Top tip - thanks very much!
The long weekend called for something different. This rather pleasant, but uninspiring, vintage port. It had quite a long finish and accompanied a rather poor Stilton (not a Colston Bassett or Cropwell Bishop available) - the wine outshone the cheese, which made the experience worthwhile.
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Pineau de Charantes, made in the traditional way:
Not really a wine, its a mixture of one part Eau de Vie to three parts unfermented grape juice then matured in a chestnut barrel. The result is about 15% abv and fairly sweet making a nice apéritif or goes well with foie gras or cheese. Its probably closest to Muscat, Cerons or Coteaux du Layon as wines go.
I told my mother in law it was an expensive seasonal local delicacy - success, she loved it- otherwise it would have been a ‘no thanks’.
So, I’ve pressed enough grape juice to make 20 lires and mixed it with the Eau de Vie. Then I bottled the 2019 pineau already in the barrel from last year, re-filling it to keep the barrel wet so its thirsty work 
The pic below shows our mini 25 litre press in action and its entirely ‘fait maison’.
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We buy just a couple of bottles a year from our local farmer who has a few vines. Family tradition is to get the eau de vie from over the border from a cognac producer and then mix his own wines. He will aslo let you have a local cognac from his friend as well as the eau de vie, which he says used to be the daily fare in winter of the local farmers carried in a hip flask while working the fields.
That and his home made boar pate make for a good Christmas.
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boar pate, yum!
Locally shot and processed on the farm.
Living in the country gives a townie like me a much better appreciation of the connections and care needed to sustain a good and natural food supply.
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Doisy highly respected Sauternes, managed by Dennis Dubourdieu, consultant to Cheval Blanc if I recall & a lecturer in oenology at Bordeaux University institute of vine and wine science.
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I think that’s Doisy Daene, Doisy Vedrines is a neighbouring vineyard not owned by Dubourdieu. It’s owned by the people who own Batailley and de L’Eglise.
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Jadot “Clos de la Barre” Volnay Monopole 2003
A most beautiful bouquet of dark cherry and undergrowth. Palate cashmere silk in texture , utterly seamless with very fine smooth tannins. Hard to delineate any particular flavour but very voluptuous and rich and delicate all at the same time. Very good.
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Just around the corner from me lol !!!
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Very nice, 2003 was a very hot vintage which led to very rich wines, many with burnt flavours. Volnay as a light delicate village would probably have fared much better than than more powerful appellations. I love Jadot’s wines, their premier crûs and grand crûs are consistently classy, not usually the very top rank, but very fine. (Having said that their ‘93 Clos de Bèze was one of the very greatest wines I’ve ever drunk.)
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Oh yes, I think you’re correct there, Doisy Daene and Gravas are very good Sauternes both owned by Denis.
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Call me middle-class, but this tastes like out-of-date sweets from Poundshop. That, and a with hint of dogfood…
I can only assume that you were either drinking this under duress or as part of some fiendish scientific experiment … or just spent all their money on Statement and the wine budget only extended to the Gallo(ws)
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Yep. What did you expect?
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Sorry - that came across a bit curt. I just think that if you buy Gallo, Echo Falls, Blossom Hill etc then you should have a fair idea of what you are getting. On the plus side you won’t have spent a lot of money on your alcoholic ribena!
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Having pressed another great tranche of grapes for our Pineau and tasted our latest batch of Vin des Noix which is comming along nicely - will be bottling that soon so its a Cote du Rhone Villages and reasonably good too.
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It was delivered by mistake! Don’t worry, first glass went down the sink. Now trying to source a very acceptable Carignan to banish the Gallo PTSD. Any ideas most welcome.
If it was delivered by mistake then you are fully absolved😉
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Where abouts are you?