5 posts tagged “france”
I know sunflowers are just done to death. At last count, there are around 5,000 sunflower photos at iStock.
It's just that this was the first time I'd ever been in France during the summer when the sunflower fields are still in bloom. Right where our family lives, there are no vineyards but they are surrounded by fields and fields of sunflower, presumably for oil production. Usually we go to France in September, and by then the sunflowers are all black and drooped over, so this was a new sight for me, a visual treat that I couldn't resist shooting, even if it certainly won't be particularly lucrative.
And, who can resist shooting those tiny little chapels you find perched
at the tops of hills? This one looks out over the village of
Châteauneuf-sur-Isère in the Rhône Valley:
I've just returned after a quick two weeks in France - mostly spent visiting family-in-law, although I managed to slip away now and then to shoot a bit. Here's an initial look - this is the village of Cornas seen from the vineyards. Cornas produces a high quality Côtes du Rhône red wine that usually gets its more specialized appellation, Cornas. Cornas sits just across the Rhône river from the city of Valence, with its terraced vineyards climbing the steep hills above. Unlike most Côtes du Rhône wines which blend syrah, grenache, and other varieties, Cornas (the wine) is pure syrah. Cornas (the place) is pure beauty.
For accomodations, he had some kind of room-and-board arrangement with this eldery couple who were descendents of French nobility. Apparently his great-great-grandfather (or great-great-great, or however many generations back it would have been) was a tax collector for King Louis XIV. Among the relics in their modest and slightly eerie mansion was a chest that had been used for that very purpose. The kind old couple invited us to dine with them the night I was there.
I don't remember specifically what I ate - it was all very rich and very tasty. What I remember most was the wine. At age 21 and on my second trip to France, I was beginning to develop an appreciation for good wine. I probably didn't know a Bordeaux from a Bourgogne, but even as a wine newbie I was astounded by the full, intriguingly complex bouquet, and by the warm, smooth richness in my mouth unlike anything I had ever sampled.
I had to know what I was drinking so that I would again be able to experience this amazing wine. Finally, the bottle got set back down with the label facing me and, across the long, bourgeois table, I was able to discreetly look the label over. I could see that it was a Bordeaux, and although I couldn't discern which château it may have come from, I was able to read the vintage: 1970.
Mind you, this was 1991. These rich old nobles had pulled a 21-year old bottle of very fine Bordeaux from their cellar to share with a couple of 21-year-old American college boys.
I have never forgotten this incredible wine experience, nor have I since had the opportunity to again enjoy such a perfectly aged Bordeaux. Later, I learned that 1970 (the year I was born) was one of those 5-star vintages for Bordeaux wines.
I can personally confirm that it was indeed, as they say, a very good year.
Since I mentioned it in an earlier post, I thought I'd expand a little more on Banyuls.
Banyuls is a French wine made in a similar method to Porto, passing some of its time in barrels left outdoors, to submit to whatever conditions nature happens to throw at it. The result is a warm, smooth, sweet wine that clocks in at about 17% alcohol and works great both as an apéritif and as a dessert wine. The traditional grape of Banyuls is grenache, although a number of blends are acceptable to the standard Banyuls appellation. Banyuls Grand Cru however requires at least 75% grenache.
It is produced in a small area right at the border of France and Spain, along the Mediterranean coast. When we're in France, we love to spend time there. Two nearby small towns along the coast are absolutely charming: Port Vendres with its picturesque bay waterfront (photo below), and our favorite, Collioures, with its narrow cobblestone streets lined with colorful stucco houses. A fortress dominates the small protected harbor. Art galleries and artists studios abound, along with many pleasant little restaurants serving Catalan seafood fare that is positively explosive with flavor.
The vineyards of Banyuls line arid, stony hills occasionally topped by
the ruins of ancient forts. Below, the Mediterranean is warm and
inviting. If you are anywhere near the south of France, this area most
definitely warrants a visit.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the oldest wine I ever tasted was a 1961 Banyuls Grand Cru - and I've actually had the pleasure of sampling three bottles of 1961 Banyuls over the years. Many many years, ago my father-in-law and mother-in-law purchased these bottles on a summer trip to the area. As they had three daughters, they decided to save the wines and open one when each girl was married.
So my first taste was nearly 11 years ago when I married one of
those daughters. Daughter #2 was married a year later, and I got to
sample the next bottle. Finally in 2004 the youngest was married and we
enjoyed that last bottle, 43 years old at that point, and still an
absolute pleasure.
As it turns out, the oldest wine in my little "cellar" is also a Banyuls Grand Cru, although a considerably younger vintage, 1991. It was already 10 years old when we bought it in 2001, while spending a few days in Collioures.
I don't know if we'll wait until our daughter gets married to open it...maybe...
