Vintage Sardines Lulu – 2020

Lulu 2020 Vintage Sardines, perfectly matured in a ballet tutu

The Lulu 2020 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 year after year. A vintage at the peak of its maturity – round, velvety, and in a collector's tin full of poetry.

Lulu 2020 vintage sardines are matured sardines in olive oil from La Perle des Dieux in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie on the Vendée coast. Caught at the end of the season when the sardines had a fat content of about 12%, they have been confited in the tin ever since – six full years for the 2020 vintage, which is currently entering its prime.

Velvety, round, with a long finish

After a good six years, the 2020 vintage has become "fondant": the flesh is velvety, the aroma round, and the finish long.

It still retains a hint of youthful freshness, but the oil, which has long since permeated the fish, makes it soft and round. Mild, nutty, with a fine salinity – a vintage that shows how beautiful sardines become with age.

For an aperitif with a glass of Melon

On fresh baguette, with a few drops of its own oil and perhaps some thinly sliced fennel – a vintage rarely tastes this good in such simplicity.

A Gros Plant or a Melon de Bourgogne pairs well with it, the crisp white wines of the Loire estuary right around the corner. If you like, briefly sear the sardines and place them on warm potato salad. Craving more? Browse through our sardines in olive oil.

For further aging in your pantry: turn the tin every 6 months so that the oil surrounds the fish on all sides. Stored in a cool, dark place, your 2020 vintage will continue to age for years to come.

A tin like a small stage

La Perle des Dieux is arguably the most feminine cannery in the industry – founded in 2005 by Claudie Vardelle, who was previously familiar with the Parisian fashion world.

Together with Philippe Gendreau, whose family has been canning fish for four generations, she focused on painters rather than nets and fishermen. Fresh from the catch, the sardines are cleaned and packed by hand within 48 hours. Two series run this way: Mademoiselle Perle by Delphine Cossais and Lulu by painter Coralie Joulin, whose figure is modeled after factory worker Lucienne, who has over forty years of service.

The 2020 motif is called "Le ballet enchanté de Lulu" and shows Lulu as a ballerina in a tutu, next to a music box from which fish are flying. Each vintage features a new image – this is what makes the vintage sardines from La Perle des Dieux such a collector's item. You can find the sister series as Mademoiselle Perle.

Content 115 g – Drained weight 86.3 g