The Friday market is at Carpentras and it is really large. Our plan was to leave at 9 am, but we're all moving slowly and it's almost 10 am when we finally get going. Carpentras is very near, so by 10:30 we're in the center of town and parked.
As usual, we found everything on our list - the usual fruits and vegetables. Cherries and apricots are in, so we bought some of each.
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| some of our purchases |
We bought most of our produce from one vendor from nearby Aubignan. Everything he had to offer came from his farm, the Domaine du Vas, owned by Dominique & Thierry Gontard, where he sells AOC Ventoux and Vin de Pays Vaucluse wines, as well as his produce, and olive oil.
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| the fruit and vegetable vendor from Aubignan |
We were able to restock our Lucques olives and try some new ones - the vendor teased us that we were tasting so many, he'd have to charge us 10 Euros extra (with a grin on his face). We bought a couple other types of olives to try.
We had no intention of buying any more cheese, as we have a few day's supply. But we found a friendly vendor from the Savoie (High Alps region) who roped us in with a few tastes of his cheese. We spent 40 Euros on a couple of chunks of alpine cheese.
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| tasting cheese |
Next stop was LeClerc. We call it France's answer to Walmart. They sell everything. An hour later, cart full of basics and wine, we loaded everything into the car and headed home to put it away. We had a bottle of our favorite Vacqueyras rosé (Fontimple) with our French bread sandwiches, cherries and apricots. We were just getting ready to head out for an afternoon of wine-tasting when Katie, Randy and the girls showed up, wet hair and damp clothes from their morning excursion to Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue.
With everyone loaded into the car, we locked up and made the 1/2 hour drive through the vineyards to Château de Montfaucon with a planned stop to see the ruined castle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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| our proposed trip first to Monfaucon then to Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
The road to the château was typically French old down one lane
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| looking out the window on the road to the château |
We had tasted this wine in Madison at a Steve's Liquor Store wine tasting and were told we should visit this cool place. And it is cool.
There has been a castle at this location since the 11th century when the Rhone River was the dividing line between France and the Holy Roman Empire. It was part of a string of castles along the west side of the Rhone, built for defensive purposes. It also collected taxes from river transportation along the Rhone.
The current owner is descended from the original Baron de Montfaucon (1766). The family still resides in this triangular-shaped family château which was rebuilt (damage in the wars of religion, etc) in the 1880s and reflects the Scottish influence of Louis de Montfaucon's mother.
We tasted a white (Lirac), rosé, and 2 reds (2015 Lirac and 2016 Côtes du Rhone) and bought 8 bottles to bring home. Our hostess answered lots of questions and we learned a lot about how they raise their grapes.
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| in the tasting room - Katie, Lynn, Kim |
The owner, Rodolphe, dropped into the tasting room and visited for a minute. He teased Evie about a monster in the castle, but changed his story to say now only ghosts lived in the castle. Evie thought it was cool that someone actually lived in an old castle.
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| Evie and Penny in the tasting room |
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| a bit out of focus, but you can see that Evie is into photography now. I see a scrapbook in our future |
We learned that by 1829, Baron Eugène de Montfaucon and his son, Louis, were already selling their wine in Paris. From 1936-1995, the château sold their grapes to a coop. Then in 1995, a seventh generation (I think) son (Rodolphe de Pins) who studied agriculture and wine making in France and the US (UC Davis in CA) took over the domaine and brought the production back in house.
Thus, though the name was new in 1995, the vines were old - some more than 90 years old and produced good wines right from the start. They now have 60 hectares (about 150 acres) of vineyards spread over 3 villages. Mostly that rocky soil - the big rocks - galets, but some sandy and some clay soils as well. They farm sustainably.
We got a peek at the aging room full of oak barrels. (Their special cuvée is aged for 18 months in oak, but none of the others are oaked.)
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| this cave is now used for aging the oaked wines |
In the back was a 16th century wine press - as old as this farm building itself. Until 1936, this building (but a more modern press) was used to produce wine, but is now used to age wine either in cement or oak and to house the tasting room.
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| 16th century wine press |
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| juice from the crushed grapes spilled into this stone trough |
Finished in Montfaucon,
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| packing the wine into the trunk |
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| Evie in the grass near the parking lot |
we next headed toward the ruined castle in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The views will be dull as the clouds are making the distant mountains and river mere shadows of themselves. But as Dave says, "If you wait for the perfect day, you'll never see anything."
When we arrived at the parking lot, whom should we meet but the proprietor of Montfaucon. He's wining and dining an American importer from San Francisco, along with wives and families. We chatted a minute longer with Rodolphe and the importer.
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| the owner of Montfaucon (blue sweater) and US importer (white jacket) and entourage in parking lot at Châteauneuf-du-Pape castle |
A few minutes to explore the castle,
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| the gloomy day made for dramatic photos |
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| looking toward the Rhone |
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| Dale, Dave, and Kim check out the views |
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| Penny found a good toy - a loop of string |
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| Evie wasn't in the mood to do castle make-believe |
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| but she would make a funny face with Pop-Pop |
followed by a walk along the vineyard just outside the castle,
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| The holy trinity of Côtes de Rhone - Syrah |
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| Grenache |
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| and Mourvedre |
and a walk down to town where cars and walkers met up to head home,
We're too late for aperos, but have a nice dinner planned for Randy's birthday. Dale grilled pork tenderloin to serve with French green beans, smashed potatoes with cheese and salad. A bottle of rosé and red to accompany the meal with a Muscatine for the cake, sponge cake layered with crème patisière (a light custard) with peaches, covered with a thin layer of white chocolate on the outside. Delicious.
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| the grill-meister in his outdoor kitchen |
By 10:00 we're all dragging and need our sleep to prepare for tomorrow.
Wow, that was quite a day, Lynn! My mouth is watering after all that talk about food and wine. What a splendid adventure. And, to meet all those brilliant winemakers! Thanks for sharing all the photos and fun details. Miss you!
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