Saturday, July 26, 2014

Wines of the Tour Stage 20: Tony Martin, Our Final GC & Chateau les Farcies Pécharmant



Where are we:
Bergerac / Périgueux
Le Tour link: http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-20.html

 Starting in Bergerac. Maybe time for some reading?

 Michelin tells me this about Périgueux: "The ancient city with its Gallo-Roman villa crowned by a glass roof by Jean Nouvel stands on one side of the town, with the medieval and Renaissance district on the other, including the Cathédrale St-Front, with Byzantine cupolas by Paul Abadie. The modern Place de Francheville, with a garden and cinema complex, lies between the two. These two districts join up and follow a “green” path (voie verte) running along the River Isle, providing pleasant walks and different views of the town."
In honor of the last Tour of the great Jens! Voigt, maybe some geocaching? 
Specialities : Périgueux sauce (truffl e and foie gras), Périgueux pâté (foie gras and charcuterie truffle in a pastry crust), nut cake, mushroom omelette, truffles 


 Le Tour preview: What happens in the organisers' dreams? The final winner is decided in this 54 km time trial. But I think the gaps will have opened naturally in the three weeks since the Grand Start in Leeds. I said it once and I will say it again: even without a second time trial, the 2013 Froome would have crushed the opposition on this route... But will the 2014 Froome be as strong as last year's? It all boils down to this. If so, he will certainly be in the mix to win the stage, whose solid course is more tailored to men in great form than to true specialists like Martin, Wiggins and Cancellara.

 The race: Ah, the time trial. Although there is a lot on the line today, watching a time trial can be less than thrilling. I'm hoping for a Tony Martin win. Beyond that, it will all come down to the gaps between those hoping for podium spots below Nibali. 
Our early leader:



Next in the hot seat: Barta, as we wait for Tony Martin to finish. I find myself wondering how many riders he will end up passing. 


And eventually it was time for the gc riders. At this point, there were three minute gaps between the start times for the riders. Just a reminder that
Thibaut Pinot (Fdj.fr) starts the TT in second place but leads fellow Frenchman Jean-Christophe Péraud (Ag2r-La Mondiale) by just 13 seconds. Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is just 15 seconds behind Pinot.The last time two French riders finished on the Tour podium was back in 1984 with Hinault and Fignon.



Tejay was having a good day:



On the course, a flat for Peraud, but a very quick bike change. 



Another flat, this time Bardet as Tejay van Garderen comes in fifth. Wow and with that bike change, he loses his fifth place on the gc to van Garderen. 



Valverde finishes 4’28” down. Pearud 2'26". Pinot 3'12". At the end, Nibali would finish fourth on the stage. Another great ride for him today.

 Tomorrow, the ceremonial ride to Paris, so there should be no gc changes. 


Stage: Tony Martin


 
Yellow: Vincenzo Nibali
 




Wine: Chateau les Farcies Pécharmant
From Frankly Wines


The producer says: The Dubard family purchased this Farcies du Pech’ estate in 2000 for the charm of its old-stone castle (XVIIIth century) and the quality and the reputation of the Pécharmant vineyards. The10-hectare vineyard consists out of 20-year old vines on average. 
The personality of this wine can be partly explained by the terroir it is sourced from, typical of Pécharmant, composed out of sand and gravel containing a deep ferrugineous clay layer. This layer, locally called “Tran”, is well-known to give
a mineral hint to the wine. 
Sustainable viticulture practises are used in the
vineyard. The high number of vines (5,000/ha) allows lower yield per vine (50 hL/ha), thereby giving the much sought after concentration and depth to wine.

The de-stemmed and crushed grapes underwent a 4-week maceration at 28°C. During fermentation, repeated pumping-over and one délestage (rack-and-return) at the early st ages guarantee a soft and progressive extraction of the phenolic structure. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was separated int
o three batches, to be matured for 12 months, in French oak barrels : one third in new barrels, one third in second fill barrels, and the last third in third fill barrels. Over these 12 months, regular stirring is suggested to ensure that the yeast lees are in suspension. These 3 batches are then blended back, which adds a delicate, integrated oak to both the nose and the palate.

Cabernet varieties communicate to “Les Farcies du Pech’” a complex nose where coffee, tobacco, cinnamon and black pepper are harmoniously blended. Ample and well structured, this Pécharmant has already pleasantly loosened up and filled out with time. The palate ends up on a firm minerality due to the specific
terroir, which gives a lot of personality to this wine.

This intense and deep red wine will form an ideal
accompaniment to terrine dishes, roasted poultry or with sauce,and cheese. “
I say:  The regional wine organizaiton tells me that: Pécharmant AOC wines are made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Côt or Malbec and Merlot Noir. The incomparable taste of Pécharmant is, to a great extent, due to its soil; the sand and gravel of the Périgord which hides deep down a layer of iron clay known as the « Tran ». Pécharmant has great potential to age.
Lots of black pepper. Smells like Cab Franc to me. Deserving of the (often dreaded) word smooth. I liked this one much more than I expected. 
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