Wednesday 2nd of October
Exploring the wine villages of the Cotes du Rhone, part 2
Since arriving at this French house on Sunday, I have managed to trip the electrics three times and flood a large part of the bedroom, but this morning, when I went into the living room, I opened the curtains to look at the view and managed to pull the curtain pole out of its socket...
There are no cubicles in the shower rooms, so the water sprays everywhere if you're not careful. I do wonder whether Airbnb owners actually stay in their own accommodation? They really should!
We had a very lazy start to the day, which was cloudy and a little chilly. Sophie and I sat on the upper terrace with our coffee and toast, so we didn't leave the house until 11am. The plan was to explore Sablet properly today, move onto Séguret, and perhaps wind our way slowly up Mont Ventoux. The last time we drove up, I had to get Keith to take over as I was terrified!
We parked in Sablet and walked into the centre. It was a disappointment. Le Café des Sports had a few people drinking, but renovation works were going on inside, and the noise was deafening. We walked on, and most of the shops were closed, including a bakery and butcher. In fact, the bakery looked like it had been closed for some time, which was surprising as I thought the village boulangerie was the staple of any French village.
There was nowhere to eat except the Café des Sports, which didn't look very inviting, so not a choice for a future evening meal! It was strange because there was a very smart hotel on the outskirts with no restaurant, and Sablet is quite a large village with several places selling the wine produced in the area. Where do people eat out? We decided to head back to the car and carry on to Séguret and see what this wine village offered.
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| View of the church, Sablet |
Sophie put directions into her phone and sent me off down a narrow road, that was full of potholes and weeds growing everywhere. I was not pleased. The thought of meeting a tractor and having to back up did not appeal!
Séguret is situated on a hill and you have to park and then climb steeply upwards to get to the village itself. Keith was not keen, so we gave up on Séguret! This triggered a small bicker-fest, where we argued about where to go next. I didn't fancy Mont Ventoux so we agreed to head for Chateauneuf-du-Pape instead and have a light lunch there. All the food we'd bought on Monday was still languishing in the fridge, so we were going to try and use most of it up this evening.
It took us about half an hour to get to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and it was obvious that the grapes were still being harvested as we saw workers toiling away in the fields and numerous tractors on the roads. We reached the famous wine village and I pulled up so Sophie could photograph the vines. I'd told her that they're planted on stony soil and large pebbles (or pudding stones) are placed around the roots, which soak up the heat of the sun through the day and then let it out at night, maintaining a constant temperature.
In fact, vines do best on poor soil, the roots going deep down to reach nutrients and water.
We parked on the outskirts of the village and walking in, we came across places where you could try, and then buy the wine.
The wine was delicious and good value (I thought) at 6 euros for a small glass. The French do not go in for the sizes we serve in the UK; their measures are about 125ml, with 250ml being unheard of! When we'd finished our drinks, Sophie and I went in search of another restaurant and to look for wine.
We stumbled upon a lovely little shop selling local produce and I treated myself to a lavender soap in a pretty tin, hand cream and chocolates for my Mum. They sold bottles of local wine as well, but we'd spotted another shop opposite the café and we were going to have a look there.
Further on the street were more restaurants and it would have been great if we were looking to have a proper lunch today instead of a snack. We returned to the wine shop we'd seen only for it to be closed for lunch!
Back in the café, we re-joined Keith and we ordered another glass of wine. It was then that Sophie noticed it wasn't Chateauneuf-du-Pape at all, but a Cotes du Rhone... I thought it was good value! Glasses of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape were double the price!
We then tried to order something to eat. Our waitress, a real character, rattled off what they had to offer and it seemed like they only had goat's cheese salad. I said yes, and received a filthy look from Sophie who hates goat's cheese. This triggered a short, sharp argument with Keith trying to referee the two warring factions. Both of them had earlier screamed at me like banshees when I'd taken a wrong turn, and in that moment, I was fed up with having to do all the talking and the driving!
Our waitress returned and said she had camembert rather than goat's cheese so Sophie was mollified (I loathe camembert but refrained from saying so). Our lunch was very good - the plates were covered in different hams, a round pot of melted camembert and salad with a delicious dressing. We were given a small basket of bread. Voila!
Sophie and I also indulged in one of the most delicious desserts we've ever had, a perfect chocolate fondant that would make Gregg and John on Masterchef weep! Served with cream, it was fantastic!
As we were sitting digesting our meal, a fascinating couple entered the café. I couldn't take my eyes off the woman, who was stick thin and had obviously had work done on her face. It was hard to guess her age (her husband was in his 60s) but her legs were thinner than my arms, and covered in both bruises and tattoos. They sat at the bar and ordered drinks and I just couldn't stop staring! She had thick hair that tumbled over her shoulders and almost cartoonish make-up with exaggerated lashes and lipstick. Fascinating! I wanted to know all about them!
Some serious shopping
We paid the bill (90 euros) and strolled across the road to a posh wine shop. It was stacked full of local Chateauneuf-du-Pape and other wines from the region. Sophie took umbrage at a German woman who wouldn't let her stroke her dog (my daughter was in a very feisty mood today). She was asking the woman serving loads of questions, but left empty-handed much to Sophie's glee!
It was no wonder she left empty-handed as the prices were not cheap! Keith had given us 60 euros to buy two bottles and I came in at just under that with two local examples. Sophie already owed me a bottle of expensive wine (originally a Cote Rotie from further north in the Rhone) after our bet over who would win Wimbledon, I let her off the Cote Rotie and she bought a lovely bottle of C-du-P instead.
When Keith and I visited last time (I'm sure it was 1993) we tracked down a producer that had been recommended by Hugh Johnson. He mentioned Vieux Télégraphe which is still going strong today. Back then, thirty years ago, we paid about 8 francs a bottle and bought a case. I doubt we could justify spending hundreds of euros on a case today! We saw a magnum of Vieux Télégraphe for 173 euros!
We staggered back to the car, an uphill walk that got our hearts pumping. When we arrived back at the car park, Sophie noticed the German woman with the dog reversing out of a space and let off a few more expletives! She really had taken a dislike to her!
We drove towards the chateau, the ruined castle that gives the village its name. It was the summer residence of the Popes who must have loved the stunning views of Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail.
We drove through an imposing entrance and managed to park right next to the ruined castle.
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| I think the feistiness was down to the alien tee-shirt... |
Keith stayed in the car while we wandered around the ruins and gazed out over the gorgeous landscape. We saw numerous fighter jets flying about; was it anything to do with the troubles in the Middle East, I wonder?
Sophie had a great video chat with Vikesh, telling him all about the grapes and how they're cultivated. I don't think he had ever heard of the village and its wines, and we sometimes take it for granted that everyone knows about these things!
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| Mont Ventoux |
From Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we drove to the outskirts of Orange and one of the biggest Carrefours I've ever been to. We needed some more milk, beer and bread, but I was in search of Cracksters, the little savoury biscuits I'd discovered in Normandy in January!
The area was a large retail park and reminded us of Cité Europe. We wandered around the huge store and bought a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape to enjoy tonight (more reasonably priced) and lots of other treats, including some chocolates for my communal tub at work, and five boxes of Cracksters! The store was hot and it was a relief to get our purchases back into the air-conditioned car and head back to Sablet. The weather was beautiful now, with the earlier cloud gone.
We had a lovely journey back to the house, and then it was time to relax and snooze until the evening. Sophie and I opened the bottle of C-du-P and we both found it a bit dry at first. However, as the wine opened up Sophie said she could detect wine gums on the nose! Ooh!
We played Scrabble (Sophie narrowly beat me) and then we prepared dinner, which was pizza, slices of chicken, salad, tabbouleh and bread. After we'd eaten, we bickered a bit over what to watch, and we finally decided to log onto Amazon Prime and watch the last Grand Tour, which took place in Zimbabwe. Sophie didn't fancy the serial killer documentary tonight... we'll leave that until we're home!
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