Oh, alright - I admit it! When in the UK, I do spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about chez Terroir in the Minervois and in particular the many balmy hours spent enjoying the wines and food of the region! I just can’t help it.
There can be no more satisfying escape during a long, bone-chilling, snow-laden, ice-covered, wind-biting winter’s day under the grey duvet of an English sky than to allow myself to drift back to memorable, lazy meals under azur skies at favourite Languedoc restaurants.
One which often creeps seductively into my mind is L’Auberge de St. Martin at Beaufort, close to Olonzac and the unassuming but warm and genuine hospitality of Mylène and Christophe. However busy, Mylène’s easy smile and warm welcome never fails as we crunch over gravel to take one of the terrasse tables of this former school under the shady canopy of well-tended trees, past the store of immaculately stacked vine clippings, to the accompaniment of
a choir of cigales. The scent of burning vine clippings invades the senses as Christophe beams his greeting from his position at his trade mark feu de bois. I can almost taste the food - simple yet delicious baron d’agneau with the essential accompaniment of a bottle of Cuvée La Féline from nearby Borie de Maurel - concentrated and deep purple, bombarding the taste buds with first hints of pepper, cumin and tapenade followed by ripe, red fruit and figs. Bliss.
