2010 Quincy Chai de Maison Blanche - but watch out for the Cliffs

We recently made a trip to Normandy to stay at " La Vieille Ferme" in Mesnil-Val-Plage. It was a very comfortable hotel with a very good restaurant that specialises in sea food. The service was very friendly. On our first night for "amuse-gueule" the restaurant served up a small portion of magret de canard cru mariné: this is marinaded raw duck - in English. It was excellent. The only other time I had tried raw fowl was in Japan but it was not so good. We ordered a bottle of 2010 Quincy Chai de Maison Blanche Cave Romane de Brinay to go with our seafood dishes. The wine was excellent with a strong tangy taste of green fruits and citrus. The wine had a dryness and freshness which cleared the palate and even went down quite well with the marinated duck.

Amongst our shell fish we ate Amandes de Mer which are clams that can be eaten raw. I have never eaten these before and they were as delicious as the oysters and they even had a slight taste of almonds but was that the power suggestion? These clams live in the Atlantic waters around the UK but we never eat them. We call them the "dog-cockle" how romantic and adventurous can you get? The clams can also be cooked but I guess that like mussels they would get rubbery if you over cooked them. The restaurant cooked them perfectly.

If you like seafood and a comfortable quiet hotel then " La Vieille Ferme" and Mesnil-Val-Plage are worth visiting and recommended. But if you are British, American or German be careful walking along the cliffs you might end up in the drink.