Le Raisin et L'Ange, Fable 2009

This is exactly the sort of red I like to drink in summer - well, to tell the truth most times of the year.

We ordered it on our way back from France when we stopped another night at the Auberge de Chassignolles from which we seem unable to keep away.

It's a sign, I suppose, of how much our tastes have changed that Harry Lester, the proprietor, wasn't sure if we would like it and offered to open another bottle if we didn't. (He said he would drink it himself as it was one of his favourite wines.) But it had that vivid life-enhancing fruit that natural reds - especially Syrah - tend to possess and I loved it. No sulphur though which may mean it varies from bottle to bottle - and Harry decanted it which I suggest you do too.

We drank it with buckwheat pancakes, stuffed with chard and goats cheese, with slow roast lamb shanks and a deconstructed, less-oily-than-usual ratatouille and with a selection of cheeses to which it stood up very well. 

The producer Gilles Azzoni of Mas de la Bégude doesn't seem to have a website but there's a good account of his winemaking philosophy here. He's based in St Maurice d'Ibie in the Ardèche just west of Montélimar. You can buy it in the UK from Gergovie Wines at I'm not sure what price but it shouldn't be too expensive. Just 16€ on the Chassignolles list.

Rating: Amber (see right)

Fête du Vin, Chassignolles - small but perfect

There was music. There was dancing. There were three days of feasting - and of course there was wine - litres of it! The tiny fête du vin the the Auvergne village of Chassignolles two weekends agom masterminded by the owners of the auberge Harry Lester and Ali Johnson, was as good as it gets. The pictures say it all . . .

The eve of fête feast with the winemakers and helpers. Centrepiece - roast lamb with spelt.

The lunch menu at the fête - note the franglais translation of hot dogs. The tripe was ladled out of a giant cauldron (below). Enjoyed less by me, I must confess, than one local habitué on the terrace.

 

The resident artist . . .

1368 Cerro las Monjas from Spanish natural wine producer Barranco Oscuro

Photographer Jason Lowe enjoying a swig

René Mosse

Another natural winemaker - can't recall who. The slogan on his T-shirt reads "After midnight I'll be different."

The musicians tuning up.

The evening's feast for 200. A fantastic five course meal of paté, soup, grilled beef and gratin dauphinois, cheese and chocolate tart.

Lunch the next day. (Alain Castex of the wonderful Casot de Maiolles standing). Another 5 courser: scrambled eggs with girolles, pea and broad bean soup, roast chicken with purée, cheese and apricot tart. All for 25€.

And finally the lovely fête posters.

If this hasn't sated your appetite for photos of the event you'll find more on my Flickr stream here and more pictures of the Auberge and the surrounding countryside here.