Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Wednesday 25 March 2009

Back in the Loire

A28: A brief glimpse of Le Loir@Château-du-Loir

Drove down yesterday in bright sunshine once we approached the Loire Valley. It is always fascinating traveling through France in early springtime to see how much more advanced the trees etc. come as you move southwards. In northern France it was still winter bleak with light sign of green, whereas from Le Mans southwards it became greener and with more blossom in evidence. Of course if we had carried on down to Bordeaux it would have become still greener. However, even down in the Loire London is probably more advanced due to its special micro-climate, doubtless helped by the pollution. I believe that you have to go as far south as Lyon to find a major city that has a higher average temperature than London.

Heading towards Tours: heavy traffic on the A28

Very enjoyable relaxed dinner at friends starting with the 2007 Varière Coteaux de l'Aubance, whose fresh, citric character makes this a good aperitif – not over sweet. Then I confidently mistook a 2006 Bourgogne Aligoté for a minerally Sauvignon Blanc. I did a little better with the red thinking it was Côt, which is was in part. The rest being Cabernet Franc and the whole was the 2006 Cuvée Pif from the Clos Roche Blanche. We had an excellent but simple first course – fresh local goats' cheese whizzed up with fresh basil to make a few creamy mouthfuls. Delcious.

Unfortunately today is showery and pretty miserable and the forecast for the rest of this week is not very special. Still the ground here is quite dry, so there hasn't been a lot of rain recently.

2 comments:

Abbé Henri Proust said...

I was wondering if you could create a Google Maps 'atlas of the vignerons' to whom you make reference. Then you Loire readers could know where they are to be found geographically, so that when they want to make trip they can more easily visit recommendations local to that particular trip. I think Simon at 'days on the claise' has perfected this, and often does it on his posts. It would certainly interest us.

Just a well meant suggestion....

Jim's Loire said...

Henri. Thanks for the very helpful suggestion. I will look into it.

Jim