Tributes to Barton & Palmer meets Margaux
August 3rd 2008, by GQ
There’s no doubt that the article that generated the biggest response from our snailmail newsletter, La Gazette, was the short, sad piece about the cruel death of Barton, our little Black and Tan Meath Terrier. We’ve been very touched by the messages of support which have come from all directions and in all shapes and sizes, including a card from friends in New York with a picture of a dog floating up to the skies on a cloud, and this charming postcard from Barton’s sister Swilly, who lives with Lillian Barton of Chateaux Léoville Barton and Langoa Barton in St-Julien. Swilly signed the card with her paw print.
Au Revoir to our Accountant
August 2nd 2008, by GQ
Yesterday I had the pleasant task of having to fire our accountant, who we’ve been with since buying the vineyard in 1999. On the way to his new office just off the Bordeaux ringroad, or rocade, I thought about what I was going to say, remembering from previous situations that the opening line is quite important.
My favourite is ‘I don’t know how we’re going to manage without you, but we’re going to give it a try’, which is quite a satisfying line to deliver but it’s a bit glib and disrespectful to the listener. On a different tack a few years ago, when we had to part company with a vineyard worker called Jacques, I had to resort to the only other area of common ground between us, which was football. ’Jacky’, I said, ‘I’ve given you the yellow card, and now, with regret (a touch of Sir Alan there), I’m afraid it’s the carte rouge‘. I thought of that conversation when Jacky and I bumped into each other again in the local supermarket last week. We talked about vines, and football.
The Art of Leaf-Stripping
July 21st 2008, by GQ
Nearly all the top Châteaux are at it, as are most quality-driven estates in Bordeaux. The practice of effeuillage is not something one reads about on a back-label (not that there are many of those on top-class claret) but it’s an important job at this time of year. Over the last week - with the help of a dozen experienced seasonal workers - we’ve been busy removing the leaves from around the fruit zone, so that the bunches get a good airing for the rest of the growing season. The general idea is that this will help the grapes to ripen over the next few months, with the added bonus that the risk of bunch rot is reduced.
The leaves are plucked away from the grapes on the cooler, morning-sun side of the row of vines at this stage, because sudden exposure might cause sun-burn on the grapes facing the mid-day and afternoon heat. Many top vineyards complete the job on the other side in early September when it’s slightly cooler, but that phase seems to be less critical. We’ll decide on how to play it then.
Rick Stein’s New Seafood Restaurant
July 17th 2008, by GQ
We took advantage of our week’s holiday in Cornwall to see one of our best-known and longest-standing customers, Rick Stein, and to have dinner at his new-look Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. Rick has included our Chateau Bauduc Bordeaux Blanc as one of his ’special selections’ on the front page of his wine list since our 2000 vintage, and the label sports his signature next to the Bauduc logo.
I had a brief chat with Rick, who was fully immersed in filming a one-off Christmas show and another series for the BBC with his old sparring partner, director David Pritchard. They’ve worked together for donkey’s years, and I first met the affable, Rumpole-like David when they were filming Rick’s French Odyssey series during their Bordeaux pitstop in 2004. He calls me Greg, for some reason, but, in his defence, he does meet a lot of people on their travels together. Rick and Dave’s third BBC series exploring food and cooking outside Britain, having covered South West France and then the Mediterranean, will be set around Asia.