some pleasant wines in "Le Sud"
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 9:17 amOn the road to Saint-Tropez, a few kilometres after Le Lavandou, there is a restaurant named “Le Sud”. A great amount of tropical plants hide the front of the place, protecting the intimacy of the diners. We are welcomed by a tall woman with dark air and with a very commercial smile, whose beauty will help us to ignore the decoration which is inexistent. As soon as we are sitting at our table two champagnes are suggested, the Louis Roederer NV and the Besserat de Bellefon rosé NV. This is a sign of the strategy of the place. Christophe Petra, a famous cook who has written a book “Ma Provence Gourmande”, has a natural smile of satisfaction. He is the God of the place and apparently he is happy with that. While glasses of the Besserat de Bellefon rosé NV arrive on our table, the chef tells us the content of the menu, plus the possible variations, and we have to choose without having a card in hand. This is something that I do not like. The rosé champagne is quite proper. I am not a big fan of rosé, but this one is easy to drink.
We receive an enormous quantity of amuse-bouche, and the champagne plays very well with the different tastes.
The cook is very agreeable, very tasty, and sometimes I wonder if it is not “too” tasty, as the summer truffles taste like winter truffles, the mushrooms are incredibly tasty. The fish that I take is very well cooked, and the rabbit candied for 4 hours that I have taken is the only dish that is a little weak. I had taken it to estimate the qualities of the chef. This recipe is not perfect, but globally, the performance is very agreeable. What has to be noticed is the extreme generosity, but never giving an impression of too much.
The Corton Charlemagne Louis Latour 2000 is extremely agreeable, and has a nose of an incredible quality. This wine is not dense, not powerful, and in this period of extreme warmth, it is what we should have. The wine being discrete, we have to discover the complexity of this wine. It is not as complex as some great CC, but it is a really great wine.
The Hermitage La Sizeranne Chapoutier 2002 is comfortable. No need to try to find some complexity, there is not any. But the wine is pleasant, very straightforward, and gives a gentle pleasure.
As we were discussing about the global warming of the Earth, we were thirsty, and we ordered a champagne Louis Roederer NV. I am absolutely not convinced by this champagne, which has just the chance to share the same name as the Cristal.
The wine list in the place is filled with many good bargains. They have not actualised their prices with time, and it is really possible to drink very nice wines.
If a place has a very convenient and generous menu, and keeps some very cheap wines, for vacation, why would we ask for more ?
We receive an enormous quantity of amuse-bouche, and the champagne plays very well with the different tastes.
The cook is very agreeable, very tasty, and sometimes I wonder if it is not “too” tasty, as the summer truffles taste like winter truffles, the mushrooms are incredibly tasty. The fish that I take is very well cooked, and the rabbit candied for 4 hours that I have taken is the only dish that is a little weak. I had taken it to estimate the qualities of the chef. This recipe is not perfect, but globally, the performance is very agreeable. What has to be noticed is the extreme generosity, but never giving an impression of too much.
The Corton Charlemagne Louis Latour 2000 is extremely agreeable, and has a nose of an incredible quality. This wine is not dense, not powerful, and in this period of extreme warmth, it is what we should have. The wine being discrete, we have to discover the complexity of this wine. It is not as complex as some great CC, but it is a really great wine.
The Hermitage La Sizeranne Chapoutier 2002 is comfortable. No need to try to find some complexity, there is not any. But the wine is pleasant, very straightforward, and gives a gentle pleasure.
As we were discussing about the global warming of the Earth, we were thirsty, and we ordered a champagne Louis Roederer NV. I am absolutely not convinced by this champagne, which has just the chance to share the same name as the Cristal.
The wine list in the place is filled with many good bargains. They have not actualised their prices with time, and it is really possible to drink very nice wines.
If a place has a very convenient and generous menu, and keeps some very cheap wines, for vacation, why would we ask for more ?