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February, 2005

• Tasting Calendar
• Wines of the Month
• An Extra Special Effort
• New Arrivals
• Something New and Different
• Restaurant Alert
• Archives

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Tasting Calendar

A three business day cancellation policy is in effect for all tastings.

March 1st, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

THE WINES OF DAVE PHINNEY AT THE RED MARTINI

Well, Bennett Lane’s “Maximus” is our Red Wine of the Month for February, and it just so happens that Bennett Lane’s winemaker Dave Phinney—who also makes wines for Orin Swift, including “The Prisoner”—will be in our fair town on Tuesday, March 1st (St. David’s Day), to pour five of his wines at The Red Martini, from 4:30 to 6:30, at a cost of $20 per person. Tickets are available at Coaltrain, so pick up yours today!

March 1st, 6:30 p.m.

David Phinney – Orin Swift Cellars Winemaker Dinner

We have the great honor to invite you to a fabulous winemaker dinner with Orin Swift Cellars owner and winemaker, and Bennett Lane Winery winemaker, David Phinney at The Blue Star. This dinner will be taking place very soon, Tuesday March 1st at 6:30pm. You may have noticed in our last newsletter that we have a late afternoon tasting scheduled with David at The Red Martini at Rum Bay that day. This dinner is an extra last minute addition to our tasting schedule.

The dinner will be particularly special because it will be your only chance to taste, and your only chance to purchase, David's Orin Swift Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is very, very allocated and generally has not been available outside California. In addition, this will be the first day you can try the just released 2003 Orin Swift "The Prisoner". This wine has just received a score of 92 points from Wine Spectator who said, "An immense, dark-hued Zinfandel blend packed with zesty wild berry, spice, floral and currant flavors that are sharply focused and well-defined, finishing with a long, persistent aftertaste that offers a hint of chocolate and vanilla." Also, don't forget that The Blue Star will be preparing a full sit-down dinner to accompany these, and other wines, this evening.

The cost for this night of fine wines and food is $75.00 per guest plus tax and tip. Please give Coaltrain a call right away to reserve your space for this very special event!

March 8th, 6:00 p.m.

“UNDER A TUSCAN SUN” AT LA PETITE MAISON

Warm summer suns have created some exceptional wines in Tuscany…Brunellos, Vino Nobiles and Chiantis. Particularly good have been the vintages of 1997, 1999 and 2001. We have a lot of these wines and thought a tasting of the very best is an absolute obligation. So we propose a tasting of an elite selection of Tuscan wines on Tuesday, March 8th , at La Petite Maison. The restaurant’s singularly gifted chef, Pete Moreno, will prepare a light Tuscan dinner to highlight the wines. The cost per taster is $50 (plus tax and service). We will tip the first glasses at 6:00 p.m. Please call us soon to reserve one of the highly-allocated seats (475-9700).

March 16th , at 6:00 p.m.

MERITAGEAT THE MANOR

Whether you call them “Bordeaux Blends,” “Clarets” (as do the Brits) or “Meritage”
wines—the name selected by the California wine industry in the late 1980s to describe wines blended from Bordeaux grape varieties (primarily cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc, for reds; semillon and sauvignon blanc for whites)—they are at the forefront of Californian winemaking. We will taste a wide range of standout reds, and a few whites, at Briarhurst Manor on Wednesday, March 16th , at 6:00 p.m. The cost is a reasonable $40 per taster (plus tax and service), and “rezzies” may be made through Coaltrain (475-9700). Don’t delay…this promises to be a popular one!

March 22nd and 29th, 6:30 p.m

WINE 101: INTRODUCTION TO WINE

Spring is just around the corner, and that means that it’s time, once again, for Coaltrain’s popular “Introduction to Wine” class. Wine specialist-educator-writer John Meredith will again conduct a thorough “tour” through the world’s primary wine regions and varieties, along with tips on wine tasting, buying, storing and serving. The cost is a ridiculously low $50 per person for the two-part series (including tax and tip), which will be conducted on consecutive Tuesday evenings, March 22nd and 29th, at Briarhurst Manor, starting at 6:30 p.m. Light finger foods will be served to accompany the wines (eight at each session), and a booklet covering all of the wine-and-food basics is in-cluded. Call Coaltrain at 475-9700 now to reserve your space!

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Wines of the Month

2000 Bennet Lane "Maximus" Red, Napa, Regularly $22.99/Sale $17.99: It’s just one of those blends, but what a blend. It gives you coffee and chocolate in the nose, and dark fruits with touches of earth and cedar on the tongue. The complexity is flabbergasting. It shows the sublime potential of Merlot (63%), Cabernet Sauvignon (33%) and Cabernet Franc (4%) working as a team as they do in great bordeaux. These grapes come from various vineyards in the Napa Valley between Calistoga and Rutherford. Besides the wine’s complexity, we stand in awe of its balance. Hats off to Bennet Lane. If you want to taste this wine, come to our Meritage Tasting on March 16.

2003 Muga White Rioja, Barrel Fermented, $12.99: Manu Muga is a large fellow and he makes large, yet graceful wines like this white. In his "laboratory" in Haro, he labors. He loves wood and he knows how wood works. And, for a wine from delicate grapes such as Viura and Malvasia, you gotta know how wood works or you will scotch the whole deal. This wine is fermented in oak barrels which rounds it and adds complexity. There are citric and stone fruit flavors here. It’s not luscious, but minerally in essence. We particularly like the crisp, acid kick on the finish. People looking for "something different" in a white wine should be content here. By the way, if you ever get to Haro, eat at the new restaurant, Las Duelas. They serve this and all the fab wines from Muga, most of which we have at Coaltrain.

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An Extra Special Effort

2002 Larkin Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley: Though many are unaware, Cabernet Franc can make a superlative wine. Just look at some of those coming from Bordeaux’ right-bank and those from the banks of the Loire (Chinon and Bourgueil). The grape is normally a bit more velvety and less blunt than Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a marvel of complexity. There are black fruits, currents, spice, toast and vanilla to mention some of its pleasures. It’s big, but bouncy, not brutally hard. You can see the signature of Bob Foley of Pride Mountain Vineyards, who consulted on the wine, and loves his wines big. The price is not cheap, $64.99, but it is worth it.

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New Arrivals

2001 Girasole Chardonnay, Santa Ynez Valley, $31.99: Two Master Sommeliers in San Francisco requested Brian Babcock, of the esteemed Babcock Vineyards, to make the perfect California Chardonnay. They wanted power and finesse. This has the “stuff,” along with a tantalizing key lime pie aspect that “really turns us on, baby.” There is some oak, which is sensually integrated with the fruit. An absolute moaner here...very Burgundian in style.

2003 Cosentino “The Zin” Zinfandel, Regularly $19.99/Sale $17.99: Seventy percent of this superb zin comes from 60-year-old vines, lending it a decidedly old-vine character: the exotic nose smacks of raspberry, black cherry and boysenberry, with hints of vanilla, earth and tar. The mouth-feel is rich and full, with lots of implicitly sweet black fruit, excellent balance, and a warm, lingering finish. A multiple gold medal-winner.

2002 Paraiso Chardonnay, Monterey, Santa Lucia Highlands, Regularly $13.99/ Sale $11.99: An impressive chardonnay culled from 16 small vineyard plots on the 400-acre Paraiso estate in Monterey’s Santa Lucia Highlands, this is bright with acidity and medium-full in body, offering rich aromas of pineapple, citrus, melon, baked apple and vanilla. The palate exudes citrus, tropical fruits, apples, caramel, spice, and butter; the finish adds toasted oak and cream. Perfect with poached salmon.

2002 Rosenblum Zinfandel “Oakley Vineyards,” Contra Costa, Regularly $17.99/ Sale $15.99: Crafted from dry-farmed, old vines, the current “Oakley” zin exhibits an elegant bouquet of sweet cherries and plums with hints of black pepper and vanilla. In the mouth, you’ll find ripe black cherries, stone fruits and exotic spices. An “entry-level” zin from Rosenblum that works well with a spit-roasted chicken, marinated in soy, garlic and mustard.

2002 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, $22.99: Bright cherry, blackcurrant, tobacco leaf, vanilla, toasted oak and a touch of earth are present in both the nose and the mouth of this approachable, well-balanced, medium-bodied cabernet from a rising star in the Central Coast. The finish is rich and round, with a subtle toastiness.

2001 Franciscan Oakville Estate “Magnificat” Red, Napa, Regularly $45.99/Sale $35.99: A rich, complex, mouth-filling red, with plush cherry and black cherry fruit, accented by vanilla and toasted oak with traces of black-berry, tobacco leaf, caramel, brown spices and earth. The wine’s lengthy finish—with hints of chocolate and vanilla—and early accessibility make this superb wine from Franciscan’s acclaimed Oakville Estate (named after J. S. Bach’s masterwork) one of our very best “Meritage” blends. We’ll be pouring this at our Meritage Tasting on March 16.

2003 Folie à Deux Menage à Trois Blanc, $10.99: “Menage a Trois” is here employed as a playful name for a blend of three grapes, and this blend of muscat, chardonnay and chenin blanc is one of our perennial favorites— beautifully balanced, off-dry and expansively aromatic, with layered floral, tropical, spicy flavors and a texture that make it more versatile than most white wines. A “poor man’s” Conundrum, you might say.

2003 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara, $17.99: Jim Clendenen has been producing superb, complex pinot noir in Santa Barbara County longer than most wine lovers have been drinking it. And this is Jim’s most reasonably priced effort, redolent of raspberries, herbs and earth, without wandering down the barnyard path. Smooth and plush on the palate, with essences of straw-berry, plum and pepper, the wine ends on a satisfyingly soft and harmonious note.

2003 Wild Horse Chardonnay, Central Coast, Regularly $15.99/Sale $13.99: An elegant white, exhibiting subtle aromas and flavors of Granny Smith apple, ripe Bosc pear, citrus fruit, vanilla bean and light oak; characteristics reflective of typical Wild Horse chardonnay (and a style that always gets “two thumbs up” from the Coaltrain staff). A crisp and creamy finish rounds out this stellar effort.

2001 Matanzas Creek Syrah, Sonoma Valley, $22.99: The fifth release of this classic Rhone-style varietal from Matanzas Creek is entirely syrah. The wine carries up-front smoky and meaty aromas, along with hints of coffee, leather and peppery spiciness that mingle with lush blueberry and wild cherry fruit flavors on the palate. This is one of the most elegant, stylish syrahs we’ve tasted. We agree with the Wine Enthusiast who ranked it as their top domestic syrah.

2003 Green & Red Zinfandel, Chiles Canyon, Napa, $19.99: A blend from the winery’s three mountain vineyards which overlook Chiles Canyon in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, this is a spicy, juicy zinfandel with bright cherry fruit and layers of toast, herbs, earth and licorice in the long finish. One of the more interesting and complex zins in our stable.

2003 Cooper Mountain Reserve Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, $14.99: There is a theory out there that you can not taste a wine’s “terroir” if pesticides and herbicides are used in the vineyard. This wine is totally organic and free of those lethal things. And, golly, does it have a lot of flavor…round, dry, mouthfilling Pinot Gris flavors. Maybe we’re crazy, but we even think you can taste the dirt of the vineyard whence the wine came.

2002 Blackwing Shiraz, South Australia, $11.99: Now here is a moderately priced Shiraz that really tastes like Shiraz…rich and spicy. It is a mouthful of wine with a multitude of layers. Too many other Shiraz at this price give you little more than generic red wine flavors. This sent us panting. with pleasure.

2000 Jim Barry “Macrae Wood” Shiraz, Clare Valley, $27.99: This wine will show you precisely why the Jim Barry winery is so acclaimed. Just to smell the wine which is redolent of dark cherries, plums, spice and mint is a wonder. The palate follows the nose with white pepper, smoky oak and ripe plums. Velvety tannins give the wine structure. In short, this is the real deal, at substantially less than “real deal” prices. 92 points from the Wine Spectator.

2000 Damilano Barolo, Regularly $49.99/Sale $39.99: It is surprising to a find a Barolo this sublime at such a reason-able price. Many of its peers hover around the $100 mark. This gives you the classic dried roses and violets on the nose. On the tongue are the cherries and dark fruits characteristic of the Nebbiolo grape. There is a spike of tannin, which makes us think that it is a candidate for time in the cellar. For what it’s worth, Wine Spectator awarded it 93 points.

2001 Fourplay Red, Sicily, Regularly $11.99/Sale $10.99: The name here kind of took us aback. It is derived from the four principal Sicilian grapes in the wine—Frappato Nere, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese and Nero d’Avola. Bet you haven’t heard of the first three. The wine is soft, round and enticing. It’s made by the great Chianti house, Dievole, which has ventured to Sicily to produce this triumph.

2001 Felsina Chianti Classico, $18.99: This is a big boy. And you would expect that because it comes from the village, Berardenga, where big boys are bred and born. And it’s also big because 2001 was an exceptional year for Chianti. It’s dark and brooding with a clear tannic jab. This is one to lay down for a bit or serve with potent Tuscan dishes like a massive and greasy “bistecca alla Fiorentina.”

2001 Bruno Natalini “Alcinoo” Sangiovese di Toscana, Regularly $14.99/Sale $12.99: Here is what the Brunello maker, Bruno Natalini, drinks in his home. It’s so good that the importer asked him to bottle some and ship it to America. It bursts with dried fruits and Asian spices. You could perhaps age it for a few years, but why wait? Our only question is, “What will Bruno drink with his meals…iced tea?” We doubt it.

2000 Terre del Grico “Don Felice,” Puglia, Regularly $23.99/Sale $19.99: Boy, the nose here is a treat all by itself. It exudes cinnamon, dried fruits and other Asian spices. The flavors are lush and remarkably round for such a big red wine. It is comprised of an equal blend of Primitivo and Negroamaro. This could be the best wine we have tasted from the far south of Italy.

2001 Domaine des Rozets, Coteaux de Tricastin Rouge, $8.99: Customers have asked us where the under $10 French values have disappeared to? They have probably disappeared into some European currency trader’s bank account. Yes, the demise of the US dollar. But every now and then one of these old values pops up. Here we have a soft, round, cherry essenced wine that is utterly delicious. We call these kind of wines “ quaffers.”

2003 Domaine de Couron, Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages, $12.99: We pant in ecstasy when we taste a wine this good at such a modest price. How do they do it? This wine gives a combination of red fruit flavors, set upon a foundation of dusty tannins. Try this…we think it will make you pant, too.

2003 Casa Castillo Monastrell, Jumilla, $11.99: We’ve carried this Spanish red for two or three vintages now and this could be the best yet. The reason is that this vintage has, perhaps, more grace than its predecessors. It always awes us when a big wine can be graceful too. By the way, Monastrell is the grape called Mourvedre in France, which is responsible for the potent Bandol wines, east of Marseille.

2003 Las Rocas Garnacha, Calatayud, $9.99: It pleases us to see what these Spaniards can create with the Grenache grape (“Garnacha” in Spanish). Last vintage, Robert Parker raved about Las Rocas giving thie wine 91 points. We think this vintage is a great value as well. It has forward black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors that are darker than those founds in many Spanish Grenaches. But, it doesn’t lacerate your tongue with hard tannins. The result is a pretty wine that is easy to drink, but interesting as well.

2000 Montecillo Rioja, Regularly $11.99/Sale $9.99: This is an entirely different Spanish “gato” (cat). It’s civilized, with cherry notes dominating the sensory profile. Yet it’s not jammy…something we abhor. It is made largely from Tempranillo, Spain’s principle quality grape, and therefore the wine shows clearly different from the two Spaniards above.

2002 Mapema Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, $19.99: By now, everyone knows of our infatuation with Argentinean wines. And it isn’t because we were raised playing polo with Argentines in Palm Beach (gosh, those guys can ride). Okay, we like the bold, macho, galloping aspects of their wines. All that is here, again but in a avery stylish way. No wonder those Argentine polo players are always grinning about “la cosa mas sabrosa.”

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Something New and Different

2000 Chateau Versant du Haut Poulvere Monbazillac, Regularly $19.99/Sale $17.99: Welcome to Monbazillac, a late harvested white wine that is similar to Sauternes and Barsac. No, you don’t come upon a wine like this every day. The wines are made in southwestern France, east of Bergerac. The vineyards were originally planted 900 years ago on the slopes of Mont Bazailhac. Due to the pitch of the vineyards and that the wine can only be made with grapes infected with “noble rot,” all the picking is done by hand, no machines. This particular Monbazillac is made by a woman, Nelly Volford, who is renowned in France for her general wine knowledge (she is a wine judge at Vinexpo, in Bordeaux), alone with the wines she makes. This wine is lush on the palate with aromas of honey, peach and apricot. The acid balances the sweetness and allows each sip to dance a waltz on your tongue. What do you serve with a wine like this? Well, blue cheese (Roquefort, Stilton, Bleu d’Auvergne), lobster, squash raviolis, salted nuts, along with the ultimate hedonistic match, foie gras. It is so delicious that you could also pour it alone as an aperitif. Check this out, it will amaze you. IT IS ONE OF THE FINEST WHITE WINES WE HAVE TASTED IN A YEAR.

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Restaurant Alert
THE LAST GREAT RESTAURANT IN FRANCE, MICHEL BRAS

Laguiole, France—”Le diner” ain’t what it used to be in this land. Costly inedibles produced by hallowed restaurants like Paul Bocuse, Tour d’Argent and the touted and trumpeted Jardin des Sens in Montpellier really make you wonder. What went wrong? Well, I believe the problem is the French obsessive passion for all things American, particularly American music, movies and McDonalds. The hip and “ vachement” fashionable Frenchman has no interest in fine food and, in fact, wouldn’t even know what fine food is.

But don’t despair, there is a place in the French countryside of Auvergne where one can still eat divinely. It is the Michelin three starred Michel Bras, named after the chef/owner. As Arthur Lubow wrote, a while back, in a monumental cover story in a Sunday New York Times magazine, “Only Michel Bras, in his Zen-like restaurant in the remote Aubrac, maintains the tradition of originality and purity that animated ‘nouvelle cuisine.’” That story decried the plunge in French restaurant quality, while lauding the rocketing quality of Basque and Catalan cooking in Spain. It also noted that many of these new, inventive Basque and Catalan chefs cite Michel Bras as their inspiration. This loosed a fury among the largely unsophisticated and parochial readers of the New York Times, who fired a salvo of ranting, protest letters that appeared in following issues of the newspaper’s magazine. But, how accurate Mr. Lubow was. I wrote him a letter of congratulation for his brilliant story.

The first time we ate with Michel Bras (I’ve eaten there four times) was a perplexing experience. On sighting the restaurant/hotel on a hillside above the village of Laguiole, we were shocked, almost appalled. Since, in the Aubrac region of Auvergne, stone walled, slate roofed buildings appear to be the law, we were expecting some similar structure for Bras’ operation. Instead we spied a contemporary, three tiered compound layered on the hillside. A glass enclosed “ship’s prow” jutted off on one end. Our first words were, “That can’t be it, can it?” It was.

We were wildly off. This is a marvelous work of architecture. Though modern we learned that it is fashioned after a “buron” the traditional Aubrac shepards’ huts that were built low to the ground of stone and slate. Bras’ structures have the same shape and use granite, blue steel and slate roofs typical of the area. The windows are to provide the wondrous views and the intoxicating varieties of light. The architect, Eric Raffy spent years on this hillside studying the angles, views, geology, ecology and even the travel paths of the Aubrac cattle passing through.

What a job Raffy has done. We were stunned when we entered and peered into the glass wrapped lounge, furnished with white leather chairs, set against the windows with a hooded fireplace in the middle. We looked out on the emerald green plateau and the pastures full of munching cattle. It was the definition of the word “bucolic.”

The walk to the dining room is equally stunning because the gray granite hallway has a stream-like rivulet of water running along it. Yes, it’s like a hike through the wilds. In places, stone bridges bring you into the dining room, where one wall is glass from floor to ceiling. Tables are set along these glass windows and you are separated by your next door diners by cloth fans. We could hardly believe what we were seeing.

We could say but one thing…“Let’s eat.” Soon after being led to our window side table we were introduced to Serge Calderon, the sommelier. He presides over the wine list that is not immense, but a good fit for Bras’ cooking. We ordered a bottle of Condrieu to kick things off. When it came and the tasting sample was poured, I noted it was cloudy. “Hmm, ‘non filtre,’” I chuckled. Serge blanched and scurried off with the wine. It had apparently undergone a secondary fermentation in the bottle. We switched to a bottle of Sancerre with a bit of oak aging that worked with the first dishes to come.

That event broke the ice and began a relationship with Serge that endures today. Whenever we come, we always ask for a bottle of unfiltered Condrieu. He laughs and reminds us that he sent all that back to the maker.

Getting to the eating that day, we selected the middle-sized menu of three menus that are normally offered. It was called “Evasion & Terres” and included seven different courses and cost about $70 then (the same menu with today’s weak dollar costs about $100). We chose this menu because it was the only one that included the filet of Aubrac. This was the beef we had heard so much about and the tawny cows we had seen munching contentedly in every farmer’s pasture.

Sadly, recent years have not been kind to this mellow beast. In 1981, farmers began to introduce Holstein cows into their herds, replacing the Aubracs. These foreign Holsteins produce a lot of milk, but of an inferior quality. But the Aubracs withstood this invasion because the Holsteins, originally from Holland, could not adapt to the harsh climate of the Aubrac plateau. Justice!

But, today, yet another interloping foreigner has arrived. This is the Pic-Rouge-de-l’Est, coming from Switzerland. Like the Holstein cows, this Swiss variety gives massive amounts of milk, but of higher quality. Thus the Aubrac’s status seems threatened again.

You might ask what the fuss is about? Well, besides supplying tender filets, the Aubrac also provides the milk to make the Laguiole cheese which is good enough to have AOC status (“Appellation Origine Controllee”). Milk from other cows changes the characteristics and quality of the cheese.

And what a cheese this is. Laguiole is made in huge cylindrical wheels that weigh between 60 and 110 pounds. With four months of aging the cheese is firm, yellow/gold in color and shares similar flavors and textures with Switzerland’s cow’s milk cheese, Gruyere. Often, you can taste the mountain herbs and vegetation upon which the Aubracs have grazed. With further “affinage” (aging) the original white and orange rind darkens and turns brown. The cheese becomes more aromatic, the texture is grainier and the flavors are sharper, more intense. Then the Laguiole takes on some of the characteristics of an Italian Parmigiano. You can taste the various ages of the Laguiole together at the “Fromagere Jeune Montagne” in the edge of the town. It is a cooperative that was founded in 1960 to protect the quality of the Laguiole cheese. I did this tasting and found the 10 month old Laguioles to be tops for complexity and palatability. Much older than this and the aroma becomes difficult to get around.

At Michel Bras, Laguiole cheese is used most famously to make “aligot” which is always served as a side dish with the Aubrac filets. On that first luncheon, we were totally perplexed by this item appearing on our tasting menu as, “Clin d’oeil l’Aubrac, l’aligot.” “Is it a root, tuber, plant or a wine,” we queried Serge.

He laughed and explained, “The ‘aligot’ is a pureed potato and cheese dish that was traditionally prepared by ‘burroniers’ tending the Aubrac cattle in their ‘burons.’ The ‘tome,’ fresh, unaged Laguiole cheese, is stirred in a pot with the mashed potatoes, cream, garlic, salt and times the juice of grilled sausages. There are many personal variations of ‘aligot.’”

At Michel Bras, the “aligot” is twisted onto your plate from a bowl to accompany the Aubrac filets. We chuckled to see such a humble dish at such a dynamic and inventive restaurant. It works. There is synergy between the “aligot” and the filet. It would make an Aubrac cow proud.

The plate also shows Bras’s enduring passion for his land. He mused, “The Aubrac never ceases to surprise me. These leaden skies, occasionally split by a ray of light are the inspiration behind the dark shape of my file of Monkfish. While the baked bread crusts evoke the granite and basalt of my native land.”

You don’t need a sharp knife to cut the Aubrac filets. But, as you’d suppose, Michel Bras provides some of the most exquisite cutlery to accomplish this task which is the “corkscrew” connection in the title of this story. There is a booming artisan cutlery industry in Laguiole. It is so esteemed that in most every fashionable shopping district of the world, Laguiole products can be found. There are Email sites selling the wares. And reportedly, a booming business in Laguiole fakes.

Bras’ silverware is not fake. The settings were designed to his specifications by the Forge de Laguiole that can be seen from the restaurant. His knives, forks and spoons fit into a small silver stand, shaped like a flat pebble. It has notches and grooves for each piece. As you move through the course of a meal, new silverware is added to this stand. It’s just click, click, click and clean utensils are ready to go for the coming plate.

Laguiole’s cutlery tradition began in 1829 when Pierre-Jean Caimets made the first folding knife which is the area’s trademark piece. The idea came from knives seen in Catalunya, where many Laguiole people traveled for work. The first knives came with a spike at one end that was used to deflate the bellies of Aubrac cattle that had eaten too much grass. The spine morphed into a corkscrew as many Auvergnats migrated to Paris to sell wood and wine. An example of this is Jacques Melac and his sensational “bistro a vin,” in the 11th arrondissement.

Today the knife designs have come a long way baby. The clothing diva, Sonia Rykiel, even designed one with her signature red and black colors. There seems to be an endless array of silverware, carving knives, and professional, kitchen knives. And, of course, there are the corkscrews. These are graceful, beautiful and utilitarian. Some have handles of Aubrac horn, exotic woods or ivory. And they can cost you from $100 to several $100.

Serge Calderon wields his Laguiole corkscrew with consummate panache in the Bras dining room. He gets a lot of practice because he normally recommends four wines in the course of a dinner. As an aperitif, he might recommend an artisan Champagne from Gimmonet or Gaston Chiquet. “These will cleanse the palate and awaken the stomach for what is to come,” he will say.

With the initial fish courses such as Bras’ mussels and tuna in a banana sauce or the filet of “dorade” in sauce of figs and olive oil, Serge likes a Sancerre or Alsatian Riesling. On our last stop he served a bedazzling Ostertag Muenchberg Grand Cru Riesling that went nicely with the above dishes. “You do not want a heavy, oaky wine at this stage of the dinner. Rather you need a pure, yet firm wine.”

Burgundy is what Serge prefers with the Aubrac filet, venison or lamb that are normally offered as the meat courses. By the way, these are always prepared rare. If you want it different, you must tell the waiter at the start. Normally we go with something from Jean-Marc Pavelot, like his Savigny-les-Beaune, Les Dominodes. It marries with the meat well and the price is a relative “bon marche” at $70/bottle. Serge feels that young Bordeaux is too strong for those rare meats.

Serge, like most any sommelier, believes that dessert and the correct wine makes for some of the most electric and synergetic flavor sensations. Consider the hot bilberry cake in a warm lemon zest sauce, accompanied by a lemon sorbet and lemon confit. With a Muscat de Rivsaltes there is a cannonade of flavors in your mouth. The sweetness of the wine sings a duet with the tartness of the dessert.

So goes at lunch or dinner with Serge conducting the performance. Oh, it must be noted that dinner at Bras is bit different than lunch. Dinner, you see, starts in the comfy leather chairs of the lounge. In thus setting, with a small fire under the central ventilating hood, you are shown some of Bras’ most creative efforts…his homemade infusions and “coque-mouillettes” (soft boiled egg presented with a variety of cheeses and breads). The infusions are some of the most exotic liquids you can put in your mouth. He offers one of gentian and licorice, another of elderflower and, lastly, one made from the esteemed nuts of Entraygues. With these exotic potions you can munch on a soft boiled egg that is accompanied by finger sized slices of “fouace” (a flat brioche) and mousses and pastry preparations of the local cheeses. I have noted that what comes varies according to season and Bras’ fancy of the moment.

That is the evening introduction to Bras’ wonderland. When the “maitre d’” comes to escort you to your table, you have arrived in gastronomic heaven, yes, the last great restaurant in France.

N.B. Michel Bras is open only from the beginning of April to the end of October. Reservations are a necessity. One year we tried to make a reservation in August for any day in October and were completely shut out. Reservations for the calendar year can be made on January 2. The phone number is 05 65 51 18 20. Fax is 05 65 48 47 02. The website is michel-bras.com, where reservations can also be made.

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