Frost Damage but No Hail, Please
June 25th 2008, by GQ
Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the night we were badly hit by hail. The evening of 24th June, 2003 lives long in the memory. After a period of steamy hot weather, a hail storm swept through part of the region, starting in the Graves to the south west of us and petering out beyond St-Emilion to the east. Hail on its own can be a bruiser but it’s the combination of hail and gail force winds that inflicts serious damage. We lost half the crop in just a few minutes, and with it half our income for the year. Some of our neighbours’ vines were wiped out, whereas Esme Johnstone’s Château de Sours, just five miles away, remained untouched.
Ironically, we had cancelled our hail insurance policy the year before as the premium had rocketed, and we believed a local pundit who claimed that the geography and shape of the hillsides of Bauduc would force the winds around the estate and that we were unlikely to be hit in just such an event. This turned out, of course, to be complete tosh.
La Gazette in La Poste
June 19th 2008, by GQ
We hosted a Bondholder dinner here at the château on saturday night, and a family of Bondholders (that is, one with two generations of Bondholders) rented the farmhouse for the week. Unfortunately, they had to leave earlier than planned but were at pains to point out that it had nothing to do with our cooking. It was a pity, because the garden is glorious when the sun is shining, and the heated pool looks seriously inviting.
But, as it was now free, we put the house to good use. This is the week of sending out the Gazette, at long last, so the small task of stuffing nearly 4000 envelopes was carried out here. I think this may have to be the last time of sending out a personalised covering letter, now that Angela refuses to sign any letters, as she has a recurring problem with her shoulder and shows symptons of repetitive stress syndrome. As a result, the signing count was Angela 22, me 3867. Of course, we should use automated signatures, but I have an aversion to them.
Download La Gazette No. 21 Summer 2008 as pdf (1.8mb)
Barton 2001-2008
June 19th 2008, by GQ
Thank you to everyone for the messages of support following the tragic death of our great little dog, Barton. For those friends and visitors to Bauduc who haven’t seen the news in our Gazette in the post, we are sorry to report that he was killed on 18 May.
For the first time ever, a family brought a dog with them to stay in the farmhouse and we had made it clear that we had two (harmless) dogs. Their dog, an obese dalmatian which had apparently come from a refuge, attacked and mortally wounded Barton as soon as they let it out of the house by mistake. He died in Angela’s arms as we drove him to the vet.
It still seems incredible to us that a dog lover could bring a dog, knowing it was a danger to other dogs, all the way from Rutland to Bordeaux by car, only for it to savage their hosts’ much-loved pet. They had barely unpacked before they left, mortified, just as we were burying the little chap. Added to which, we haven’t heard a word from them since. No flowers, no note, no email.
New AOC Rules: Forgive me for yawning
June 17th 2008, by GQ
There are significant changes afoot with new rules surrounding the Appellation Contrôlée system. From the 1st July it’s all change: previous controls about guaranteeing the authenticity of a wine from Bordeaux are being replaced by, er, a brand new set of controls. The changes are for the good, just like stopping drink-driving is for the good, but we’ll have to wait and see just how well the whole scheme is implemented and policed.
I was invited to what I thought was going to be a routine meeting this afternoon, between a few fellow vignerons and a Directeur from the Syndicat de Bordeaux. I realised when I walked in to the Salle André Lurton in Grézillac that the session might go on for a bit longer than I had anticipated, as there were 200 people in the room and more arriving. There was a choice of standing room only at the back, or a seat in the front row, and I realised my mistake in opting for the latter when the main presenter gave everyone a peep at just how many Powerpoint slides he was about to share with us all as he set up his laptop with the overhead projector. There was to be no escape.