We moved west down the Loire to just outside Tours in the village of Rochecorbon for our last two nights at the Relais et Chateau Les Hautes Roches which actually has rooms built into the famous troglodyte caves of the region which is a fun novelty. We chose their "fine dining "Restaurant Gastronomique" which used to have a Michelin star for many years but now is simply a nice place to dine with not a ton of character. We sat at our table for almost 15 minutes waiting for anyone to come over and it seemed there were only two gents handling the entire room--about 12 tables or so. We managed to order drinks and then waited a tad more but at least things smoothed out as we moved on.
Fraises Basilic is a yummy fruity strawberry concoction of vodka, fresh strawberry jus, lime, and balsamic reduction! Paul turned out to be an excellent sommelier and we said we needed more than a bottle, and he came up with a solution of a half bottle, which is not too common in France! We started with AOP Montlouis-sur-Loire 2023 Les Hauts de Husseau which is an oaked Chenin Blanc that was an amazing white with mineral, oak and dry, simply the best we had all week. Our second 1/2 bottle was a Chateau de Nozet 2021 "De la Doucette" which was a Sauvignon Blanc that didn't taste at all like it. There was a hint of citrus but the wine was superb.
Three amuses arrived: A salmon and citrus in a cone(yummy), an avocado & pea tartelette(ok) and a yummy Parmesan beignet sitting in a spicy tomato sauce.
We both started with Raviole "Terre e Mer" which was Langoustines, Foie Gras and Mushrooms. The ravioli were filled with lobster and the sauce was a chicken and foie grs emulsion. OMG!! Fabulous idea. Our wine rocked with this.
Will ordered the Poisson de la Loire, which was whitefish (pike) and it had all kinds of yummy zucchini creations around with parmesan, but he daid the fried artichokes were greasy! My Veal loin came with a black sesame lacquer, cauliflower, jus Corse (Corsican sauce) with coffee. This was superb cut of meat and a delicious creation that melted in my mouth.
Needless to say I had cheese for dessert and chose three fabulous local ripe ones: Saint Maure de Touraine-which was a tad over aged goat, Selles sur Cher-gooey goat which is my fave in the Loire and Puligny St Pierre a very aged and stinky choice! It would have been nice if they offered me some fresh bread!
Will had Douceur Coco-Coconut mousse, sorbet passion fruit compote and pineapple. Of course, cookies came and chocolate and we fell into bed!
