We had three appointments for Saturday. Most of the chateau in Bordeaux either restrict trade to members of the wine trade or open to the public Monday through Thursday, closing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some also closed (I think) because of the Reggae Festival (a French version of Woodstock it seemed - thousands of party goers sleeping everywhere, in and out of tents and caravans) which just happened to be taking place Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Paulliac and St. Estephe.
Our day was an excellent one, however. Our first visit was to Lynch Bages in Pauillac where we tasted Lynch Bages, (white,red and second wine) and Ormes de Pez (same owner). If you are a wine lover you have been impressed. If not, Lunch Bages is one of the 71 vineyards classified in 1855 as being the best Bordeaux wines out of several thousand wineries in Bordeaux at that time. So now you are, hopefully impressed. Our second stop for a tour and tasting was Chateau Desmirail in Margaux, also among the favored few that were ranked in the 1855 classification. Desmirail has had a checkered history, coming out of a long oblivion between 1922 and 1981. We tasted their wine from Haut-Medoc (five meters away from their main growth),their rosé, and their flagship wine. All were excellent even though the tasting room is at the winery since the Chateau itself was old long ago to address money woes and the winery is a bit “shabby” shall we say.
Our final stop was at Gruaud-LaRose in St. Julian. A beautiful chateau that is only used for special events and tastings sits in the middle of a fantastic vineyard which emphasizes organic farming . Phenomes confuse the male butterflies and special plants keep the crickets at bay. There is even a sonic tower used to send high frequency soind waves to the clouds to brek up hail and slow down the rain. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right. The wines we tasted (a 2008 of the second label and a 2007 Gruaud Larose were both wonderful). At 100 or more Euros ($ 135) per bottle the Gruaud-Larose should be wonderful!
We returned to Chateau Pomys for another wonderful dinner including a 2009 St. Estephe, a Cos Labory 2005, and another 2000 Pomys.
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