The Ashford Carbonell wine group recently set out upon its annual pilgrimage to the wineries of Europe, this year exploring Burgundy. Travelling by Whittles coach, a small number from Ashford were joined by others from All Stretton, Ludlow, and Tenbury Wells, picking up more en route as we journeyed south to Folkstone – and hence through the Chunnel to Calais and beyond. We covered quite a number of wineries together with the areas in which they were set. Within the confines of this Newsletter, it is not possible to describe our travels in great detail. I can only give a brief summary to whet the appetite.
Our first destination was Rheims, and the Champagne House of G.H.Mumm. The samples tasted were magnificent , the best one being on sale at £40 per bottle. Next, we journeyed down to Chalon sur Saone. These are the main highlights: On Tuesday, a three hours lunch cruise on the R Saone, which was running very high. Lunch featured four or five courses –I lost count- accompanied by a selection of appropriate wines. The boat was owned by an English chap together with a French associate who was a wine producer. He supplied the wines for our tasting. A few swans accompanied us for a while, and I spotted a heron wading in the reeds.
Wednesday saw two fascinating and very different venues. Firstly , the ancient Chateau de Rully, which since its foundation in C12, has been lived in by the same family. It is surrounded by vineyards. We were welcomed by the owner, the direct descendent of the founder. He gave us a brief history of the castle, followed by a wine tasting. Proceedings were interrupted by the sudden appearance of two small boys jabbering excitedly for Papa, insisting his presence was urgently needed. It transpired that their TV programme had vanished from the screen and only he could fix it. Toujours le meme!
Next we moved on to the city of Beaune, to the cellars of “Patriarche et Fils”. Founded in the 1700s by their ancestor, and originally a convent in part dating back to C13, this maze of vaulted cellars stretched for some 5 km under the city. Literally millions of bottles of wine stretched in all directions with side branches linking with neighbouring cellars. A truly unbelievable sight. We were left to conduct ourselves along the dimly lit, twisting passageways following white arrows. It was a rather spooky experience and absolutely silent. I did wonder what on earth those original nuns had used this labyrinth of cellars for. Finally reaching our destination we found ourselves in a candle lit chamber set out ready for a five course lunch with several varieties of wine, plus –mercifully – coffee.
On Thursday, our main venture was to a winery co-operative spread across a broad sweeping valley housing 5 villages, each with their own distinctive “terroir”- Chantre, Fuisse, Pouilly, Solutre and Vergisson. We tasted 6 wines, with at least one from each village and accompanied by bites of bread and local cheese. These proved to be some of the best wines we had sampled, and a good many boxes of bottles found their way back into the coach. This was almost our last tasting experience. It was time to return to Chalon to begin packing for a move, first making ready for a glamourous evening of feasting, all dressed up in our Sunday Best. Jacket and tie essential boys!
Next morning saw us back on the road again, retracing our route to Calais by way of Troyes, with a brief stop at Chablis for a final tasting session. We had enjoyed an enthralling week, in the company of good friends, largely due to the excellent and comprehensive organisation by the indefatigable Rita Davies. She must have spent hours in the planning. Our every need catered for. And what a superb treat to be collected with our luggage from – and returned to - our own gate. If you feel liking joining in the fun next year –watch this space.
S.K.
Jul 21