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Today is sunny and bright as the next two weeks are predicted to be... and why it is nice to be away from Nova Scotia this time of year...Bruce is out walking and I am in organization mode so doing a wash and just getting some of these bits and pieces finished.I am using the Acer as I wanted to download some pictures so bear with me as this machine often has a mind of its own!
We have often been to Chateauneuf du Pape...where the vineyards creep right up to the backyards of the town and the beautiful chateaus and castles actually ring the backside. It is a wealthy area and the ruins of the old pope's summer palace dominate the horizon.When the popes used Avignon as their base, sometime in the 1300's, they came to Chateauneuf du Pape in the summer... the palace was destroyed in the second world war except for an outer shell.
So this affair was an opportunity for producers to present their new wines and have the public also taste some older wines...but mostly it was the 2011 vintage which had actually only been in the bottle a few weeks.
Try to imagine the excitement of walking into a room for the price of 7 euros which includes a tasting glass and being presented with 85 producers...exciting it was!....and not so crowded that you could not collect about each small cubicle and receive your pour.That surprised me as I was thinking it might be an extremely popular event...but guess what?.. there is another one this coming weekend in Cairanne and guess who will be there?
Our wine bar guy Madian had told us about the Domaine de Marcoux the day before and that we should try their wine... two women --- sisters...one looks after the vineyard and the other the winemaking.Although they say the wine is made in the vineyard I had the distinct feeling that the winemaker was the star of this event... and their wines were amazing...big , bold , fruity, spicy, meaty ...with such a full mouth long finish...we bought a bottle to try at home in the quiet and then if we still like it will go back to the winery to send some home..Given the reports in the paper yesterday these guys may be out of business by 2050.
And there were three winemakers from Paso Robles also tasting this particular wine and complimenting the winemaker profusely. What surprised me is how much I liked the reds... even with ABV's of 15.5%...I found the whites too perfumy and floral... almost sickening...and besides I had to keep washing my glass out from the reds so it was easier to to stick with them.
The big guys were not at this event... no Beaucastel and no Vieux Telegraphe... but there was Chateau Mont-Redon and le Vieux Donjon....we bought some of these and also some older vintages they had for consumption here... we do need to watch this buying thing as that is why we have a cellar in Beaune... anyway Jamie is coming and he will help us out I am sure.
We should have done more research re CNP wines but hey we did not know this was going on and had a day to get ready....we will be better for this coming weekend where there will be some CNP but also wines from the area around Cairanne...Rasteau, Gigondas, Lirac, Tavel and more.
But before I move on let me tell you about the lunch served that day...as only the French can do....what fun! There were oysters ..6 for 5 Euros...then there was a Slow Food section which had booths of olives oh so many kinds and tapenades and roasted tomatoes and peppers, then a bread booth, then a charcuterie section with all the pork procciuto-like products and fois gros every which way... and all the various strawberries which are coming on strong now... so what you could do was make a picnic of all or some of these products and that was what people were doing..and bringing up bottles of wine form the Salon... and a fellow was going around opening up the bottles...we will know better for the next les Printemps...but then there was a hot section with a great set up of a fellow making "frites" and another fellow doing veal...for 10 E.... and oh yes did I mention a cheese booth and a chocolatier for dessert.... what fun to watch everyone dig in to the food and laugh and drink and have a great time... and children everywhere...the NSLC would have been going crazy because people were actually allowed to buy the wine from the producers in the salon and bring it outside to these beautiful tents and windbreaks. and so went the day at Chateauneuf du Pape.
And quickly on Monday we walked all day in Bonniex and Menerbes and Lacoste beautiful hillside towns very close to each other in the Luberon...Peter Mayle country.... and Tuesday we went to Avignon to return the car and get another one... it was cheaper to have a whole new contract then extend the one we had... but we decided we really did need a car here...to get everywhere we wanted to go....when we wanted to go... Avignon for us was a bust though... 200,000 people..too big plus everywhere I had planned to visit was closed...so after a wonderful little lunch we came home to L'Isle and vowed to leave Avignon for our departure day and that would be it. Today after lunch we are off to Fontaine de Vaucluse..where their is the largest spring in Europe...how far does that extend? and the source of the Sorgue River which makes up the canals around and through L"isle...we are working on trying all the boulangeries in the town and determining which one we like the best.LG and XX
The Vineyards of Chateauneuf de Pape..no green yet but the sprouts are present and once it starts it comes on very quickly!
1 comment:
My mouth is watering for just the kind of "picnic" you describe!
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