A grand day (Bordeaux du vin #2)

Breakfast in a little cafe: coffee, apricot croissant, orange juice.  On a little green table on the street at the beginning of a cloudless perfect day.  Trucks stopped to make their morning deliveries, the driver getting out and sitting at the cafe with his own coffee, his engine left running.  But of course.  This is France. 

A two hour wine tasting class at Bordeaux's Ecole du Vin school, a place that provides wine tasting prowess for calsses that run 2 hours to 5 days.  I can afford 2 hours and intend to be an apt pupil.  Natalie talked of the region's geography, the grapes it supports, the conditions it provides.  We learned the full meaning and importance of "terroir" - soil, microclimate and knowhow. We learned the difference between left bank (e.g., Medoc) and right bank (e.g. St. Emilion) and middle (Entre deux Mers).  What makes a true Brodeaux red - any combination of at least 2 of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  Chardonnay is not allowed in any true Bordeaux wine.  Nor is irrigation.

We were all given little bottles of smells to identify. I got 3out of 6. Not bad but not that good.  I will never be a 'nose' (someone who can discriminate between 3,000 smells for example!?!)  Another potential career out the window.  Never mind.

The best bit (and let's face it the reason why all 12 or so of us tourists were there) was learning how to taste properly (tip glass over a white surface to observe its colour (which helps inducate age among other things), smell it deeply, swirl it around to let air in, then smell it again to detect differences, take a sip and swirl it all over your mouth, letting just a bit of air in as well, then spit it out and observe the flavours, how it feels on your tongue and mouth, and how long the tastes/sensations last, etc. etc.   Then do this again and notice the difference.  We did this with 2 white and 2 red wines.  I doubt I was alone in making my third sip continue until the glass was empty.

2 hours later and accompanied by 2  notebooks filled with information and my  own notes, I went off for lunch and ordered something I thought I might like.  Not bad.  I made another note.

A tour around Bordeaux's old town,

follwed by  coffee and macaroons, then a rest in our charming little room before rallying in the heat and going across the street to the Grand Theatre Opera House to really put my lessons to practice.

I had been tipped off that about 15 vintners were bringing their wines for a special wine tasting event in the side garden throughout the evening, and 10 euros bought you six glasses of wine.  There was also iberian ham and a variety of cheeses.  And raisins soaked in sauterne and covered with chocolate.
One by one I went up to talk to the vintner to ask about their wines, what their composition was, the orientation of the land, etc.  Many of them did not ask for my ticket and before I realized it I had tried every single wine in the place and still had about 4 tickets left!

Time for a little real food I think (although with all that spitting I didn't even feel tipsy) so a lovely plate of fois gras and salad, then a walk around to settle everything.  Dark settled on Bordeaux slowly and gently, heat still rising from the cobbles and bricks, but there was dancing on Quai 15, then a walk through a shallow water path, a lie down in the grassy strips among wild flowers planted whimsically, then home to sink into the white softness of a huge bed.

54 isn't going to be a bad year at all!