A Prescription for French Nostalgia

Text & photos by Marla Norman

It’s been 287 days since we were last in France…(sigh)…..

Since the pandemic, we zoom and virtual-taste with colleagues, trying to reimagine their vineyards and cellars. The French countryside and favorite restaurants have become tantalizing memories. Of course, we’re missing family and friends. Like Le Stryge sitting on top of Notre Dame, contemplating his city but unable to climb down and experience it, we’re a little glum. (By the way, Stryge survived last year’s tragic fire, so continues to maintain his watch as well as the woebegone pose.)

As you might expect, we console ourselves with plenty of French wine — our favorites and other curative vintages are listed below.

Browsing old photos is another solace. Going through hundreds of them, we’ve realized that aside from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Provence, we really miss Paris.

Just in case you’re of the same mind, I’ve culled through my Paris photographs and paired them with quotes from writers throughout the centuries: literary geniuses paying homage to their home, tourists and expats infatuated with everything Parisian — all attempting to capture a single expressive bit of joie de vie or, borrowing from Hemingway, to partake of the “moveable feast.”

But first a few wines to enjoy with the snapshots:

ROSÉ
2018 Château Trinquevedel-Tavel, Côtes du Rhône. $19.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2018 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Bourgueil, Loire. $18.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2018 Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Cassis. $39.99
2018 Domaine du Gros Noré, Bandol. $39.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2019 Château Gassier Esprit de Gassier, Côtes de Provence. $16.99
2019 Thivin Beaujolais Villages. $20.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.

WHITES
2016 Faiveley Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy. $18.99.
2017 Maison Louis Jadot Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” Burgundy. $89.99. Only 3 bottles available!
2017 Bruno Colin Bourgogne-Aligoté, Burgundy. $31.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2017 Domaine du Roc des Boutires Pouilly-Fuissé, Burgundy. $39.99
2017 Château Boisson Bordeaux Blanc. $15.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2017 Château Smith Haut Lafitte “Les Hauts de Smith” Bordeaux Blanc. $38.99.
2017 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Bordeaux Blanc. $115.99. Only 6 bottles.
2018 Domaine Chotard Sancerre, Loire. $28.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2018 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé, Burgundy. $52.99. 5 bottles available.
2018 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé “Le Monté” Burgundy. $59.99. 6 bottles available.
2018 Domaine Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru “Les Poruzots” Burgundy. $79.99. Only 12 bottles available.
2019 Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Cassis. $37.99
2019 Domaine Reverdy Sancerre, Loire 29.99. Minimum order 6 bottles
2019 Domaine Champalou Vouvray Sec, Loire $24.99. Minimum order 6 bottles

RED BORDEAUX: REVISITING 2015
Château Sainte-Catherine. Cadillac, Côtes de Bordeaux. WE-90. $8.99. Unbelievable Buy!
Château Haut-Brisson, Saint-Émilion. $29.99
Château Malmaison, Moulis‑en‑Médoc. $32.99
Château Chauvin, Saint-Émilion. $36.99
Château Cantenac-Brown, Margaux. $62.99. Limited
Château Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol. $79.99
Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan. $104.99
Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan. $119.99
Château Clinet, Pomerol. $129.99. Limited
Château La Conseillante, Pomerol. $178.99. Limited
Château Angélus Premier Grand Cru Classé A, Saint-Émilion.$324.99. Limited
Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan. $384.99. Limited

OTHER REDS
2016 Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils. Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru “Les Cazetiers” Burgundy. $129.99
2016 Olivier Bernstein Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy. $389.99. Limited
2016 Couvent des Thorins Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais. $19.99.
2017 Domaine Bachelet Côte de Nuits-Villages, Burgundy. $89.99 2 bottles only.
2017 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendanges Sélectionnées, Burgundy. $79.99. 2 bottles only.
2017 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs, Burgundy. $174.99. 2 bottles only.
2018 Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy. $18.99
2018 Languedoc Rouge “Cuvée Kermit Lynch.” $15.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.
2018 Vignobles Brunier “Le Pigeoulet” Vaucluse. $19.99
2018 Charles Joguet “Cuvée Terroir” Chinon, Loire. $26.99
2018 Domaine Michel Chignard Fleurie “Les Moriers” Beaujolais. $29.99
2018 Morel Morgon “Les Charmes” Beaujolais. $29.99
2018 Mas Teranga Côtes du Rhône. $11.99. Unbelievable Buy!
2019 Château de Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône. $18.99. Minimum order 6 bottles.

Our Paris Scrapbook

I.M. Pei Glass Pyramid and Louvre
“You can’t escape the past in Paris, and yet what’s so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn’t seem to burden.” Allen Ginsberg

Hall of Mirrors, Château de Versailles
“I love her tenderly, even to her warts and her spots. I am French only by this great city: the glory of France, and one of the noblest ornaments of the world.” Michel de Montaigne

Le Molière, Bar-Crêperie, 12 Rue de Buci
“To err is human. To loaf is Parisian.” Victor Hugo

Pont Neuf – the oldest bridge in Paris
“Good talkers are only found in Paris.” François Villon

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre
“London is a riddle. Paris is an explanation.” G. K. Chesterson

View from Pont Alexandre III
“Paris… is a world meant for the walker alone, for only the pace of strolling can take in all the rich (if muted) detail.” Edmund White

Le Penseur, Musée Rodin
“Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in everything.” James Thurber

Le Cristal Room, Galerie-Musée Baccarat
“Living in Paris is a crash course in chic.” Rebecca Romijin

Exceedingly expressive waiter in the Latin Quarter
“I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you, they do it so nicely.” Josephine Baker

Bateaux Mouches on the Seine
“Secrets travel fast in Paris.” Napoleon

Tuileries Garden
“When spring comes to Paris the humblest mortal alive must feel that he dwells in paradise.” Henry Miller

Le Quinze Vins, 1 rue Dante
“I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles.” Cole Porter

Cafe near Place de la Bastille
“It’s Paris. You don’t come here for the weather.” Adrian Leeds

Le Train Bleu, Gare de Lyon
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Ernest Hemingway

Le Caveau du Palais, 17-19 Place Dauphine
“Though I often looked for one, I finally had to admit that there could be no cure for Paris.” Paula McLain

On the Seine, across from Notre Dame
“A final reminder. Whenever you are in Paris at twilight in the early summer, return to the Seine and watch the evening sky close slowly on a last strand of daylight fading quietly, like a sigh.” Kate Simon