The boys (that would be Dave and Clark) have cooked up a driving tour in the wine region called Côte Chalonnaise to the south of us. The plan is to use the Michelin Green Guide as a point of inspiration that would allow us to end our day wine tasting at a wine coop in the town of Buxy (boo-ksy). So this is really the Dosch-Hunsinger-Michelin driving tour. And as usual, we completed only the first loop as suggested in Michelin and it took us all day. It's not that we putz, but we do have adventures. Sandwiches packed into the lunch backpack, we headed out shortly after 10.
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| our trip through the Côte Chalonnaise. Our house is north of this map |
The first stop is the town of Rully. Michelin says that there is a medieval castle with a 12th century keep. We parked in the town center in front of the "Mairie" (town hall). Here I found some prime examples of pollarded plane trees. Since medieval times, the French have been pollarding trees especially in public areas. The idea is to keep the trees short and create umbrellas of shade as the new growth can grow long and horizontal. Trees are pollarded every 3-5 years and are really ugly when first cut back. But by late spring, new branches and leaves will provide shade against the heat of summer.
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| pollarded plane trees |
We could see the steeple of the church above us, so we headed up the hill, thinking the castle would also be up on the highest peak in town. Along the way we found a community lavoir (laundry) at the source of the Thalie river and decided we would not like to wash our clothes in this water.
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| the communal laundry is in the back, fed by the stream that now flows through this channel |
Around the corner and up the hill a bit farther, we arrived at the church which seemed to be at the highest point, but while there were manor houses, there was no medieval castle.
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| Eglise St. Laurent, 14th century |
After exploring the church square, we followed a sign for the Château Rully that led us on a road along the ridge (and away from the center of town. huh.) The day was beautiful and the views of vineyards as we walked along the ridge from church to castle were stuning.
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| Clark |
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| We do love views of vineyards |
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| Janis |
We passed a lovely spot with picnic table and privacy hedge for toileting en pleine aire (outside, you know behind a tree...). We continued another block or two and finally came to the château which is only open to visits in July and August, whose living quarters, tower and grounds were safely ensconced behind tall brick walls. Oh, well.
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| Château de Rully |
Dave and Janis walked back to where we had parked the car and met Clark and I at the picnic table with view. After a lovely lunch, we headed out to our next destination, Mercurey.
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| just a pretty picture somewhere along the road |
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| Charolais cows |
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| getting a new tile roof - looks complicated |
In Mercurey, we visited the 12th century church, Notre Dame de l'Assomption. Part Romanesque, part Gothic, this church is typical of churches in small communities. The stained glass appeals to me with bright colors in an otherwise somber church setting.
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| Eglise Notre Dame de l'Assomption |
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| interior of church |
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| inscription reads "Here is the heart which has loved man so much" |
Outside the church is a monument to those lost in WWI and WWII. There is a similar monument to be found in every village, town and city in France. It is said the French lost an entire generation in WWI and the list of men who died is much longer for WWI than WWII.
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| war memorial |
We continued our drive toward Germolles, the location of a castle which Michelin describes as having a "staggering history from the 13th century and some incredibly rare murals from the period." But we have hit a glitch. When Dave put my scooter together and turned on the key, a high pitched squeal hurt our ears. We couldn't figure it out, so I stayed behind in a lovely park while the others walked the block or so to the castle entry. I was sitting at the Place 5 Septembre, 1944. The monument in the center of this little park, describes this as the day the Allies liberated Germolles from the Germans.
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| memorial to liberation of Germolles in WWII |
Dave, Janis, and Clark were back in minutes. It seems you have to pay to even get into the castle grounds and tours (in French) are guided and on a schedule. We don't have any time for such organized sightseeing, we've got wine to taste. A quick stop in Givry to look at the church in the center of town. This church has an unusual architecture - domes! But no good place to get a picture as there are buildings all around the church. Oh, well. On to wine tasting.
So it's on to Buxy to the wine cooperative Clark has found. We have high hopes of good wine at reasonable prices and we're not disappointed. Wine coops are owned by groups of growers who pool their grapes together. The cooperative has its own winemaker who creates wines following the AOC rules (in this case, wines are only Chardonnay (white) or Pinot Noir (red). But the character of the wines is changed by oaking or not, by how long they are aged, and by which fields are blended together. Our server explains that their cooperative, called Millebuis (mill-boowe) means 1000 boxwoods. And here as elsewhere, the fields are indeed separated by boxwood hedges. The town Buxy is likewise an old French word for boxwood. So it all fits together.
The wines are delicious and we left with 2 cases and one BIB (bag in box). Time to get back home to get ready for dinner at L'Auberge de Guillaume in Vandenesse. (described in a previous post.) A great day enjoying the sun and soil of Burgundy.
Tomorrow we're searching for a market and buying groceries.
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