JR and JC were out the door at 7 to capture the soft hues of the early morning sun on Chateau de Pommard, JR thinks he got a few keepers.
We headed in the direction of the Route des Grand Crus and detoured along the narrower and quieter Circuit Touristique des Hautes Cotes. Vineyards lined the road and we drifted along quietly, gently and happily. JC snoozed in the back while we explored the little village of Morey-St-Denis, it is a pretty village, but thn again, most of the villages around here are.
We ended up in Gevrey-Chambertin where I met Luc at the Chateau. Luc, and Elizabeth (the Chateau's wine maker) had been chatting with me via email over the past weeks and I was hoping to meet them face to face. We made a 2pm rendezvous to have a tour of the vineyards. The Chateau has stood here since before the 11th century, they are not sure of exactly when as the archives are incomplete, but it's old, crumbling and oh so gorgeous.
We found a few nice vineyards to wander while JC slept. The leaves on the vines were mostly green but were interspersed with pretty ones striped with purple, the rows were enclosed by a high stone wall which crept up the side of a hill.
Back in centre ville and JC was back in the land of the living, we all explored Gevrey-Chambertin, it was so quiet, all the shops were closed as is usual between midday and 2pm. They take eating pretty seriously here so all businesses close down for the workers to disappear and tuck into a good lunch.
We had a chat and watched the bottles being hand labeled at Caveau Philippe Leclerc, we were given 3 reds of varying age, all of which were a little to heavy in tannins for me, I am a softy when it comes to reds, JR is quite the opposite and he enjoyed one inparticular, the 1998 1st Cru Les Cazetiers.
It was time to return to Luc at the Chateau for our tour of the vineyards. These vineyards are a little jewel, where the work is done by hand. One plot of vines has an average age of 90 years and we were quietly introduced to a darling of a vine of 120 years. She is slowly fading, this will be her last crop of grapes and she will go to God, bless her. She is making her last offering very special with no less than eleven bunches of grapes on display. This is most unusual from a vine of her age. We visit the winery where the winemaker is hesitant for tours to go, she worries that visitor's perfume will be absorbed by the oak barrels, a valid point when talking wine perfumes and it shows the delicate love and care given to each vintage here at the Chateau.
The door to the 13th century wine cave was opened for us, wine was poured and we were taken on a journey through the tastes of the Chateau. Luc teased with stories of 7 bottles of 1878 Charmes-Chambertin nestled safely inside the cellars, "They are not for sale" he says, "no amount of money could buy them".
We came home in time for JC to throw his things together, have a quick bite, and get to the train station on time for his return to Brussels. See you later JC - thanks for the painted chicken, it is a forever memory!
A quiet family night on the couch was what we all needed so we cracked a block of chocolate and settled in to watch Agent 00, a Leslie Nielsen comedy. Sleep came easy...
