Loire. 

Tours: The local tourist site tells me that: Beautiful, vibrant and lively, Tours is a pretty stopping point during a couple of days in the middle of the Loire Valley Chateaux. Tour its historic quarters with their half-timbered houses, the bustling Place Plumereau and Saint-Gatien Cathedral, as well as the new Olivier Debré Contemporary Art Centre.

Châteauroux: Le Tour tells me that: The day after the Allied victory against the Nazis, everything accelerated and changed in Châteauroux: Cadillacs, jazz cafés, jeans, chewing gum and freshly arrived GI's changed the daily life of the population. Legend has it that the famous hamburgers from across the Atlantic were served for the very first time in an address that was then a must at parties in Châteauroux: Joe from Maine. In the heart of the city, the Saint-Cyran Building, an impressive thirteen-storey tower built to house the NATO generals, still reminds us of those glorious days between 1951 and 1967 when "Chateauwou" lived at the frantic pace of the 10,000 Americans installed at the Châteauroux-Déols airport and the La Martinerie base!

Le Tour Specialties
Tours:  Loire wines (Vouvray, Montlouis, Bourgueil, etc.), rillettes, rillons, andouillettes, goat cheese, Touraine truffles, Nougat de Tours...
Châteauroux: Berrichon pâté, potato galette, Reuilly, Valençay and Châteaumeillant wines, Valençay and Pouligny goat cheese

Christian Prudhomme says: A brief stage in two parts. A touch of sweetness and wonder first going by the splendid Renaissance castles, uncomparable gems of the Val de Loire heritage. Power then when the teams protecting the interests of their sprinters will increase the pace to reach the finish.

The stage: Paging all sprinters! Another stage where we would expect a doomed break followed by a bunch finish. However, the break took a long time to form, as teams were not happy about the composition. At 32 kilometers done for the day, Van Avermaet was solo out front, with Kluge chasing. One expected he was not planning on spending the whole day solo, but you never know. Eventually, he would be joined by Kluge, making it a duo out front. 
On the road: One hundred kilometers to go and the duo had about 1:20. Things continued just about that way, with some stress at the sprint point and a lot of lovely chateaus. An update on where we were re the green jersey: 50 points were up for grabs at the finish.Cavendish 98 points, followed by Matthews on 88, Alaphilippe on 84, Bouhanni on 79 and Van der Poel in 78.Philipsen was sixth on 72, then Pogačar on 64, Colbrelli on 60, Sagan on 56, and Merlier on 50.
Ten kilometers to go and the gap was forty seconds. 

The finish looked to be much more straightforward.
Five kilometers to go and it was down to twenty seconds.
A confession: I hold my breath during these sprints. And then, in this case, I screamed with joy. Cavendish, again!

The wine: La Grange Tiphaine Rosa Rose Rosam Pet-Nat 2020
Christy described that as a seasonal delight.
The importer tells me that: La Grange Tiphaine was created at the end of the 19th century by Alfonse Delecheneau, followed by three generations: Adrien, Jackie and now, Damien. Damien studied oenology and viticulture in Bordeaux and worked at wineries in California and South Africa, and returned to the winery in 2002 to take over the operations there. He brings a level of scientific precision to natural winemaking that we haven’t seen in many others. The design of the winery and the steps he takes to ensure quality rival some of the most technically advanced wineries in the world, but this is all in the name of using as few additives as possible, to evoke their precious terroir in its purest sense.

As of 2008 Coralie, Damien’s wife, joined the family as a fully active partner in the life and work of their 15-hectare vineyard. Damien’s talent as a winemaker is evident from the multitude of beautifully balanced, elegant, precise red, white, rosé and sparkling wines that he crafts from five different varieties: Chenin blanc, Côt (Malbec), Gamay, Cabernet Franc, and even the ancient and rare Loire variety called, Grolleau. The wines are in the AOCs of Touraine Amboise and Montlouis sur Loire. The wines are all different; tender or round, fine or fruit filled, dry or sweet, but they all share the common thread of careful work in the vines that make for beautifully balanced, terroir driven, precise wines.In 2016, Damien was honored to take the lead in Montlouis, becoming president of the appellation. He followed in one of his idol’s footsteps, François Chidaine, and has since led the charge to use helicopters to avert frost damage that has been rampant in the Loire Valley over the past several years. 

The Food: Nougat de Tours
Recipe from the local tourist site:

Serving  for 6 people

  • 140g flour
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 70g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 150g candied fruits cut into cubes (melon and papaya)
  • 50g apricot jam
  • 80g almond powder
  • 00g egg white
  • icing sugar
  • salt

For the sugar dough: Mix the butter, 35g of icing sugar, an egg, a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the flour to the mixture, add some water if necessary. Roll the dough into a bowl and put it in the fridge.

For the macaroon pastry: In a bowl, mix the caster sugar with the almond powder. Whisk the egg whites until they form peaks and add them delicately to the macaroon mixture.

Shaping the cake: take an 18cm round mould. Take out the sugar dough from the fridge, roll it so it is 3 mm thick. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on the sugar dough. After the candied fruits, then the macaroon pastry. Sprinkle with icing sugar twice in 15 minute intervals before putting it in the oven.

Cook at 180 °C in the oven during 30 minutes




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