05/31/17

Wine tour day! Today I (Jeff) put us on a tour to visit a few chateaus in one of the most prestigious wine regions in the entire world- the Medoc region. This region became especially famous after Napoleon lll designated vineyards into grand Cru classes. There are 5 levels with 1 being the most prestigious  (we are talking minimum of 400 euro per bottle and way up)- unfortunately we didn’t have the connections to make a tasting happen at a 1. The wineries we did book at were level 3 and 4 and a newer Vinyard unclassified.

Tall about serious business! These vineyards were massive and had incredibly sophisticated computer systems processing data to help make the exact wine intended- the vineyards produce so much and at such a high value you either need to be a large corporations or a billionaire to own one of these- not much has changed since the 19th century either- the owners would show off their wealth by building bigger and nicer chateaus than their neighbor’s creating the most over-the-top Chateau anywhere (architecture from all over the world so I encourage it)-

All of the wine we tried was delicious- although after seeing the pains, precision and technology used to  make this wine it took a little of the romance out for me- my call – delicious wine, but predictably delicious. I am leaning towards the Saint Emilion area where the smaller, local owners takes a few risks and may not always produce the most delicious wine, but certainly a memorable one-

Chateaus visited:

Chateau Prieure-Lachine (Grand Cru Classe)

• Stored in Cement before barreling
• Grapes never smashed (fruit is respected)

Chateau Fourcas Hosten

• Lost 40% of yield to frost in 2017
• Owned by French brothers trying to rebuild its reputation

Chateau Lagrange (Grand Cru Classe)

• Owns the highest point in the Medoc region (20 meters)
• Stored in stainless steel before barreling