Vintage Sardines Lulu – 2016

Lulu Vintage Sardines, aged in olive oil over the years

The 2016 Lulu vintage sardines from La Perle des Dieux are sardines in extra virgin olive oil from the Vendée, caught at the end of the season and aged in the tin since they were caught. Not mass-produced, quick-turnaround goods, but confited premium sardines that, like a fine wine, have their own vintages.

2016 Lulu Vintage Sardines are aged sardines in olive oil from La Perle des Dieux in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, a port town southwest of Nantes. Caught at the end of the season, when the fish had a fat content of around 12%, and since then confited year after year in the tin – a vintage you let age like a wine. The 2016 vintage has now been aging for around ten years, and you can taste every one of them.

Melts like butter on the tongue

After almost a decade of aging in the tin, the sardines are tender, delicate, and velvety – they melt like butter on the tongue.

The 2016 is one of those mature vintages that the French call "d'Exception." While the younger vintages still have firm flesh, everything here has mellowed: the oil has soaked deep into the fish, and the aromas have become calmer, fuller, and deeper. A sardine that is no longer in a hurry – and that is precisely its charm.

On toasted bread with a glass of white wine

Such a mature vintage sardine needs little: toasted bread, a few drops of its oil, perhaps a bit of fleur de sel.

Served plain on warm baguette, they show their finest side; dip the bread in the oil from the tin, and pair it with a chilled Muscadet or a dry white wine from the Loire Valley. If you like, place them briefly on the lukewarm bread – the warmth allows the aroma to open up even further. You can find a large selection of other sardines in olive oil in our shop.

The French themselves offer a tip for aging: turn the tins about every 6 months so that the sardines remain covered in oil on both sides. This allows the vintage to continue aging evenly and, stored in a cool, dark place, it will keep well for another decade.

A sardine house, conceived by a woman

La Perle des Dieux is arguably the most feminine cannery among sardine producers – founded in 2005 by Claudie Vardelle, who previously managed a Parisian fashion boutique.

Together with Philippe Gendreau, whose family has been canning fish for four generations, Claudie had a beautiful idea: no fishermen or nets on the tins, but instead designs by young female artists. Fresh from the catch, the sardines are cleaned and packed by hand within 48 hours and then lightly heated in the traditional way. This gave rise to the two series – Mademoiselle Perle by Delphine Cossais and Lulu by the painter Coralie Joulin, whose figure bears the features of Lucienne, the good soul of the factory for over forty years.

The 2016 design is called "De fil en aiguille" (one thing leads to another) and shows Lulu in a corset with a fish in her hand. A new image every year – making each tin a little collector's item, whether you open it or place it on the shelf. We offer vintage sardines from La Perle des Dieux from many different years, including in the Mademoiselle Perle series.

Contents 115 g – Drained weight 86.3 g