Lunch at Le Montrachet, 26th June

Lunch at Le Montrachet, the hotel in Puligny-Montrachet, is always a treat and I launch a campaign for it to happen every time I go to Burgundy. This year we were able to find time to fit it in on the Monday, and Julien very kindly dropped us off right outside, en route back to his vineyard in Corpeau.

The woman on the front desk was very friendly, handshakes all round, and then we proceeded up the staircase to the wine bar where we were greeted by the maitre d' and the sommeliere. With such good weather, we were able to sit out on the terrace which is next to a large lawn covered in clover flowers. It was good to be back.

They have a very comprehensive and interesting wine list, and ACC selected this white to start with. I was excited to see several young women who seemed to be sommelieres-in-training, and immediately started planning a Mallory Towers style Sommeliere School series. If Netflix are paying attention, I'll be happy to discuss further with them. Anyway, one of them had the unenviable task of uncorking this bottle in front of an audience of three which I found pretty nerve-racking on her behalf, but it was all fine, and a very good bottle of white it was too.

We had the excellent value 32 euro set lunch menu and were amused at the translation of something as "sir-fired" which certainly confused the table of Americans sitting nearby. What could it possibly mean?

G didn't have time to take a photo of the usual plate of amuses-gueles before they were wolfed down. The starter was this take on a Caesar salad.

I'm trying for the life of me to remember what exactly this was! Damn le Montrachet for changing their menu every month so I can't check. Update: G has reminded me it was veal, ratte potatoes and peppers.

There was some excitement at this point as the main course had been served but we didn't yet have our red wine to go with it. Fortunately this was soon rectified by the head sommeliere herself (I love her little pin which is a bunch of grapes)!

We went for this Moulin a Vent from Jean-Paul Dubost - check out the trendy label. My only quibble was that every time our glasses were refilled, it was assumed that the boys would be partaking but I was always specifically asked if I wanted any more, which made me feel like a dreadful drunken woman. I'm probably way too prickly on this point, but this kind of thing irritates the hell out of me and I wish they wouldn't do it. Anyway, end of rant.

For pudding, I had this strawberry shortcake thing.

We also got a round of petits fours, which were beautiful to look at.

And finally, a glass of Roulot marc de bourgogne for the road.

We had some time to kill before our taxi was due, so found a nearby park bench on which to sit, and G took a photo of the fountain. The perfect reflection across the square indicates how little fountain action was actually going on. It was an incredibly peaceful place and just right for a half-hour snooze.