On Sunday, we watched Mathieu Van der Poel of Team Alpecin assert his dominance over the other sprinters, timing his final acceleration perfectly:

Tuesday’s race serves as a wake-up call to the peloton: no rest for the weary. With seven categorized climbs (rated in order: 3,2,3,3,1,1,3) it’s a stage for separating the true contenders for the yellow jersey from the aspirants. Three questions come to mind: Do they have the legs? Do they have adequate team support? How have their bodies adjusted to the extreme heat of week one?

And coming off a rest day is always a bit of a crapshoot. Some riders return to the peloton rejuvenated; others seem to have lost their mojo. It’ll be interesting to see who arrives at the starting line looking refreshed and ready to go.

A Quest for Knives and Cheese

Gabe and I celebrated our anniversary in 2016 in Paris. We found an amazing Airbnb on the Ile de la Cité, just a couple of blocks from Nôtre Dame and settled into a comfy-chic Christmas vibe. I hadn’t been back to the City of Light since my divorce from the French Guy and was eager to reclaim Paris for myself. For us. (You can read more about that trip here.)

We fell in love with the Ile Saint-Louis, with its quaint shops and restaurants, just a stone’s throw from our apartment. Pastry, cheese, coffee – anything, really – there was a shop for that!

Gabe, predictably, felt the pull of the pâtisserie, with its displays of tempting delights. I found myself staring into a cutlery shop, my eyes riveted by a set of bright blue steak knives from Laguiole. Did I need them? No. But did I want them? Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes!

On subsequent days, I’d find myself moseying past the shop just to admire them again. My practical voice said, “They’re just knives; you already have more than you need.” And, after several more days of furtive visits to the window, I resolved to leave them behind. Hey, if I still coveted them once I got home, I’d just order them online.

What a mistake that was . . .

When I got home, I searched every culinary and kitchen supply site I could find, to no avail. While it’s possible to order some Laguiole knives here, not all models are available in the US. Sadly, I banished the beautiful blue knives from my mind. But my heart hadn’t forgotten them.

During a trip to Bordeaux in 2022, the knives reasserted themselves into my consciousness. And I went hunting for them – all over Saint-Emilion, then central Bordeaux. But my Laguiole fantasy was not to be. I couldn’t find them anywhere.

So, when I set out to write a post for this stage, instead of searching for a wine to recommend, I was consumed with memories of my lost knives. And decided to write about them instead.

Spoiler alert: I never did find them . . .

The Laguiole AOC – for Cheese!

Similar to the cheese from Cantal, Laguiole is a raw cow’s milk cheese that is pressed into large rounds (some weighing over 100 pounds) with a semi-hard rind and a natural mold.

It’s named after a village on the Aubrac plateau famous for a special breed of cows that produce milk with a super-high protein content.  According to the AOC regulations established in 1976, the cheese must be made in one of the 47 approved villages across three different departments, and affinage (i.e., the ripening and curing) takes at least four months from the date of production, at a temperature below 57 degrees F. It must be aged for at least four more months before sale.

Laguiole cheese is firm and creamy, with nutty and buttery flavors complemented by a slight tanginess. Its aroma is earthy and reminiscent of the mountain pastures where the cows graze. Both the aromas and flavors intensify with age, developing deeper, more pronounced notes.

My cheese book recommends a glass of Gamay from one of the ten cru villages of Beaujolais as a good pairing with Laguiole cheese. I co-sign that suggestion!

Wine Recommendation: 2024 Domaine Vavril Chiroubles Cuvée de Chatenay ($24; 13.5% abv)

Domaine Vavril comprises 14 hectares of vineyards, including plots in the Cru Beaujolais appellations of Côte de Brouilly, Chiroubles, Régnié, Morgon, and Moulin à Vent. The majority of the vines at the estate are between 45-85 years old, with some over 100 years of age.

This Chiroubles comes from a parcel of old Gamay vines planted on the southeast-facing pink granite slopes of the lieu-dit Chatenay, just west of the village. It’s a gorgeous deep ruby color, with bright red fruit aromas (raspberry, cherry, plum) and dusty violets. As it opens, there’s a mineral component that complements the ripe fruit. On the palate, this wine reflects the nose, with bright red fruit and a slightly savory character (rosemary, slate). Tart acidity, mild tannins, and moderate alcohol are all in balance, and the long finish brings notes of mountain herbs and violets.

Hard to think of anything that wouldn’t pair well with this wine!

What’s the Link to My Knives?

At the end of the cheesemaking season in Laguiole, many of the local farm workers headed to Spain, where they would work through the winter months. These workers apparently found the local jackknives much to their liking and brought a few back to France. They caught on. As demand rose, some enterprising individual decided to make them locally, and the famous knives of Laguiole were born.

Guess I’m gonna need to go to the source if I want my elusive blue knives . . .

Enjoy the mountains! I’ll see you tomorrow with a preview of Stage 11 and a wine recommendation for the day.