Chateau Reverdi, Listroc-Medoc

I have always been reasonably confidant that Bordeaux wines

come from Bordeaux (see earlier post), and so, while I was
touring Hennessey's, Vicki booked me onto a Medoc tour
Saturday afternoon. We drove into Bordeaux, a big beautiful
city, and as is our habit, right into the center, and parked
innocently at the disused tour bus section of the Esplanade
de Quinconces, Europe's largest city square (they say) and
huge park and market. The Office of Tourism said the police
are generally very tolerant of camping cars, especially
tourists, and we probably could even spend the night, which
we eventually did. I boarded the tour bus after lunch, and,
with a very mixed crew of French, Italian, Spanish, Brits,
several Americanskis, set forth to the Mecca of wine (they
say). Apart from scenic driving, narrated in French and then

English, we stopped for long tours and tastings at two

chateaux, Reverdi, a new, family operation that has been

winning awards (cru bourgois), and Kirwan, which is an

old grand cru. Above is Chateau Reverdi's fermentation

hall.

Big modern vats

Bottled inventory

Vat interior view; this is the last thing the

grape sees before the lights go out

About 80% of the grapes are machine-picked

these days, but still have to be separated from

leaves, stems, etc.

Grape crushing machine; they do not do it the old-fashioned

way anymore

Over in the cellar/tasting area, the tables are set

2009, aging; they are using American oak in the barrels,

adding complexity and spice (they said); damn, I was proud;

but then, all the wine root-stock in France is American,

but that's another phylloxatic story

We tasted a 2006 and a 2004; I bought the 

now-drinkable 2004 (alas, the Grey

Wanderer does not have a wine safe or cellar)

But the 2006 wasn't bad

Grande Dolmen

On the way south from Cognac, next day, near the river Ny,

out in the vineyards, we ran into a colossal dolmen, completely
unidentified, but huge limestone

Really huge

Lots of modern carving on this fallen stone, but nothing to

reveal its name

Tour of Hennessey's

The tour begins with a ride across the Charente in this boat

--just a bit of French flourish that a bridge could not provide;

incidentally, I was joined on the tour by two others, both

French, but they graciously consented for the tour to be

entirely in English, for my benefit

But, before the tour, at Vicki's suggestion, urging even, I

tasted the "Paradis" blend, the best normal people can buy,

$700 a 70cl bottle; well, the tasting was only 19 euros; and

worth it! Hey, you have to establish standards...

Stills, where grapes go in and eau-de-vie comes out

Barrels of fun; cognac, like scotch, is largely about the wood

and the aging; and blending...unlike single malt scotch

In the "paradis" section of the warehouses, whey they keep

the treasures, going back to 1830; 1947 was a good year for

many reasons, and several barrels remain

Row after row of barrels, dozens of warehouses; Hennessey's

does about 41% of the market; the scent is, um, intoxicating

So, there we were, parked on a quiet street right outside the

door to Hennessey world headquarters, on the Charente,

swans ambling by; we decided to have dinner and then spend

the night

Vicki's delicious galette complet and Normandie cidre; I

already had had my quota of cognac

End of a pretty good day

Museum of the Arts of Cognac

While I awaited my Hennessey's tour and tasting, I visited the Museum of the 
Arts of Cognac (the beverage, man), which is a superb collection of historic 
artifacts, high-tech,and high-touch displays, art, and marketing history

Ancient press

Some wonderful cognac-related paintings

Pleasant surroundings for high-tech presentations

And some savvy displays about how the stuff has been 
marketed over the years

Cognac City

As we departed Brittany and entered the Loire Atlantique and

then the Charente, Vicki astutely surmised that the city of

Cognac might have something to do with one of my other

favorite beverages, cognac, and that it might indeed hold

some attraction for me. She is so thoughtful. Although I was

initially skeptical--hey, you can't just naively assume the

name has anything to do with it--we re-routed for Cognac,

and there, to my pleasant surprise, as we entered the city,

emerged the warehouses of Remy Martin, Courvosier,

Martell, Camus, and, greatest of all, Hennessey. We booked

a tour for me later in the afternoon and then set about briefly

exploring the old city.

A city of cream-colored limestone, a bit

monochrome for me, but nonetheless beautiful;

incidentally, the minute you leave Brittany

into the Loire Atlantique the roof-tops

consistently change to tile!

Hey, he had 3 inches on either side!

Shopping district, Cognac

Indoor market

Interior of an office building, lawyers and

real estate offices

Vicki made me take this picture...$112 underwear, typical

of what we see in France; would nicely match the ass-less

chaps we saw in San Francisco

Part of the old castle and city wall

Portal trowers

Paleosite

From La Rochelle we headed back east a bit, and, on the way,

saw signs for something called "Paleosite." It turned out to

be closed for the season (I think), but is a park/attraction

around some recently discovered limestone caves with

Neanderthal remains. Amusing. Next time, maybe. Above

is a roundabout near the attraction.

"Paleosite"

One of the caves

"Our Founder"--apparently went native himself

La Rochelle

The next day we made it as far as LaRochelle,

on the coast, a beautiful and historic port city,

said to be France's finest; we spent the day

exploring the old city, the night at the Vieux

de Port aire; above, the city's old clock tower

and portal

Covered arcades all over the old town

Cobblestones from Canada, ballast from

ships returning from Quebec

Hotel de Ville

Tower

One of the medieval towers guarding the port

Light house, said to be the oldest still-

functioning on the Atlantic

Other tower

Lucon

December 2 began our leisurely drive south; after shopping stops in various places, we got as far as the town of Lucon and the aire there right in the middle of town. It was the time of the full moon, so, just to be extra careful, we parked outside the Gendarmerie, under the calvaire, within site of the cathedral spire...

 Afternoon snack from LeClerc's; dieting in France is tres difficile!

Cathedral in Lucon

The Gendarmerie

The calvaire and full moon...