Road Trip for Wine, Wine, and More Wine

Been trying to schedule this winery trip with a girlfriend for two weeks and things kept getting in the way, but we finally pulled it off yesterday, even though it was only a little over an hour from the house. Of course, we threw in lunch along the way, so we didn’t get totally shitfaced from the tastings!

When we arrived, we were overtaken by the grand 19th century cellar hanging on the banks of the Dordogne. Midway between Bergerac and Bordeaux, it was clearly a magical place. There was even a group of school children out front studying the architecture of this grand old structure.

With no vineyards attached to it, the winery is unique in that it has the freedom to buy the best quality grapes from wherever it chooses. By breaking most of the appellation rules, the vintners search out tiny parcels of amazing grapes from all over France, maturing them in fine oak casks in the the stunning cellars, then carefully blending them to create ‘Grand Cru’ flavor in the bottle.

Welcomed by the charming Simon, we were encouraged to sample as many varieties as we wanted in the historic tasting room right next to the impressive cellar, where the fermenting is taking place in vats and barrels. They even had a huge concrete egg vat, in which one of my favs for the day was fermenting. The shape of the vat creates small currents that keep the fermenting wine in constant motion. Some believe that the egg’s spherical shape imbues the wine with “celestial energy”—we’ll see about my celestial energy after a bottle or two…!

It was a delight to find such a nice variety of fine wines produced by a passionate crew at such reasonable prices. Filling the trunk of my new car, I came home with enough variety to fill the coffers for a while. Not to even mention how great it felt to get out of the house for a pleasurable outing for a change.

For you locals who may be interested:
Le Chai au Quai
7-9 Quai Camille Pelletan
33350 Castillon-la-Bataille
05 57 40 13 31