Our morning stop was Château Haut-Marbuzet in Saint-Estèphe.  Henri Duboscq is the current owner of the winery that was started by his father Hervé in the 1950s.  Henri’s two sons, Hugues and Bruno, run the winery, but their father is still very much involved.  In fact, Henri does not employ an oenologist, preferring to craft the wines according to his own blending preferences.

Haut-Marbuzet owns 76ha of vines, planted on soil with a high proportion of clay, which helps to retain freshness in hot years.  Plantings are 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc.  Recently, some Petit Verdot has been added.  Vines must be 12 years old before their fruit goes into the grand vin, the flagship wine.  Younger vines contribute grapes to the second label, Château MacCarthy.  No chemical defoliants are used, in order to preserve natural yeasts, and no grapes from Haut-Marbuzet are ever sold to other wineries.

During production, there are 4 to 5 weeks of maceration, with pumping over every day.  Wines are blended before going into barrel for 18 months, during which they are racked 6 times.  We learned two new expressions: tannin catechique, which means bitter tannins, and tannin pyrogallique, which means softer tannins.  Barrels at Haut-Marbuzet are chosen to give softer tannins, so Tronçais and Joupille oak is used.

In an unexpected, and very gracious move, Bruno Duboscq pulled a barrel sample of the Haut-Marbuzet 2009, and tasted it with us, while discussing the Bordeaux market.  60% of Haut-Marbuzet production is sold directly to French clients, while exports are handled by agents such as Les Grands Chais de France.  The Duboscqs are keen to offer a good quality to price ratio, with no wide price swings from year to year, and this has earned them a loyal clientele.

Château Haut-Marbuzet 2009 (barrel sample)

Med. density purple/ruby.  Low intensity nose of tobacco, smoke, cassis, black tea, dark cherry, and black olive. 

Dry, full body, high tannin.  Cassis, smoke, tobacco, game meat, and hints of raspberry jam.  Long length.  Excellent quality.  This wine has decades of life ahead of it.

For lunch we stopped at Restaurant Le Savoie in the village of Margaux.  We sat in the lovely back garden, sipped on a Bordeaux Blanc, and nibbled tiny shrimp while waiting for our meal.  While I realize that France seems to have pretty much invented good bread, the rolls here need to be given special mention, as they were some of the best I have ever eaten.

My plate of duck was delicious, and came surrounded by 18 different vegetables.  Interesting, but about 15 too many.  Le canard matched up beautifully with Chevalier de Lascombes 2005, which is made in Margaux as the second label for Château Lascombes.  Based on a suggestion from our server, I went with coulant de chocolat, chocolate cake filled with pistachio and molten chocolate sauce.  It was delicious, but the lurid colour of the pistachio filling was a bit of a “strategic mistake”, in the words of my dining companions.

As a finale to my week with Les Grands Chais de France, there was a visit to Château Giscours, which sits on the border between Margaux and Médoc, holding 84ha in the former, and 60ha in the latter.  The main house still stands, and looks to be in good repair, however it is empty, as the proprietor lives on another estate.   The average age of the vines here is 40 years, and wine is made in what used to be the stables.  When the grapes are vinified they are given a week or two of maceration, followed by malolactic conversion. 

Château Giscours, like most Bordeaux Grands Crus, bottles a secondary wine, here called Sirène de Giscours.  There is also a more accessible bottling, called Château Duthil, which retails for around 12 euros.  The main wine sells for about 5 times that price.  Personally, I thought the quality gap between them was much smaller than the prices would indicate.

Château Duthil 2003 Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc

(60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot)

Med. garnet colour.  Med. to med. plus intensity nose of raspberry jam, cassis, cedar, black tea, and smoke.

Dry, med. body, med. tannin.  Baking spice, black currant jam, tobacco, and smoke.  Very good value. 

Château Giscours 2003 Grand Cru Classé Margaux

(60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot)

Med. density garnet/brick colour.  Med. intensity nose of black cherry jam, dark raspberries, smoked meat, black olives, earth, and coffee.

Dry, med. body, med. plus tannin.  Black cherry jam, smoked meat, coffee, earth, and graphite.  Long length.  Elegant.

On our way out of the area, heading to the train station in Bordeaux, we took a quick look at something new: a place simply called Winery.  It’s very modern, and the complex includes production, education spaces, a retail outlet, an amphitheatre, and a restaurant.  The vibe was IKEA-like, and rather fun.  It was quite a contrast to all the centuries-old places we had just spent a week exploring.

Full of good wine, food, and memories, I set off for Paris, and a flight back to the daily reality of having to pay for my vinous adventures.  Some precious moments were once-in-a-lifetime, yet I am sure they were not the last ones I’ll have in France.

See pictures here:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

First, GCF fixed the roof so that the main building wouldn’t deteriorate further, and now they are focused on soil rehabilitation, vineyard management, and planting suitable grape varieties.   There are 80 hectares total, with 50ha planted, and 43ha in production.  The percentage breaks down as 35% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest is split between Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Soils here are a mix of gravel and sand, with some that are argileux, meaning they have clay content.

We were taken on a tour of the vineyards by Christophe, the winemaker for the property.  He seemed like a cross between a surfer and the Crocodile Hunter, with his longish wavy hair, and his laid-back attitude.  I scored the only extra seat in his 4×4, so I got treated to real-time commentary as we bounced down a rutted track, and out to the crumbling old mill in the middle of the vines. 

As he talked about plantings, yields, and grape selection, Christophe’s passion for the land, and for the wines he makes from it, was infectious.  This is a man clearly motivated by a desire to turn out the best product he can, and to make plans for future improvements.  One of the things he has done is to rip out underperforming Cabernet Sauvignon vines, and replace them with Petit Verdot, a grape that grows well here. 

Christophe’s main challenge, aside from the usual one of weather, is a massive rabbit population.  These little critters have decimated whole vineyards in the area, and it is a constant struggle to keep their numbers under control.  By working with surrounding properties, hunters, and local authorities, the number of rabbits has been reduced, but as Christophe remarked when I joked about rabbit stew, “you can only eat so many rabbits”.

Château du Cartillon 2008, Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc

Med. density ruby/garnet colour.  Med. intensity nose of cranberry, violets, earth, cherry, and red currant.

Dry, med. plus body, med. tannin.  Dried cherry, red currant, smoke, violets, and some green pepper.

Château du Cartillon 2009 – barrel sample

Med. plus density purple/ruby colour.  Med. intensity nose of black currant, vanilla, ripe raspberry, and red pepper.

Dry, full body, med. tannin.  Black currant, blueberry, vanilla, smoke, and white pepper.  Long length.

The second stop of the morning was Château Lestage Simon, in Saint Seurin de Cadourne.  Since 2002 the winemaker here has been Mme. Merete Larsen.  From my observation, she is a (regrettably) rare example of a woman being in charge at a major winery in Bordeaux.

Soil at Lestage Simon is quite chalky, which means the 38ha of vineyards are planted more to Merlot, in 17 separate plots.  In 2008 new stainless steel vats were installed.  Fruit is harvested by machine, culled before it gets to the winery, and there is one week of cold soaking.  The wines tend to be spicy, and have subtle oak influence.

Lestage Simon 2008

Very dark garnet colour.  Med. intensity nose of smoked meat, cassis, tar, and tobacco.  Dry, med. body, high tannin.  Palate as for nose.  Needs a few years to soften and open up.

Driving to our lunch spot, we stopped for pictures in front of some of the most famous Bordeaux Châteaux: Latour, Cos d’Estournel, Pichon-Longueville, and Lafite.  Dare to dream.

Château Lynch-Bages, located in the commune of Pauillac, in the heart of  the Médoc area , took the term “giving back to the community” to a different level when it renovated the whole village that surrounds the winery.  They even went so far as to name it Bages le Village.  While it may sound Disney-esque, it’s tastefully done. 

We had lunch at Café Lavinal (www.villagedebages.com), just steps from the château, on a little square.  My dos de cabillaud avec crumble de chorizo et Parmesan, purée de carottes (cod topped with a crust of chorizo sausage and Parmesan cheese, surrounded by a purée of carrots) was one of the most delicious things I ate during two weeks in France.  Perfectly cooked, and simply presented, it was superb, and I am still dreaming about it.  Most of the rest of the group had duck confit, and declared it to be excellent, as well.  To drink, we enjoyed a bottle of Château Villa Bel-Air 2009, from Graves.  Leaving empty plates with full (and happy) stomachs, we went off to tour the winery.

Under the Bordeaux ranking system, Château Lynch-Bages is classified as a fifth growth, and was founded in 1749, by Mr. Lynch, the son of an Irishman.  It was purchased by the Cazes family in 1936, and they still run it today.  The winery controls 100ha of vines.  Most classified growths are 80 to 100 hectares, while the average in Médoc is 50ha.  Ten different coopers produce barrels that the winery will use only twice, before selling them on.  Wines are given 15 months of barrel aging.

Vines used for Lynch-Bages are fifteen to forty years old.  Three-year-old up to fifteen-year-old vines are used for the second label, formerly known as Haut-Bages Avernous, and changed in 2008 to Echo.  All grapes are harvested by hand, which requires nearly 200 people.  According to our guide, plantings are 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot.

Château Haut-Bages Avernous 2001

(75% Cab. Sauv., 10% Cab. Franc, 15% Merlot)

Med. garnet/brick colour.  Med. intensity nose of cassis, smoke, cedar, vanilla, and white pepper. 

Dry, med. body, med. tannin.  Cassis, black pepper, and vanilla. 

Château Lynch-Bages 2001

(78% Cab. Sauv., 15% Merlot, 5% Cab. Franc, 2% Petit Verdot)

Garnet/brick colour, with some sediment.  Med. plus intensity nose of tar, tobacco, and cooked black fruit.

Dry, med. body, med. tannin.  Cranberry, tar, tobacco, underbrush, smoke, and game.  Long length.

For our final night in Bordeaux, we started with a few glasses of Crémant de Bordeaux and some Graves Pessac-Leognan at Bar à Vin (http://baravin.bordeaux.com), a wine bar dedicated to promoting the wines of the area.  After that, we walked along the riverfront to La Tupina (www.latupina.com), which bills itself as “authentically south-west”.  Unusually for Bordeaux, there is a valet to park cars.

It would seem that authentically south-west means giant slabs of meat, cooked over an open flame, as this is what greets you at the door.  Before we could get to grilled things, though, we were served complimentary glasses of red Lillet, along with a plate of salami, chunks of terrine, and tiny pieces of pork crackling.  Properly welcomed to the restaurant, we ordered a bottle of Château Tronquoy-Lalande 2004 Cru Bourgeois Supérieur (a designation that doesn’t exist anymore) from Saint Estèphe.

In a nod to healthful eating, we started our meal with beautiful salads, and I hope my liver forgave me the fake-out, because things got much more intense when the AOC-designated butter hit the table for our bread, and the two portions of very rare côte de boeuf landed on warmed plates.  La Tupina is so serious about meat that they have their own branded knives.  They also had Domaine de Chevalier 2004, a Grand Cru Classé from Pessac-Léognan, which tasted like cranberries, smoke, violets, graphite, vanilla, and earth.

La Brasserie Bordelaise was again treated to our post-meal presence, and they kindly poured us a selection of digestifs to send us off for our last night’s sleep in Bordeaux.  One more day in wine country remained…

Watch for Part #8.

Photos can be seen here:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Along with still wines, Les Caves de Landiras makes sparkling wine via the Charmat (tank) method under the J.P. Chenet banner.  The juice is shipped in from Spain, and all three cava varieties are used.  In addition, 12 million bottles of crémant (traditional method sparkling) are made.  Loire, Alsace, Jura, and Bordeaux are all represented.  Apparently, Les Grands Chais de France (GCF) has a long history of making sparkling wines.

At Landiras, the fermentation tanks are segmented, because wine is produced for 180 countries.  The filtre tangentiel flow-through filtration system is used here, just as it is at La Cheteau, a GCF facility in the Loire Valley.  Computerized quality analysis is carried out in the lab using something called the “Auto Sampler”.  While it was being demonstrated, it made me think of a CSI episode.

Words can scarcely describe how vast this place is.  Standing on one side of the futuristic-looking bottling line (wearing a not-quite-sexy mesh hairnet), it feels as though it goes on forever.  Still, this is France, and the human element comes into play when the whole thing shuts down at ten in the morning for a half hour break.  Try to imagine any industrial complex in North America doing that.  Mais non.

At any one time, there are at least 11 million finished, labelled bottles of wine in stock.  Customers appreciate that products can be kept for them, ready to roll out at a moment’s notice.  There is an older section of the building that used to handle the entirety of J.P. Chenet production, but now only does bag-in-box wines, of which there are 30 million produced each year.  In another section, there is an airtight, automated warehouse that is four storeys high.  There is a very low oxygen level inside, so machines do all the placement and retrieval of pallets, which are each marked with their own unique code.

While at Landiras, we learned about a new appellation called Vin de France.  Wines with this on the label are made from 100% French grapes, sourced from all over the country, with the aim of making better wine.  With a shortage of white grapes, large-scale blending has become a necessity.

After we wrapped up at Landiras, we headed off to Château Grand Puch/ Château St. Germain.  It is one place, with two names, and the same wine could carry either name, something permitted in Bordeaux for any winery that operated with the two registered names prior to 1983.

Talk about a complete change of scenery.  In Bordeaux, the word “château” means “farm”, and St. Germain certainly looked more like that.  100 ha of vines surround the modest property, and the owner lives there, although not in the actual castle, which has been vacant for years.  The people who work in the vineyards also live on site, which is something of an older, decidedly rural, tradition.

GCF does not own St. Germain, but it has an exclusive agreement to make wine.  As such, Benjamin Tueux, who we had met the day before at St. Savin, makes wine here.  All the grapes are red, and break down roughly along the lines of these percentages: 50% Merlot; 45% Cabernet Sauvignon; 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  Soil here is very similar to that found in Médoc.  Harvest starts at the beginning of October, and the grapes are macerated a long time in concrete vats.

Benjamin let us eat Merlot grapes off the vine, he showed us a bottle of 1966 Calvet that he keeps in the winery, and he let us taste a tank sample of last year’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which tasted like green pepper, baking spices, and earth.

Third stop of the day was Château Laroque in Saint-Emilion, where Bruno Sainson makes the wine.  This property was purchased in 1935 by the Beaumartin family, and they are still the owners today.  It is kitted out with very modern winemaking equipment, and dimmer lights in the barrel cellar, where we did our mini vertical tasting.  Here are my notes:

Château Laroque 2005

Med. density garnet colour.  Med. intensity nose of cherry cough drops, blueberries, plums, vanilla, and cedar.

Dry, med. plus body, med. tannin.  Dark cherry, purple plum, vanilla, and blueberries.  Slightly smoky finish.  Med. length.  Elegant.  Can drink now, or hold for another 10 years.

Château Laroque 2004

Med. plus density garnet colour.  Med. intensity nose of graphite, violets, dried cranberries, and wood ash.

Dry, med. body, med. tannin.  Dried red fruit, smoke, graphite, and some chalkiness.  Med. length.  Drink now, and for the next two years.

Château Laroque 2001

Med. density garnet colour.  Med. intensity nose of pie cherries, dried rose petals, vanilla, and rosemary.

Dry, med. body, med. tannin.  Roses, dried cherries, vanilla, and some raspberry.  Drink now and for next two years. 

Last but not least, we rolled into Château Cantin for a quick visit.  GCF has a long-term lease here that has so far extended 25 years.  Château Cantin is Grand Cru Classé, just like Château Laroque, but commands higher prices because it is considered a flagship of the company. 

We quickly tasted Calvet Edition Limitée Sauvignon Blanc 2009, which is under screwcap, and shows notes of lemon, stone, lime, and asparagus.  For reds, we tried Lot #4 of Merlot 2009, which was deep purple, rich, tannic, and full of vanilla, raspberry and plum.  Lot #2 of Merlot 2009 showed plums and smoke, and was very tannic.

The long day ended with dinner at a swanky new restaurant in Arcachon called La Corniche.  All the beautiful people were there, and it reminded me both of Las Vegas and Miami Beach.  La Corniche is situated above the Bay of Arcachon, and the view is stunning.  While the food was okay, it’s clear that the location and the “scene” are what draw diners.

It was finally time to go back to Bordeaux, and look forward to another day in wine country…

Watch for Part #7.

Some pictures are here:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

St. Savin uses automated grape reception, gravity-fed vinification, and computerized temperature control for fermentation.  There is also something called “thermovinification” whereby the juice is heated, then run over the grape skins.  This process pulls out colour in less time than traditional fermentation. 

Most of what is turned out here is basic Bordeaux red: 60% Gironde, and 40% Entre-Deux-Mers.  The winemakers take grapes from 67 growers, who tend 540 ha of vines.  The volume of production is 40,000 hl, or about 5 million bottles.  If all that wine starts to overwhelm the main production area, there is a pipeline running underground to a warehouse full of tanks that is just across a field.

We tasted a variety of tank samples, some of them experimental wines, or components for blends.  St. Savin makes house label wines for the French grocery chain Leclerc, and the one we tried was faithful to the traditional style.  The Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend smelled and tasted like black currant, green pepper, and cocoa powder.  A Bordeaux Supérieur from a different tank showed more red currant, smoke and vanilla.

The main goal here is to provide a high quality versus price ratio, and all three men were passionate about what they are trying to achieve.

Based on a suggestion from a Twitter follower, that evening our little group checked out Max Bordeaux (maxbordeaux.com), a wine bar on one of the pedestrian streets in the heart of Bordeaux.  All the Grand Crus are here, housed in Enomatic wine dispensing machines, and available for tasting by the glass.  Max Bordeaux is only open until eight o’clock at night, because it does not have a licence to serve food.  It’s a beautiful space, and the guy who was working when we were there was really nice.  A tasting card is 25 euros, plus 3 euro deposit, and multiple people can share the card.  Here’s what we sampled, along with a few tasting notes:

Château Charbonnieux 2006, Pessac-Léognan

Domaine de Chevalier 2007, Graves

Aile d’Argent 2007 (Ch. Mouton Rothschild) 54€ per bottle

Clos Fourtet 2006, St-Émilion (smoke, dried cherry, cedar, and black olive)

Ducru Beaucaillou 2004, St-Julien, 80€ per bottle (cassis, blackberry, vanilla, tobacco, and some iodine)

Château Cheval Blanc 2004, St-Émilion, 274€ per bottle, 15€ per 2.5cl (violets, vanilla, black currant, and smoke)

Having worshipped at the shrine of Grand Cru Classé, we sought our reward at La Brasserie Bordelaise.  To get things going we had a bottle of Rosé de Chevalier, which was a perfect match for melon au Pineau (cantaloupe with a sweet wine); carpaccio de canard (duck carpaccio); and grosses tomates paysannes (giant country tomatoes).  The tomatoes were no bargain at 7€ apiece, even if they were the size of softballs.  Good thing they were tasty.  For the main course, we ordered côte de boeuf (bone-in beef rib-eye) for the four of us.  Sliced and served on a hot platter, along with salad and French fries, this was straightforward, carnivorous dining at its best.  It was made even better by the Château La Louvière 2004, Pessac-Léognan from André Lurton that we drank alongside it. 

Apparently we had endeared ourselves to one of the bartenders, François, because when we were finished eating he brought us each a glass of something to taste blind.  It turned out to be Château de Beaulon 1995, a Pineau des Charentes aged in barrels that have been used for Château d’Yquem.  This amber nectar smelled and tasted like peaches, dried apricots, and orange peel, and it was an instant hit with our table.

Fully sated, we trekked back through the pedestrian mall to our hotel, where we rested up for a big day…

Watch for Part #6

Pictures are here:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

We decided to have lunch halfway between Nantes and Bordeaux in the picturesque village of Coulon.  This place built a reputation on the quality of its frogs’ legs, so I figured it was the spot to try them for the first time.  Sitting by the canal, in the sun, drinking Val de Loire Réserve des Vignerons rosé, was as good a setting as I could imagine for this latest culinary adventure.  After repeated questions, we got the server to admit that the frogs’ legs were imported from Indonesia.  Apparently, it is too expensive to cultivate them in France.  I can report that frogs’ legs do indeed taste like chicken.  Really, it’s all about the sauce, and the one on my plate had loads of parsley and garlic, which could make white bread exciting.

Back in the car, we made it into Bordeaux with plenty of time to get freshened up for dinner on the very busy Place du Parlement (http://visites-virtuelles.showaround.fr/france-360/visite-virtuelle-bordeaux-place-parlement.htm).  While the food at the place we ate was nothing great, we did enjoy a very nice wine; Château Lafont Menaut Sauvignon Blanc 2008.  For a nightcap we checked out La Brasserie Bordelaise (www.brasseriebordelaise.fr), which has an enormous selection of cognacs.  10 euros bought 4cl of Fontpinot XO, with notes of orange peel, vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon, while for 12 euros we got 4cl of Beaulon 1983, which had notes of figs, cranberries, orange peel, and vanilla.  It was my favourite of the two.  A very nice touch is that the restaurant serves small cubes of flourless chocolate cake to go with the cognac.

When Les Grands Chais de France bought a wine company called Calvet, they decided to have offices in the cities where Calvet had established a presence.  The following morning I had the chance to visit the GCF offices in Bordeaux, which overlook the Garonne river.  A wine bar is being added at street level in order to better engage the public, and it would seem there is a big public to engage.  According to Alain Gimenez of GCF, tourism in Bordeaux has increased by 30% over the last two years.

At lunchtime we stepped around the corner to Brasserie l’Orléans (www.brasserie-lorleans.fr), founded in 1942.  In short: if you are ever in Bordeaux, have lunch here.  The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside, and looked at the treed square across the way.  We started things off in style with a bottle of Deutz champagne, while the Château Laroque Grand Cru Classé 2001 was being decanted.

My starter was foie gras that had been prepared with white Lillet, something I had never tried.  Alain ordered me a glass of it to go with the foie gras, and it was an excellent match.  It smelled like fresh grapes, ginger ale, and candied orange.  Sweet, without being cloying, it set off the rich liver and the accompanying onion jam perfectly.

Per another suggestion from Alain, I had the shrimp risotto for a main course.  The shrimp were grilled, and there was a ton of Parmesan cheese on the plate, along with some balsamic vinaigrette.  While it might not have been exactly the way the Italians deal with seafood, the dish was delicious, and the Château Laroque was a good partner.  I found it showed dark cherries, violets, dark chocolate, cedar, vanilla, and tobacco on the nose, with more of the same, plus some smoke and black currant on the palate.  I would have a chance to try this wine again, and it’s interesting to see the difference tasting conditions can have on what elements are picked up.

To finish off this decadent lunch, I ordered Café Gourmand, a plate arrayed with a small amount of strawberry mousse, tiramisu, rum and raisin ice cream, and an espresso.  I thought my heart might explode, but it would have been a good way to go.

Now fortified by an amazing meal, we headed off to visit some wineries…

Watch for part #5.

Some photos are here:

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Inside the perimeter wall of the castle is a butterfly conservatory.  It was an intriguing experience to walk through what looks like a greenhouse, surrounded by butterflies flitting about.  There was even an example of the biggest butterfly species, although he/she just hung from the ceiling.  New residents are brought in by courier, and there is a display that shows the butterfly “nursery” where you can see them emerging from cocoons.

While pictures can give some impression, there is nothing like walking up the curved staircase in a medieval tower to make you appreciate the history of a castle like Château de Goulaine.  Because Jean-Yves Langlais of La Cheteau has a longstanding relationship with the family, he has the run of the castle, and showed us around.  Many rooms are available for functions, and there are plenty of those throughout the year.

Also inside the castle is a museum dedicated to the LU (Lefevre-Utile) cookie company.  LU makes lots of cookies, the most famous of which is likely Le Petit Beurre (full of butter, like so many tasty treats in France).  At one time the Marquis de Goulaine was involved with LU as a means to maintaining his castle, and the museum pays tribute to that association.

After checking out the alternate attractions of Château de Goulaine, it was time to taste some wines made under its name.  Here are my notes:

Chardonnay de Loire 2009

(100% Chardonnay, vinified with purchased juice, no oak)

Med. straw colour.  Med. intensity nose of sweet orange, yellow apple, and some baking spice.

Dry, light body, med. acidity.  Yellow apple, orange, and nutmeg.

Château de Goulaine Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 2009

(estate-grown grapes)

Pale straw colour.  Med. intensity nose of lemon zest, wet stone, and white flowers.

Dry, light body, med. plus acidity.  Lemon custard, stone, and lily of the valley.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie 2009 “Cuvée du Millénaire”

 (estate-grown grapes from old vines)

Pale straw colour.  Low intensity nose of jellybeans, candied citrus, and wet slate.

Dry, med. body, med. acidity.  Candied citrus, mandarin orange, slate, and some white pepper.  Excellent quality.

Les Lorys Sancerre 2009

(contract grapes chosen by Serge Debussy, chief winemaker)

Med. straw colour.  Med. intensity nose of lemon drops, wet slate, white flowers, and some baking spice.

Dry, med. body, med. acidity.  Pear, lemon drops, white flowers, and vanilla.  Long length.  Excellent quality.

Le Champ des Vignes Pouilly-Fumé 2009

Med. straw colour.  Med. intensity nose of white grapefruit, gooseberry, freshly cut grass, and oregano.

Dry, med. body, high acidity.  White grapefruit, grass, and oregano.

With all the tasting we did this day, you might think we went easy at night, but that was not the plan.  We had dinner in Nantes at La Cigale (www.lacigale.com), a place that’s been open for over one hundred years.  The interior is covered in ceramic tiles, and it is a visually overwhelming, bustling spot.  The speciality of the house is steak tartare, and we watched them make tons of it.  No cow is safe in Nantes.  On our table there was sparkling wine, crab, goat cheese salad, and two kinds of fish, plus a very tasty Savennières Roche aux Moines 2006, before fruit, sorbet, and meringue for dessert.   Thank goodness there was a long walk back to the hotel.

After a good night’s sleep, the road adventures with GCF continued…

Watch for part #4.

This farmer drank a whole lot of wine. 

He gave up his pork, for bottle and cork,

and started to work with the vine.

Lord Byron it may not be, but it does describe the genesis of Château du Cléray, which is part of La Cheteau, in the Loire Valley (http://www.gcfplanet.com/en/Lacheteau-59.html)  There really is a château, it dates from the 18^th century, and one of its staircases if protected by heritage designation.  The pig farmer was also real, and due to his large consumption of wine, he changed professions, and became a winemaker.

My reason for being at Château du Cléray was a spectrum tasting of wines made at the La Cheteau facility.  The labels under the La Cheteau umbrella include Château du Cléray, Sauvion, and Château de Fesles.  Serge Debussy, chief winemaker at La Cheteau, attempted to give me an idea of the scope of the portfolio by opening 13 wines.  First up were some examples of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. 

Sauvion’s Plaisir de Vigne 2009 showed lemon, slate, and a hint of jellybeans, while Le Chemin d’Eolie 2008, made from grapes bought on contract, featured notes of almond and flint.  Wine number three, Cardinal Richard, was created by M. Sauvion to honour a real person, and it is quite a tribute.  The 2009 “sur lie” was full of candied citrus and stone notes, and it lingered on the palate.  The final Muscadet was Château du Cléray 2009, also showing notes of candied citrus, plus almond and toasted bread.  All of these wines are high in acid, so they match up well with the local seafood and oysters.

Next on the tasting sheet were two Sauvignon Blancs from Sauvion: Les Eglantines Touraine 2009, with grass, gooseberry, and flint; and Les Fondettes Sancerre 2009, which featured notes of dill, lemon, and white flowers.  It is amazing that two wines produced from the same grape, in the same year, and made not all that far from each other on a map, can taste so different.  That is the effect of terroir. 

We followed these wines with Château de Fesles’ Anjou Blanc La Chapelle 2007, which is 100% Chenin Blanc treated to oak and lees stirring.  It showed notes of lanolin, honey, and mushrooms.  For comparison, we tried Sauvion’s Les Bosquets Vouvray 2009, which also had a touch of honey on the nose, but the more dominant aromas and flavours were of mandarin orange and beeswax.  Again, everything in this flight had medium-plus or high acidity.

As a segue into reds, there was a Château de Fesles Rosé d’Anjou 2009 called Le Jardin.  While it may have been called a garden, it smelled and tasted more like a cherry orchard crossed with a strawberry patch, and was none the worse for it.

Cabernet Franc is one of the noble grape varieties that does not seem to get the respect it deserves.  It is a personal favourite, and there are many to choose from in the Loire Valley.  We sampled three from Sauvion.  To start there was Puy Bel Abord St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil 2009, which had notes of smoked meat, thyme, earth, and dark cherries.  Following that was Les Roches Cachées Chinon 2009, that had notes of cherry jam, smoke, and blackberries.  To finish up with reds we tasted Dilection Chinon 2007, an oak-aged beauty with notes of flint, dried cherry, cranberry, green pepper, and vanilla.

The finale was a real treat: Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux 2006.  Wines from the Bonnezeaux area are made with Chenin Blanc, which really is a chameleon in the Loire Valley.  Medium gold in colour, with aromas of dark honey and burnt sugar, the palate displayed apple butter, quince, and sweet orange, with long length.  Gorgeous.  There was no spitting.  J

After such an extensive sampling, it was hard to believe there was more to come, but that is exactly what there was at Château Goulaine…

Watch for Part #3.

Some pictures are here: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2006836028/a=3742722028_3742722028/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/