The village of Gigondas is located at the foot of the impressive Dentelles de Montmirail. We were warm in the car when we drove to the center of town and saw that the terrace of l’Oustalet was open. Beautiful May day …but we underestimated the wind. Wow was there a lot of wind! And not yet warm summer wind; this wind still had vestiges of winter. We started with rosé as aperitif and also to cleanse our palates from all the red wines we’d been tasting. Gigondas Rosé –pretty rare- 2009 from Longue Toque. Fatty rose petals and some yellow peaches. Some warmth in the finish. Not the best rosé ever but hit the spot.
The luncheon menu at L’Oustalet is a very good deal. Delicious. Creative but not over the top. Service that day was pretty bad. They were over worked with the terrace opened and the wind that kept knocking everything over. I’d been there before several times but never when the terrace was open. Apparently the place was recently –in the past year- bought by the Perrin family. (They are the ones who own Beaucastel.) They re-did the decoration and re-vamped the wine list, which is pretty good and varied now. It’s a pretty sensual square for a terrace. I’d like to go back on a day with less wind and when I don’t have to race to another appointment.
We had a 2008 Cotes du Rhone Rouge Les Deux Albion from St Cosme with our main courses. My memory is that it wasn’t bad, surprisingly concentrated for a 2008, actually …. I suspect he declassed Gigondas into his CDR. No more details than that in my notebook, my note taking hand was out to lunch then….
Saltpepperlime 