Monty’s Dry French White, Roasted Quail & Proper French Beans

A pale, light and wonderfully fresh country wine that is reminiscent of French cider on the mid-palate and the finish

Last night, Mrs. LF cooked up a simple little storm. 4 roasted quails with garlic and a slightly lemony glaze to them. The quail were from Waitrose and were £4.50 a pair – they certainly were good.

The birds were accompanied by ‘proper’ french beans, which had been smuggled from Mrs. LF’s cousin’s farm, where her mother grows a variety of fruits and veg. They also keep chickens, and our lovely little cousin also managed to stash away a freshly slaughtered chicken in her bag on the Eurostar to bring to us too – we have frozen it and are saving it for when some friends come around next week. In any case, they were excellent, cooked with a bit of garlic, and for some reason only took 5 minutes to cook vs. the normal 15 minutes with the organic store-bought green beans we normally have. Go figure.

We were very excited to try our bottle of Monty’s Dry French White wine from the recently released 2008 vintage. And this anticipation wasn’t misplaced. Quite pale in color, it was a true country wine: strong, one-dimensional, lots of fruit, lots of acidity. Mrs. LF pointed out that it smelled of apples and then we all realized that its aftertaste reminded us a lot of French cider. The wine was an excellent partner for the quail – simple food, good table wine – and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next, we need to try one of our 2 bottles of Monty’s Red from 2008, for which I am now holding out even more hope. And I think I may head down to Roberson Wine to see if I can get another bottle or two fo the white, if they have any that is.  It seems to have already disappeared from Adnams’ website, where I ordered it from in the first place…