Restocking the Cellar

Summer is on the way and already we are sitting out for early evening drinks, or apero. But the cellar is empty. So it was time to visit young Damien Bonnet at Domaine De Brin. After the obligatory greeting of Bonjour and shaking of hands I said I had come to restocker la cave. Good Franglais which they understood perfectly. So I bought some more wines I know and like, plus a couple of new ones to try.

Since my last visit he has used part of the old building to make a tasting room. It looks fantastic with the beautiful local stone walls and the original bread oven in one wall which he has restored, and a bar. In an adjoining room he's created a small museum of old tools and winemaking equipment. It looks a little like a torture chamber.

These old properties have outbuildings which have been built and added to over hundreds of years . After decades of being hidden, rooms and hallways and baking rooms and ovens such these ones  are suddenly rediscovered.

In addition Damien and his wines have recently been  written up in a very prestigious glossy Wine and Food Maganzine.  So I hope he does not get to be too famous or his wine might become too expensive for me.

Tastes-of-Tarn: Golden Light

Tastes-of-Tarn: Golden Light: "Perfect spring weather here in the Tarn. The big hill down into the village of Labarthe-Bleys where I live has a most perfect form and look..."

Australia Day

Me and The Coat Hanger

Best Dressed ???

James Craig

This is the day when we beat our chests, take a holiday from complaining, and admit to being proud to be Australian.  I wonder what the weather was like when Arthur Phillip landed? I am sure someone knows. Well to day was hot hot hot, with a heavy heat haze which lasted all day.  I was happily able to catch every little breeze as I was ferried around the harbour  along with hundreds of other happy Aussies in hundreds of other boats large and small, including the historic James Craig, Ferries, working tugs and water taxis, Maritime Services boats, down to the smallest runabout.  I have never never seen so many boats  with flags flying and smiling faces, mine among them.

Old Ferry

Ben, who helps his friend the owner, invited me along for the day on The Southern Cross. There was plenty to see from the early Great Ferry Boat Race, the twenty one gun salute at Mrs Macquarie´s Chair  and a jet fly over later in the day. For me it was great to revisit little bays and beaches I remember from my childhood that I have not seen in years. Lots of nostalgia and a clear view of my favourite landmark, The Sydney Harbour Bridge. Almost hidden from view now among the skyscrapers on any road approach, it was a thrill to be under and see and love it again. We could see ant sized climbers along the arches and they must have had the best view of the day.

Dieting

It seems the French do get Fat after all. It also seems as though they are getting fatter and obesity is becoming a big problem.  Every other French person seems to be on the Pierre Dukan diet. This Doctor Dukan is the god of diets with thousands of followers including some of my friends. If you look on Google you will soon see how popular he is.

As I seem to have tried every diet known to mankind I have been reading his book and am now going to try  to lose those four extra kilos which always follow me around. It is a mixture of various ideas, starting with an attaque for the first week or so when only protein is allowed along with oat bran and yogurt for breakfast. This is followed by the addition of green vegetables to the protein for a number of weeks and then the re-introduction of pulses and fruit and even bread. People swear it is successful and easy to follow although there are critics who maintain it is not healthy or sustainable. One has to go on the attaque,  the word for getting started with a bang, and the holy grail of a perfect weight, is only a few weeks or months away depending on your starting weight.  After reaching the goal weight, one is obliged to keep up the two spoonfulls of oatbran for breakfast forever and return to a protein only day each  Thursday. This is to ensure  you do not relapse. In French if you fall of the wagon so to speak it is a craque. 

So I am about to attaque and hopefully not craque!!!! Should I include a before and after photo of me??? Maybe a photo of my cat Matilda and some croissants is a better idea.

Mushrooms

I am in Brittany with Sabine. It is the hunting season in France and yesterday we went hunting, not for killing, but for gathering mushrooms. Not any old mushroom but the highly prized cepe properly named Boletus Edulis or somtimes the Bordeaux Cepe. But first a picnic at Lake Guerladan which is near the  forest of Quenecan owned by their friend Stephane. It was a perfect sunny autum day. I made some pumpkin soup which we carried in a big heavy pressure cooker to keep it warm which we drank from mugs. This was followed by boiled eggs, ham and other goodies.

We drove along a private road through the forest and started looking for mushrooms. There were plenty of poison or undesirable ones but the cepe was very elusive. The forest was exquisitely beaufiful, with tall trees with moss covered trunks and dappled sunlight falling on the damp soft ground. I have never seen such leaf mold and it was inches deep. It was also the exact same shade of brown as the cep. Sabine found one and I found two, tiny but very rewarding. We also found girolles and pieds mouton two other edible types and a beautiful mauve coloured one. Gilles found the most enormous cep so it was quite a good hunt. We ate the cepes for dinner and they were delicious.

our one big cepe

Mushrooming is something every French person seems to do. Many of them are poisonous and every year there are some deaths reported. Every Pharmacy has someone who can identify them for you if you have any doubts about your pickings.

Gaillac Wine

Gaillac vineyards

Wine tasting on a forty one degree day may not be ideal, but we brave intrepid gang of four did just that yesterday.

My French Prof Christophe told me he discovered a new wine recently. It is on the wine list of a newly opened restaurant; Cafe Joubert at Fraysac. I had offered to take two English women staying in Labarthe-Bleys this week to a winery so Domaine de Brin was a natural choice. Christophe just happened to want to go there as well so he was our chauffer.

Damien Bonnet is referred to as "le jeune homme" and he does indeed look just that. But he is  26, a qualified oenologist with his studies followed up by experience in various wineries. The 2008 vintage is his first on his own without his father and they are worth talking about.

We first looked over the winery, discussed his philosophy to vineyard management, the efficacy of cement tanks, new and used French oak, yeasts, fining and all those other interesting things which certainly make my approach to wines more personal.

Braucol

But the moment of truth is in the tasting. I did not tast the rose but all agreed it was very fruity and neither "jammy and sickly" nor too acidic. I was most interested in tasting the white, Peirres Blanches, which is a blend of two local grape varieties,  Mauzac and Loin de l'Oeil. Unfortunately he did not have enough left for a tasting but I was able to buy a few bottles and one of them is in the fridge, but not, I am sure, for long.

The reds were of most interest to me. The first was Vendemia, which is the word for vintage in Occitan, the old language of the south. A pleasant wine but not what I was looking for. The second Anthocyanes was another matter. It has seen some oak but it was not overpowering and even at this early stage in life is well balanced with a lovely nose and lots of fruit. It is a blend of the two Gaillac AOC red varieties, Duras, and Braucol. The Duras is said to provide the spice and the Braucol the berry fruit flavours. This is a wine I expect to improve be suitable for cellaring. I doubt it will last long in my cellar though.

The last but not least red was the Brin de Temps. This wine is much fuller, again with well integrated oak and fruit; a lovely smooth well balanced full bodied wine as the experts say. The nose led me to expect just what I found on the palate, always a good sign for me. I guess this is the real find of the day for long term storage. It is a blend of Duras, Braucol and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Anyway it was a delightful morning despite the heat and I look forward to drinking them in more favourable conditions. Tonight at dinner with some friends in fact.

Bed and Breakfast

The first guests in my new Bed and Breakfast  suite last week were very happy with their accommodation and I am looking forward to receiving many more guests. I can provide accommodation on a nightly or longer basis.   My breakfasts are just great with shining silver and linen napkins, fresh juice, and the best butter croissants all for the mini price of 55 Euros including breakfast. The internet can be accessed in the house or garden. I have also just advertised my house for a long term rental for this European winter and a month or so next summer on a site called Long Lets in France.

Village Green Labarthe-Bleys

My home, La Grange, is a pretty restored stone barn in the tiny hamlet of Labarthe-Bleys in the Tarn. Located near the medieval town of Cordes sur Ciel within the Golden Triangle of Albi and Gaillac it is perfect for exploring the ancient bastide towns in the area, discovering the history of the region and wine tasting at the local vineyards. The locals are very friendly.