In The Winery Day 2

Please forgive me but as I write Pa and Ma have just launched through the door with a brand new "clic clac" fold-down sofa bed. To be accurate Pa and I carried the sofa in whilst Ma placed tables and chairs in our way in an attempt to help. After our DFS assault course Pa started reading the instructions aloud in a broad Peter Kay-esque Lancashire accent when he stumbled upon a warning. Now parents hate warnings, I remember the day of our first computer back in the 90's when the hour glass loading icon appeared on the screen. Pa froze, unsure whether it was a ticking bomb or the start of cataracts. Nevertheless he always acts calmly and goes straight for the instructions. Sensible guy my dad. The Joe 90 glasses have gone on and the following read out: "warning, sofa will discolour if in contact with, bleach, bright sunlight, moonlight....." "Hang on a minute" Pa said, "What sofa has ever been discoloured by moonlight??" Classic. I know we are further to the equator here but the moon can't be that strong?

Pa reminded me of another bad translation at a campsite in Aze near Lugny where the English translation states that :"In the event of a fire " ...Do not make a sound. Do not tell anybody and leave the campsite slowly..." French eh, gotta love them.

Day 2 - 7.02 am - Burgundy, does this room ever heat up?

So day 2, no drama this morning, or across the whole day to be fair and with the chilly day yesterday, 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of socks and pyjama bottoms on under the work trousers. I will not be beaten by old Jaques Froste today! Never, ah ha, pah, too much coffee.

9.16 - Cote de Roannaise - Beautiful crisp morning.

Pa delivered me to the tradesman's entrance, I feel like a real worker today. Off I scrabble down the road to the hub of activity outside of the cellars. I see nobody I recognise and proffer the obligated handshake to the five bottling workers. Outside the cellar is another Willy Wonka style van, or maybe this was more the size of a large trailer. Inside on a conveyor belt were hundreds of bottles being filled up by a delicious looking pink liquid. Shimmering in the sunlight on a brisk morning, what could be better.

Five guys, an overpowering odour of cigarette smoke, old spice and workiness. Glad of my decision to forego the cashmere beany for a slightly more sensible stripy gap hat, still I could not compete with the lazy cigarette that sat flatly in the corner of their mouths ..."There must be a particular technique involved. Must learn it if I am to go native. Must pretend to smoke bad roll ups without ever inhaling. Must get some old spice...No stop. Must, I fear, get a grip"

I was aware that the five gentlemen were eying me up and down. As I soon realised, with nobody to introduce me, that I had to introduce myself and offer a hand. I was told bluntly that no hand was needed. OK I thought, I shall just watch.

After 10 minutes I got the idea. Bottles in, bottles filled, bottle level checked by eye, bottles checked again (mechanically), bottles corked and then bottles piled up. Each monsieur had his own task, it was basically a mobile factory, and everyone had their station. I took my camera out and took a few snaps. One death stare was enough and the camera went away. Unsure whether the chaps did not want to be caught without their rouge on or if the paparazzi laws in France had been upped to such a level since the death of Lady Di that even a quick snapshot was frowned upon.

To my pleasure Simon quickly appeared and positioned me at the end of the bottling line where I was to relieve an older monsieur whilst he had a break. He pretended to be happy at this but I was sure he was reeling inside for having his place taken. In fact after 20 minutes he nestled me out of the way mooting that his boss insisted on it.

I soon realised why the guys were so keen to work. The onset of hypothermia was imminent and moving was the only way to stop it. Later I was told that 2 pairs of socks make your feet colder than one pair?? Logic?? Well to be fair my feet were now so numb that I felt like I had two club feet or at least a mild case of elephantitis. Maybe I will try sandals next time!

1.15pm - Cote Roannaise - Warmer, brilliant....

All finished, the guys left to play boules, smoke and have some hearty scran. Yet for me it was rose, salad, slow roast meat and tarte tatin. Sounds much better to me. I spent the remainder of the afternoon with Fabrice and Simon, moving barriques and cleaning out the lees from the Viognier barrels. A beautiful combination of apricot, spring flowers and yeast. Strange but a truly great aroma. Whilst moving the barriques Fabrice said it was "le travail de Titan". A bit of an exaggeration but ho hum, they were pretty weighty.

4.15pm - Thoughts On route to Burgundy - Car temperature, bliss

A wonderful day, really wonderful. Can see what appeals to this life, beautiful scenery, humorous events, relaxed. All that when you are bottling somebody else's wine. Imagine if it was my own, someday maybe, as long as I can get the two sock rule right next time. Cannot wait to try the wines after they have settled down. Inventive, imaginative but with serious Domaine character, just my sort of wine. Think I could learn a lot from Simon.... I wonder if they sell roll ups in the village boulangerie??

Tis All
Bon Aperitif

In The Winery Day 1

.....After leaving Domaine Fontenay (see previous post) a week or so ago and expressing an interest to see behind the scenes of a working winery, Simon, the owner and winemaker, invited me to visit for a couple of days to see what goes on......so here is what happened.

6.59am - Burgundy- The cold bedroom

Beyond early, so early, in fact I felt in that exact moment that I had invented early. You know the early where you are not even sure whether you have been asleep? Well it was almost 7, and without coffee that might as well be 3. Two and a bit months without working and living with supposed retired folk does change your perspective on an efficient day. This morning needless to say, was a bit of a body shock. I was starting to understand how the unemployed feel, when going to the job centre is the only call of the day, it is awfully tempting to stay in slumberdome. Come to think of it is radio 4, a cafetiere full of coffee and organic porridge really different from:Trisha, irn bru and an all-berry pop tart in the morning?? With that on my mind I kicked myself out of bed and into some warm clothes. With the aforementioned breakfast in my belly, I was off. Jobless no more! (well sort of)

8.47am - Cote Roannaise - Slightly warmer and a not quite as early...

Simon was there waiting, not for me but for the filtration guy. He was travelling from The Beaujolais and evidently seemed to have the same apathy for the morning as I did. Feeling smug at being the first arrival on the block I asked Simon to show me around and he explained what would be happening that day. To cut a long story short the wine had been made previously, some 09 Gamay Rose, Gamay non sulphur (yeah who knew!) and some 08 vintage Viognier that was stored in oak for a year, all of which had to be filtered. Bring forward the man with a van, he was coming with a van, I suppose it was called a filter van? Anyway it was his job to erm... filter it. So just to be clear, he had a van and was going to filter. How neat and tidy I thought.

9.02 am - Cote Roannaise - Toes beginning to numb

Van arrived.

9.03 am - Cote Roannaise - Toes numb

So to get back to my favourite topic, the van. If you imagine a cross between Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, original version not Jonny Depp version, (I personally couldn't get past the strange bob, anyhoo I digress,) mixed with the child catchers truck in Chittychittybangbang. Drop down sides revealed a caged machine of bubbling tubes of pink, yellow and red liquid, pressure gages, pumps, all mixed with lots of bright shiny stainless steel. This was proper kiddy fantasy for a wino. Brilliant.

9.05 am till 2pmish - Cote Roannaise - Jumping on spot so toes recovered

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, trying to get to grips with the language and mostly moving numerous pipes from A to B and then back to A and then maybe a brief flirtation with C and then back to A and B again. It can't be all Willy Wonka can it!?

A few funny moments broke up the day, one where I spotted Simon crawling in to a Viognier tank with his legs dangling out. Beginning to like this guy I think!

Later in the day was my first meeting of a French delivery driver. After participating in large deliveries of wine for five years in the UK I was well used to the temperament of these lovely chaps. It was no surprise when he took 2 whole hours to unload 3 palates of bottles, leaving a broken wall, mud-stuck tractor and an oops-like french gesture in his wake. Whilst leaning on the 3 metre crack down the old destroyed french wall and clearly seeing Simon's shock and panic, I tried to sympathise and gestured that, "It wasn't too serious, I am sure it can be fixed". Oblivious to this, monsieur truck driver had a different take and was far more concerned with the scuff on his rented fork-lift truck. Sensing his rage I quickly mimicked his earlier oops-like french gesture, took a few snaps and did a Brave Sir Robin and ran far, far away to the cellar. Some people are just not happy with their lot eh?

Simon had to deal with Monsieur truck driver later on in the day and so it was my job to clean out a rose tank. I was now so used to doing the emphatic French hand gestures that when Simon asked me if I minded to clean the tank out I simply shrugged and let out an all-American "sure, why not?" Simon slowly gestured to a small rabbit hole at the bottom of a nine foot metallic tank with a power jet washer next to it. Now, I feel, was not the time to mention my claustrophobia or fear of dying in an enclosed environment. I donned a full wading rubber fishing kit (or so it seemed) and dived straight through. I was in. A Tardis, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia-like moment ensued and it was true, it really was quite spacious.... for a tank. I suddenly remembered a story told by my Scottish friend Sandra about how it had been reported in the local news that some poor old doll had fallen into a vat of stovies ( mash and sausage stew.) She died. Note to self: do not think of stovies, do not think of stovies. Too late, the pressure washer was on. Just 30 mins later I was out feeling quite rightly proud of myself, no deaths, no panics, no stovies, just a bit damp. What a drama queen!

Done, lunch, tried the new Viognier, Condrieu by any other name....believe me (tasting note to come soon.) Then a bit of tidying up and I helped Simon out with a few bits and bobs. Day finished.

6.19pm - Burgundy - Still cold in the bedroom.

Early night, thinking about the day in bed, van, stovies, Viognier, stovies, pipes, more stovies, was I hungry? Oh shut up....Sleep.

Photos from Chardonnay, Vire Clesse and Lugny

This week i've mostly been drinking.......

....I wish, frustratingly after 2 weeks now in the land that created the fair grape I have only had it a handful of times (well apart from Chablis but you know what I mean.)

Things need to change I feel, yet looking back at my notes, it seems that I have been suitably impressed with the other vinous treats on offer.

More white this week than red. I am assuming that 2 degrees is the cut-off temperature that Ma will dare to venture out to the cellar, slippers and all may I add. Or perhaps the two "runs" we have been on (inverted commas in deliberate sarcasm) have raised her serotonin levels to such monstrous levels that the "it's lunchtime somewhere" phrase is being used a little two often. Imagine if Ma actually manages to get round the block? I have real fears for my liver (no sarcasm this time).......

First of the week was tasted whilst being engulfed in the baked fumes of trout, bacon and courgette. Brilliant with the wine but not so good for the nose. Vin de fossils Sauvignon Gris 2008 (bought at source) was the taste du jour. Having tasted some of their sweet Auxerois (yes, it does exist!)on a previous visit I was hardly filled with expectant joy. Yet I was to be proved wrong.

"light clean grassy nose, tart apple and a bit more citrus peel. A hell of a lot more concentrated on the palate than I was expecting with pure lemon notes that were instantly and continuously refreshing throughout. A green pepper edge and slight tannin from the pithy finish."

It was hard not to compare with a Sauvignon Blanc and although it seemed similar in its refreshing appeal there was not a hint of pea or New Zealand flashy/show-off slickness which is always good in my book. In a word, classy, yet not quite enough to make me revisit the Auxerois!

Later in the week a eye raising looking bottle of Chablis arrived on the table, unsuprisingly it was bought in everyones favourite wine merchant..... Aldi. Eugene Carrion 2008, with a dubious yet predictable 5 euro price tag and bright green label. Rude not to, so ho hum here we go....

"Light lemon colour and classic Chablis brilliance in the glass. Apple skin, honeysuckle, meadow flowers (ma said daffodil...pah) and an edge of icing sugar. Not classic Chablis but interesting enough. On the palate taught and refreshing, sherbet, watermelon. I mentioned a gushing waterfall effect in mouth. ( Pa agreed and said the wine indeed was very wet, sarcastic bas***d.) But I was meaning that it had a lovely mouth feel and yet was still refreshing. Nice mineral finish."

I was waiting for the catch that never came. Will trust and try the producer again, particularly at the price.

Last of the whites of the week was an affair without Pa. He appeared ill. Evidence suggests he just had wind so Ma and I decided to make tapas for two. My three offerings of falafel, warmed chorizo and bruschetta seemed simple enough whilst Ma's offering of avacado and cornichon guacomole, wholewheat mustard pancakes and courgette, lettuce and lemon salad were going to prove a tough wine combination.....bring forward Ormarine Picpoul de Pinet 2008. A strange 4 euro Intermarche supermarket purchase in an odd Germanic green flute bottle at 12.5% and yet from the coast of the Southern Languedoc? What else to go with that veritable feast eh?

" Immediate Sauv. Blanc nose that softened and lightened to soft tropical fruits with a notable drop of orange, quince and pear. The palate was indeed as fruity as the nose suggested but slightly more dense with a touch marmalade and blood orange on the finish. Ma mentioned a nice honey texture"

On reflection if I was told it was a light Viognier, Albarino or Flanghina I would not have been surprised. It certainly gets a thumbs up but unsure if it is typical of the grape. More investigation needed!

Tis all, busy wine week ahead with trip to Vire-Clesse, bottling of a Viognier in the Cote Roannaise and a booze up in Chassagne Montrachet for the fete de St Vincent......

Bon aperitif

Cote Roannaise......won over by gamay!

After a promised trip to the French haggling world of brocantes ( translate: jumble sale with less shit) we happened upon an area just west of what I would call Southern Burgundy called Cote Roannaise. Now to be clear, I have never been a fan of Gamay: in fact I usually have a unbridled loathe for most things beaujolaisesque. (new word perhaps) Yet today I would be pleasantly surprised. In fact other than geographical similarity and the shared use of the "house" grape I would be hard pressed to group the two areas in the same breath i.e. I really rather enjoyed these!

10.12 am and we stumble on to our first vineyard, Domaine de Palais, run by Yann et Sylvie Palais. Unfortunately the proprietors were sensibly away on holiday, I say unfortunately but it was a pleasant surprised to be taken in to the cellars by a most accommodating chap named Fabrice. Ma caught him in his pj's eating his cereal so we had a few minutes wait until he opened up for us. Fully dressed he showed us round and gave us the chat on the domain's new ideas and was particularly enthused about their new plantings of Viognier and Syrah across from the tasting rooms. These plantings are incredibly rare for this far north but as the vines are so young (between 3 and 10 years) it remains an open question as to their eventual commercial success. They had two rose wines to try and three Gamay wines, all very reasonably priced with not a hint of over extracted fruity flavours that for me, typify entry level Beaujolais. Still quite simple but very honest.

http://www.domainesdespalais.com/

Then on to the other end of the region (20 mins by car) and we landed on the doorstep of Domaine Fontenay run by Simon and Isabelle Hawkins. No pyjamas this time, just a friendly dog to greet us, swiftly to the tasting room where we were shown his entire range. Similar to Domain de Palais he produced mainly rose and Gamay but also was experimenting to his delight with Viognier and also Chardonnay. His 09 Viognier will be vendage tardive due to a small lake side noble rot friendly microclimate. His rose was phenomenal and my favourite of the tasting, he was producing oaked and light Gamay with both rustic and powerful character and a pink sparkler using an ancient fermentation technique. He alerted us to his minimalist approach to wine making yet the purity of his wines showed an obvious passion for detail (no vin de planche ici). Will let you know more as we drink more, left with a few cases. Review of my favourite red below.......

2007 Domaine du Fontenay Cote Roannaise la Reserve du Chanoine
Wine Advocate # 178Aug 2008
David Schildknecht
87

Hawkins’ 2007 Cote Roannaise La Reserve du Chanoine is, if anything, even more distinctive than his rose. Here is a completely dry red wine of only 11.5% alcohol, and while it is light, it’s by no means thin or under-ripe in flavor. Ripe tomato and herbs along with pungent flowers in the nose stake out the basic territory, but surprising notes of toasted nuts and roasted meat well up on the soothingly-textured palate, leading to a low-key but pleasingly long finish. One could drink a lot of this, and I’m looking forward to an opportunity to test its versatility.Englishman Simon Hawkins seems determined to lift from obscurity the tiny Cote Roannaise (situated near the headwaters of the Loire, west of Beaujolais, and planted entirely with Gamay).http://www.domainedufontenay.com/

Cote de la Malepere, a new experience

A bit of a lighter wine day for us after a slight Banyuls hangover. As quantity was not going to be the recipe of the day we decided to try something that we'd never heard of. Bring forward Peche Naut Hill from Cote de la Malpere 2005. Unbeknown to me, the growers in Cote de la Malpere have been trying to push an AOC status for the past few years. As the most westerly area in the Languedoc the atypical maritime climate provides good growing conditions for Bordeaux varieties which make up the backbone of the wines. On to the tasting......
The nose had a warm blackberry and sweet aniseed spice aroma with a meaty undertone and a curious top note of heady lavender. The palate was dry with very firm acidity. Liquorice and dark sour cherry flavours intermingled with quite a stern bitterness throughout.
Pa thought it reminded him of Italian wine and I certainly agree with the wine really coming alive with food, similar to a slightly unripe Dolcetto or Barbera. Stunning value with tremendous acidity for the hot 05 vintage. approx 5 euro (Aldi) Website below for further info. Off to bed, baked apple overdose....

http://www.vins-malepere.com

Happy New year with ma and pa

As expected the little village in which I now live, didn't have a big street party to celebrate. In fact I think most of the villagers were asleep, that was until Ma yanked Pa and I into a three person conga to dance around the leafless plane tree in the front yard. Is it possible to still be embarrassed when your only audience is a parky Charolais cow? On the the wines

We started with a bottle of Nicolas Feuillate Rose NV. The bottle was pretty attractive but French market back label and the cork was quite slim. Light salmon in colour with attractive small bubbles. Delicate scent of cranberry, fresh raspberry (ma got a confected note but seemed to enjoy it). A rather zealous mousse that disappeared quickly, pleasant, simple but creamy.

Moving on to something a bit more interesting was Rully 'en colieres" SICA des vignerons reunis 2007. Now as far as I can work out SICA are a collection of farmers similar to a co-operative and I think have something to do with the cave at Buxy.
It was a pale lemon colour and on first opening had a light and delicate nose with little or no oak. Over the evening the nose developed into a rich nose of braeburn apple skin, apple tobacco, elderflower. Ma got cream soda, (think she was thirsty) and a touch of orange blossom. The palate was dry and more intense and generous than the nose would suggest. Lemon sorbet, granny smith apple and on the tip of the tongue a bit of acacia honey. A very unctuous mid-palate and overall very refreshing. Enjoyed this in its youth but would certainly like to see what happened to it over the next 3 years. Great value at 7 euros 49 (Intermarche)

Then on to Chateau Croizet-Bages Pauillac 2004 12.5% 5th growth. Decanted for an hour or so beforehand. A quite intense yet rounded nose with black cherries, cocoa and bramble, (pa got edges of tar and eucalyptus). Nuances of soft clove and cinnamon added some interest but overall juicy and youthful. The palate was very dry with soft and supple tannins, sour cherry, blackberry heart, blueberry. A very fresh and elegant style with a fine texture and an earthy chalky finish. We did however enjoy it less and less as the night wore on, too much air perhaps as it became slightly dull. I am a fan of this underrated vintage but this seemed a bit spiky at this age. A few more years would reveal a bit more interest. 14 euros 70 (Aldi)

Last was a huge bottle of Banyuls 3yo Terres de Soleil. Most that I have had before have been of the amber variety whereas this was made from pure Grenache Noir and gave a sweet liquorice note throughout and was reminescent of a light port minus the luscious sweetness. It was greedy and there was absolutely no need to finish the whole bottle, good with Stilton.

Happy drinking

A bit about me.......

After 5 years in the wine trade I have decided to take the brave step and, wait for it.......move back in with the parentals (shock horror.) Not as bad as you might think as Ma and Pa have decided to renovate/demolish an old farmhouse in the middle of the Burgundian countryside.

For my sins I have decided to come and give them a hand or that is the pretence. In reality I have come to eat cheese and drink lots and lots of wine. With that in mind I feel my purposeful stumble into alcoholism and elasticated waist trousers needs to be documented. I will attempt to sample from the sublime to the ridiculous with plenty of White Burgundy thrown in for good measure.

Bon aperitif