Here Comes the Sun
September 15th 2008, by GQ
After a lovely July, a mixed August and a dodgy start to September, we need sunshine. And, mercifully, the forecast looks good. In 2007, September sunshine saved the harvest (as happened in 2002), and although each and every year is different, it looks like the same could be true for 2008. The problem is that this will be a late harvest, and more than likely the latest we’ve seen. We don’t just need sun, we need three to four weeks of it.
We have one parcel which will be ready before all the others - this week in fact - a block of sauvignon blanc vines which we planted in 2004.
The Bordeaux Marathon
September 9th 2008, by GQ
We hosted a small team from Gordon Ramsay’s this weekend as they took part in the Médoc marathon on saturday. ‘Taking part’ is an apt expression because it’s more of a stage show or a carnival than a serious race. A glimpse of the 8000 competitors from all over the world, mostly in fancy dress and running through the vineyards of some of the most prestigious estates in the world, is certainly worth a detour.
Stuart Gillies, the chef from Boxwood Café in London, organised the trip as a birthday present for his boss, Chris Hutcheson. Chris is the father of Gordon’s wife Tana, and he runs the Ramsay empire while his son-in-law does his stuff in front of the cameras or in the kitchen.
Saint-Emilion on the Left Bank. In Paris.
September 5th 2008, by GQ
One perk of being an accidental wine critic (for Wine & Spirit magazine) is that I get invited to taste some very good wines in lovely surroundings. This time it was a line-up of mature (or maturing) vintages of Premiers Grands Crus Classés from Saint Emilion in a private dining room at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris. With the TGV taking just 3 hours from Bordeaux - and costing around €60 each way for a first class ‘IDTGV’ ticket booked over the web - it’s an easy and affordable day trip. The lunch was arranged by the Groupement de PGCCs de St-Emilion for a handful of wine writers from around the world to meet the owners of the 14 chåteaux involved. For me, there was the added advantage of catching up with people like Neal Martin (above right, chatting to Philippe Castéja of Château Trottevielle, with Nicolas Thienpont of Pavie Macquin looking on). Neal has had a meteoric rise to wine-writing stardom since his Wine-Journal website was merged into erobertparker.com a couple of years ago.
Constant Gardening
September 3rd 2008, by GQ
It’s the end of the holidays and the children are back at school. Or, to be more precise, schools, as they are at four different schools this year. Three are in the local town, Créon, while Sophie goes to Carignan a few miles away. Throughout the summer, we try to keep the grounds looking sharp, and the work continues well into the autumn, with no shortage of visitors around harvest time. Our small team are polyvalent, or multi-purpose, so Nellie is equally at home on the lawnmower as she is labelling bottles, packing cases, or racking red wine from one barrel to the next.