A Day in Solutré - II

Solutré-Pouilly is a small but prosperous-appearing village of 375 people located in the middle of a sea of famous Chardonnay vineyards.  We drove the mile or so into town and located the one restaurant, attached to a small hotel, called La Courtille de Solutré.  Everyone was seated out under the trees, so we did likewise. 

Restaurant - our Table Back in Right Corner

To The Left, Across From Restaurant

Towards Restaurant From Small Parking Area

To The Right of Restaurant [Under Tree]

Church and Town Sign across from Restaurant

The menu was presented, as is often the case, on a chalk board.  The wine-list, on the other hand, was extensive, printed, and bound.  To start, we chose Crémant Royale, local sparkling wine that is often excellent, with the addition of a bit of Kir, a red cherry liqueur.  As we sipped our aperitifs, we both decided to have a lamb dish that came with leek and caramelized onion gateau and a wonderful sauce.  We selected a glass of the local wine, Pouilly-Solutré, to accompany our meals.  Naturally, there was a basket of excellent bread provided, to ensure that we did not miss any of the sauce.  After finishing our plats, we decided to end with Café Gourmand, a French treat introduced to us by our French daughter, Estelle.  This typically consists of a cup of espresso and some small pastries or other sweet dessert items.  The local variant included a small morsel of a sort of rice pudding, and our choice from several digestifs, such as brandies.  Anna had Calvados, an apple brandy from an area in Normandy; David selected a local product called marc, which is a generic French term for a type of straight, and very lethal, brandy made from the residues of wine fermentation.  All the while, we were enjoying the scenery, the other diners, all French, enjoying themselves, and the weather, so different from our own, soggy Northwest.  We took time between courses to shoot pictures, of course.  The setting, the food, the presentation – everything was as close to perfect as could be.  Anna, in fact, pronounced it THE best meal she has ever eaten, anywhere, anytime.  The cost for all this – 74 Euros!

Anna Enjoying the Local Wine

Ditto David

We Wish We Could Eat Like This All The Time!

After lunch, and nearly leaving our camera on the back of Anna’s chair, we walked around the small square where the restaurant and church are located, taking more pictures.  We noticed there were a dozen or so small family wineries located a few steps from the square; while this is most definitely a white wine area [chardonnay exclusively], David wanted to taste a red.  One house a block away advertised that they had red wine, so we walked over to the gate to the yard.  At this point a woman came out of the house in this very small village, dressed and coiffed as if for a walk on the Champs-Elysée in Paris, and said, that yes, they did make red wines for tasting and sale.  After some tasting, we left with three bottles each of one of the best Beaujolais crus, Moulin-a-Vent, and a red Bourgogne, Macon Serrières.

The Winery Tasting Room is in The House Below

Heading back to Lyon [about an hour], we even got lucky, and traffic was minimal the entire route – a perfect ending!