Mèze has many things going for it.
Mèze has an excellent market twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. It does get a bit busy but then, in France, good markets always get a bit busy. They are something of a social occasion and long may they continue to be.
We timed our arrival to visit the Sunday market. Approaching the market area, once having parked our e-bikes, Francine spotted a wonderfully besequinned lady making her way to market dragging what appeared to be a fully coordinated shopping trolley. The trolley stopped short of the sequins.
At one end of the market was a stall offering tasting plates of half a dozen oysters, complete with lemon, for a princely €5. The stall conveniently sat opposite a bar selling glasses of white wine to wash them down at €3 a pop. Well, you just have to, don’t you? It would be rude not to. We had a plate each. At that price these were not the largest oysters but they were nonetheless very good and hit the spot perfectly.
Mèze sits on the shore of the Basin de Thau, where the local oysters are farmed. Being on the shores of the Mediterranean, it enjoys a high number of sunny days with clear blue skies. Naturally it has a port which is very picturesque and is surrounded by a number of good restaurants, mostly specializing in the excellent local seafood. The curious looking boats in the foreground of the picture, by the way, are for the lance Mèzoise, a curious form of jousting on boats.
When we’re in Mèze , we always like to indulge in a plateau de fruits de mer to help satisfy our love of seafood even further. This fine platter, of course, should have a glass of Ricard as an overture, then be accompanied by a nicely chilled bottle of Picpoul de Pinet, one of the excellent local white wines. I think given the geography of the Basin de Thau, almost but not quite being closed off from the sea, the salinity of the water here is high and consequently its oysters seem noticeably saltier than those we tasted from La Rochelle on the west coast earlier in this trip. I think I actually preferred those from La Rochelle, not that these were bad.
So to another of the great benefits of Mèze. A short distance away in the village of Pomérols (not to be confused with Pomerol, without an “s” or an accent, in the Bordeaux region) is the caveau de Beauvignac which has to be our absolute favourite winemaker. As well as doing a top drawer Picpoul de Pinet (Pinet being another village close by), Beauvignac sells what is, in my estimation, the best white Viognier going. At least, it’s the best my under-educated palate has tasted. I haven’t found it readily available in the UK, which may be just as well, but we cannot leave this area without buying a case or two.
This is idyllic. What is the point of returning to Bedfordshire? This is the place; this is where I would kill to live. I may have to.
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