The following post details Tues, Aug 26:
The alarm sounded at 6:20 AM and I was not happy...only about 4 hours of sleep and a full-day of wine tasting and touring ahead. Inviting Fabrezio back to the hotel was not the best idea we've every had.
It was raining as we walked the few blocks to the pick-up point for the first half-day tour. There was not an exact address for the pick-up - only a street name and the only instructions when I had called yesterday was that it was near the Tourism Office and we should wait in front of a wine shop. We were exactly on time - the van showed up about 5 minutes later...the other 6 people on the tour didn't show up at all - the driver had to go find them. They were waiting at the Tourism Office. The van was a full house - three people in the first seats, three in the middle and three in the very back. Luckily since we arrived first, we claimed the prime middle section seats, but I was stuck in the middle seat all day.
The morning's tour was of the Margaux area of the Left Bank section in Bordeaux. Until the start of the tour I had virtually no knowledge of French wines - where the regions were, what grapes were used, how to read the label, etc, etc. I've often claimed my ignorance of French wines.
So some key points that might be of interest:
- There are 5 major regions within Bordeaux - think Napa, Sonoma, etc.
- There are then about 60+ appellations within those regions - think Oakville, Calistoga, Howell Mountain, etc.
- The bottles never say the grape varietal (ah, I'm not crazy that I could never find the type of grape on the bottle!!). The appellation indicates the type of wine or the primary grape in the wine.
- The Left Bank appellations have higher percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon (the soil is more gravel and sandstone from being so close to the water, and even covered by water years ago) and the Right Bank appellations have higher percentages of Merlot (the soil is mostly limestone). Both sides use a little Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot - usually less than 5% of any of these varietals, if any.
A committee within each appellation makes very strict rules that dictate the Chateaus. The rules dictate so many things....a few of rules that I learned over our time in Bordeaux:
- Which grape varietals can be used in the bottling
- Which grape varietals can be planted on the Chateau property
- Grapes can never leave the Chateau until the finished wine is in the bottle (so no off-site aging or bottling)
- Grapes grown outside of the region cannot be used in the wine
- Grapes grown by another Chateau, even if in the same appellation cannot be used
- How much grapes (by weight) can be picked by hectare in the vineyard (a hectare is about 2.5 acres)
- The earliest possible date of starting harvest
- The use of irrigation (none is allowed!)
- When the properties are sold, the names of the Chateaus cannot be changed
- How many wines the Chateau can produce per year with the Chateau's full name - only 1! (Most Chateaus create a second label wine, but the word Chateau is no where on the label).
- If any of these rules are broken, the Chateau is not allowed to use the appellation name on the bottle and must label it as merely "Bordeaux"
Back to the tour - once we were all in the van, the drive to Margaux was about 45 minutes. We were quite an international group - 4 from the US, 2 from Russia, 1 from Germany and 1 from Hong Kong. I remember it being a quiet ride, but I think that was because I slept the entire way. Bridget told me that David, the tour guide talked almost the entire trip. I must have learned through osmosis.
As compared to Napa and other wineries in the US, the Chateaus are rather new to visitors. Many of them don't even have wine to sell - it is all sold to distributors before it is even bottled. Few have true tasting rooms, even fewer have any merchandise and none allow just a tasting (must take a tour).
The first stop was Chateau Lascombes. The guide was Bernadette - a perfectly French host. She was about 25, gorgeous, dressed quite fashionably and could have just stepped off a movie set. We explored the vineyard, the sorting area, the tanks, the barrel room and finally after 45 minutes, then we headed inside the Chateau for tasting of their two wines - the Grand Cru and their second label. The wines were good, but seemed "light" for a wine that is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon. That's when I learned more about the Left Bank - the Cabernet Sauvignon in the Southern portions are considered lighter, not as tannic - more Feminine as the French say.
Photos from Chateau Lascombes:
In the tasting room:
From Chateau Lascombes, it was a very short drive to the next tour and tasting - Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere. This is a Chateau that feel into disrepair over many years and one of the families that owned it began to sell off the vineyards that surrounded it. Finally all that was left was the house itself. Ultimately a Belgium family bought the property and restored it to its original grandeur. None of the vineyards are attached to the property. Our tour guide was the Belgium owner's granddaughter. We heard pretty much the exact same explanation of the wine making process that we had heard just 45 minutes earlier. The tasting was just OK - they poured a 2011 for one of the labels and started by saying that the wine wasn't ready for drinking...so not sure why they were pouring it. And it certainly tasted like it wasn't ready for drinking.
Pictures from Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere:
After this tour, we all piled back into the van and headed back to Bordeaux. I finally talked with the woman from Germany - ends up she is American, just living in Germany for the past 4 years and working for Pfizer in Government Relations. We exchanged cards for her to send me suggestions for Berlin and Munich.
We had about 1 hour between tours to eat a quick lunch. We found a cafe about a half block from the drop-off/pick-up point. Zero English...none on the menu and none from the servers. We understood enough to order a hamburger with frites and the plate de jour - which they physically brought out an example to show us - grilled chicken with mashed potatoes. And we both had a much deserved Coca Light to help us get through the afternoon.
The lunch was pretty good - the hamburger was much more rare than I like, but the sautéed onions and pancetta on it were quite good. The chicken was tasty and the mashed potatoes quite smooth. We split both entrees in half to share.
By the time we left the restaurant, it was raining quite heavily. Luckily we had packed umbrellas in my day bag, plus it was only a short walk back to the van. We arrived right on time, but again, no one else beside the guide, David. We sat in the van for about 10 minutes while David went to find the other six tourists. The group was completely different - no one else returning from the morning tour.
The afternoon was a visit to Saint Emillion which is on the Right Bank of La Garonne River. The second group was a bit more talkative, but just as diverse - 4 from the US, 2 from New Zealand and 2 from Hong Kong. We chatted with the others from the US for a while - she is a professor of Classics in Boston and were in the area before going to a conference in Paris. We gave them a dinner suggestion - Bistro des Quinconces. The ride to Saint Emillion was about an hour and I slept through only parts of it this time. I might finally be caught up on the missed sleep from last night.
The first stop in Saint Emillion was Chateau Soutard. The Chateau was beautiful - we learned that the original had been torn down a few years earlier and completely rebuilt. It looks exactly the same, but was in dire need of modernization. During the tour we saw the great attention to detail that was part of the design and construction.
Our guide was very knowledgeable. He was so excited about wine and the process that you couldn't help but be engaged in the tour. We again heard all about the wine making process - I think I could give this tour at the next Chateau....perhaps my next career opportunity! I could bring the Napa style of wine tours, tasting and merchandising to Bordeaux!
During the tasting, I actually learned a few new things:
- Never swirl first - smell first to make sure there are no off odors that could indicate the wine is bad.
- I've always looked for "legs" of the wine on the glass after swirling, but didn't know what they meant. If the legs are slow - meaning the wine is more viscous, then it is ready for drinking. If they run very fast, it is still a young wine.
- Hold the wine virtually horizontal over something white and look at the outer band of wine - if it is purple or red, it is a younger wine; the wine starts to take on more of a rust color as it ages.
- While still holding the glass horizontal over white, look at the rest of the wine - the less translucent, the more tannic the wine is.
At Chateau Soutard we only tried two wines as well - their Grand Cru and the second label. I would certainly look for either in the US. Again, the shipping was quite expensive.
Pictures from Chateau Soutard:
In the barrel room:
Back in the van, we were told that we were going to the village center of Saint Emillion, we would have 45 minutes to walk around and then a final tasting in a wine shop. I don't remember this being in the description when I booked the wine tour, but we were tired of listening to the wine making process after hearing it 3 times today. When we were dropped off in the village center, it was pouring down rain, so all 8 of us complained that we didn't want to walk around in the rain for 45 minutes - the guide agreed to only 30 minutes. I think most of us took a few pictures of the village (below), walked the very steep, very slippery cobblestone streets down to the wine shop and waited the remaining 15-20 minutes just outside of the wine shop in a covered section of the village church. The church was quite interesting - the original one was underground and is one of the largest underground churches in the world. The church above it was built in the 13th century and is an eclectic mix of Roman and Gothic styles.
The tasting at the wine shop started - we tasted a total of 8 wines, predominantly from Saint Emillion, but also from Pauillac, Haut-Medoc, Margaux and Saint-Julien. I liked many of the wines and Bridget ended up buying two bottles - which is the max we think she can take back through customs in the USA.
During the tasting, the driver had brought the van close to the wine shop, so we didn't have to precariously climb the slick cobblestones back to the top of the village.
The ride back was quite long - there was terrible traffic - reminded me of getting out of Napa and into San Francisco...but on a much smaller scale considering it was all two lane roads.
Once back, we headed to the hotel and dropped off our day bags and headed out to dinner - it was around 7:30 by this time. We were tired and wanted an early night, so we headed back to Bistros des Quinconces and had Fabrice as our waiter. When we walked in we saw that the other Americans from the afternoon tour had taken our advice and was also having dinner there. Based on Fabrice's recommendation, I ordered something I would typically never order - Duck. I've always liked the one or two bites I've had off of other's plates, but never thought I would enjoy an entire entree of duck. It was prepared in a very French style and was amazing. I asked for the same julienned vegetables that I had for lunch on Monday. I ate everything on my plate...so delicious. No dessert tonight. Bridget was very tired and left immediately after we finished eating since the check process can be quite elongated. Sure enough it was - Fabrice brought me a free glass of dessert wine before I finally had to ask for the check and then just ultimately go to the bar to pay...all still about 40 minutes after Bridget had left.
I was back to the hotel by around 9:45. I had decided to dedicate the rest of the night to catching up on my Paris blog posts.
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