St John's annual growers' lunch – wine & food

 2012 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, 

Coteaux de l'Ébeaupin, Château-Thébaud

Here are various bottles enjoyed before and during yesterday's annual growers' lunch at St John's Restaurant.

 2014 Brézème Roussanne, Eric Texier

 2014 Réserve La Colombière, Fronton

 2012 Coste Rouge, La Colombière, Fronton

 2014 Chénas, La Carrière, Claire et Fabien Chasselay

 

 Cuvée Laïs, Côtes Catalanes, Olivier Pithon 

 2014 Bandol, Domaine Les Luquettes

 Vin de Pays du Mont Caume, Domaine les Luquettes

 Gewurztraminer, vieilles vignes, Alsace

 2012 Bordeaux Supérieur, 

Château Argadens, Maison Sichel

 VSOP Bas-Armagnac, Château de Lacquy, 

Comté Gilles de Boisséson

Food:

Red cabbage and beetroot

 Braised Rabbit, Trotter, Prunes and Mash

2014 Tour de France: Stage 19 bunch sprint in Bergerac?

Stage 19: Maubourguet to Bergerac 208.5 kms

After three days in the Pyrénées this stage that takes the riders north to Bergerac will seem pan flat to the riders. Actaully the middle section is very flat but the start and the finish are more undulating. Just 10 kilometres from the finish there is a Cat 4 climb (1.3km@7%) – the Côte de Monbazillac – preceded by a few lumps. Although it is likely that this stage will finish in a bunch sprint the lumpy finish may knock out some of the sprinters like Marcel Kittel. The other possibility is that a breakaway manages to stay away. Today it will be down to the sprinters to control the break, while the rest of the peloton looks for a quiet day unless one of the GC contenders has a problem at the end, when it could get frantic as every second counts in the fight for a podium place. 

From Météo France 

Weatherwise it is unlikely to be a quiet day as storms with the possibility of hail are forecast for this afternoon with an warning (vigilance orange) in place. 

Vines are a theme today as the race passes through the Armagnac region, Buzet and finishes at Bergerac having climbed up to Monbazillac.  

See detailed review of Stage here.