The tiny village of Villedieu has the most delightful little cafe, and as with most French villages, a lovely outdoor area to sit and sip a glass of wine, or un petit cafe. I was in the mood for a glass of white wine, and when I was informed as to what it was by the charming and cheerful young woman at the bar, I was surprised to hear that it was Chardonnay! In Rhone country! But it was crisp and tasty, and Susan and I settled in for a bit of people-watching, which seems to be the national past-time.
We had this “Tentation de Rodolf” Cotes du Rhone wine for our wonderful, memorable lunch on our 20th anniversary, at Le Table Gourmande Le Mogador, between Sablet and Violes. What a magnificent experience, with our gracious hostess Dominique. We loved this wine so much that we came back the next day and bought two more bottles.
Bottled by Le Domaine des Favards, this wine was a beautiful deep purple color, expressing black fruit, notes of spice, vanilla and chocolate, with just a hint of oak. Rich, elegant and creamy on the palate, with silky tannins. Finish is full, round, and lasting.
If you have traveled to the south of France, you will recognize the distinctive shape of these wine glasses. They are the “native” wine glasses of the Rhone, and in particular, Chateauneuf du Pape, considered the “Roi”, or “King” of the Rhone appellations. I have searched for these wine glasses for years, and have never found anything remotely like them. When we were in Chateauneuf du Pape having lunch this past Spring, I decided to ask our waiter if there was a name for the “forme”, or the shape, of these wine glasses.
He walked to a cabinet and handed me one of the boxes they came in, from Chef & Sommelier (you’ll see it pictured above). They are actually called the “Open Up Pro Tasting” glass, and the ones we had at lunch were the 32cl variety (10.75oz). As soon as I returned to the states, I went to Amazon (I mean, where else?) and bingo, I found them. They shipped all the way from Belgium, and were a little pricey, but it was worth it to have landed a few of these iconic vessels.
Here’s my entry to kick off a couple of months of wine exploration, where we’ll experience lots of French wines, as well as a few Italian ones thrown in towards the end. We spent an entire month based in a little “gite” (or rental cottage), literally in the middle of hectares of vineyards, and just on the outskirts of Vaison-la-Romaine in southern France, which I’ll write more about in another post.
When you end up renting a place based on some thumbnail photos and a flowery description on a website, the reality doesn’t always live up to the expectations. But without a doubt, this one exceeded the advance billing. Appropriately named “Le Cinsault”, this little gite was delightful. Small and cozy, but well-equipped, we enjoyed every minute here, from sitting inside watching the rain and wind, to warm days on the patio. Accessed via half a kilometer of gravel road, our most common visitors were the vineyard tractors, which at this point of the season were doing weekly vine maintenance.
One of the best features was the view from the hill immediately behind. A short stroll up the path gave a stunning view of Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, with it’s white top and tower at the peak easily visible. Anyone who follows the Tour de France has seen epic stages that finish at the top of this 6000-foot peak. Shifting your gaze to the right, the medieval village and chateau were clearly visible on their rocky hilltop. The chateau at the top of the old village is mostly in ruins but is still worth a rough scramble up to the perimeter if only for the view.
As the season progressed and the vines matured, we were treated on each sunny late afternoon to a backlit show of the young vines’ leaves. It reminded me of the hundreds of lighters held aloft in anticipation of a concert performance encore.
