Day 6

We were up bright (well, at least partially glowing) and early.

We were collected at 9am for our wine tour of the Medoc region of Bordeaux. Our guide was Margaux, who was very punctual. On the trip up we got to know each other, and we all relaxed for what was to be an exceptional day out.

Margaux had worked in Australia for a short time, and she was very natural, open and informed. Our itinerary had been booked and organized by Nicole Croft, who I had found searching tours on the internet. She is an English women, married to a Frenchman and winemaker, and a wine expert who has written books on the region. Our program which Nicole designed was:

9am 15 rue michel montaigne, Bdx  (grands hommes) collection

10.30 Chateau Talbot Grand Cru Classé St Julien special tasting one hour and half

12.30 café lavinal 3 pax incl guide (arounnd 24€ pp to be paid direct) part of Lynch Bages

2.30pm Chateau Pontet canet Grand Cru Classé Pauillac (this is not normally available to visit)

4.15 Chateau Angludet, Margaux for a grape variety tasting and then the 2012 blend at this family domain

At every stop we were the only ones in the wineries. We had private tours and tastings. We were very spoilt. We learned lots and lots about Bordeaux wines, appellations, Chateaus, Grand Crus, terroir (which includes the soil, the climate and the winemaker), Bio-dynamic production (including making tisane [herbal infusions] which are sprayed over the vines to ward off many ills); how to adjust wine production according to the phases of the moon;  how to put a Percheron horse into a trance; how to make Bio-dynamic wines without being a wanker or concerned with the phases of the moon; how barrels differ according to who the cooper is; how the mention of screw tops stops the conversation;  how expensive Grand Cru wines are because they are Grand Cru; that Grand Cru wines are not better than other wines; that Grand Cru was simply a label assigned to a vineyard  when Napoleon 3^rd in 1855 was showing off to his neighbors; you can’t gain or lose a Grand Cru rating; and much more including how to interpret wine labels.

We leant that there are exceptional years, classic years and challenging years…..there are NO bad years. We were apparently blessed with the amount we were given to taste. At Chateau Talbot we tasted a 2000; 2009 and 2016 plus their white sauvignon which is a rarity in the Medoc.

At Chateau Pontet Canet, which is not usually open to tours, we had the full bio-dynamic lecture….and got to taste 1 wine, but their passion is real.

At Chateau Angludet we tasted their 2012 Cabinet Sauvignon, their 2012 Merlot and their 2012 Petit Verdot. These were the samples they kept from 2012 which when blended made the 2012 Chateau wine for 2012. It was a rare experience to taste the component parts and then we tasted the finished product, their 2012 Margaux.

Then as an extra special treat, we did a blind tasting where we had to pick if the wine on offer was older or younger than the 2012. I said that the colour hinted at it being older, but I felt that the nose and taste made it younger, but that it was produced in a dryer year giving a greater depth of colour. Kirsty said older, Kirsty won…..but it was a dryer year !! It was a 2010.

The fact that that all the wineries we visited thought nothing of opening what we consider to be very old wines to taste was astonishing to us. Not to them. They make wines for the long haul, so they don’t really consider them old.

Unlike in Aus, they are not trying to sell you a wine at the winery. They are about education and information. Most of the Grand Cru wineries pre-sell their vintage before it is even picked. Even Chateau Angludet (not a Grand Cru) pre-sells about 70% of it’s production.

I’m getting carried away about wine, but it was such a great day. We finished up back at our place at about 6.30pm. A big day.

We are definitely adopting the French way of life. We didn’t even consider dinner until about 9pm. We went down to one of the cafes, but couldn’t get a table. So, we asked if they did take away…sure no problem….Oh, and could I possibly get a bottle of wine as well to take away…..sure, no problem.

It is now 10.45pm and still the noise of the cafes floats up to us…..just another normal work night in Bordeaux.