Château Montdoyen.

If you are looking for a wine tour which guides you through magnificent vistas of the Perigord Purple. A vineyard which stretchers as far has the eye can see, with an informative and excellent guide to the various wine process, culminating with a very pleasant tasting of the wines. This is the vineyard to go to.

Château Montdoyen was recommended by a friend of ours, Graham from Planches and Plonk, and Plonk and Plus in Belves and after tasting a bottle or two of the wines produced at the Château Montdoyen that Graham had recommended we just had to book a visit and go and see for ourselves.

Château Montdoyen is situated South West of Monbazillac in the heart of the Perigord Purple.

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The domane covers eighty three hectares, forty or which have vines being cultivated.

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Grape varieties are red grape Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. The white grape varieties are Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle and Semillon.

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Grapes are harvested by hand, then maceration for about twenty four hours, pressed, rotated, strained and fermentation before the wine is aged on lees. The lees are regularly stirred and after months of attention they are ready for the next process of ageing.

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Imagine that you are taken to a dark room then the lights are switched on, oh my wow, this was the sight before us. All oak barrels labelled with the wine and date so they people know when it is ready to bottle. The very large barrel is quite special due to the fact that the grapes go straight into the barrel by a funnel at the top. When the oak barrels get too old they are sent to be used in the process of making Cognac.

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A mobile bottling plant is hired every year from a team that goes from vineyard to vineyard.

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Bottled and ready for labeling. By this time we where ready for the tasting of the various wines so onward to the tasting room.

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Here is a list and prices of the various wines they make at Château Montdoyen.

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The wine tasting room.

Check out their web site:-

Château Montdoyen.

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Le Château De Monbazillac Part Two.

Fist of all, Bravo Les Bleus. I do not usually watch football but I, like millions of others, just had to watch this match.

Wow… you are so awesome.

 

O.K back to Monbazillac.

There is a very interesting room in the Château called Mounet-Sully room. There is only a brief explanation of the person so I just had to find out more. Mounet-Sully (birth name Jean-Sully Mounet was born in 1841 in Bergerac) and he became a famous actor, painter, sculptor and writer. He was a member of the celebrated Comedie Francaise, as was his brother Paul.

His most famous role as an actor was that of Oedipus in L’Oedipe, a French version by Jules Lacroix. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1889.

A little bit of scandal, his brother Paul was famous not only for his acting but for his affair with Sarah Bernhardt. Who’s picture you can see on the table in the room.

Mounet-Sully caricatures.

 
In the tower room is a gorgeous collection of white porcelain from Limoges which also belonged to Mounet-Sully.
 

The Bedroom of the Viscountess.

A Reconstruction of a lady’s bedroom in the 17th Century.

 

Next to the bedroom is a wonderful room filled with sketches of Ladies fashions from the Edwardian period. I particularly liked this sketch above, the costume looks so elegant and stylish.
 

We had a sneaky peek into this room which is being restored to its former glory.
 
 

Events:-

Saint-Pompon Night market open every Saturday until 18th August.

Celtic night in the village of Saint Andre d’Allas on 21st July.
 

Le Château De Monbazillac.

Part One

This Château and vineyard is one of our favourite places to visit. So it was a real pleasure to show our friend around while she was here on holiday a few weeks ago.

Listed as an historical monument it dates back to the 16th Century where it was built in the Renaissance style. Set in a woodland with magnificent vistas across the valley. 3500 hectares of vines produce in my view pure nectar, sweet and dessert white wines. Which of course can be sampled in the wine shop before… and perhaps after… your visit to Le Château De Monbazillac.

Michelle and I all ready for the visit.
 

The architecture is a mix of traditional and defence style, towers, parapet walk, battlements, moat, cannon and the start of Renaissance art in the form of wide windows, mullion windows, fixed bridge, grand interior staircase and of course the layout of the rooms.
 

The Château and its vines have been the property of Monbazillac Cooperative Winery since 1960. Before that the château was handed down from mother to child (or nephew) and has been sold six times since the 16th Century.
 

Coat of Arms Tower is represented by the successive owners of the Château. From the family that initially bequeathed the land for the construction of the Château to the last lords of the viscountcy.
 

The Grand Salon. The Renaissance fireplace was decorated in 1929 with heraldic sculptures.
 

A Harry Potter moment! In other words the bottle room. 7,000 bottles of Monbazillac from the 2002 and 2004 vintages are presented on the walls giving the walls a gorgeous golden glow. The display case shows the changes of bottle shape over the years.
 

The Dutch brand display case contains vintages of Monbazillac wine. The map by Belleyme (who surveyed the region from 1761 to 1774).
The spelling of the name was how my ancestors spelled their surname, an ancestral relative perhaps?. The Belleyme’s originated from Northern France, and owned the area now known as Belléme. A future blog I think.
 

Part Two blog will cover a fascinating person called Jean-Sully Mounet.
 
 

The Extraordinary Tour de France.

Crowds of smiling, happy people lined the streets of Perigueux last Tuesday to greet the start of stage 10 of the Tour de France through Sarlat and on to Bergerac. It was just what Paul and I needed to lighten the mood after we had just received some upsetting news. It lifted our spirits so much so that we began to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

So here are just a few of the many pictures taken last Tuesday.

Sky team bus

 
The amazing Sky team being presented to an appreciative audience.

 
Cheers for Chris Froome and the team.

 
TV interview with the King of the Mountains.

 
Riders looking relaxed and having a chat before the start of the race.
 

And off they go.

Second later all the riders were gone, having started on a 178km tour of one of the most beautiful parts of France
 

So over to our roving camera crew Sherry and Angus who took these brilliant pictures. Thank you so much.

The Caravan runs through Beynac.

 
Wow, brilliant

 

 
They look happy to be here, and who wouldn’t be enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Dordogne valley. Good luck guys.

 
“Come on Chris Froome”… Just a little bias there,

 
The Perigord will bring a smile to your faces too.

 
 
Event:- 14th July – Fête National, all across France.

 
 

Summer comes to Daglan

Traffic has been steadily increasing for a few weeks but the real sign that summer is here is that the Supermarket next to our home is now open every day including Monday for the summer season, and “Wonder Woman”, our new name for Virginie due to the fact that she can lift the most heavy gas containers, is hard at work.

Virginie (Wonder Woman) looking good
 

People make time to stop and chat in the Sunday market.
 

This glorious display was for Mothers Day which fell on May 28th in France.
 

If you visit Daglan make a point of wondering the side streets where you will find some of the hidden gems. This picture was taken at the end of the lane at the side of our home.
 

A stunning array of roses in full bloom cascade down the side of this property.
 

Trying to hide from view. This is gorgeous Meemow, so named because she talks to you none stop.
 
 

Event:-

The Tour de France comes to the Perigord Noir on Tuesday, 11th July. Stage 10 begins at Perigueux, passes through Montignac, Sarlat, Vitrac, Domme, La Rogue-Gageac, Beynac, Saint Cyprien and on to Bargerac.

Check out the 178km route at http://www.cyclingnews.com/