our contact in Bordeaux was a man named Tom Kenney - his nephew lives in Great Falls and the nephews wife, Devon was in the store a few months ago - she had heard I was heading to Bordeaux and got us in contact - sometimes life just works out!
Tom is a Boston guy - was a workaholic like most Americans - one day life changed - his health was literally just gone - after a divorce and a hellish three years of health problems he was visiting his sister when a family friend of theirs that he hadn't seen in 40 years named Monique also happened to be in town - voila - a short time later they were married and he is living on the Chateau Suau estate in Bordeaux - running tractors - mowing lawns - tending to vines - told me: "I've never been happier Mark, I got out of the race and am LOVING life"
The Chateau Suau is Monique's now - her and her dad purchased it in 1987 but he had passed a few years back - neither of them really knew much about the wine business - just a daughter and father wanting to "make something" together - at the time the estate just grew grapes and sold them to negociants - wow ... things have changed. They have a beautiful winery, grow quality grapes organically (on their way to biodynamic) - she, much like Joseph in the Priorat has her own special vineyard that only she tends to called l'artoile, named after the creek running just below the vineyard - she makes that into a single vineyard bottling only when she has what she thinks is a truly great vintage - her last was 2009 - it is mostly Merlot with a little Cab Sav and a touch of Cab Franc - is vinified in oak barrels she had specially manufactured just for this vineyard - and yes, we got to taste it - silky like a Napa blend but the verve running through it was unbelievably intense - I was sitting across from Monique when we tasted and you could tell it was like a child of hers - she loved it and wanted me to as well - I broke into a big smile and said "tres bon" - she added - "the oak is still a bit too present - it will improve" - so fun to make a connection with people through wine - we tasted through the rest of her wines as well - all of them were uniquely Cadillac from Bordeaux, still tightly wound but showing fruit - they are still making inexpensive wines that need time in the bottle - that's a fun idea - all were wonderfully expressive!
Tom and Monique then sent us to their friend Joel for a tour of his wines from the Graves district of Bordeaux - a family run operation as well but very inexpensive - €8 to €12 - he doesn't import to the US - was very traditional in his thoughts of winemaking as compared to Veronique and Monique - liked his wines but have to say I appreciated the other two more even though they weren't in such a highly regarded appellation as his in Graves - when I asked about organic Joel said nicely - "I've had my hands in these soils since a little boy and I do nothing to harm my lands - but occasionally I feel I have to use something to control things a bit so I do - its just the way I believe" I respected him for his honesty in a world that is now pretty environmentally intolerable - reminded me a bit of talking to a Montana farmer - I think Joel truly uses chemicals as a last resort to improve his crop - must be tough with all the pressures of business I thought to have to face an American questioning his farming practices - I believe Joel is a good man making good wines - in a worldwide market I'm not sure that's enough to make it but with the history of his estate and the fact he sells most of his wine locally he'll do just fine - "what a wine education I'm getting" was all I could think about on the drive home.
On returning to our bed and breakfast we were invited down to Tom and Monique's for a bonfire - something Tom was quite famous for in these parts since he'd moved from the USA - they have been trimming the vines for centuries in Bordeaux and making little fires in the vineyard to dispose of the wood - Tom's thought, like any red blooded Americans would be - why not save them up and have back yard bonfires - so we traipsed on down to a beautiful area behind the Chateau where Tom had a monster fire going - Monique had opened a couple of beautiful Burgundies (never thought I'd drink a Burgundy in Bordeaux - especially with a Bordeaux winemaker) - talked French and American virtues and shortcomings - at the end of the night I just remember looking around and thinking - "this is just undamnbelievable"
the trip will be taking a different turn tomorrow - heading to Paris and then on to London - will miss these small towns of France and Spain - the people we met were so damned passionate and so hospitable, the towns so memorable - what a beautiful way to spend a few days of ones life
your pal,
mt
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