Armagnac one of France’s two fabulous AOP grape brandies.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

The Armagnac tulip-shaped glass.

Locally, it is preferred to a snifter.

Photograph courtesy of Tourism Landes

   

Armagnac is South of Bordeaux, Cognac is North of Bordeaux.  

Many people expect that Armagnac and Cognac to have similar tastes; however, these brandies have palpable differences. They are indeed both grape brandies, and both come from France; however, more or less, there their similarities end. The grapes used are different, and the taste and aroma are different. To add to the arguments the residents of both areas are very unhappy when someone shows their ignorance and treats the two brandies as the same.

The grapes used in Armagnac come from vineyards to the southeast of Bordeaux; the area covers part of the old province of Gascogne, Gascony. The other famous French grape brandy is Cognac and comes from northeast of Bordeaux. (Calvados is an AOP apple Brandy). 

A Baron de Lustrac collection of vintage Armagnacs.
Vintage Armagnacs must be at least ten years in the barrel before being bottled.
Photograph courtesy of Dominic Lockyer
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/11750514696/  

My understanding of Armagnac and Cognac differences were reinforced when we traveled from Angouleme, 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Cognac to a well-recommended hotel and restaurant to the southeast of Bordeaux in the Armagnac region. 

At the end of an excellent meal, with my coffee, in the land of Armagnac, without thinking I requested a Cognac! My request brought a very sniffy response from an otherwise friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful sommelier, the wine steward. "We only serve Armagnacs," he said and continued, "this area is the home of Armagnac; you will find no Cognac here." 

Now the backers of the superiority of Armagnac to Cognac and vice versa all claim that "their" brandy is far superior. The other brandy is forever doomed to a distant second place. With a withering look, the sommelier let me know how low I had dropped in his daily visitor's rankings. Now for really certified Armagnac supporters, no Cognac may ever be acceptable; however, I have learned that that can also be their loss. However, I took the knowledgeable sommelier's (wine steward’s) advice and ordered a not-too-expensive Armagnac....it was excellent. While the arguments over Armagnac and Cognac never end in France, I follow my taste buds and enjoy them both.

Baron de Sigognac
1974 Vintage Armagnac, Bas Armagnac.
The label may be going on fifty,
but the Armagnac will only be as old as it was when it was bottled.
Probably twenty years.
Photograph courtesy of Dominic Lockyer
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/13241934645/

There are three Armagnac appellations with different soils that are graded for the wines produced there:

 

Bas-Armagnac - Considered by many to be the best.

 

Armagnac-Ténarèze – Just below Bas-Armagnac.

 

Haut-Armagnac - Today, very little Armagnac is produced in this appellation, so it is unlikely to be on many labels.

 

Blanche Armagnac

 

Blanche Armagnac - A colorless Armagnac made with an eau-de-vie from any appellation or blend sold after aging for at least three months in stainless steel containers. The Blanche Armagnac is nearest to a 40% alcohol Marc (Grappa) and is most usually seen in cocktails. The Blanche Armagnac can be made from the grapes of any Armagnac appellation or blend. No appellation will appear on the label.

The Armagnac Appellations
Photograph courtesy of France Today   

Ten different grapes may be used to produce the wines that will become Armagnac. These are not grown for table wines, they are grown only for Armagnac, and today only four of the ten grapes are generally used: Colombard, Folle Blanche, Baco, and Ugni Blanc. 

Each Armagnac house may blend wines from within the same appellation and then decide if they will use only that eau-de-vie from a single year. Then the appellation will be noted on the label, correctly along with the year of bottling. Today, to the label is added the number of years in the barrel. If the producer uses eau-de-vie combinations from different appellations or distills the Armagnac outside the appellation, no appellation may be noted. 

The Armagnac producers come from the departments of Gers and Midi-Pyrénées in the region of Occitanie and the departments of Landes and Lot-et-Garonne in Nouvelle Aquitaine. The town of Eauze in the department of Gers is the economic capital of the Armagnac region. The English language website of their tourist information office is:

https://www.grand-armagnac.com/

Most Armagnacs sold are vintage brandies, which means they come from a particular year and are not blended with eau-de-vies from other years. Unlike blended Armagnacs and Cognacs, which have two distillations, the long aging is the source of the Armagnac taste. Vintage Armagnacs are often aged in a barrel for 15 years or more, with a minimum of ten, and consequently are more expensive than blended Armagnacs. The year of the vintage defines Armagnac; the cognoscenti know which years are the best. After 10,15 or 20 years in a barrel (at the most 40 years), the brandy is transferred to glass containers called demijohns until bottled. Armagnacs, like whiskeys, would deteriorate if they were in a barrel for more than forty years, and most would be in a barrel for less than twenty years. 

A V.S.O.P. Blended Armagnac.
Photograph courtesy of Pierre LANNES
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titounet/14822228277/sizes/l/

A younger Armagnac is paler in color than and not as smooth as an aged Armagnac. If you want a less expensive but, smooth Armagnac choose a blended Armagnac, it will have been double distilled. Select your blended Armagnac from among those where the youngest eau de vie, the brandy used, will be at least four years old, and then the brandy should be smooth. Blended Armagnacs are produced in much smaller quantities than vintage Armagnacs and have prices similar to Cognacs. It is the single-year vintage Armagnacs which are unique and expensive.

 

The ages of blended Armagnacs:

 

Blended Armagnacs show only the official markings that indicate the age of the youngest brandy in the blend.

 

V.S., (Very Special), or ***, three stars – On the label for an Armagnac where the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend was matured in oak barrels for at least one year.

 

 V.O., (Very Old); V.S.O.P. (V.S.O.P.), (Very Superior Old Pale) and Réserve – The youngest eau-de-vie in these Armagnacs will have been matured in oak barrels for at least four years.

 

Vielle Réserve, (Ancient Reserve); Extra; (Extra), and Napoléon – All the eau-de-vies in these Armagnacs will have been aged for at least six years in oak barrels.

 

X.O. (Extra Old). X.O., Hors d'Age - Too Old to Determine. This label may only be used when the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend is ten years old.  

 

XX0, X.X.0. and X0 Premium - This label may only be used when the youngest brandy in the blend is twenty years old. 

 

Napoleon Armagnac.

  

One of the names for a 6-year-old plus blended Armagnac is Napoléon. Now all of the various Napoleons in the history books had long gone before any of the Armagnacs bearing the name were in a barrel. So, unless the Napoleon you are thinking of is one of the family’s descendants, six years old and just a year out of kindergarten, this has no connection to Napoleon.

   

The job of choosing the wines and blending those that will be blended with other appellations or blended with different years and twice distilled blends is carried out by the Maitre de Chai’ (pronounced shay), the cellar master. His or her nose and taste buds, coupled with his or her knowledge over many years, make it a critical and highly paid profession.

 

Unlike wines, aged brandies in glass bottles do not change for better or for worse while in a bottle. Remember to check the label when paying for an old Armagnac; it may be a 45-year-old bottle, but you are just paying for a ten-year-old Armagnac inside?

  

After you have paid a small fortune for that excellent bottle of vintage Armagnac, note that, unlike wine, but like whiskey, the bottle must be stored upright as the liquor attacks the cork.

Armagnac Casks
Photograph courtesy of Armagnac 700   
 
Millésimes- Vintage Armagnacs
The year on the bottle indicates the year of the harvest.
The number of years in the barrel is not necessarily reflected on the label.

The brandies chosen to be vintage Armagnacs are selected by the cellar master and stored to age in above-ground buildings or caves called chais (pronounced shays). The way the barrels are stored, the space between the barrels, and the temperature and humidity will all affect the final taste. Every year nearly 3% of the contents are lost through the wood of the barrel; this 3% is called the angel's share.

Armagnacs, do not come out of the distillation and aging process with the same taste as when you open the bottle. The hand of man gently improves the product. In Armagnac, Cognac, and Calvados, plain water, sugar syrup, and or Boise, a liquid made from boiled oak chips, may be added for more of that "natural" aged oak flavor. That beautiful " warm color" we admire when holding our "snifter" or Armagnac tulip glass, up to the light may come from a touch of caramel that was added. Do not let these artificial additions put you off enjoying your Armagnac, 98% or more is Armagnac; I still enjoy sniffing and admiring the color of my favorite; however, it was made. Creating a great Armagnac is the work of great fruit, great land, weather, and a great man or woman in the cellar.

The Maitre de Chai follows and tests the barrels as they age, and as needed, the barrels may be moved to a different chai with different humidity and temperature. The Armagnac begins to mellow through the long aging period, and its color changes to darker amber. Here the experience, tongue, and nose of the cellar master are of the greatest importance. You will find cellar masters who have been with the same Armagnac house their whole life, and possibly he or she inherited the job.

Armagnac on French menus:

Terrine de Foie Gras à Armagnac Maison, Chutney Oignons Rouges – A pate of fattened duck liver prepared with Armagnac and served with sweetened red onion chutney.

Paupiettes de Veau aux Pruneaux et à l'Armagnac – Thin slices of veal, rolled and stuffed with prunes and flavored with Armagnac.

Rognons de Veau Flambés à l'Armagnac – Veal kidneys Flambed with Armagnac.

Tartelette Noix de Pécan, Crémeux Verjus, Caramel, Glace Armagnac et Raisin Croquants – A small pecan tart prepared with a creamy verjus flavored with caramel and served with Armagnac ice cream and crunchy grapes. 

Buying a bottle of vintage Armagnac.

To buy a bottle of vintage Armagnac, you need an expert with you or at least an up-to-date book on the different years available from the different producers. Armagnacs are, for the most part, made and sold by relatively small producers. If the Armagnac House you are visiting or the wine shops offer a taste of the Armagnacs from an opened bottle, take a taste and pay for it, and then taste another before you decide. Without an expert at your elbow, this is the only way that most of us should buy vintage Armagnacs.

For blended Armagnacs, you do not need an expert; you can travel in the area and taste as many Armagnacs as are on show for a small contribution to the local economy. The best buys are mainly four and six-year-old blends, but, caveat emptor, make sure you taste them before buying.    

Rue Armagnac
Photograph courtesy of Florian
www.flickr.com/photos/mectouzen/4916934480/
 
The bottling of vintage Armagnacs

When a vintage Armagnac has been aged long enough in a barrel, it is transferred to large glass bottles called demijohns; the larger of these bottles can hold 40 liters. When the Armagnac is transferred to a regular bottle the date of the vintage must also be on the label and the cork. The Armagnac may have been aged in the barrel for fifteen years, and the label should also show the date it was bottled. If the date indicates 1970, do not let anyone try and tell you that that was aged for fifty years. The Armagnac could be ten years old or twenty years old, and its taste, unlike wine, will not change once it is bottled. Old Armagnacs from great vintage years are costly.  If 1920 was a great year and the Armagnac was produced after it was aged for twenty years, you can still purchase a bottle of that beautiful brandy in 2021.  The cork is sound it will taste as it did in 1940.

 
Glass demijohn
Photograph courtesy of Jan Helebrant
www.flickr.com/photos/96541566@N06/49879754648/

Vintage Armagnacs show the year of the vintage and the appellation on the label. Other names, such as Millennium or Special, etc., may be added to the label. These are unofficial names; they are creations of the marketing department and signify the personal views of the Armagnac House.

I read about an Armagnac lover who tests an Armagnac by dipping his finger in the brandy and wiping it on his wrist like perfume. Then after allowing twenty to thirty seconds to pass, during which time the alcohol burns off, he slowly sniffs the aroma of the Armagnac without the alcohol. He claimed this test gave him an excellent idea of what the Armagnac will be like.  I have tried that method; unfortunately, I do not have enough tastings to create a memory store on Armagnac aromas.

Floc de Gascogne Blanc.
Photograph courtesy of Dominic Lockyer
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/15752089559/
 
The Armagnac apéritif is called the Floc de Gascogne.

The famous Armagnac apéritifs, which you will be offered in the area and elsewhere, are the Floc de Gascogne Blanc and Rosé.  The white aperitif combines the juice of white grapes that would otherwise have been used for a regular white wine with a matured  Armagnac. The Floc de Gascogne Rosé is called a rosé, though it is red and made from the juice of grapes used in red wines mixed with an Armagnac.

Floc de Gascogne is a refreshing apéritif; it should always be served cool, even better when well-chilled, but never frozen or served with ice. It is pleasant and relatively easy to drink without realizing that it is very alcoholic. This refreshing apéritif has an alcohol content of over 16%! You have been warned: three or four of these easily quaffed aperitifs, and your head may spin with the wonders of Gascogne!  Officially, these wines are called Vins de Liqueur; they intentionally have the process of fermentation stopped before completion. The result is a wine with a high sugar content created by adding Armagnac, which stops the fermentation.

If you buy a bottle or two of Floc de Gascogne to take home, make sure that they are this year’s production. Floc de Gascogne is best when drunk very young, and it deteriorates quickly; in any case it is far too enjoyable to leave on the shelf. The apéritifs Pineaux de Charente from Cognac and the aperitif Pommeau from Calvados, are made using similar formulae. 

The Counts of Armagnac.

Armagnac is named after the Counts of Armagnac, who ruled over the area from about 960 CE. The counts remained theoretically under the rule of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England during the various English - French wars, but they pledged allegiance to France. Since the system of distillation used for liquor was only developed in the 13th century.  Probably the first brandy called Armagnac, named after the Counts, was made in the 14th century. The counts disappeared somewhere in the wars between France and England, but the brandy and its name remain.

La Bastide D'Armagnac
The town of Labastide-d'Armagnac in the department of Landes
and was founded in 1291 by Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac.
Photograph courtesy of Pierre_Bn
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91111169@N00/14900234628/     

Independent Armagnac estates will always show the domain’s address on the front label, along with the appellation (Bas-Armagnac, Ténarèze, Haut-Armagnac). If not, the spirit was bottled by a négociant ( a wholesaler) in another part of France, then they may have labels that only read "Armagnac."  The labels that just reads Armagnac are because the liquor is a blend of various appellations or because the grapes were grown in one appellation of Armagnac and distilled in another.

-------------------------------- 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
a French menu? 

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations. 

------------------ 

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman 
Copyright 2010, 2016, 2021, 2023
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
--------------------

Posts on other brandies:
 

Deciphering Cognac Labels and How to Tell the Age and Grade of a Cognac. 
 
The Aging and Blending of Cognac, France’s most Famous Brandy. Cognac II.
 
Pineau de Charentes; the Aperitif of France’s Cognac region. Cognac III.
 
Cognac the Town, and Visiting Cognac and Tasting the Product. Cognac IV.
 
Calvados – The Most Famous Apple Brandy in the World. Calvados on French Menus.

 
Other connected posts:
 

Agen in South-west France. Home to the Agen Prune, the Gold Standard in Prunes.
 
Foie Gras - Fattened Goose or Duck Liver. Foie Gras on French Menus. Foie Gras in French Cuisine.
 
Glace – Ice-cream. Ice-cream on French Menus. Glacé and Glacée are Desserts That are Frozen, Iced, Chilled or Glazed.
 
Pâtés and Terrines. An introduction to the meat, fish, vegetable and fruit pates on French menus.
 
Rognons - Kidneys on French menus.
 
Tastevin – A Sommelier's Odd Looking Cup, Worn on a Neck Chain Around the Neck. The Sign of Wines from Burgundy.
 
Vinegar, Vinaigrette and Verjus in French Cuisine.
 
What are the AOCs and AOPs on France's Foods and Wine labels?
 
 

The Valençay AOP Cheese and the Valençay AOP Wines. The Town of Valençay and the Chateau de Valençay.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com    

The Valençay Cheese.
Photograph courtesy of Frédérique Voisin-Demery
www.flickr.com/photos/vialbost/5486322753/
 
 
The Valençay Cheese and Wine

In 1998 the Valençay cheese received AOC status and the wine followed in 2004. That made the town of Valençay the first place in France to have both an AOC cheese and AOC wines; now AOPs.

The Valençay cheese and the Valençay wines took their name from the small and attractive town of Valençay in the Valley of the Loire. The valley has beautiful countryside with fabulous chateaus and some of France’s most beautiful villages. Many of these are within 50–80 km (30-50 miles) of Valençay.

The town of Valençay is in the department of Indre. Indre, together with the department of Cher, was created from the old Province of Berry during the French Revolution. Berry has its own cuisine, and though rarely heard today, it also has its own language. Along with its cuisine, the language is called Berrichone.

France’s mainland regions.
The departments of Indre and Cher are in the region of the Centre-Val de Loire, close to the center of mainland France.
Photograph courtesy of aer.eu/
  
The Valençay Cheese

Valençay is a mild, tasty, smooth, creamy, non-pasteurized goat’s milk cheese with 23% fat. (A pasteurized version of the Valençay cheese is available for export). Both versions of this cheese are at their best when just ripened, and that’s after about five weeks of aging when the edible rind becomes blue-grey. The blue color develops naturally as the cheese ages. The farm-made cheese, marked “Fermier,” is covered with a charcoal powder before sale though the rind remains edible. When I have the opportunity, I scrape off most of the charcoal and enjoy the rind. The dairy-produced cheeses are marked “Laitier” and are covered with vegetable ash.

Valencay “Fermier”
A farm made Valencay
Photograph courtesy of Affinord. 

The Valençay cheese looks like a truncated pyramid, and its weight varies between 250 grams ( 8.8 oz) to 300 grams ( 10.5 oz) with a base of 6 cm (2.4”) by 6 cm (2.4”). Also available is a Petit Valençay, which weighs approximately 110 grams. Both are suitable sizes to take home from a visit to France. Request a cheese that will be ready in one week and have it vacuumed packed. The cheese will be perfect if placed in the refrigerator when you return home within 48 hours, and it will keep well for about two to three weeks. Keep it refrigerated, not frozen. Take it out of the refrigerator one hour before serving. (For more about buying and taking French cheeses home, click here). When taking this cheese back home with you, make sure you buy one that explicitly says pasteurized. Declare it, and the customs will not argue with a pasteurized cheese.

Valençay cheeses made with organic milk are available. They will have the word Bio or Biologique a food product is organic the label will include the government-approved AB logo clearly visible. 

The AB organic produce label.
The AB logo became part of French law in 1985. 
The label identifies products that are defined as organic under French law.  

Fresh goat’s cheeses will be off the market between January and February. These two months are the birth times for most goats, and then the nanny goats need their milk for their young. However, matured cheeses will still be available. The whole region around Valençay is famous for its goat’s cheeses. Look out for the local Crottin de Chavignol AOP, Pouligny Saint Pierre AOP; Selles sur Cher, AOP, and the Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine AOP. 

A few of France’s many goat’s cheeses.
Photograph courtesy of Marc Kjerland
www.flickr.com/photos/marckjerland/3956521102/
    
The Valençay cheese and its shape.

The Valençay cheese itself is considered a new cheese as it is only 200 years old! With its truncated pyramid, the cheese's shape has many stories about how it arrived at its final shape. The stories told and retold include a tongue-in-cheek story that includes Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I. In that story, Emperor Napoleon I cuts off the cheese's pointed top with his sword since the points reminded him of the sails of the British ships that destroyed his navy in the Battle of the Nile. Nevertheless, whatever the reason for the flat-topped pyramid, it is the shape of the cheese today, and its taste remains none the worse for it.

Valençay cheese on French Menus:

Polenta Crémeuse au Fromage de Valençay et Flan de Sucrine du Berry -  Polenta is the French version of the North Italian dish of cornmeal polenta. For much of the European peasantry, polenta was a cornmeal and corn flour dish brought from the New World and easily adapted to France's agricultural needs. Cornmeal saved many peasants from starvation. Today polenta in France and Italy has returned as a fashionable side dish in fine restaurants. Here a creamy polenta is made with Valençay cheese and served with a flan made from the Sucrine du Berry. The Sucrine du Berry is a baby Romaine lettuce; it is crisp and sweet and sold as the "Little Gem" in North America. In France, the Sucrine du Berry may be in your salad or part of another dish. In Berry, where this baby lettuce was first grown in France, restaurants may also offer Soupe à la Sucrine du Berry, a little gem lettuce soup. For more about Berry's cuisine, click here.

Beetroot and watercress on a base of Valençay cheese.

Photograph courtesy of H. Alexander Talbot

www.flickr.com/photos/ideasinfood/8311593231/

Quiche de Valençay au Parfum de Basilic - A quiche made with Valençay cheese and flavored with basil.

Boudin Noir au Valençay, Purée de Pommes de Terre – The French version of Black pudding, the much-loved pork blood sausage served with here with Valençay cheese and mashed potatoes.

Valençay AOP Wines

The Valençay AOP wines are whites, roses, and reds. The white wine blends include  Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Chardonnay, and sometimes the Arbois grape. The rosés are made from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pineau d'Aunis. The Reds use the Gamay, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir grapes. Even with all these grapes, only 240 acres are included in the Valençay appellation, and so from this tiny area comes an extensive range of wines. When you try a Valençay wine, you had better have done your homework or brought an up-to-date French wine book with you or have a knowledgeable sommelier as the wines produced under the label Valençay are incredibly varied. Valençay wines are not a single type of blend.

Rose and white Valençay wines
Photograph courtesy of Loire Valley Wine Tour.com
   

Valençay wines on French menus:

Salade Berrichonne, Œuf Poché Sauce Valençay Toast de Chèvre Valençay Chaud, Lardons Légèrement Fumés, Lentilles Vertes du Berry -  The Berrichonne salad is prepared with an egg poached in a Valençay wine sauce served with toast and warm Valençay cheese. The dish is accompanied by slowly smoked lardons (bacon pieces) and the famous green lentils of berry. Dishes with accents from the old Berry province will be on the menu as Berrichonne. Despite the two-hundred years that changed the name of the province the people still call themselves Berrichonnes.

Entrecôte Sauce Vin Valençay à la Moelle, Pommes Frites - An entrecote is a rib-eye steak in North America and a rib-eye, fore rib or Sirloin in the UK. (USA sirloins are a different cut). Entrecôte is a French name and means between the ribs, and that it is. A French entrecote steak is usually prepared without the bone and is one of the tastiest steaks that any restaurant can offer.  Here the steak is prepared in a Valençay wine sauce with added bone marrow and served with French fries, the UK chips. (To order your steak cooked the way you prefer click here.) 

Tournedos de Lapereau Farci Sauce au Valençay Rouge -  A stuffed tournedos from a young, farm-raised rabbit stuffed and prepared with a Valençay red wine sauce. A Tournedos is usually thought of as cut from a fillrt steak like a Tournedos Rossini; however, the word is used to described a thick cut.  However, a tournedos of a young rabbit must be seen through the eye of the beholder. From a young rabbit, the tournedos is not going to be a large serving. 

A red Valençay wine
Photograph courtesy of Loire Valley Wine Tour.com
 
 
Wines from the Loire Valley include the Valençay  wines. 

If you are looking for wines from Valençay as well as the area around the town, then you had better have done your homework. Your homework will need a very up-to-date book on French wines and there are some excellent pocketbooks are available. In the Loire Valley, there over 69 appellations and producing them are hundreds, if not thousands of vintners. In a restaurant, which in any case will not offer all the 69 different appellations, ask for their carte du vins, their wine-list. Then to reduce the myriad choices look for their white, rosé and light red Sancerre wines, the wines of Anjou, Saumur, and the Touraine. In a restaurant, a good sommelier or your French wine book and a clear budget will aid in choosing the better vintners and the affordable years. I am not a wine maven and without a book, I would not remember 10% of the vintners, let alone the years with the best vintages.

Over a three-day period, Valençay has its wine and cheese fete. It is usually held in the last days of May and the beginning of June. However, dates have been known to move a little every year or so. Check with the French Tourist Information Office in your home country before leaving home or look at the Valençay Tourist Information Office website:

http://www.valencay-tourisme.fr/infos-pratiques/les-offices-de-tourisme-du-pays-de-valencay.html 

The town of Valençay
Photograph courtesy of Moto Itinerari
www.flickr.com/photos/motoitinerari/20759332392/ 

The attractive small town of Valençay is walkable; it has less than 3,000 inhabitants. The town has an antique car museum, the Musee de l'Automobile de Valencay; most cars are pre - 1939. N.B. The museum is closed from mid-November through mid-March. The town also has a museum of sugar art: The Musee du Sucre d'Art is attached to a local pastry shop.

In Valençay, there is a farmer's market every Tuesday morning, and the Valençay Tourist Information Office has the dates and times for other markets and points of interest around the town.

A Panhard-Levassor X-17-SS, 1912.
From the Valençay Car Museum
Photograph courtesy of Daniel Jolivet
www.flickr.com/photos/sybarite48/20254895704/
 
 
The Chateau de Valençay.

The Chateau de Valençay is one of the most beautiful Chateaus in France. It was made famous by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754 – 1838), France’s first consummate politician.

The Chateau de Valençay.
Photograph courtesy of Patrick 
www.flickr.com/photos/morio60/7271645878/

Under King Philippe XVI Talleyrand, the last king before the French Revolution was a deputy of the National Assembly. Then, after the French Revolution in 1789, France was ruled by a new National Assembly. Talleyrand participated in writing the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The writers of that French declaration included some famous American citizens led by Thomas Jefferson as well as Thomas Payne and Benjamin Franklin. 

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen were passed by France's National Constituent Assembly the 26 August 1789.  The United States Bill of Rights that comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution were proposed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791.  Without faxes or email, these very similar laws were proposed 30 days and 6200 kilometers (3900 miles) apart.

Five years later on, the 2nd November 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor Napoléon 1 and his wife, Josephine Empress. The new Emperor’s first appointment as Foreign Minister was…. Talleyrand. In 1804, Talleyrand bought a monetary gift from Napoleon, the beautiful Château de Valençay. In this Château, Talleyrand employed the man who would become the most famous chef of the 19th century, Antonin Carême. Talleyrand believed in a well-set table along with excellent wines to win over politicians and prominent visitors to France. Carême and his cuisine brought the power behind the thrones of foreign rulers to Talleyrand’s table.  

Talleyrand served all masters and promoted at varying times opposing ideas. Talleyrand was also an ordained Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, but turned against the Church with the revolution’s anti-clerical bias. He became the Foreign Minister of Emperor Napoleon 1 and would later serve in the same post for King Louis XVIII after the monarchy was restored when the combined armies of Europe overthrew Napoleon. Talleyrand made tens of millions for a politician in the 18th and 19th centuries; today, that would be billions. Talleyrand, essential as he was at the time, would today be in jail for insider trading, bribery, breach of trust, accepting bribes, demanding bribes, along with money laundering, and much more!

The Chateau is open from the beginning of April until the first few days of January and even on France’s sacred museum Mondays. However, French dates and hours occasionally move around, so do check the dates and times with the Chateau’s English language website:

https://www.chateau-valencay.fr/en 

The gardens of the Chateau de Valençay.
Photograph courtesy of stephane333
www.flickr.com/photos/stephaneollivier/30053769558/

Talleyrand resigned his post of foreign minister in 1807, and then with time on his hands and money in his pockets in 1812, Talleyrand bought a permanent home in Paris on the Place de Concorde, Paris. That was a town palace that became known as the Hôtel de Talleyrand. After WWII, that palace was the headquarters of the Marshall Plan, and the United States still owns the building.

The building is now fully restored to the former glory seen under Talleyrand and may be visited; just ask directions to the Hôtel de Talleyrand on the Place de Concorde, Paris.

 With Napoléon’s defeat in 1814, Talleyrand once again changed sides as well as political philosophies; this time, he supported the return of the French Bourbon Kings. The first French King after Emperor Napoleon I was Louis XVIII (1814-1824), and he made Talleyrand the chief French negotiator at the Congress of Vienna in 1814. When Napoleon I returned in February 1815 and reached Paris in March 1815, Talleyrand remained a private citizen. Then in 1830, a new King from the Orleans branch of the royal family King Louis-Philippe (1830 - 1848), came to power, and Talleyrand, now aged 76, became the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1830-1834). Talleyrand died aged 84. On his deathbed, he changed sides again and repented for all his sins and received absolution from the Roman Catholic Church. Talleyrand is buried in the grounds of the Château de Valençay.

For those seeking a quieter vacation near Valençay:

For those seeking a quieter vacation near Valençay, the River Naon south-east of the town is a favorite site for amateur anglers and picnics. Fishing permits cost some 12 Euros per day, and all the equipment for an angler, from worms to rods, are available close by.  

-------------------------------- 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
a French menu? 

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

---------- 

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2015, 2021, 2023.
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com 

--------------------

Connected Posts:

AOP, IGP and Vin de France. The Labels on French Wines.
    
Á la Moelle – Dishes Served With or Flavored With Bone Marrow. Á la Moelle on French Menus.
 
Anjou and Angevines – Dining in the Maine et Loire, France.
 
Antonin Carême: The Most Influential Chef in the History of French Cuisine.
 
Bacon in France. Bacon and Salted Pork on French Menus. Lard in French Means Bacon in English.
 
Basil - Basilic or Herbe Royal. Basil in French Cuisine.
 
Berry, One of France’s historic Provinces, Enjoy its excellent Berrichonne Cuisine. Savor its wines. Taste its outstanding cheeses and much more.
 
Bio or Biologique. Aliments Biologiques, Produits Biologiques AB - Organic Food and Wine in France.
 
Boudins and Black Puddings on French Menus. The Sausages of France II.
 
Buying Cheese in France. Bringing French Cheese Home and a Lexicon for buying French Cheese.
 
Champagne the Most Famous Sparkling Wine in the World. Choosing the Champagne that Meets your Sweetness Preferences.
 
Cremants are the best value in French sparkling wines .
 
Crottin de Chavignol AOP. One of France’s outstanding goats’ milk cheeses.
 
Entrecôte (Entrecote). Ordering a Perfect Entrecote Steak in France.
 
Frites or Pommes Frites - French Fries in the USA and Chips in the UK. French Fries on French Menus.
 
Lapin and Lièvre – Rabbits and Hares. Rabbit and Hares in French Cuisine.
 
Lentilles – Lentils. Lentils are all over French Menus. The Lentil in French Cuisine. 
Ordering a Steak in France, Cooked the Way you Like it.
 
Ordering a Steak in France, Cooked the Way you Like it.
 
Quiche Lorraine - The Origin of all Quiches is the Lorraine in North-Eastern France.
 
Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOC. The Sainte-Maure de Touraine Cheese. Sainte-Maure de Touraine is One of France's Finest Goat's milk cheeses
 
Sancerre Wines and Sancerrois. Choosing and Tasting Sancerre Wines. Sancerre Wines on French Menus.
 
Soupe - Soup. The Treasures to be Found in in French Soups. A Lexicon of French Soups.
 
 Tournedos Rossini, after 150 years still the most famous of all steak dishes. Tournedos Rossini and Gioacchino Rossini.