As we had more time this year we teamed up our friend Frits on his yearly wine pilgrimage down the Rhone valley. Normally we joined him for one night only, in the excellent hotel Les Florets in the wine village of Gigondas. This time we joined for 6 days, spending the morning hiking (just us and Pippin), and tast some wine in the afternoon. This way we did a road trip from Gigondas, to Tavel, Pic Saint Loup and Bandol. Later Paul decided to join as well for a few days, and he was picked up and dropped off at the Avignon tgv train station. And all with nice summer weather, and dining a few evenings outside!
We started in Gigondas (Les Florets), with two nice hikes in the Dentelles de Montmirail area. In Tavel famous rose wine is produced, something we wouldn't normally taste or buy, but we gave it a fair chance. This was followed by two days in Pic Saint Loup, an area with several wine villages around two spectacular limestone cliffs. The hike to the top of Pic Saint Loup was apparently famous, and quite busy, especially compared to the Oisans. Unfortunately this was the one overcast morning and the views were somewhat greyish. All was compensated by excellent tasting at Mas Bruguiere, Mirabel, Lascaux and Lancyre, all recommended. This appellation was only recognised in 2017, and is up and coming.
