Day 4
The rush was on to get to Mouton Rothschild on time for our nine thirty meeting with Muriel. Chasing through the Bordeaux early hour traffic was a nightmare and Muriel was friendly enough not to be bothered by the fifteen minutes that we were late.
The visit to Mouton was any wine geek’s dream. A tour through the pressing cellar with its old wooden tanks; visiting the various barrel cellars – old and new; starring at the Baroness’s hundred thousand bottle private collection and only imagining the jewels that were hidden behind those iron bars; the spectacular arts museum with the seventeenth century tapestry on the wall with the Japanese guys eyes following you; as does the table. Crazy! The rest of the collection was seriously old glasses with emeralds, rubies and diamond set in them. The whole experience was stunning. The history and pride that you sense as you walk the estate makes you shiver inside. And to have the knowing of the people that has been there before you. Priceless experience! Lastly – the wine. We tasted the 2006 vintage. To be honest, I expected a bit more. But also to be fair, I did not know what to expect either. So it is probably a combination of a preconceived idea and a failed expectation. But I would love to taste the same wine in 20 years from now. My opinion does not do honour to the passion and care that goes into every bottle produced at Mouton. So, I will chance my mind and say that the wine was a beauty and like any beautiful woman – will reach near perfection over time.
Our second visit in the Medoc was at a lesser known growth called Chateau Lynch-Bages, situated just outside of Pauillac. We were received by a very charismatic oenologue that was full of fun and full of jokes. The old man told fables and stories and was very entertaining. But more impressive than his comedian skills were the layout and workability of the cellar. Nothing flashy, but simple and practical. We got to view the old pressing cellar. This to my mind was revolutionary for its time - must have been. The thought process of it all was timeless. The same sort of thing you expect to see in a modern cellar. The only difference is that it was all wooden implements. From the press to the tanks - I have picture to prove….the wine was just a good as the oenologue’s jokes. We tasted the 2001 and 2006 vintage. I preferred the 2006 vintage above the 2001. Why? Probably because I recognised; from experience gained at Mouton in the morning; that this wine will become a winner in a couple of years time. Also to compare the price of this “lesser” growth to some of the bigger boys, Lynch-Bages is a definite winner. On leaving we bumped into some chubby middle aged man that turned out to be the owner. Asking to see our “Grand Guide des Vins de France” he was half disgusted to learn that they only had three stars in the guide. We put his mind to rest and he left us - smiling with contentment.
Our last stop of this fantastic day was at Chateau Leoville Barton, just outside the village of St. Julien. The mist took a lot longer than yesterday to clear and it was only by this time in the late afternoon that the landscape of the Medoc was becoming visible. With its dwarf-like vineyards and ash-white alluvial soils, the majestic voyage continued through this coveted landscape yielding its nectar that can cost you up to as much as 3000Euros a bottle. Around the villages of Pauillac and St. Julien are some of the most famous and also breathtaking chateaus of the Medoc. The three Leoville chateaus; Pichon-Longueville Baron and Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande plus the two Rothschilds – Lafite and Mouton.
At Leoville Barton we were treated graciously once again and by now we were well into this Bordeaux thing. Again the cellar was simplistic, clean and something any one of us would die to have or own. The chateau itself with the garden and the small river that runs through the garden was like something from a movie or painting. The cobble stone courtyard and the ancient out-buildings surrounding the chateau just added to a near perfect setting – the sort of place I will one day come a retire….
…and thinking once again about the future, as the taste of the silky, smooth and elegant taste of Leoville Barton lingered in my mouth, I could not help to dream about living here, owning a “petit chateau” a stone’s through away form the mighty Gironde and living of the fat of the land.
The rush was on to get to Mouton Rothschild on time for our nine thirty meeting with Muriel. Chasing through the Bordeaux early hour traffic was a nightmare and Muriel was friendly enough not to be bothered by the fifteen minutes that we were late.
The visit to Mouton was any wine geek’s dream. A tour through the pressing cellar with its old wooden tanks; visiting the various barrel cellars – old and new; starring at the Baroness’s hundred thousand bottle private collection and only imagining the jewels that were hidden behind those iron bars; the spectacular arts museum with the seventeenth century tapestry on the wall with the Japanese guys eyes following you; as does the table. Crazy! The rest of the collection was seriously old glasses with emeralds, rubies and diamond set in them. The whole experience was stunning. The history and pride that you sense as you walk the estate makes you shiver inside. And to have the knowing of the people that has been there before you. Priceless experience! Lastly – the wine. We tasted the 2006 vintage. To be honest, I expected a bit more. But also to be fair, I did not know what to expect either. So it is probably a combination of a preconceived idea and a failed expectation. But I would love to taste the same wine in 20 years from now. My opinion does not do honour to the passion and care that goes into every bottle produced at Mouton. So, I will chance my mind and say that the wine was a beauty and like any beautiful woman – will reach near perfection over time.
Our second visit in the Medoc was at a lesser known growth called Chateau Lynch-Bages, situated just outside of Pauillac. We were received by a very charismatic oenologue that was full of fun and full of jokes. The old man told fables and stories and was very entertaining. But more impressive than his comedian skills were the layout and workability of the cellar. Nothing flashy, but simple and practical. We got to view the old pressing cellar. This to my mind was revolutionary for its time - must have been. The thought process of it all was timeless. The same sort of thing you expect to see in a modern cellar. The only difference is that it was all wooden implements. From the press to the tanks - I have picture to prove….the wine was just a good as the oenologue’s jokes. We tasted the 2001 and 2006 vintage. I preferred the 2006 vintage above the 2001. Why? Probably because I recognised; from experience gained at Mouton in the morning; that this wine will become a winner in a couple of years time. Also to compare the price of this “lesser” growth to some of the bigger boys, Lynch-Bages is a definite winner. On leaving we bumped into some chubby middle aged man that turned out to be the owner. Asking to see our “Grand Guide des Vins de France” he was half disgusted to learn that they only had three stars in the guide. We put his mind to rest and he left us - smiling with contentment.
Our last stop of this fantastic day was at Chateau Leoville Barton, just outside the village of St. Julien. The mist took a lot longer than yesterday to clear and it was only by this time in the late afternoon that the landscape of the Medoc was becoming visible. With its dwarf-like vineyards and ash-white alluvial soils, the majestic voyage continued through this coveted landscape yielding its nectar that can cost you up to as much as 3000Euros a bottle. Around the villages of Pauillac and St. Julien are some of the most famous and also breathtaking chateaus of the Medoc. The three Leoville chateaus; Pichon-Longueville Baron and Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande plus the two Rothschilds – Lafite and Mouton.
At Leoville Barton we were treated graciously once again and by now we were well into this Bordeaux thing. Again the cellar was simplistic, clean and something any one of us would die to have or own. The chateau itself with the garden and the small river that runs through the garden was like something from a movie or painting. The cobble stone courtyard and the ancient out-buildings surrounding the chateau just added to a near perfect setting – the sort of place I will one day come a retire….
…and thinking once again about the future, as the taste of the silky, smooth and elegant taste of Leoville Barton lingered in my mouth, I could not help to dream about living here, owning a “petit chateau” a stone’s through away form the mighty Gironde and living of the fat of the land.
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