On Friday 15 January I had a painfully early departure from St Pancras to be in Paris for a 9.30am meeting. Happily there weren’t any snow-related problems with my Eurostar train and I arrived promptly.
After the meeting I was left with 11 hours to kill in Paris before returning home. I went for a walkabout, starting on Avenue George V, then to the Eiffel Tower. From there I walked right across the city to Père Lachaise Cemetery where I visited Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison and then headed back west for a more social meeting than the morning appointment.
I had arranged to rendezvous with Per and Britt Karlsson, an immensely likeable Swedish couple who have lived in Paris for 16 years. They run wine tours for Scandinavian clients and send out the useful BKWine Brief e-mail each month.
Britt suggested we meet at a wine bar that she had not yet visited. Ma Cave Fleury is a “cave éco-logique” run by Morgane Fleury of the eponymous Côte des Bar Champagne house. It opened in February 2009 and lists a full range of Fleury Champagnes as well as a nice selection of other Biodynamic wines.
We tried the soft and fruity Rosé de Saignée NV (actually 2006), which had generous Aubois fruit and a flattering dosage of about 9g/ltr according to Morgane. A bit too sweet for me, even after walking across Paris.
The Blanc de Blancs 2000 was yeasty and bready though utterly clean with it. I thought it was quite mineral. This had a lower dosage of about 5g/ltr and was better for it – more refined and grown-up!
Ma Cave Fleury is on the seedy Rue Saint-Denis. Morgane told us that she never had any trouble with the sex shops and prostituées but drug dealing was a significant problem and she closes relatively early as a safeguard against unwelcome visitors in the evening.
Not having been to Paris for some time I had forgotten how ubiquitous the greengrocers’ apostrophe is with shops trying to be chic and using English: mocha’s, latte’s and coffee’s. On Rue Saint Denis the shops sell interesting video’s and film’s…
Worcester Sauce 