Routes gourmandes du Sud-Ouest : entre vignes, rivière et foie gras | Trésors du Patrimoine

🍷 Le Sud-Ouest comme vous ne l’avez jamais goûté, avec le chef étoilé Guy Martin ! 🌳

Amoureux de la France et du patrimoine, ses trésors n’auront plus de secrets pour vous 👉 https://bit.ly/4dnI1h1

Des coteaux du Quercy aux berges de l’Adour, ce documentaire vous entraîne au cœur d’un territoire de caractère, où produits d’exception, savoir-faire viticole et traditions paysannes se rencontrent.

🌿 Dans le Bas Quercy, Didier cultive la truffe noire sur les causses calcaires et accompagne ses récoltes d’un vin de Cahors.
🐟 Dans les Landes, Antoine élève un saumon rare et recherché, nourri sans OGM ni farine animale.
🥩 En Chalosse, les éleveurs perpétuent l’élevage du bœuf local, tandis qu’en Saintonge, le cognac dévoile ses arômes puissants.

✨ Une immersion au plus près des producteurs, entre gestes séculaires, transmission et fierté d’un terroir généreux.

📌 Un voyage sensoriel entre truffes, foie gras, saumon, bœuf, cognac et vignobles du Sud-Ouest.

#SudOuest #TruffeNoire #VinDeCahors #SaumonDeLAdour #BoeufDeLaChalosse #Cognac #FoieGras #AgricultureLocale #ProduitsDuTerroir #DocumentaireFrance #FranceGourmande

Épicerie Fine – Terroirs Gourmands (Saison 7) :
E01 – Truffe noire et vin de Cahors du Bas Quercy
E19 – Saumon de l’Adour et bœuf de la Chalosse
E33 – Betterave crapaudine et Cognac de la Saintonge

© Tout droits réservés – AMP
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In the heart of Lot, in the Occitanie region. The causses, valleys,
caves and chasms have fascinated man since the dawn of time,
making these regions a breeding ground for tales and legends. The Quercy Blanc and the Causse de Limogne
extend over the southern part of the department and conceal
priceless treasures in their subsoil. The clay-limestone geological composition
makes these lands ideal for growing exceptional products that have given
the region its reputation. Among them is Malbec,
a grape variety that has given rise to many wines throughout history, notably
under the name of Cahors wine. Originally called COS,
this emblematic grape variety of the Lot has been cultivated since the 1st century and is exported
all over the world. The other gem of this terroir is none other
than the black truffle, called tuber melanosporum by professionals. It has different names
from Périgord to Vaucluse. But the Quercy truffle is said to be
the most sought after for its quality and subtle woody flavors. On this December day,
as a blanket of cold covers hibernating nature,
Paul Pinsard and his hunting companion prepare to go
in search of truffles. 40 years ago, Paul moved
to Lalbenque with his wife. Upon his arrival,
he developed a real passion for growing this black mushroom. When I married my wife,
who was in the business since her parents were farmers,
they had a few small oak plantations, truffle oaks. They were always picking up a
few truffles, and then we reached the 80s where we
had practically no truffles left. So we said to ourselves that if we
wanted to maintain this production in our region. So we started
planting some oak trees. The downy oak and the holm oak are,
like the hazelnut, truffle trees
produced from the fruiting of the mycelium. At the root level,
the truffle develops in symbiosis with the tree from the beginning of spring. During the summer, it takes shape and grows,
then enters the maturation phase at the end of November until its peak in January. But knowing
the truffle cycle is not enough to find it, you also need to know where to look for it. Come, come, come!
Come on ! Look for.
Look for. Look for.
Look for. Look for. There, we are on a truffle ground
where to recognize it, we say like that we are on a burn.
Burn it. This is the place where
truffles are harvested. The whole difference between where there is
no grass and where there is. The term cave means to search. So we look for the truffle, we dig it up,
we remove it from the ground. For us, we do it with a pig
because we think that the pig is like. It has a much less pronounced sense of smell
than the dog, the pig, it looks for the truffle to eat it. So he searches,
he searches for the best, where she is, where she is, where she is.
I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen it. A large majority do it with
the dog for convenience. A dog that is well trained. He may very well find you
truffles that are not quite ripe or are a little past their prime. There you go. Look, when he marked it on me, the nose,
the nose, it’s there. So to remove it,
I go underneath with my truffadou. The time that eats me up,
the reward I gave him. I do this.
And then the truffle comes out. When he smells the
powerful scent of undergrowth and humus. The pig is never wrong in
locating the truffle at perfect ripeness. But for several years now,
Paul has had some unpleasant surprises during his winter harvest. There we have it.
We have two truffles. There is one that is really super
marbled, fine, white, with a grayish-blackish flesh
and a truffle that is a truffle that has suffered from the drought,
which has become here just like woody. It is not easy for a novice to recognize
this luxury mushroom among 1000 stones and pebbles that jealously surround it. It looks like a small potato. You can really smell the truffle in the smell
it gives off, but also in the quality of the marbling, the one we find here. We can say that it is
still the terroir. It’s a terroir like. Like a wine. A wine from Cahors.
It has different terroirs. It depends on the land. We, our region, it really is. Limestone soils which
really produce quality truffles. We won’t say it’s the best,
but to be chauvinistic, we could say so. A few kilometers from
Paul Pinsard’s farm, near the Lot Valley, an essential gastronomic companion
to the truffle is cultivated. How are you ? Fresh in 1999, Catherine Maisonneuve
and Mathieu Cosse, two lovers of great wines,
decided to take over a Malbec wine estate with the aim of producing
a Cahors wine worthy of the greatest houses. Our beginnings were a little complicated
because neither of us were born in Cahors. Neither of us inherited
an agricultural or wine-growing heritage. So we had faith, we were motivated,
we had energy, a lot of energy. It required
a lot of personal investment from us. But we are passionate about great wines
and our goal is to contribute, during our short time on Earth,
a small stone to the edifice of great wines and try to do
something beautiful. Oh yeah Gerard, you cut the Brad Pitts
And then the ugly ones, what do you leave them? Will you leave them for me? Thanks to their love of nature
and their shared passion. After several years of hard work
and a lot of persistence, the pair regenerated their vineyard
while rebalancing the natural ecosystem of the soil. Now that’s a foot I like. It really is the ideal foot. As we are trying to restructure
the entire vineyard, that is to say we are tightening up, this is called Coppicing all the vines
to once again have sap paths which allow good nutrition
of the vine and therefore balanced grapes. There is also the fact that
the vine must be well fed. And this food is obtained in particular from the herbs that grow and which are links between the roots
of the vine and the roots of these herbs. So. Catherine and Mathieu practice
biodynamic agriculture, encouraging organic life
at the foot of the vines, through a
root symbiosis with wild flora. The plant is nourished with vitamins,
enriched with delicate flavors and develops its natural defenses. The use of chemical treatments is
then no longer necessary. It’s true that ten years ago,
when we arrived, it was Verdun. There was not an insect, there was
no flora, there was nothing at all. It takes longer and is more laborious
on soils with a basic pH, on calcareous soils which are
fragile soils, to allow natural flora to re-establish itself which will communicate
with the roots of the vine. So there is something extraordinary here,
it is the most blatant example. That is to say that we have a lot
of birds here and there is a bird that came to plant an oak tree at the foot of the vineyard. I find this and instead of destroying it,
I’m going to leave it in place. I’m going to prune the oak,
but I’m going to keep the roots and I’ll see what happens. And it’s not going to hurt the amount
of grapes I produce. For three years, biodynamics has produced
harvests that are similar to industrial production methods. Simply, we have grapes that are
much more interesting since they are rich in vitamins
and aromatic compounds. By respecting the precepts
of biodynamics. Catherine and Mathieu hope to give
their grape varieties the opportunity to be a better expression of their terroir. Another beautiful interpreter
of the Lands of Lot, the Truffle. Every year, a festival celebrates this
local product and, above all, a market has become famous and is specifically dedicated to it in Lalbenque. During this weekly event,
a local artisan also offers visitors the chance to taste the famous truffle. This week,
it’s the turn of Patrick Marty, a cheesemaker in Cahors, to present
one of his recipes: Truffled Brie. Brie goes perfectly with
truffles, simply because it already has that slightly mushroomy aroma.
Brie. When you smell Brie, you will get
a mushroomy feeling on it. Brie is not too strong a cheese,
meaning it won’t overpower the taste of the truffle. In his back room,
Patrick reveals the behind-the-scenes of this combination of flavors. To make a truffle brie, you
have to cut it in two. First, prepare a stuffing based on mascarpone and Brillat-Savarin. Cover both parts of the Brie
equally with the stuffing you have prepared. Slice the truffles very thinly. I tried it with other cheeses
than Brie, Reblochon, Mont Dore, Rocamadour also with Mont Dore. It doesn’t add
much to Rocamadour. I’m a little bothered
by the taste of goat cheese. Personally, I think that to
highlight the truffle, brie is still the best cheese. To finish, Patrick divides thin
slices of truffle between the two parts of the cheese. A few days of rest to allow
the Brie to absorb its guest of honor. And there we go, we’re going to put it in the fridge. And on truffle market day,
it can generously delight the taste buds of curious passers-by
and potential buyers. Being present on the market
also allows future customers to realize that we are on the market
precisely to buy these truffles and that they do not come from elsewhere. The Lalbenque truffle market takes place
every Tuesday from the beginning of December to mid-March. Unique in its kind,
it is the only market where truffle growers exhibit their products to potential
buyers, both individuals and professionals. Paul Pinsard took his place
alongside his colleagues. The sale starts at 2:30 p.m. sharp. Twenty years ago, this market did
not exist as it does today. For about twenty years,
it has opened up to individuals. It is individuals
who come to buy a lot. They have the possibility of buying 100,
200, 300 grams of truffles, whereas before it was mainly
brokers who came and bought. I promise you I’m not cheating. These are the truffles that are harvested. They are harvested within the week. They were washed
two or three days ago. They are presented,
brushed, dry and never washed. But before negotiations can begin
, we must patiently wait for the whistle. They say a good market is one
where the truffles are sold within 30 minutes, which is the case
most of the time. It’s tiny,
but it’s still good. They are beautiful. We can make
a small consommé, you know. Then you put them in the consommé,
like that. A creamy soup. You will put them aside for me.
I’ll put it aside. There you go, it will be a little cheaper. It’ll be OK.
I don’t know. We’re going to do this at 550. That’s too much. If we make five five.
Come on ! THANKS.
Come on. Well, it was a bit complicated
because as we were coming out of a cold period, people were afraid that the
truffles would be a bit frozen. But it was still a good thing
because there were really good quality truffles. Among the lucky buyers at the market
today is Alexis Pélissou, a gourmet and true truffle lover. With you, there is no dust,
as the other says. So to spot the good truffle, it’s by eye, then by the smell of the truffle and then by touch. They say it has a truffle smell,
but to define it, it’s a little mushroomy,
a little here, a little there, a little musky. It’s very difficult to define,
but in any case, it has to be very pleasant. So.
We leave this flavor enthusiast
to find two others. Mathieu Cosse and Catherine Maisonneuve are
meeting today at the winery to oversee the maturation of their vintages
through their usual short tasting session. I think that we are
not far from the end. Frankly. On the nose, you see,
we have a floral character that is starting to take hold. We find the breed of the land. The bottom of the glass is really
thin, really thin, you see. Honestly, I don’t know
what more would be needed. How could we make it
even more, more advanced? It’s so much.
No, I think we’re in place now. So.
We are fair. We really feel the influence
of biodynamics and we have. We really have.
Gained in precision. In precision, impurity of expression
thanks to biodynamics. We achieve a balance,
an extra soul and a complexity. So we are going further in the
qualitative approach and expression of the terroir. Basically,
it’s a perfectionist approach to making the best
possible wine from a given terroir. As is sometimes practiced
in biodynamics, these winegrowers do not hesitate to spray infusions of
yarrow and German chamomile on their vines. A practice which,
beyond stimulating the plant’s immune defenses, would have
an impact on the natural aromas of the wine. The impact of biodynamics
on the taste of wines is evident. We have much more finesse,
expression, aromatic complexity. We have a lot of precision
in the definition of wines. This is because the plant
takes 5% of its nutrition. In soils, it is 5% that are
aromatic complexity and antioxidants. So from the moment we have
extremely living soils with a rhizosphere in place,
the vine allows us to produce very complex aromatic compounds. Today, we see in the latest
vintages wines that are becoming more refined, that are becoming considerably more complex
and here we can only link it to biodynamics and in a very,
very coherent and Cartesian way. Proud of the result of their efforts. Today, Catherine and Mathieu are bringing
a few bottles from their estate to Coline Joubert, wine merchant,
and Florian Balezeau, sommelier. They follow with great interest
the evolution of the wines of Domaine Coste Maisonneuve.
So, what are we talking about here? 2014 2014 The lackeys. So here we are on the limestone terroir. Superb, juicy, juicy, incredible,
velvety texture, sweet spices, tannins of a finesse which is
mainly linked to the Malbec grape variety. So in their youth,
we have wine profiles with slightly candied black fruit,
cherry, a little bit of bigarreau, sometimes kirsch. Depending on the terroir profiles,
we quickly have, with the development of three or four years, a wine profile with
a slightly heavy liquorice register, like that on the beautiful vintages. And then after that truffle. After about ten years,
we are really in a truffle register. A great Cahors wine
is also a great, easy-drinking wine. And there. With their powerful character and
strong tannins that only soften after aging,
Cahors wines have not always been able to easily build a reputation. This austere image needs to change
because local wine-growing practices have been undergoing a complete transformation in recent years
. We have winemakers with
different ideas, with a different past who come with
new ideas and who therefore offer wines ranging from the most fruity to the most
complex, always keeping a very, very drinkable and very easy side. That’s what’s great. Between this new generation that can be
enjoyed young and the historic Cahors that are fully revealed
after ten years of age, Malbec Quercinois is now invited to the finest tables. Cahors has raised the bar. I think that increasingly,
on the wine lists of our Michelin- starred restaurants in France, there is a two-
star, three-star Michelin star. We are finding more and more Cahors
and this is also a sign of high quality wine. A quality wine. A new generation of winemakers. Cahors aims for a place among the greats. Another local product also needs
a little boost to ensure a prosperous future. Paul Pinsard is
visiting Alain Ambialet, president of the Lalbenque truffle growers’ union, today. He would like to find a way
to bring water to these thirsty truffle fields.
We found it. In recent years,
repeated summer droughts have caused significant damage to the harvest. And there you go, I found this
in our woods just now. It’s the truffle patch that you water a little. You’re going to water. There and that’s the one I would like to
water next year. He came to see me for a bit.
You’ll see what I do. Because I think if
I watered I would have some. Instead of having seven or eight,
I could maybe have about fifty. What the union is doing
is thinking about possible help, or at least for the time being,
advice for our farmers to encourage them to find a way
to water their truffle fields. But watering is complicated because
we are in a region where it is difficult. The water is quite far away,
drilling is complicated. You have to drill at 150,
100 or 200 meters. So it’s a cost, it’s a high cost. So there are other solutions and we are
thinking about finding much simpler and, above all, less expensive solutions. Thanks to a small lake located
near his land. Alain set up an
irrigation system to guarantee the presence of water in the event of drought. You’re good.
Made to stop you. I’ll tell you honestly, if I
didn’t have that, I wouldn’t have the nose. Well, you see, for me,
the solution I found is this. That’s my tip. All along, I plug in sprinklers.
Me. I’m about 50 cm from the tree. And this sprinkler will allow me
to water it like rain. And you see, I’m about
two meters around the tree. Two meters radius. And so that allows me to. Where the truffles are, I water them. As a union official. Alain recently filed a request
with the region to help truffle growers set up
irrigation systems with the consequences of global warming. This aid will be necessary for the survival
of this profession and its local economy. I think the request
has been taken into account. We were listened to at this level and I
think that it will lead to something. Just like the truffle growers,
local winegrowers are taking action to defend the interests
of their appellation. Catherine Maisonneuve and Coline Joubert
meet with other wine professionals to consider the future of
Cahors wine over the next ten years. So, first, the origin of Malbec. For 800 years, it has been France. I would like that to be clarified already. In fact, the Cahors appellation is
in a bit of a plate tectonic situation , that is to say that we are
historically and geographically associated with Bordeaux, but increasingly,
we have another plate which is clashing with this plate. This Bordeaux plaque
is that of Burgundy. And finally,
there may be the emergence of a Cahors model inspired by the
other two models, but from Cahors. We offer three, five, ten Cahors,
Cahors, Basque, Cahors this, Cahors that, with very marked identities. You see what I mean? For me, Cahors is an appellation
that I would like to see and I will do everything to ensure that it is at the same level
as the Pomerol appellation, at the same level as Burgundy,
because it has the terroirs for that. Finally, that’s my ambition and I think
it’s the ambition of the collective anyway. In Cahors, in Cahors. Catherine, Mathieu and the Truffle Growers,
like Paul, have a real passion for their land. They have chosen to devote their lives to these
noblest products, thus contributing to their influence,
in France and abroad. Located at the crossroads of the Landes coast,
the Basque Country and Béarn, Chalosse is a hilly territory,
cradled by the currents of the Adour, the Gave de Pau and the Oloron. On the horizon,
the peaks of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques watch over the
fertile floodplains of the banks of the Adour. The Landes region benefits from a heritage that is
too often overlooked, as evidenced by the many abbeys and castles. The 12th-century Abbey of Sorde
is a must-see for pilgrims on the Way of Saint James. The omnipresence of water provided
by the Gaves and the Adour dictates the daily life of the inhabitants of Chalosse. Shaped by men
with respect for nature. The gentle hills of Chalosse offer
a welcoming countryside for raising cattle, but also poultry and ducks. Further down, in the plains,
it is the Adour kiwi that warms the taste buds along this river. The main activities are livestock farming and fishing
. They are practiced from father to son. Nicolas took over the family farm. He raises Blondes d’Aquitaine
in accordance with tradition, grazes them in the
wet meadows called Barthes, and produces quality meat
under the name Chalosse beef. His neighbor and childhood friend,
Olivier, chose fishing. He is one of the few fishermen
in the area to fish all year round. He lives to the rhythm of the river. In winter, he watches the Elver at night. But right now
it’s salmon season. The king fish of the Adour. Let’s begin.
To throw the lifebuoy. We’re going to set the net. There we have 180 meters of net. This is the maximum allowed,
since at this point, it is here where the Adour is widest. We therefore leave a third
of the Adour free. It’s part of the regulations. We have the right to occupy two-
thirds of the Dourdan with the net. We’ll be there soon.
We’re almost done extending it. A symbol of the richness of the rivers,
the Adour salmon is today the only one in France to be the subject
of professional fishing. Fishing is permitted from mid-March to the end of
July, when spring salmon begin to return up the river. To reproduce,
Olivier lets his net drift with the current over a
500-meter fishing zone before hauling it in. When I started fishing, there
were eight of us on this fishery, and now there are only three of us. And on the others, on the other
fisheries besides, there are. There are fewer and fewer fishermen. I’m usually the youngest one who fishes. There are two or three floats
that are underwater there. We’ll have to be careful there. There’s definitely a little bit of it. Salmon fishing is a gentle type of fishing. It requires patience and perseverance. Olivier may not
eat anything all week. There is a great salmon. It’s beautiful there, you
couldn’t have come to a better place. Immediately upon exiting the water. So. Ringing them means we’re going.
We will do it. We’ll record them, let’s say. The profession is highly regulated and it
absolutely must be. It’s part of
preserving the profession. In the future,
for us to have sustainable fishing, there absolutely must be an agreement
between fishermen, scientists and the administration to
ensure that regulations are not made haphazardly. This will be studied beforehand. All this is for the proper
functioning of fishing, you know. Today, Olivier had a good
catch in five hauls. In the morning, he caught a salmon,
a shad and a sea trout. The return of salmon to the
estuaries heralds good weather. The sun is rising higher and higher
and in the grove, the vegetation is going wild. It is also time for the storks to
come and breed. For Nicolas, it’s time
to get his heifers used to the outdoors again. Around fifteen cows are rediscovering
the pleasures of fresh grass. So suddenly. It’s Blonde d’Aquitaine,
it’s the local breed. I didn’t invent anything. I took over from my father who
always knew this himself here. As my father
still had deep down this passion for breeding and Blonde d’Aquitaine,
he passed it on to me and I’m hungry. What did I hook first? Already by the presence at the competition. After contact with animals, training,
then over the years, it became a passion for
food management, livestock management, herd management and all that. Chalosse beef guarantees
respectful and non-productive breeding. Several breeds respond to the call:
the Bazadaise, the Limousin and the Blonde d’Aquitaine, which alone represents
75% of production. Mmmmmh. Mmmmmmmmmh. It is a breed that puts a lot
of meat into fattening. Its fine bones allow it to put on
a lot of muscle and it actually has very little fat. So that means it has a very marbled grain of meat
and a rather particular taste. We are still quite proud to be
able to promote our production, to which we are attached
and which promotes our territory and our terroir. If we want money for a
finished product which is a red label product and which is not
a low-end label product. It’s a bit,
a bit high-end anyway. Before the widespread use of tractors
in agriculture, Chalosse beef was mainly
known for its work force. Obtaining the red label in 1991
finally recognized its exceptional taste qualities. Today,
nearly 400 breeders produce around two zero zero zero animals
for high-end butchery. Adour salmon is
also a rare and delicate dish. Only 1,500 are caught each
year by the 50 fishermen in the area. Olivier lives on a small island
in the river where he brings back his morning catch. The difference
between salmon and trout. One of the first characteristics is
that the tail of the salmon forms a V. Whereas here, the
trout’s tail is flat. Then the salmon,
it has a little return at the level of the lower jaw which
the trout does not have and it pulls on the blue color with some small black dots
that the trout pulls on the brown color and it has a lot of small black dots. So. So now we’re going to weigh the salmon. Hop there! He weighs four kilos six. Once you’ve fished,
you have some time to spend with it. With the collection of quails.
Then it is necessary. The fish must be declared to a
migratory organization called “La Vie en Rose” which will make comparisons with previous years. Are there any changes
in behavior when climbing? Showing our fishing,
being transparent about it, will allow us to manage all
this fish stock and therefore control fishing from A to Z. Intelligently, we might say. From A to Z. And that’s saying something,
all olive nets are hand-sewn and each seam is
repeated about 600 times on a net. The most precise thing in this
sewing is to do it yourself. Slightly, it slides,
it slides in the seam and while the knot of the tablecloth is really
fixed and that, a machine does not know how to do it. She only knows how to squeeze very hard. It’s little details like that that
mean that when the fish enters the net, it’s better if there’s
a certain flexibility, a hardness of the net, but also
a certain flexibility of the mesh. It takes two people about
three days to set up a net. There is work in the off-season. Olivier’s salmon is sold
mainly at the Saint-Jean-de-Luz fish market and at Maison
Barthouil, located in Peyrehorade. Guillemette Barthouil is the
production manager at this family business that has been smoking
salmon since 1929. Yoann: I have three salmon from the sweet. Okay, thank you. So we’re going to top them first. We will control the freshness
using the gills. So these are salmon that were caught
either yesterday or this morning, so they are ultra fresh. the noodles are very red. At home. Barthouil Salmon is
prepared entirely by hand. The main tool here is the knife
before being filleted. The fish is cut so that the salt
penetrates well into the flesh. You have the characteristic color
of Adour salmon which is very pink because it feeds on shrimp
and carotene in the Bay of Biscay. All our salmon are salted
with dry salt from Salies de Béarn, which is a very pure local salt
that will extract the water from the fillet and therefore concentrate the flavors. The salmon is then left to dry for
several hours before being smoked in an old traditional smokehouse. Guillemette and her father
control the quality of the smoking. My father, in 1929, created
a delicatessen in Peyrehorade. That’s the story. And so he started smoking salmon
about ten years later, around 1939. Around there. He smoked them as best he could. Like a butcher, if you will. And so it was necessary to become more
professional after the war. And in 1958,
we sent the production manager, Kiki Labarthe, a great character. We sent him to Denmark and he picked up
all the old techniques that were ancestral techniques
and that we still apply. We haven’t changed anything. And the same goes for sawdust,
because the Danes smoked with alder. And the Alder is supplied to us by a clog maker
who has been supplying us with the shavings for his clogs since 1948. Alder wood too. Its characteristic is that it
will give off a very light smoke. It’s fruity and won’t cover the taste
of the fish, but will accompany it, giving it a nice length in the mouth. Here, the salmon is cold smoked
at around 20 degrees. This allows the fish to take on
only the aromas of the wood without taking on a tarry flavor. The excellent products offered by
Barthouil require a long transformation process. It takes about a week
to smoke a salmon. Raising Chalosse beef
also requires patience. Raised at their own pace and fed only
with natural products, they benefit from a
long fattening period, which has a significant impact
on the taste quality of their meat. Sabine is responsible for
quality control of Chalosse beef. She visits Nicolas to take
stock of the farm. I would like to ask you a few
questions regarding the specifications.
So the whole food part. We saw it, so you have the fodder
produced on the farm. What you buy is part of the foods
referenced for the label in relation to the surface area. As for animals, we are also largely okay. Their comfort is assured,
so there is water available. Position. They have food
available all the time too. So there you have it, everything is done
according to the rules. So they come from here. But out of superstition,
I don’t fill them in advance. To best promote the product. Nicolas and other professionals
in the field have created an association to work hand in hand. What is also an advantage
is that all the players in the sector are
brought together in the association, from breeders to amateurs and butchers. So everyone is gathered around
the table for negotiations on the specifications or the price(s). Finally, if everyone contributes their bit to
ensure that the association survives and that it
is something serious. And here comes the consumer. By purchasing this product, there is
no risk, no surprise. He’s sure of himself, sure of his shot. He also has to tell himself that he is
supporting an entire region: the breeders, the people who work for the
food companies, the people who work for marketing in the… In the ankle companies,
the butchers, the butchers’ employees, that’s all. All this social fabric in this. In the rural area of ​​Chalosse. He lives off this production. The Association brings together nearly 350
breeders and 75 butchers who, together, enjoy working
with Chalosse beef. This is the case of Jacques Bignolais. In his butcher’s shop in Pouillon,
we have been working with products from Chalosse for three generations and, above all,
we let the beef mature in special cellars to give it
its unique taste. So we do a maturation on the bone,
that is to say we let the whole quarter of beef mature. For six weeks, in
suitable climatic conditions, that is to say where the temperature,
humidity and also the bacteriological aspect
of the air are regulated, since there must not be any mold
appearing on the meat. Maturation affects tenderness. The first job is tenderness. Because for a consumer,
when he has a memory of good meat, the first thing that comes
to his mouth is to say ah yes, in fact, we ate very good meat,
it was tender and it also brings to the taste because since we
mature it, we lose a little water, we lose weight. So we concentrate and
concentrate the juices, the tastes. Here, we only work with
Chalosse beef, because of course, we are in the heart of the production region. Chalosse beef has been worked from time immemorial. So for me, it was obvious
to continue working with this meat which is meat of
extraordinary quality and always will be. The producers here
made Chalosse beef, even when there was no
red label yet, but they were all already making Chalosse beef. Because, as you have seen,
Chalosse beef is a way of raising animals,
it is a way of fattening them. So it’s a friend recently who is very
slow, which gives the meat time to
marble and really gain in quality. Traditional method
of beef maturation. It was still lost
for a few years. But at the Bignolais house,
we have never stopped improving the technique to guarantee an
exceptional taste to Chalosse beef. We immediately see the quality
of this fat and this marbling. A little bit of ribeye maybe. Precisely sirloin. This is a very good piece. I often make Vignal’s specialty,
which is beef millefeuille, which is actually very finely sliced ​​Chalosse beef
, different parts rolled like in a roast, it makes tournedos
and it’s really a success every time, it’s very tender, well, you
have to taste it to adopt it, it. You have to have experience. So. Christian, Nicolas’s father,
has always divided his life between breeding Blonde d’Aquitaine
and fishing on the Adour. He takes Olivier to his old
fishing grounds when the fishermen still practiced collective fishing with the Seine. Throw the net there, 80 meters away. There, there was a fisherman who kept the net
in his hand, here the end of the net, and after the other three, he threw,
unrolled the net. Up to two-thirds of the Adour.
And after? And then he would let it drift
for 200 or 300 meters. And there you have it. And the big game was
to pull 150 meters of net by the strength of your wrists. Since the beginning of the 20th century,
salmon stocks worldwide have been steadily declining. The causes of this decline are multiple. These include overfishing of salmon in their
breeding grounds off Greenland, as well as
intensive agriculture and industrialization along rivers, which causes pollution. Finally, the dams built
and the modification of watercourses directly impact the salmon run. Christian experienced this
decline in the 1990s. Like other fishermen,
he worked with scientists to try to counter this problem
and raise awareness of the importance of preserving the Adour salmon. We had done follow-ups with
scientists from Ifremer and INRA who had followed us
for two or three seasons and where studies had been really
detailed on salmon, that is to say salmon, were taken
at the mouth in Bayonne and radio transmitters were
implanted in their stomachs and the fish were put back in the water. And after that, we were compensated
for three years not to fish for salmon. So for three years,
we followed the fish’s return every day to know exactly
how far the fish were returning. Thanks to everyone’s initiatives
and the efforts made to repopulate the river and redevelop the structures,
fishing is still possible. For Olivier, salmon is no longer threatened. I no longer worry
about the young people who will be behind me, even if they
are only my age, my age. There are only two or three of us there. Whereas once there were
thousands of fishermen. The young people have not
really followed in the footsteps of their elders. There would be room. I find that a shame.
It shouldn’t be. We shouldn’t let this get lost.
That would be a shame. It’s part of our heritage,
our craftsmanship, our tradition. It’s a bit of a part of our history
and unfortunately, I think it’s going to disappear. Maintaining traditional trades
through salmon fishing is an important objective for Olivier. For his part, Nicolas also participates
in maintaining the traditions, culture and landscapes of Chalosse. The Barthes de l’Adour,
where Nicolas grazes his herd, constitute
an emblematic landscape. These are floodplain meadows surrounded
by canals which have great heritage value,
but also in the preservation of biodiversity and the regulation
of winter floods. Marine and Diard work
for Landes Nature Environnement and monitor this
characteristic landscape of Chalosse. Grazing here is very important because we
have 3,000 hectares of meadows on the Natura 2000 site. So, if there are no livestock farmers
, if there are no cattle that need to eat this grass,
all these meadows will close or be converted to crops. In terms of water quality,
it would not be the same at all because the farmers and
breeders undertake not to put products on their meadows,
but also in terms of post-flood management. In fact,
if we had woodlands, the damage would be much
more significant after the floods. Knowing that, there is
water every year. The Barthes de l’Adour are a
migratory stopover of international importance. More than 200 species of birds
use this site, whether for migration,
wintering or breeding, without a balance between pastures
and ecology. The site would not be as it
is today. If people can have,
when consuming and buying, this lucidity, to say to themselves,
I’m not just buying a piece of meat to please myself this evening, but rather
I’m buying a piece of landscape, a piece of this region. A bit of this work
will be good, but we have to make it understood.
How? Nicolas contributes in his own way
to maintaining the unique landscape of Chalosse. The hills, the bocage and the rivers
that shape it offer Olivier and Nicolas I a terroir of character where people
take the time to live and give birth to quality products,
in accordance with respect for traditions and nature. Located in the departments of Charente
and Charente-Maritime, Saintonge is a former province
characterized by a diversity of terroirs forming a multitude of micro-regions. Cognac is one of them,
centered around the town of Cognac and linked by the production
and trade of the eponymous brandy. Since 1936, cognac has been
a controlled designation of origin. Today, his vineyard covers
approximately 80 hectares. Already in the 13th century, the quality of the wines
made Saintonge’s reputation. But English and Dutch merchants
decided to import them in the form of brandy. This is the appearance
of double distillation. Following various economic crises,
winegrowers realized that it improves with age
and can be consumed neat. Cognac was born. In 2001, Jean-Sébastien Robicquet created
Maison Villevert with the idea of ​​using grapes to enhance spirits. It was therefore quite natural that they
began to produce cognac, working in harmony with the terroir
and the know-how of the artisans. Thus, Saintonge is a succession
of vineyards whose gently rounded hills are covered. However, some original market garden crops
have made a place for themselves among the vines,
such as Crapaudine beetroot. Known since Antiquity,
this beetroot was introduced to France in the 17th century. This fleshy root is long, is
gradually coming back into fashion and is attractive for its sweet, red flesh. Typical of the lands of Jarnac. Today it is
only cultivated by five producers who supply 90% of the French market. Flavien Petit has been a beet grower
since he took over the family farm in 1998. It was his grandfather who,
faced with a cognac crisis in the 1970s, decided to start
growing crapaudine beet. Since he was very young. Flavien therefore accompanied his grandfather
and his father in the fields and became passionate about tractors
and agricultural machinery. And today, if the tractors are
out, it’s because the beets have to be harvested. So this morning, we’re going to
pull some beets. So before harvesting, you
have to remove the leaves, that is to say remove all the leaves
on the beet, which will allow the harvester to pass
from behind without the leaves getting in the way of the machine. The beets are harvested from the end of August
. The cultivation of this root is very
anecdotal because it is difficult and complicated. Sowing from the end of March,
the toad requires a lot of labor, from planting
to marketing. So beetroot is
a biennial plant. So the first year,
we plant a seed that will produce several small
beets in one seed. We can have three or four beets. And so we
have to thin them out, otherwise we would only have small beets. And what we want
are beets weighing between 7 and 800 grams. We have to remove every
second beet and this is done manually. So the first year,
the beetroot takes root. So that’s what interests us
because that’s what we’re going to eat. The Crapaudine beet
therefore flourishes in the Charente region and draws all its richness
from the soils of Saintonge. Here she finds sun and warmth,
but not only that. So here we are on
clay-limestone soils, so we have black clay and so we have limestone,
stones, so since here in the past there were oceans and so we have
limestone that is often fossilized, fossilized, so there are shells that are
several million years old. So it’s a soil that is very sticky
when it rains, but it’s very rich and very good for beetroot
because it likes this soil, it’s because these little pebbles
heat the soil. For the beetroot, it will be much
faster on slightly warmer soil. So the sun hits these stones
which store the heat and the night. This restores a little to the earth
and the little rain it receives helps to retain humidity. You need to add
watering supplements because beets still like humidity. On the tractor, Romain separates
the beet from the earth. The toad is distinguished from the
round beet, better known for its much sweeter taste. A little further north,
in Salignac-sur-Charente, a completely different ballet of tractors is taking place. Jean-Sébastien Robicquet
is in the middle of the grape harvest. It’s not spitting anymore, is it? Here, a little more,
but it’s still a little less good. There, anyway,
the frost had set in all the way down there. And this period is crucial for this
Cognac producer, as attached to his terroir as to his product. On this fifteen-hectare plot,
he cultivates grapes of the Unis blanc variety. Like the majority of winegrowers,
this late-ripening grape variety has two advantages for transformation into cognac:
a high acidity level and a low alcohol content. What we are actually looking for
are these extremely fleshy grapes, full of juice and sugar. Because this sugar is what will be
transformed into wine and then distilled. So we have. They are beautiful balls,
very healthy and very juicy. Jean-Sébastien carefully monitors
the mechanical harvesting. These vines are located in the area
called Petite Champagne, whose limestone soil,
enhanced by a layer of alluvium, makes this land very rich. This plot is usually known
and recognized for its productivity and the quality of its grapes. Unfortunately, this year
we were hit by frost on roughly a third of the plot
and so since this morning the harvest has been somewhat depressed. But this after 12 o’clock,
it will be much better because this part there is grapes, with
beautiful, ripe and well-stocked grapes. The increasingly unpredictable weather in
recent years could seriously compromise the harvest and ruin
the work of winegrowers. It’s very beautiful. I’m doing well. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A beautiful little yellow and green pearl. Little by little, Jean-Sébastien
finds his smile again. Because the bins that
the grape harvesters fill are more and more promising. Cognac is booming today
and we need these volumes because not only is the vine cycle
long, but the cognac cycle is also long. That is to say that what we produce
this year, we will only consume in four or five or six years. So that means there will be a dip
in the ability to produce bad weather. Flavien may also suffer from it. But this year, the Indian summer allows him
to harvest his beets on demand. As soon as they come out of the field,
the Toadstools are immediately washed in a digger, then sorted by hand. So after washing, we
prepare the beetroot. The preparation is to remove any remaining
leaves and check that there are no roots
along the beetroot. In principle, since it is long,
we have no other roots. The sorting is done, we have three calibers,
so we will have some big ones that will go into the oven. We will lose up to 40% of the beet. This one is the average caliber that we will
sell in steam, so we lose 20% and then we have the small one that will go
either for steaming or for making raw, for making salads
or according to needs. Once washed, beetroot
does not keep as well. So, Flavien, helped by Romain, immediately cooked them
in baker’s ovens. The toadstools will stay there for 3 hours at 200
degrees, allowing the water to evaporate and therefore the sugars to concentrate. So there, we see that the beets are
cooked because now they are crispy,
So they are much softer and there they are cooked,
We can take them out. And there, we will clearly see the crispness,
we will hear it. And the skin cracks. Its name, Crapaudine,
comes from its rough , cracked skin reminiscent of that of a toad. This is a beetroot before cooking. And this is a beet after cooking. So we can see that it has
lost about 40% of its volume. Flavien works in a very short circuit. The beets are immediately
packaged and then sent to its suppliers the same day. So here we have two types of cooking:
steam cooking, oven cooking, and oven cooking. We see that the beetroot is drier,
crispier, so we removed more water, so it is a little sweeter. And here we have a steamed beetroot
, so a little more moist. Not at all crispy since it is
not cooked the same way depending on the consumer. Some people prefer oven cooking
and others steam cooking. This long beetroot is less
consumed and renowned than the round one. However, the toad is twice as
sweet and its red flesh becomes more tender after cooking. Cooked toad beetroot is
the raw material for the soup made by Philippe
and Françoise Fleuriet in their artisanal cannery in Rouillac, which
specializes in Pineau des Charentes vinegar, renowned throughout the world. The couple also cooks preserves
of old fruits and vegetables, condiments and of course soups. The vegetables are roughly chopped. Then Françoise sweats the onions
in olive oil and adds the beets. Finally, she deglazes
everything with vinegar. Their magic ingredient. It’s a bit like the color of beetroot. They bring
a little hint of acidity to our soup to counteract the sugar in the beetroot. Toad
. It makes a slightly indulgent product
that tickles the palate a little, like all recipes in which
there is a hint of vinegar. Beetroot, moreover
, intrinsically likes vinegar. Vinegar is the
house’s trademark. Ten minutes later, when the ingredients
have melted slightly, Françoise moistens the preparation with
broth, then lets it cook for 35 minutes. Rich in vitamins, copper, iron,
magnesium and calcium, beetroot has multiple
benefits and is a delight for this couple who are passionate about cooking. What we like about the crapaudine,
firstly, is that it is a regional product since it is widely
cultivated in Poitou-Charentes. And then it’s true that in terms
of taste, it is incomparable. Really, she has
absolutely superb sugar levels. Melting, delicious and baked in the oven. It really is the panacea.
It really is. It is. It’s a treat. Finally, the contents are
blended to make a soup. Françoise and Philippe then adjust
the seasoning to give their mixture the best possible taste. And there we go. Try to find an
interesting match on the seasoning. Rather than using pepper,
we’re going to bring back little citrus notes with ginger. Here’s one in the other, it’s going to be a
little hint of orange blossom water. So in fact, this step
is simply a small approach like that we taste and we see what
happens, interesting things and if it seems like a feasible path,
then we will, we will, we will, we will measure, we will redo in larger quantities. We will be able to operate
both hot and cold. Last step before sterilization,
putting in jars. The color is pretty. Here again, Françoise does it in an
artisanal way, by hand, with a piston funnel. On the wine-growing side of the department,
Jean-Sébastien’s harvest is brought back to his Payrat estate,
where the grapes will be immediately pressed to extract the juice. The latter is left to decant
for 45 minutes. No, but we have
pleasant and elegant fruit aromas. This juice is ultimately the expression
of the quality of the harvest and what the wine will produce tomorrow. We are looking for the balance of
sugar, acidity and the nose. Well, what the vintage gives. And in this case, this year,
there are aromas of tropical fruits, passion fruit.
We were talking about quince, etc. These are the aromatic precursors
that are there for what will be, what will be in the wine and then
what will be concentrated through distillation. Once the grape juice has been tested,
Romain takes an extract to check its quality. What we have just done is
to measure the density and the temperature. This allows us to define what
the juice contains in terms of sugars and potential alcohols. Once the winemaking is done. Verdict the plot that we harvested
magnificent 11.3 degrees Health status 95% of everything. Well, there won’t be the volume, there will
be the quality, so it’s perfect. The juice is then filtered
and fermented in temperature-controlled vats. During this fermentation,
the amount of sugar in the grape juice decreases while the volume
of alcohol increases to produce wine. The juice is transferred
here directly after filtration and the wine begins to be vinified. It takes roughly a week. Once the wine is made,
we will keep it for distillation and then begin the aging process
that will make the cognac what it is. One month later. Jean-Sébastien returns to his
professional distiller, Thomas’ distillery. There are just over 100 of them
in the Cognac region. It’s okay, it’s fine.
And you ? Yes of course. These wines are ready to be distilled,
that is to say to be transformed into brandy. The distillation of cognac is carried out
using the traditional Charente method over an open flame in
copper stills and in two stages. There is the first heating
and the good heating. So, our job with
Jean-Sébastien is to bring the wines back to him. And so our job
is to pass the wines in two stages, so to do a first distillation
of these wines to obtain a noise and then to distill the noises
to obtain the heart and therefore the cognac eau de vie which we return to him afterwards so
that he can age it, raise it, blend it and then
produce the Cognac product. During the second heating,
the first liters of distillate very rich in alcohol are discarded. These are called heads. Afterwards, they sink the heart. The noblest part
is a different kind of water, clear and limpid, which will be aged to produce cognac. And finally come the queues,
the end of the distillation. There, in fact, we are preparing to proceed with
the cutting of good things. That is to say that in fact it is
the separation of the heart that we put aside and the tails which will be redistilled
afterwards, knowing that the heart itself will be its next destination. This is the putting into barrels. And so in fact, we are from 58 59
degrees, it starts to smell like gingerbread and at a certain point it smells like
baked gingerbread and suddenly we don’t want that. This indicates that very soon, we
will have to remove ourselves from the equation because we will have to
cut and stop the distillation. We will have harvested. Well roughly 20 hectolitres
to 18 hectolitres of heart alcohol. The way of cutting gives the imprint
of the distillery and gives the cognac elements of its personality. Distillation, the cycle of which lasts approximately
24 hours, is a concentration of sugars and aromas. It must be completed no later than
March 31 of the year following the harvest. The eaux-de-vie are then returned
to Jean-Sébastien at his Payrat estate, where he can
begin to age them. Cognac exists through its terroir,
through the white brandy, but above all through aging and maturation. This is what is going to happen here,
and this is going to happen for a number of years: ten years, fifteen years, 20 years, five years. One of the advantages of aging
is choosing to select the type of barrels, for example. This one will be much
more pronounced in color. However, it is from 2010, 2000, 6990. This means that depending on the type of barrel,
the woodiness, the toastiness of the barrel, we will have more or less extraction
of color or aromas and interactions between the eau-de-vie and the barrel. All these oak barrels come
from the Tronçais forest in Limousin. The long process of maturing cognac is
carried out thanks to the porosity of the wood which allows indirect contact
between the brandy and the ambient air. The choices are decisive at this stage:
humidity, temperature, cellar atmosphere, types of wood. The longer the aging,
the more complex the aromas will become, evolving from fruity or floral to notes
of tobacco leaves or mushroom. During this aging in barrels,
part of the alcohol evaporates. This is the angels’ share. A very well-known mushroom in the
Torula region, accomplished at 106, eats this alcohol, this ethanol and that is why many
blackberries in the region are black. This fungus also colonizes
all the walls of cognac cellars. For a long time,
it was a point of reference for stocks of brandy
hidden behind the walls, because inevitably,
there were fungi on the walls and this black mark that we see everywhere. As weather conditions
fluctuate more and more each year. Flavien tries to adapt. He usually keeps his
harvested beets in silos, but the mild winters are putting his stocks at risk. For several years,
Flavien has been testing a new method of conservation in open fields. This plot, this year,
we will leave it all winter. So it’s for preservation. We will try to harvest them
only around March 15, knowing that we are taking a risk because
if there were very bad frosts, we could lose
the plot completely. Keeping them in the open field allows Flavien
to have good quality beets all year round. It is at risk in case of frost,
but if it is stored in a silo, they could rot. So here we see that the foliage
is now turning red. So the beetroot will be ripe,
which will mean that it will be there. We could pick it up today. And yet we’re going to keep it
for four or five months. Since it will keep
without any problem. A beetroot without
leaves will freeze at -2 degrees. With the leaves, it is protected. It will hold -4, -5. So the jelly will take the collar. It will harden and in ten days
it will completely rot. So we keep them in the field
because they will be better preserved. So in a silo, we have good conservation
if we have cold winters, if we have slightly warmer winters,
it is a little more delicate. The state is heating up
and we are ending up with losses. So for a few years now, we’ve had
slightly milder winters. It might be cycles,
we don’t know. So we divide our storage areas
into fields, stations and then we do cold storage in pallet boxes. A true lover
of cognac and the terroir. Jean-Sébastien Robicquet has decided to go
further and offer a new Cognac range. Thus, with Maison Villevert,
he launched the Cognac Guild in June 2017, of which Bertrand is a member. Bertrand is a home distiller,
meaning he distills his own wine. The world of cognac is structured around
four or five major cognac brands that have one
imperative notion: consistency. So the thousands of distillers
supply the big houses and participate in the collective blending. The idea of ​​the guild
is to effectively put people,
the land and the cognac at the center of the product. And this multitude of. There are approximately 4,000
distillers, so there are potentially 4,000
different tastes for each brandy. The objective of the Cognac Guild is
therefore to highlight the know-how of the artisan in the work of his vineyard
and in his conduct of distillation. Jean-Sébastien traveled the region
to find the best distillers, like Bertrand. A true craftsman,
he also represents a commitment to traditions,
know-how and interpersonal skills. I know him from somewhere. It’s heritage
and time that is drunk. Each distillery.
Is different. If we switch.
If I. Take a distillery, yes. Someone comes here,
we won’t come out the same. Brandies.
With the same wine. It’s cooking. We all have the same recipe,
but we don’t do the same thing. There are a few biases in Bertrand’s opinions.
Beyond its territory, there
are its boilers, there is its character, there is the taste that it
imposes on its eaux-de-vie, there is all that. Which means that yes,
he is also a craftsman. But like, like many, many
people who have biases. Cognac is most often produced
from a blend of several vintages. However, each vintage
has its own identity. It reflects the image of the craftsman
who works it and has the taste of the year and the terroir. This is what
Jean-Sébastien wants to highlight with the Cognac Guild. A very innovative vision which allows
those in the know to discover unusual cognacs that were previously hidden. Hop! Little by little, we have more and more
people who are extremely interested in this concept. Because it also puts
people back at the heart of cognac. Each cognac is different
because each terroir is different. It is these nuances that make
the region so rich and that allow artisans to perpetuate traditions and
sometimes rediscover their heritage. Just like the toad beet which,
after years of neglect, has been able to find its place in Saintonge.