Professor René Scherrer, who was a professor emeritus at the University of Paris 8 and who helped me when I was studying abroad in Paris, passed away on February 1st . He was 100 years old. According to an email from his representative, he passed away after a short hospitalization, so he was probably in good health until just before his death. He was born on November 25th , 1922 , and our birthdays were two days apart and we had the same star sign. It was almost 30 years ago, but I still remember it vividly. Since then, I have sent him Christmas cards every year at least as a New Year's greeting, and I have always received a handwritten reply card. I didn't receive a reply the year before last, so I refrained from sending him a card at the end of last year. Looking back, it was also his 100th birthday celebration, so I regret that I should have sent one.
Professor Scherrer's older brother, two years older than him, is Eric Rohmer (real name Maurice Scherrer), a famous film director of the New Wave. Professor Scherrer is a living witness to the founding of the University of Paris 8 in 1969 , and until recently held seminars at the university. These seminars are available on YouTube . He was close friends with such giants of contemporary French thought as Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. Regarding his relationship with Foucault, I wrote an essay titled "Cherrer and Foucault" in Queer and Law (edited by Ayabe and Ikeda, Nippon Hyoronsha, 2019 ).
While I was working as an assistant at Toyo University, I received an invitation from Professor Scherrer and traveled to Paris during my holidays using the university's overseas research grant from 1994 to 1996. It was truly a study abroad trip, and in the first year I went alone so I attended university seriously, but after that I went around eating French cuisine day and night, and this experience became one of the foundations of my current exploration of fine cuisine.
I had lunch with Professor Cherrer twice. When I first met him, he told me not to call him because I was not at home after 5 p.m. At that time, there was no social networking service at all, and the only means of communication other than mail were telephone and fax . Therefore, while there were word processors in Japan, manuscripts were written by hand or on a typewriter in Paris.
Our first meal together was in 1995 , at the Jardin des Cygnes, the main dining room of the Hotel Prince de Gal, located on the Avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. I wrote about it in an article titled "The Garden of Swans," which was first published in the psychology journal Imago (Seidosha), and later included in my book An Introduction to Beautiful Men (Natsume Shobo, 1996 ). What I remember most about this time is that I drank Krug for the first time. I wanted to order a Dom Perignon as a thank you for the hospitality, but the sommelier advised me that if I was going to pay that much, I should splurge a little and get a Krug, so I went for a Krug. I also wanted to drink it at a slightly higher temperature, as I didn't want it to be too cold. I felt like I had come into contact with the depths of champagne. The wine we had was a 1978 Leoville Barton, a second-growth from Saint-Julien. It was really delicious.
Professor Cherrer rarely drinks alcohol, but is particular about mineral water, and always requests San Pellegrino. When it comes to "gazouz (sparkling mineral water)" in cafes and restaurants in Paris, "Perrier" is the standard, and "Badoit" is the everyday drink. Meanwhile, Professor Cherrer always tries to order "San Pellegrino" made in Italy wherever he goes, which I found very playful and endearing. Since then, I have been a San Pellegrino lover. As expected, it is not suitable for boiling and drinking, so I use "Panna" when that is the case. Wine is only French, but mineral water seems to go well with Italy.
The other time was the following year, in 1996 , at Anacreon in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, near the professor's house. I was taking photos at that time, and I still treasure the photo of the professor and me with our arms around each other. I published that photo in 2009 when Fuji Shoten published my translation of Maxime Ferster's "Thoughts on Desire," the only introductory and research book on Professor Scherrer's thought to date. I remember fondly how when I sent a copy of the book to Paris, Professor Scherrer contacted me and asked, "Why was I wearing a cap?" At the time, I was in Paris wearing my favorite leather jacket and leather pants from Agnes B., and the photo shows me there. For dinner at a star-ranked restaurant in the evening, I wore a double-breasted suit from Gaultier and a bow tie from Karl Helm. I think the bow tie was a reference to the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan.
However, my best memory of food with the professor would be the "tea and cookies" we had when I visited his house on the Boulevard de Tolbiac. He lived on a fairly high floor of the apartment, and I remember taking the elevator up to the floor I wanted, and when the door opened, his room was right in front of me. I must have visited him a few times. And every time, he would give me tea and cookies. The tea was always from "Mariage Freres," which has its main store in the Marais, and he would proudly say every time, "It's Mariage Freres." It was not ordinary black tea, but a black tea with a unique taste like oolong tea. I was surprised at first because it was served in a teacup with a slightly chipped edge. On the other hand, he didn't seem to be particular about the cookies, and they were served in a paper box or package that looked like it had been bought at a supermarket or somewhere. And every time, he would repeat, "Drink your tea" and "Eat your cookies." So, it is no exaggeration to say that my memories of visiting Professor Cherrer's house are limited to drinking the tea and eating the cookies as he recommended.
But of course, we had many conversations during that time. We talked about academic matters, of course, but when I told him I was going out to dinner afterwards, he reminisced, saying, "Come to think of it, my friend Jean-Paul Aron was quite a gourmet." Jean-Paul Aron is a historian, but he is also famous as a gourmet, and in my translation of "Mr. Pydelot, what is the use of gourmet critics?" (Shinsensha, 2019 ), Pyrodowski also mentions him as a gourmet who is highly respected. Also, when I went there dressed up a little, we talked about fashion, and the professor said, "Fourier has already discussed that," and went to his study, saying, "Wait a minute," and searched for a collection of works by Fourier, who was his specialty, and happily pointed out the relevant part, saying, "Here, here." Then, when the conversation came to an end, he kindly recommended, "Drink some tea," and "Eat some cookies."
Although my time in Paris was very short, it is filled with memories of meals at restaurants and with Professor Cherrer. I am very grateful to Professor Cherrer. Thank you very much, Professor. I pray for the repose of your soul.
This month's recommended wine: "The authentic Médoc of Bordeaux"
"Chateau du Tertre 2018 AC Margaux 5th Growth" 9,300 yen (excluding tax)
After visiting the "kings" of wine in France and Italy, let's return to France and meet the "queen" of wine: Bordeaux wine. The biggest difference between Bordeaux wine and the king of Burgundy wine is how the grapes are used. While Burgundy makes wine from a single variety of Pinot Noir, Bordeaux makes wine by blending multiple grapes. In this case, it can be further classified into two types depending on the main grape variety. These are wines from "Médoc Graves" on the "left bank" of the Gironde River, where the main grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, and "Libourne" on the "right bank" of the Gironde River, where Merlot is the main variety.
Among them, the wines of Médoc are still classified according to the 1855 classification, and it is no exaggeration to say that the "Five Great Chateaux" rated as first growths are the face of Bordeaux wine. This time, we will introduce the wines of Médoc.
All of the classified wines are from the upper reaches of the northern estuary of the Medoc, i.e. the high (Haut) region, known as "Haut-Médoc". Wines from the lower reaches of the Medoc are called " AC Médoc", while wines from the upper reaches are divided into villages that can use their own names and other villages, and the other villages are called " AC Haut-Médoc". There are five classified chateaux that use the name "Haut-Médoc", but the majority are chateaux that use village names.
The villages are "Margaux", "Saint - Julien", "Pauillac", and "Saint-Estephe" from upstream to downstream. However, "Margaux" is an exception, and wines from the villages of Cantenac, Labarde, Soussan, and Arsac can also use the "Margaux" appellation.
In addition, although "Listrac" and "Moulis" can use the name of a village, there are no classified chateaux. Instead, it can be said that this is an appellation where you can enjoy high-quality Médoc wine at an affordable price.
This time, we chose the 2018 Chateau du Tertre, a fifth-growth wine from AC Margaux. As mentioned above, multiple villages can claim the title of Margaux wine, so most chateaux have vineyards spread across multiple villages. Among them, this chateau in the village of Arsac has vineyards that are not spread out. For a long time, it was owned by the Gasqueton family of Chateau Calon-Segur, a third-growth wine in Saint-Estephe, but in 1998 , it was purchased by the owner of Chateau Giscours, a third-growth wine in the same Margaux, and has remained there to this day.
The 2018 varietal blend is 40 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot, 16 % Cabernet Franc, and 14 % Petit Verdot. 50 % new oak, aged for 14 months in barrels.
Margaux wines are characterized by their strong reddish color and unique green aroma (some people say it smells like green pepper). The ratio of Sauvignon is kept low, so the tannins are not too strong and the body is not too heavy, resulting in an elegant wine. Bordeaux wines are known as the "Queen of Wines," and it could be said that the wines of Margaux are the most worthy of that name. Chateau du Tertre embodies the characteristics of Margaux perfectly, but its price remains modest among the rising prices of classified chateaux, making it a must-have item for connoisseurs. Please take this opportunity to try it.
For inquiries about the wines introduced, please contact AVICO Co., Ltd.
Biography
Osamu Seki Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions.
He specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory, and is a director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
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