{"id":17688,"date":"2017-05-16T06:57:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T06:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/?p=17688"},"modified":"2018-08-19T21:12:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-19T21:12:19","slug":"the-loire-tour-begins-in-london-sager-wilde-noble-rot-le-gavroche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/restaurants\/the-loire-tour-begins-in-london-sager-wilde-noble-rot-le-gavroche","title":{"rendered":"The Loire tour begins, in London: Sager & Wilde, Noble Rot, Le Gavroche"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sager
Sager + Wilde<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m on a tour of the Loire with three Canadian friends. Wine agent Nicole Campbell, and Toronto sommeliers Krysta Oben and Lexi Wolkowski. We began in London, with a day of eating and drinking.<\/p>\n

\"noblerotsagerwilde\"<\/p>\n

We began at Sager + Wilde on Hackney Road. Two wines, both of which hit the mark. The first was the remarkable La Reine Chardonnay from Domaine Labet in the Jura. This is a truly beautiful wine. Then we had the Beaujolais 2015 from Julie Balagny, which was really bright and juicy with some meatiness and a bit of feral character that fits right in. Very drinkable. We also had some nice food, including a full set of the Sager + Wilde toasted sandwiches, which are pretty epic.<\/p>\n

\"Noble
Noble Rot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next stop was Noble Rot. So exciting to be back, and two lovely wines. The Vino di Sasso is brilliant: a Robolo from Cephalonia in Greece. So beautiful, from limestone soils. And the Trigone from Le Soula was fabulous: all bright and juicy with a dancing mass of red fruits.<\/p>\n

\"Le
Le Gavroche<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then out to dinner at Le Gavroche, hosted by Mark Walford of Le Soula. I didn’t know in advance that we were going to Le Gavroche, so I had to pop in to Uniqlo to buy a jacket and smart shirt, to meet the dress code. This is such an important restaurant for London: it opened in 1967, then became the first London restaurant to receive one, then two and then three Michelin stars (it lost the third in 1993).<\/p>\n

Le Gavroche is old school, with lots of soft furnishings and a serene, stately feel. The food was excellent. We were given a quick kitchen tour with Michel Roux, who is charming and gracious (Mark is a regular here). The cooking was spot on, including an incredible cheese souffle (top right) that was perfectly executed. Gulls eggs on artichoke heart (top right) was a very interesting dish: it’s hard to get gulls eggs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We drank well. Larmandier Bernier Champagne to start with, then Le Soula Blanc 2008 and Le Soula Rouge 2006, finishing off with Ghislaine Barthod’s Chambolle 2004, which was delicious and in a good place. I like the Le Soula wines a great deal. This was a perfect start to the trip.<\/p>\n

Loire Valley Road Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n