Cairanne and Environs

It was getting a little late last night and to be quite honest, the wine had been flowing too freely, so I didn't do justice to last evening. We ate in and Margaret did a fabulous meal which included rabbit for main course. Following that we had to stay up to Skype at midnight, so I wrote up my blog. Everybody seems to be doing fine in Canada and it was great to see the little smiling faces of Ella and Sadie.



Looking around Peter & Margaret's place, it was clear that Peter has been busy. The wine cellar is up and running and filled with over 1000 bottles - no plonk here. The lower study/bedroom is almost ready to use and the large master bath is Peter's winter project. The courtyard now has a table with palm trees and the front walk from gate to house is concreted, awaiting a flagstone facade. Of course there's still lots to do, but it looks less and less like a construction zone.
It's great to be back in Cairanne and we appear to have brought the good weather with us. The skies this morning were brilliant Provencal blue and it has turned hot. Now this is more like it!

Late morning, we headed into Orange. Margaret wanted to hit a fabric store opposite from the Roman Theatre and then we were to dine in the new restaurant on the Theatre grounds. The restaurant, La Grotte d'Auguste, is built in a grotto beside the ancient ruins of the Theatre. Because of the beautiful day, however, we opted for dining on the terrace overlooking the ruins and beneath the towering walls of the Theatre.
Following lunch, we headed to Chateauneuf du Pape to sample some wine from producers new to us. There are 150 producers here so there had to be some we didn't know.


First was the wine of Domaine Nayls. We tasted 4 whites and 4 reds and although good, not great, so we left with nothing.
Next we visited a small winery in the lower part of town, that had no signage, but Margaret and Peter knew this place and felt they were making the best Chateauneuf. So Margaret made an appointment and we were treated to an informative tasting with owner Jean-Paul Versino. He had only 3 wines, but all were exceptional. Of his two reds, we got to taste the 2009 right out of the barrel - it won't be bottled until summer 2011 - and the bottled 2007 counterparts. We did come away with a couple of his elite label and I think they may age nicely in the Cairanne cave.



After a slow afternoon, Peter brought out his new toy, a '64 Triumph TR4. We went for a drive up into the windy hills behind Cairanne. There is a certain testosterone factor to these sports cars!

To finish off the day, we had dinner down at The Tourne au Verre in Cairanne. It was a set menu as usual and this evening it was an asparagus veloute for amuse bouche, an aubergine mille feuille caviar for starter and fillet of beef for main course. The temperature didn't drop with the sun, so we ate on the terrace with total comfort. Our stay in Cairanne was way too brief, but it was great to be back.
Just a note to my faithful readers. We're not sure what our internet access will be for the next week. We're pretty sure the place doesn't have internet, so hopefully we'll find a nice internet hot spot or cafe to make regular posts.