Chateau and Chinon

Chateau d'Azay Le Rideau started our Wednesday. Another Medieval wonder, the chateau was undergoing significant renovation as evidenced by the shroud of plastic and scaffolding enveloping the structure. Nonetheless, it was interesting to receive another lesson in French history as seen through the lives of the aristocrats who passed through the chateau over the centuries. The timber frame construction was a marvel in engineering and the moat added to the chateau's character. 

After a delightful lunch in a small cafe, we rode to Chinon and checked into the Hotel Diderot. Note: The narrowness of the streets or the topography in all of the towns prevents our bus from getting close to our lodging. As a result we schlep ever heavier luggage through city streets like a bunch of nomads trekking to the next camp site. 

The hotel came under the ownership of Jean-Pierre and Jamie Schler-Dagneaux in January. Jamie is from Florida. 

Just down the street from the hotel is the Couly-Dutheil winery. Back underground once again, we saw the wine caves full of dusty wine bottles awaiting their labels. The high moisture content in the limestone caves dictates that bottles receive a label just before they are sold, otherwise the label would fall off after a short time. 

Cabernet franc is the only grape used in Chinon. Our hostess wonderfully described the soil and climate variations that gave each wine its unique character. Six delightful wines pleased our palates and we retreated to the hotel for an informal, quiet reception (ha!). 

Couldn't help but notice the Chinon functional architectural feature that we first saw in Sibenik, Croatia--a brilliant method to deter public urination by filling a corner so that urine splashes back on the urinator. 

Pete and I pursued  the sunset over the La Vienne River which ended another perfect day in France. 

Sights and Tastes

What a memorable two days. 

A steady, chilling rain welcomed us to Monday. Through the downpour, like a bunch of pack mules, we hauled our luggage (now weighted down with bottles of wine) five blocks to the bus. 

On the drive to Rochecorbon, we experienced a French travel stop, a road warrior oasis with a wide variety of food. Men thought nothing of the closed bathroom and wandered into the ladies room seemingly without hesitation. With floor to ceiling stalls both genders took care of business in a civilized manner. 

Several hours later we caught sight of our accommodations for the next two nights, Les Haute Roches, a hotel where rooms are built into the limestone walls. While this appears unique, we noticed a number of residences with similar configurations--windows with a view of the Loire River starring out from limestone cliffs. 

After depositing our luggage, it was back on the bus for a short ride to Domaine Bourillon-Dorleans. OMG! What a special place. 

Frederick Bourillion greeted us, provided a little history of the winery and turned us over to Richard Bayon (speaker of seven languages) for a tour of the wine caves. This tour was much different than the Meursault caves, not much mention of wine storage in the caves, but instead a visual feast of a sculptor's interpretation of evolution carved into the cave walls. 

Yeah, that was cool, but nothing compared to what awaited us upon return to the tasting room. The arrangements were for a tasting of four wines. (I should note here, that chenin blanc is the only grape that can be grown in Vouvray). Those four wines were outstanding and the din from the crowd arose with each bottle served. "But wait", said Monseuir Borrilion, "let's try this one!" And we did through four additional wines. The winemaker's 25 year old son assisted in the pouring and the ladies swooned. A cougar growl was heard from more than one corner of the room.

A boisterous crowd returned to the hotel and enjoyed more wine while touring each unique guestroom since our group occupied the entire hotel. 

Tuesday the travelers entered another world with a tour of Chateau de Chenonceau built starting in the 11th century. We donned iPods for the audio tour and entered into the realm of French royalty. And what a realm it was. We learned more about mistresses and bastardized children than we ever needed to know. Along with the colorful history we drooled over beautiful gardens. 

The village of Montrichard served as the site for lunch. Richard The Lionhearted erected a fort here during the Crusades, a portion of which still overlooks the village.  Les Tuffeaux Brasserie was outstanding. We were the only English speakers there, but Janice got us through. 

The final stop for the day was a mushroom cave, another jaw-dropping experience. Seems like we are spending as much time underground as we are on the surface. Anyway, our guide showed us all the different kinds of mushrooms grown in the perfect environment in the limestone caves. And tasting the mushrooms was a treat--full of flavor and with a firm texture. Only six places in France produce mushrooms this way so the market is mostly high end restaurants.

As with the Bourillon winery, the limestone walls lend themselves to artistic impression. In this case a stonemason is re-creating a village to show what life was like years ago. 

During the tour our group suffered the first causulty of the trip when Pete bumped his head on the low ceiling. A battle scar earned. 

Our day ended with a sumptuous wine maker dinner featuring Eola Hills wine and local cuisine. I've never had tartare anything but dove right into the veal tartare. Wow! A great night with Frederick, his son and Richard as our guests. Richard concluded the evening by thanking everyone for visiting and brought a tear to everyone's eye when he expressed his appreciation for America, saying the French people will never forget what happened at Normandy. 

One observation: as we've driven through the small villages, it seems every house has a garden. They are rototilled and many already have lettuce growing and a number boast row covers. 

Meursault

Meursault is one of the many villages of Burgundy and one with a strong reputation for fine wine. (What place in Burgundy doesn't have that reputation?) It is about 6km from Beaune and, like all the Burgundian villages, is surrounded by grapes. The major challenge today fell on our bus driver who negotiated the narrow village streets to get us to our destination, about 1k from the town center. He earned applause after making a particularly tough turn without scraping mirrors and flattening bike riders. 

We enjoyed a liesurerly stroll along the ancient stone-fenced vineyards (called "clos") and, guided by the church steeple, ended up in the middle of the town. I suppose the word "charming" can be used for every French wine village and Meursalt certainly fit the bill. The centuries old buildings, classic architecture and reverence for its wine fulfill the stereotype. 

After another fabulous meal, we marveled at the sights as we walked the wisteria and lilac lined streets. 

But, hey, we're here for the wine and entered the Chateau Meursalt for an informative cave tour and tasting. Our guide Laura led us through the labarynth of caves capable of holding one million bottles of wine. The bottles stay in the caves until the wine maker decides they are ready for release. 

The caves date back to the 11th century when monks excavated the first ones. Other excavations took place in the 14th and 18th centuries. 

Laura offered an excellent tasting of both white (chardonnay) and red (pinot noir) wines produced by the chateau. We all noticed Laura's excellent English. Turns out she attended the University of North Carolina where she was an exchange student improving her English while studying hospitality management, communications and business. 

The tour complete and the wine purchased, we returned to the hotel where a rousing reception sent everyone to dinner in a jovial mood. Julie and Steve demonstrated a very interesting game using wine corks in a way I'm sure God never intended.  

Market and Wine

Rain greeted us this morning but couldn't deter the intrepid travelers. First order of business was the Saturday Market that consumed most of central Beaune. What a display of vegetables, meats, cheeses, fruit, nuts and flowers. We were especially drawn to the radishes and cauliflower and to the chickens displayed with their head and feet intact. Even though a light rain fell the entire time we were at the market, we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

After a quick dry-off at the hotel we boarded the bus for the village of Puligny-Montrachet about 15 minutes south of Beaune. What a treat was in store for us. We gathered for lunch at a hotel/restaurant/wine tasting bar operated by the Leflaive brothers Patrick amd Oliver. Both actualy stopped to great our group. For 3 1/2 hours we tasted six different wines, each paired with a food course. Absolutely incredible. Charles led our tasting describing each wine and the differences between them. While some wines were more enjoyable than others, they all were good.

But the food really stood out. We anticipated a light lunch but could barely move after the final spoonful of decadent chocolate mousse hit our stomachs. Everything was wonderful. Well maybe the overpowering (think stinky feet) cheese was a bit much but it too had its own character that added to the experience. With Janice's help, Julie got the name of the terrific greens served with the creamed haddock. The extraordinary lunch took care of any dinner plans and left us gastronomically satisfied for the rest of the day. 

On the return trip to Beaune, Steve described the vineyards we passed, noting how generational ownership over the centuries had left some family members with sometimes just two or three rows of grapes. It was instructive to observe the wide cultivation variation in each block of grapes because there were so many different individuals managing the vines.