A year ago I cycled from London to Beaune to work for Madame Anne-Claude Leflaive at her Domaine in Puligny-Montrachet. On the way down I stopped at a lovely little village called Perrigny, about thirty miles south of Chablis and five miles north of Noyers. I rolled in to a lovely quaint auberge run by a french couple. After washing the road and saddle from my bones Ip steeped outside into the setting sun and walked down to the small river that ran through the village, watching as small trout skittered amongst the gravels.
On recommendation I was told the only place to find anything to eat was at the local pizza shop/off-licence. Imagining the grimy pizza outlets in the UK that sell discount booze with day-glow cardboard stars in the window offering special brew for a quid I wasn't expecting much. Needless to say I was entirely wrong, this was beer heaven, situated in the middle of nowhere. Exotic brews from around the world were eyeing me up from high above from shelves that ached under the strain of dark brown bottles.
Under the recommendation of the owner I worked my way through three or four beers that ranged from the deep and dark double-doubles to the elation of flemish barrel matured sour ale. And this is where my head really spun,figuratively not literally, it was a beer of whose flavour I have never encountered, utterly different, utterly delicious and utterly unique. I staggered home determined to remember the name of the beautiful goddess of the ale that had sensuated my taste buds. Well, as you've probably guessed I woke up with a sore head, no recollection of the names or faces of the beers and a definite lack of determination to get back on the saddle to put 90 odd miles under my belt.
so, to cut this rambling story short, I have been since searching for that ale, that in the words of Eric Cartman "blew my fragile little mind". Yesterday I found it. On the shelves of Wholefoods, Napa. The beer is, wait for it.....Duchesse De Bourgogne a flemish top-fermented reddish brown ale, made up from a blend of 8 to 18 months old cask matured ales. Check out the link Duchesse De Bourgogne . If you can find this beer, try it, it will be one you either love or hate, either way it will be an eye opening experience. This is definitely an ale to linger over rather than slam back, once you taste it you'll understand what I mean.
Recent Comments