We thought you guys would enjoy this update from Bordeaux. Notice in the pics of the underground limestone cave in St Emilion where this particular chateau is digging it out to cellar its wines. All of the buildings in the stunning ancient Roman village of St Emilion are made using gorgeous limestone blocks that were removed from the earth below the village. Indeed, the whole wine appellation of St Emilion, the vineyards that surround the village, are sitting atop miles of this limestone and the older vine roots go 50ft+ down into the limestone to drink water and nutrients, making St. Emilion wines so delicious and prized by wine aficionados.
Also, notice the pics of the chateau building with its wonderful limestone walls, which are as solid thick blocks of limestone. There is a basilica in the village of St Emilion that is literally carved out of one gigantic block of limestone. Vignerons, here, have just finished pruning all their vines throughout all of Bordeaux and as we were driving into St Emilion yesterday you could see piles and piles of burning vine trimmings and smell the smoke in the air. Sometimes steaks are grilled very quickly over these flaming vines to feed the harding working vineyard workers who are pruning, re-wiring, re-staking the vines.
Mark
Well, we had one final shower late this afternoon. Tomorrow they are telling us it will be sunny and about 65 degrees, but the proof will be in the pudding. We hope that the weather is nice tomorrow as we pick up our rental car at 8.30am to head down to the Pessac-Leognan wine appellation south of the city. We have an appointment to meet with Remi at 9.30am at Domaine de Chevalier, a very highly regarded Grand Cru Graves estate. Estate owners here run both Chevalier and its sister estate Domaine de la Solitude.
We thoroughly enjoyed a bottle of 2002 Domaine de la Solitude at a brasserie near Pierre Square on Sunday evening.
The following morning as we were on the steps of the Grand Theatre waiting for our wine tour driver, the engaging but professional waiter passed by on his bike and stopped to say Bonjour! This is just one of many examples that we've encountered of how warm and friendly the Bordelais are.
Today I took some quick pictures as we walked along the Garonne River from our apartment to crowded Gare St. Jean. This is a very busy train station for the Aquitaine Region, with trains pulling into the station from almost every corner of France. We were attempting to locate the rental car agency to be familiar with the area before in the morning, but were finally informed that the car agency was on the south side of the huge train station. We'll just hire a taxi in the morning to make sure we can get to the right place. Tomorrow we will visit chateaux in the Pessac-Leognan and Pauillac wine regions.
On the return of our walk tonight to our apartment, we stopped by La Brasserie Bordelaise and Ralph ordered boeuf bourguignon to go. It was just before their dinner rush around 8 pm. The waiter asked us to please be seated at the bar. He soon poured us each a glass of Bordeaux blanc and brought over plate of bacon-wrapped dates for us to enjoy as we waited. Yet another example of Bordelais cordiality. The beef burgundy along with mashed potatoes was among the best we've ever had and paired perfectly with the 2001 Pomerol, which was recommended by the very nice woman at L'Intendant Wine Shop.
Bordeaux is an incredible place!
Mark and Ralph
We stopped at the L'Intendant Wine Shop today and picked up three Bordeaux wines: 2006 Lacoste Borie (Pauillac), 2007 Chateau Fayard (Saint-Macaire Cotes de Bordeaux), and 2001 Chateau Rouget (Pomerol). The shop sells Bordeaux wines exclusively and has reasonable prices on a nice selection of its wines. There is a very friendly and knowledgeable older saleswoman there who we have enjoyed meeting. She is impressed that we are visiting from North Carolina I think. The wines she helped me select are accessible wines great for drinking now. Here's a photo of them along with a few of this wine shop with the spiraled staircase. It is located across from the Grand Theatre (Opera). We also enjoyed using Bordeaux modern tram today to visit the Arab markets near Saint Michel square. The tram is in my view the most sophisticated in the world. It's tracks are in the streets and cars may travel on the street when tram is not there.
We had lunch in a neighorhood restaurant where we enjoyed the plat du jour of Dover Sole, Rice Timbali and green salad along with a glass of crisp and delicious Entre-Deux-Mers blanc.
Cheers!
Mark and Ralph
We just returned from a visit to Saint Emilion with our driver/guide Maryse Gravouil, who owns Bordeaux Excursions. Maryse grew up in a Cognac producing family, just north of Bordeaux in the countryside. She moved to the city of Bordeaux when she was 18 to attend school. At Maryse' suggestion, the three of us stopped for lunch today in the village of St Emilion to dine with her friend Chez Pascal. This is a place where the locals come to enjoy only the freshest market fare. A couple of pics are included of this little place, which is frequented by area vignerons, necogiants and wine merchants.
Along with everyone else, we enjoyed today's market special of braised lapin in a mushroom cream sauce, mashed potatoes seasoned with a hint of nutmeg, sauteed young carrots and a simple greenleaf salad. We started with a fantastic pulled pork spread (unsauced) which Maryse recommended and enjoyed it with rustic bread and a glass of local red. I topped off my meal with a plate of housemade chocolate mousse garnished with one tiny almond cookie. Ralph was able to snag one quick bite of my mousse but not any more! We all enjoyed an espresso to close our wonderful palate pleasing experience. Their kitchen was in the "cave" or cellar below and the owners (Pascal and wife) rushed hot, aromatic plates up from below to chatty tables. At one point, Maryse said "look" pointing to Pascal at the bar stealing a quick sip of a wine that he had just opened for our neighbors at the next table....."He really has a tough job!!!"
We then visited a couple of chateauxs before returning to Bordeaux. Here are some pics of Bordeaux and our visit today. Some turned out better than others.
Ralph and I are off now to enjoy a light supper of fresh oysters (huitres), pate and a glass or two of white wine in my favorite part of town, the old Medival section with cobblestone streets near St. Pierre Place.
Bordeaux is a stunning city!!!!
Ralph and Mark
We made some great connections with some wonderful people in Bordeaux. The wines and cuisine in this stunning city are extraordinary. Bordeaux is known for its fresh oysters, several different varieties. The best that I have ever had. When enjoying oysters, it is tradition with Bordelais to enjoy a certain type of delicious grilled sausage on the side along with a glass of white wine from Bordeaux. The most common white wine serve is from a large appellation east of the city called "Entre-duex-Mers" which means "between two seas". Entre-deux-Mers lies between the two rivers "Garonne" and "Dordogne" and the rivers here are considered the seas.
The Bordelais are beautiful people who happen to live in a beautiful place.
Mark
February 2011
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