Hill of Hermitage no longer threatened by TV aerial

 Hill of Hermitage (John Livingstone-Learmonth)

The battle to stop the building of a large TV antenna appears to have been won as the French government has stepped in saying that the hill needs to be preserved as part of the national heritage. 

Belatedly relayed message from Vincent Pousson: 

'C'est une excellente nouvelle qui vient d'arriver de Paris, du Ministère de l'Écologie, du Développement durable et de l'Énergie et que relate ce matin Le Dauphiné Libéré: on ne pourra pas défigurer la célèbre colline de l'Hermitage. Le projet d'antenne de télédiffusion dont nous avons beaucoup parlé au début de l'été est ajourné, pour un an au moins, le temps que soit examiné le dossier de classement de ce site viticole et historique remarquable au patrimoine national. C'est-à-dire qu'il est enterré…'
La suite ici:
http://ideesliquidesetsolides.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/la-victoire-des-vignerons-de-lhermitage.html

Also from Jancis Robinson MW:

'24 Oct - The French authorities have, arguably not before time, declared that the hill of Hermitage should probably be considered a historic monument and that therefore no one should be allowed to do anything on it for at least a year. The locals believe that this will give them time to establish the hill definitively as classified and protected and therefore free from housing antennae. Result.

Bourgueil back to 1893 plus news of lunacy@Hermitage

The tasting deep in the cellars of Lamé-Delisle-Boucard

Bourgueil 2011-1893

In early June Les 5 du Vin spent a very enjoyable weekend in Bourgueil and had an amazing tasting spanning three centuries in the cellars of Lamé-Delisle-Boucard. My post this week for Les 5 du Vin covers this demonstration that some Loire reds do have a remarkable but still little known potential to age magnificently.    

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Lunacy on the Hill of Hermitage 

Protests over the plans to build a 60 foot TV aerial on the top of the hill continue to grow. See piece here on The Wine Society's blog by Marcel Orford-Williams. 

Here is an update on Nicolas de Rouym's bonvivant blog. 

There is also a Facebook page here devoted to saving the hill and stopping the transmitter project. 

Earlier post on Jim's Loire.

If you haven't already done so, please sign the petition against this project here. To date there are 990 signatures. 

  

Hill of Hermitage threatened by pylon lunacy

There is a gathering storm of protest against the plan to build an 18-metre TV communications transmitter on the hill of Hermitage – not far from a smaller one already installed as the cutting from Le Dauphiné shows. Le Dauphiné broke the story on 6th July.  

The hill of Hermitage is one of the world's iconic vineyard sites and it seems insane that the local authorities, who have already allowed one transmitter to be built here, should now be prepared to allow a much larger one to be built. I understand that there is already plenty of TV coverage in the area but that competition rules require that more pylons and transmitters be built!

At the same time the local authorities have been trying for many years to get the Hill of Hermitage classified as part of France's Patrimoine. One has to wonder how the councillors of Crozes-Hermitage were apparently persuaded to agree to this scheme. Perhaps they thought that a forest of pylons would make their patrimoine case more persuasive!  

Blogs sounding the alarm:

Bon Vivant (Nicolas de Rouym): Here and here.

Vincent Pousson: Here

Emmanuel Delmas: Here 

Jacques Berthomeau: Here  
Vindicateur (Antonin Iommi-Amunategui): Here.

See also story on decanter.com by Jane Anson. 

Please sign petition here against the transmitter.