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Country-Style Dining at le Pommier d’Argent |
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Saturday, 09 September 2006 |
Reported by Dawn Harvie
A small group of Guild members were met by Martin Carrière, Guild Director and event organizer, at Le Pommier d’Argent in the heart of Outaouais region farm country on a fresh Saturday evening. Philippe Salmon, raised in the kitchens of the Chateau de la Loire region of France, and Thérèse Desjardins, business administrator of the enterprise and native of the Outaouais region, are the proprietors of Le Pommier d’Argent. As explained on the Le Pommier d’Argent Website (www.lepommierdargent.com), “it is a ‘table champêtre’™, which could be loosely translated as ‘country-style dining’ or ‘harvest table’ ... It is a special kind of restaurant, located on a farm, where the meals consist mainly of fresh farm products.... Recognition as a farm operation by the Ministry of Agriculture is a mandatory requirement of recognition and accreditation as a Table Champêtre™ by the Fédération des Agricotours du Québec (FAQ). Table Champêtre is a trademark term reserved by the FAQ and, without FAQ accreditation, restaurateurs are prohibited from using this term in reference to their fare. On the farm, rabbits, Barbarie ducks, guinea-fowls, Boer goat (native to South Africa), pheasants and grain fed chickens are raised.”
Thérèse, responsible for the amazing gardens, showed us around the farm while we sipped on Champagne Georges Gardet ‘Cuvée Saint Flavy’ Brut. A lovely fresh Champagne with flavours of green apple, lemon, and mineral qualities. Afterwards, we all went inside to enjoy our meal.
The cold appetizer was Terrine de Bison aux raisins de Corinthe, aux épices et Madère. The crowd seemed to quite enjoy the dish. It was paired with Le Haut Mesnil, Sancerre, 2004, Loire. The Sancerre was a classic Sauvignon Blanc with notes of gooseberry, lemon and some mineral. It was quite delicious with the fresh tomatoes, beet, and parsley salad that was the vegetarian option, but some found that it clashed a bit with the sweet chutney sauce that accompanied the terrine de bison. The hot appetizer was Feuilleté de ris de veau, sauce au Xéres. Everyone was overtly enjoying the dish (the “mmmm’s” and “ooooh’s” gave it away!) with it’s very tender meat and typical brown sauce done in a very French style. It was matched with the Clos Montirius, Vacquéyras, 2001, Rhône This Vacquéyras was quite fruity on the nose with some cigar box and earthy notes in the background. Someone mentioned that it had a bit of a weak mid-palate, but was still quite palatable! The wine was apparently a great match to the dish—the fruit flavours of the wine really stood out while the dry tannins mellowed a bit. The vegetarian dish was fresh, perfectly cooked asaparagus with a mustard sauce. I was not expecting it to work with the wine at all, but the spice in the mustard seemed to bring out the spicy qualities of the wine. I never would have imagined!
The main course was Pigeonneau farci au Cerf Rouge et canneberge and the carnivores were more than enjoying it—digging in with both hands and licking fingers! The meat was like a dark meat with a strong (but not overwhelmingly so) gamey taste. Again, the sauce was a perfect complement, just enough, and definitely not overwhelming. On the plate were delicious and slightly sweet potatoes and a parcel of fresh, crisp, (again) perfectlycooked vegetables. The wine was a Domaine du Grapillon d’Or, Gigondas, 2003, Rhône. Rhône wines are a favourite with me. The Gigondas had some floral notes with some red fruit, spice, and earthy notes. In the mouth, all these flavours came through along with some quite dry tannins. Again, I never imagined in a million years that this wine would work with the vegetarian option—an omelette!! The omelette was made with farm-fresh eggs and local mushrooms that had such an incredibly earthy quality that was a fine match with the wine! I love a dinner like this that completely smashes all of ones assumptions regarding wine and food matching!
The Assiette de fromage included an Emmenthal, a Brie, a St. Paulin, and a medal of melted chévre and cheddar, which we were instructed to eat last because of its strong flavours. The J.L. Chave ‘Offerus’, Saint-Joseph, 2003, Rhône, was a lovely wine with lots of blueberry fruit, perfume, earth, and spice. On the palate, this wine packed a wallop with a host of flavours including those hinted at on the nose. The blueberry was prevalent with some earth and old leaves and nice tannin and acid. I thought it went very well with the St. Paulin because of its earthier qualities, but someone else thought it was a good match to the Brie because of its earthy qualities, which demonstrates that it’s all really a matter of personal taste.
Dessert was a choice of Crème Brulée with essence of mandarin (the best that I have ever had!), Meringue with fruit, or Profiterole. These were paired with the Estate Bottled Late Harvest, Riesling, 2000, Château des Charmes, Niagara. Smooth, sweet, honey, floral, peach, perfume. Delicious. It was an absolutely delicious match to the crème brulée. Those that had the meringue thought it was a lovely match as well. Unfortunately, the profiterole was not a great match, but wine and dessert were both absolutely fabulous on their own!
The evening was obviously successful—the “mmmm’s” and “aaaaah’s”, the steady conversation, the satiated quiet at the end of the evening! I would highly recommend a visit to the Pommier d’Argent. It is a truly unique and memorable dining experience. Many thanks to Martin for organizing the event and to Thérèse and Philippe for a truly wonderful evening! |
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Moderation |
 The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets. |
"Great wine is about nuance, surprise, subtlety, expression, qualities that keep you coming back for another taste. Rejecting a wine because it is not big enough is like rejecting a book because it is not long enough, or a piece of music because it is not loud enough."
—Kermit Lynch in Adventures on the Wine Route |
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