The yearly trip of the wine and dine society “Het Derde Glas’ was cancelled three times due to the pandemic, and finally all lights were green to address a blind spot: the Bordeaux. Focus in the past has been on wines from eastern France (think of a north-south line from Champagne through Chablis, Bourgogne, Cote du Rhone, to Bandol) and Italy. Bordeaux was occasionally tasted with mixed results and it was time for a more coordinated effort. To organise this trip proved a challenge, as we planned it in the middle of the harvest. Many wineries couldn’t receive us, however, the advantage was that during the visits we managed to arrange, the harvest and first steps of turning grapes into wine could be observed and discussed close by.
Due to the distance the party was split in two, with 4 people driving (including Piet, more later), and 2 flying in. The first day two cars left Utrecht, and after a long day in the saddle, and significant delays around Paris, reached the Loire valley for a single stop in the late afternoon. Domaine de la Taille aux Loups makes nice whites near Montlouis, and reds near Bourgeuil, where they are called Domaine de la Butte. In any case a significant purchase was made, anticipating low bottle counts in the Bordeaux. The day was wrapped up in restaurant l’Oceanic in Chinon.
The next morning the drive to Bordeaux was completed at the airport, and the whole party met up at Pauillac, for lunch at the Gironde river. We had arrived in the Medoc area, and the first tasing was at Chateau Lafon-Rochet, in Saint Estephe. This set the tone for the whole trip: a well-maintained chateau and winery, an English-speaking hostess, and wines that where ‘hard work’, and often above budget. The tasting was excellent, but in the end we decided to limit ourselves to a tasting package, e.g. 4 bottles to share among the group during a re-tasting evening. Next stop was at Cantenac-Brown in Margaux (still Medoc), with a very similar experience. For some strange reason they had limited stock and send us to a nearby wine shop to buy some of their wine. In this wine shop the senior salesperson sniffed an easy target, and by offering several wines for tasting, he managed to offload significantly more than only Cantenac-Brown. We drove back to Bordeaux for and excellent dinner in l’Oiseau Blue.
In the morning we had an appointment at Chateau Teyssier in Saint Emilion. A promotion film was being recorded, and it was quite busy. After an excellent tasting it also transpired their bottles were not ready for sale, and they requested us to come back in the afternoon, to allow time for labelling. They also referred us to their new, upmarket winery Le Dome, closer to Saint Emilion. Due to the slow progress, we arrived an hour late at Chateau Puygueraud, on the eastern side of this region, with the appellation ‘Francs, Cotes de Bordeaux’. This was more down to earth, far less fancy, and a trip to ‘tasting memory lane’ for some. And affordable… We had to rush back to Pomerol for an appointment at Chateau la Fleur / Croix de Gay, two different wines from the same owners. This was the only visit we had to conduct in French.
We then realised that one of the mobile phones was left at Puygueraud, and one car drove all the way back. The others went to Le Dome, which turned out to be a very futuristic building, with the whole wine making process fully integrated across several floors. All around were views across the vineyards. Whilst grapes were being picked around us, we ended the visit with a bottle of Le Dome, the top wine of Chateau Teyssier. (definitely above our budget!) We happily continued to La Tour Figeac, back in Saint Emilion, where we were received by their talkative German owner. Once his French winemaker joined it became really animated, and all facets of wine making in Bordeaux were covered. The day ended with a dinner in Le Davoli, in the old centre of Bordeaux.
The next day we drove to Sauternes, for a first appointment at Clos Dady. Although owner Igor confirmed this several times we ended up for a closed gate. After many calls he woke and opened the gate, and hosted us in his shabby chateau. One of the main challenges this year has been the weather, with very cold periods in April and May, and a poor summer. At Clos Dady this resulted in no 2021 harvest at all, as all buds froze in the spring. The vines had no grapes, a sad sight. Luckily Igor had wine from previous vintages, mainly of the Graves appellation, and sweet Sauternes wines. This was explained in more detail at the next stop, Sigalas Rabaud, next to famous Chateau d’Yquem. Sauternes is produced by handpicking individual grapes, that have the right level of ripeness. To get the desired sweetness grapes have to be rotting slightly, called ‘noble rot’, and the single-grape, manual harvesting is done in five passes, as grapes ripen at different times. This laborious method also explains the price of Sauternes wine.
After lunch in Lagnon the final visit was at Haut Bailly, in the appellation of Pessac-Leognan. After long negotiations we had settled on a tasting of 5 wines, under the condition that we would not be allowed to visit their cellar. As always, we bought more than they anticipated, and when we were ready to leave, we were called back for a proper visit of their cellar. This was equally modern and futuristic as Le Dome, with harvest in full swing. Another impressive building, showing that general business in the Bordeaux is pretty good.
This marked the end of the trip, and two of us were dropped in Bordeaux, whilst the others did a long drive east to Brive la Gaillarde, a small town in central France. The day was rounded off with another great dinner, at Table d’Olivier (recommended!).
The next morning Piet went out for an early morning walk and saw that the Saturday market was in full swing on the square in front of the hotel. One of the cars was parked there, and had disappeared. This started a quest through Brive, with remarkably friendly police, and a recovery of the car on the edge of town. Here was also sufficient room to sort out the bottles. Piet and Frits drove further east with their loot, to meet Mary and Pippin at Gigondas. Here we stocked up with some of our favourite, and affordable, wines. We stayed at Les Florets, which also has a good restaurant, and had our first night ever sharing a room with Pippin. After a morning hike in Dentelles de Montmirail, and additional purchases at the Caveau in Gigondas, we said goodbye to Frits and drove back to our house, for two weeks of work and holidays.
La Taille aux Loups, the first stop of the trip
The castle overlooking ChinonTasting at Lafon Rochet
Sorting the grapes at Lafon Rochet
Chateau Teyssier
Explanation at Chateau Puygueraud
Chateau Fleur de Gay
An animated discussion at La Tour Figeac
Explaining 'noble rot' in the vineyards of Sigalas Rabaud
The last tasting at Chateau Haut Bailly
The cellar of Haut Bailly
Champagne on the terrace of Les Florets
