Friday, September 4, 2020

Wine and food of Le Tour 2020: Stage 7

From the race director: In the areas of Aveyron and Tarn where one doesn’t quite know what “flat” means, the roads are never easy. Other than the hilly course, before visiting Castres, the plans of the sprinters’ teams could be troubled by the wind that can be very strong in the region.

Translation: this could be a spring stage, but don't be surprised if it all blows apart instead.

Le Tour has this to say about today's region: Known for its Millau viaduct, Aveyron is an attractive department at the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier. It is divided into several natural regions such as Aubrac or Larzac. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron and Tarn rivers cut deep valleys on its soil. Aveyron has 10 Plus Beaux Villages de France and the Soulages museum. Several of its sites are listed as World Heritage by Unesco (Conques, the GR65 – French routes to Santiago de Compostela -, the Causses and the Cévennes). Gastronomy is important in Aveyron thanks to a variety and subtlety of local products from various terroirs with a strong identity. The markets prove it daily with a profusion of products: cheeses, meats and dishes, wines…
The Millau viaduct breaks many records. It stands at 343 metres (higher than the Eiffel Tower). Despite being 2,460-metres long, it only rests on nine pillars planted in the Tarn valley. Conceived by French engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by British architect Lord Norman Foster, it fits perfectly into a grandiose and intact natural landscape.

Specialties Millau: aligot (mash and cheese), estofinade, Roquefort, Fleur d’Aubrac (meat), Aveyron veal, spit cake, farçous, truffade (truffle omelette), fouace, soleil de Marcillac, tripous, trénels, cheese soup, flaune, échaudés…
Sepcialties Lavaur: bougnettes, melsat (delicatessen), pink garlic from Lautrec, Gaillac wines. Garbure (soup).


The stage:
And, indeed, early in the stage the peloton did blow apart!
💪 And this is the result of the very high pace set by the Bora-Hansgrohe riders : the peloton has broken into pieces!

💪 Et voici le résultat de ce rythme élevé: le peloton est en morceaux ! #TDF2020 #TDFunited pic.twitter.com/fmeHW2o9fF
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 4, 2020
The question was: would it remain that day or would the dropped riders make it back?  Le Tour had some details: The yellow jersey peloton comprises 92 riders while the Bennett group at 1'45'' has 57 riders. Bora keeps pulling the peloton with the intermediate sprint at km 58 in mind. At that sprint point it was Matteo Trentin beating Peter Sagan. Bryan Coquard was third, Julian Alaphilippe fourth.
Back into green went Sagan!
Ninety five kilometers to go and a solo attack by De Gendt.
Small crash in the peloton with Soler among those involved. They would all be back riding quickly.
Tractors! Sixty five kilometers to go and De Gendt was twenty five seconds ahead of the yellow jersey group. Forty five kilometers to go and De Gendt had fifty seconds.
DeGendt caught and more splits! Among those not in the front group, Porte, Pogacar, and Landa. 
Mechanical for Carapaz and he would chase in between the groups before eventually being caught by group two.
Fifteen kilometers and a minute between groups one and two.
There were forty left in the front group as they approached the finish.



The wine: Fabien Jouves Maas del Perie Les Agudes 2019
Christy says: - Cahors (but this is a white kitchen sink blend, so it's not really "cahors"

The importer tells me: Fabien Jouves is from an old farming family in Causse and became a winemaker in 2006 when he created his first cuvée, “Mas del Périé”, on the highest slopes of Cahors.

Jouves’ estate, 21 hectares in the junction of Quercy and Cahors, was selected to highlight the many expression of Côt. Reinforcing this is Fabien’s commitment to biodynamic viticulture that respects “life, plant, man, and the environment.” Following biodynamic agriculture adds strength to his terroir by supporting the whole environment from the vines to the animals.

The vinification is completely natural without any oenological inputs. His wines are then aged in concrete vats, barrels, or casks, according to its characteristics and personality.

See more here from Eric Asimov.


The food: Potatoes, cheese, butter, why not? As tasty as we found it, our pictures were lousy. You can see a few better images, along with a recipe at SeriousEats.
The tourist website provided an easy recipe:
Serves 6 :Ingredients
* 1 kg of floury potatoes
* 100 g of butter
* 250 g of creme fraiche
* 400 g of tome fraîche de Laguiole
* clove of garlic
* Salt pepper
Cook
Prepare a classic mash potatoes, add to this purée the butter and the creme fraiche. Season with salt, pepper and a hint of garlic.
Heat up the mash and add the cheese cut in small strips, then stir slowly with a wooden spoon. (This takes a little while and is very good arm exercise!)
When the mixture becomes stringy the Aligot is ready!
Serve with sausages or a pork or beef roast.
Enjoy!
Tip: take the cheese out of the fridge early enough, the stirring will be much easier.
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Thursday, September 3, 2020

Wine of Le Tour 2020: Stage 6


Still sad about yesterday's update. I could go on and on, but let's see what the race director has to say about today: he finish at the Mont Aigoual will be situated on a vast “plateau” on the borders of the Gard and Lozère departments, The steepness of the road to reach it will give the day quite some excitement especially after taking on the climb to the Col de la Lusette after leaving Le Vigan. At the summit, around 15 kilometres will still have to be covered to the get to the finish line. A day when the favourites will have to remain extra focused.


The stage: Another summit finish today.
Our early break: Nicolas Roche (Sunweb), Neilson Powless (EF), Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT), Daniel Oss, Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Greg Van Avermaet (CCC), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).
They would remain out front for many miles, or as most think in cycling terms, kilometers. Their lead was such that for a while, Greg Van Avermaet was the virtual yellow on the road. 
But as they closed in, Ineos at the front of the pack accelerated and that virtual jersey left him. Not unexpectedly, the group ahead also started to fall apart as they rode closer. Behind, Aru attacked from the peloton with no response.
Powless, one of our lead riders is celebrating his birthday today. It woulds be quite a present for the American riding in his first tour. LeTour also tells me that: He’s the first Native American to compete in the Tour de France. He’s an Oneida (Oneida Indian Nation), a federally recognized tribe in the United States, part of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Fourteen kilometers to go and Lutsenko was solo in the lead with chasers between him and the peloton that was three minutes back. And he would hold on for the win!
Yates retained yellow.


The wine: Domaine Ozil Vin de France Barry Red 2019 - from Copake Wine Works
Christy says: from the Ardeche - yummy greanche/syrah.
I say, also a cool label.
The producer's site tells me: The estate is in the south of the Ardèche, a few steps from the Gorges de l'Ardèche and the Caverne du Pont d'Arc.
It also tells me that all of their labels are kind of cool. 
A little more research tells me that two brothers now work the fifth generation polyculture farm. They also farm olives, peaches, lavender & vegetables on top of their 16 hectares of vines planted


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Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Wine and Food of Le Tour 2020: Stage 5: Updated

Stage 5! Heading 183 kilometers from Gap to Privas.
From the race director: The journey through Provence will take the riders on the lands of olive trees as they go past Nyons and then to the kingdom of “nougat” in the city of Montélimar. But once in the Rhone Valley, the cycling speciality really is the bunched sprint. At the end of an uphill false-flat road on several kilometres, the one in Privas will concern the finest of specialists.


The favorite of many for the day: Caleb Ewan. 

 Gap specialties: Tourton du Champsaur (donuts of potatoes and fresh cheese), donkey ears (fresh pasta gratin with spinach), Ravioles du Champsaur, salted goat (goat casserole)

 Privas Specialties: chestnut, marrons glacés, crique ardéchoise (potato cake), Picodon (cheese)

 The stage: For a change of pace, the peloton stayed together until the sprint point. With Sam Bennett winning, he had ridden himself into virtual green. Of course, with a sprint finish projected, that could all change soon enough.

After the sprintermediate, they remained together, reminding me that you don't know how much you love a doomed break until it is gone. Back when such things were possible, this is exactly the sort of stage I'd sneak in a spin class during. Now? Well, the scenery was lovely.
Under one hundred kilometers to go and they remained all together. 
From Le Tour: A day without an adventurer is rare on the Tour. Since at least 2008, except for several exceptions on the Champs-Élysées (in 2012, 2013 and 2016), all the stages, excluding time-trials obviously, have witnessed a breakaway for a distance of more than ten kilometres. It has not been the case so far today, with Kasper Asgreen and Thomas De Gendt attacking only for several hundred metres each. Two similar occurrences took place in the 1990’s. The 16th stage on the Tour in 1995, between Tarbes and Pau, was neutralised in homage to Fabio Casartelli, who died the day before. Also, the 17th stage on the Tour in 1998, between Albertville and Aix-les-Bains, witnessed a strike by the riders.

 Both the tv commentators and those on Podium Cafe found themselves dreaming of echelons. Meanwhile Le Tour is almost poetic: Surrounded by olive trees, the peloton is currently passing through the refreshment zone, as slowly as possible.
Without a challenge, the current polka dot jersey wearer, Benoît Cosnefroy, took the kom points.
Crash for Sepp Kuss, but he would make it back to the bunch. Puncture for Carapaz. He would also make it back, as woulds Mads Pedersen after his mechanical.
Another kom point, another chance for Cosnefroy to add to his lead.
Hey, wind and a big push by Ineos. It was an good two or three minutes of excitement. A split in the peloton even! But all of the main gc contenders made it to the first group.
As promised, lots of road furniture as they closed into the finish.
My fantasy team is very excited by the stage win for Wout Van Aert.
Keeping yellow: Alaphilippe. 
And then, news that Alaphilippe has taken an illegal feed. With a 15 second penalty, Yates would now be in yellow.  
The wine: Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet (Hervé Souhaut), Les Marécos Rouge 
From the importer: Hervé Souhaut created Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet in 1993. Hervé works 5-hectares of old and ancient vines—between 50 to 100 years old. He is very fortunate to own two vineyards in the Rhône Valley just opposite the storied hills of Hermitage in Saint Joseph. This region is widely recognized as being one of the finest areas for wine production on the planet; thanks in part to its elevation, ancient vineyard sites and the southeastern and southern exposures. The domaine is located further into the hills of the Northern Ardeche in the tiny town of Arlebosc, about a 30-minute drive, winding through the hills from St Joseph. The winery is underneath the 16th century “les romaneaux” fortified farm and sits in the middle of the vines that make up the Souteronne, Syrah, and white cuvées.
Hervé works entirely on whole grape bunches and semi-carbonic maceration. His philosophy is to extract a delicate balance of tannins from the grapes, to make a wine with subtlety and finesse. This stands in contrast to many of the storied wines of the Northern Rhone that are made with much more extraction of tannin, where they are designed to be practically undrinkable in their youth, as time is needed for them soften and open up. Hervé prefers to make a wine that is drinkable right away, but we must say his wines have such a fantastic level of purity and acidity, that the older bottles we have tasted have incredible potential to evolve into what we find to be one of the most spectacular natural wines in existence.
The food: Tourton from Marmiton 
300 g of flour
3 eggs
50 g melted butter
3 tablespoons of oil
50 g of fresh tomme (or Gervais square)
750 g potatoes cooked in water
150 g thinly sliced white leeks
25 g shallots (or onions)
Pepper
Salt

Step 1
Knead flour, eggs, a little oil, melted butter , salt to obtain a dough neither too soft (add flour) nor too hard (add water). Let the dough rest in a ball.

2nd step
Sauté the leeks on low heat with the shallots and butter.

Step 3
Crush the potatoes land in puree , salt and pepper, to taste a little oil. Add leeks and shallots. Sprinkle over the tomme cool and knead everything to make a homogeneous stuffing.

Step 4
Spread the dough with the roll (quite finely). Cut it into squares of 6 or 7 cm side, arrange on half of the squares of stuffing then cover with another square of dough. Weld the edges well, if necessary by lightly moistening them.

Step 5
Fry on both sides with deep frying. The oil should not be too hot.

Step 6
Serve immediately.
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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Wine of Le Tour 2020: Stage 4

To our first mountain top finish of the Tour we go. 
The race director tells us that: An altitude finish as early on the Tour is extremely rare. The Grand Départ in Nice allows the race to evolve rapidly in the spectacular scenery of Hautes-Alpes. The day’s program with a first hilly excursion in the Dévoluy mountains isn’t made to split the pack too much. But the final climb to Orcières-Merlette, 1 800 metres high, should give some precious information on the state of form of the favourites.
So essentially, we may learn something today.

 To the Hautes-Alpes we go. Perhaps a visit to a national park?  Les Ecrins National Park was created in March 1973. It is one of 10 French national parks. Covering an area of ​​159,600 ha and grouping 49 member municipalities, the Massif of Les Ecrins is a large group of high mountains (150 peaks over 3,000 m and some 10,000 ha of glaciers).

The park has 175 hiking and mountain-biking routes (outside the heart of the park) and nearly 750 km of maintained and signposted trails. It hosts more than 2,500 plant species (small mallet, white fir, European larch, etc.) and more than 350 vertebrate species (golden eagle, groundhog, griffon vulture, chamois...).

 Since we had out specialities from Sisteron yesterday, today ORCIÈRES-MERLETTE:  flower jam, La Sorcière beer, goat cheese.






The stage: One has to appreciate this, from Le Tour: Today’s daily newspaper Le Parisien wonders if a famous sentence from French Emperor Napoleon will apply to Julian Alaphilippe: “If I cross Sisteron, nobody will stop me until Paris.” Napoleon made that statement on his way back from Elba island to reconquer power in the capital of France in March 1815 and he made it. Part of today’s stage, from Corps (km 97.5) to Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur (km 122.5) will be contested on the road N85 also known as Route Napoleon.
But, you know, no pressure.

 Meanwhile, our break of the day: Nils Politt, Krists Neilands, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Alexis Vuillermoz, Tiesj Benoot, and Quentin Pacher. With just about 115 kilometers to go, their gap was around three minutes.
A sprintermediate and the winner from the field today was Sam Bennett bringing him even on points with Sagan in the fight for the green jersey. LeTour tells me that  Shall the situation remain the same after the stage finish, the green jersey will be awarded to the highest ranked on GC since none of them has won any stage or intermediate sprint so far. For now, Sagan has an advantage of 11 minutes over Bennett.
Eighty kilometers to go and the gap was still over three minutes.
Much like yesterday when we were waiting for the sprint, today we are waiting for a gc battle. Or mini-battle, at least.
Thirty five kilometers to go and the gap was about 2:40 and I was wondering if social distancing protocols might reduce the number of horrible runners on mountain top finishes?
A grupetto! It did seem like time for that.
Twenty five kilometers to go and the gap was about 1:45.
Ugly crash for Benoot, but he was back up and riding quickly, despite the unintentional gymnastics.
Twenty kilometers and there were three left in the lead, Pacher, Neilands and Vuillermoz. Soon enough, it would be Nielands solo in the lead as the gap continued to fall.
Eleven kilometers and under one minute The final climb was next and the gap was dropping quickly. Kilometers and he was caught. 
 
At the bottom of the final climb, the teams were so bunched together, it almost looked like sprint trains. As they continued to climb, attack by Rolland, but he would not get a gap. With 2.5 kilometers to go there were 35 riders left in the lead group. One kilometer and the group was much smaller.
Roglic! Nice ride by him to take the stage.
But Alaphilippe was close enough to keep yellow, Yates in second and Roglic up to third.

 Top 5 on the stage:
1. Primoz Roglic
2. Tadej Pogacar
3. Guillaume Martin
4. Nairo Quintana
5. Julian Alaphilippe

The wine: Guillaume Gilles "La Combe de Chaillot" Cornas
A young man who worked chez Robert Michel and Jean-Louis Chave from 2000 to 2004. He gained an extra 2 hectares in early 2007, now up to 2.5 ha, and shows promise. The wines are traditional, cleanly made and good punch lies at their heart.
The importer tells me that: 
His Cornas is as it should be and is exactly as we like it: brawny, sometimes austere, profound, sauvage. He cultivates his vineyards with an organic philosophy and his wines are made using the natural yeasts from his grapes. He produces three wines, two of which are in excruciatingly limited supply.

A little shopping on my own wine rack for this one. John Linvingtone Learmonth, who I trust on all things Rhone says:


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Monday, August 31, 2020

Wine of Le Tour 2020: Stage 3

Traveling out of Nice on a day that may very well be for the sprinters. Today's destination, Sisteron, is both an alpine and a provençale city. It is protected by its medieval citadel that made it a stronghold of the area. 

Le Tour's regional specialities are:  lamb, pieds et paquets (lamb feet and tripes), Banon (goat cheese), Alps golden apples, calissons.
Last time they were in the area, I had Beaufort cheese.
CHRISTIAN PRUDHOMME'S COMMENT
The riders might be inspired by the perfumes of Grasse as they leave the Nice area. They will then ride along the Route Napoléon with far less obstacles than the ones witnessed by the Emperor after returning from exile on the Island of Elba. The flat final part as we get closer to the Sisteron Citadel shouldn’t trouble the plans of the sprinters’ teams.


The stage: Our rainy day breakaway consists of Anthony Perez, Jérôme Cousin and Benoît Cosnefroy. By At kilometer 71, Jérôme Cousin was solo in the lead with a gap of almost four minutes as the others sat up. With about one hundred kilometers to go, his gap was under three minutes.
Thanks to the Podium Cafe stage chat, I have learned something: The Tour is going to pass a "Clue" soon. A "Clue" (south French Alps) or "Cluse" (north French Alps) is a gap/valley, a perpendicular cut through a mountain usually with a river. It allows one to pass from one valley to another without going over a col. Usually a cool cliff lined Gorge road. Near summit of Col des Lèques is the Clue de Taulanne.
Even on a quiet day, things can change suddenly as Radio-Tour announced the withdrawal of Anthony Perez, the virtual leader of the KOM competition who crashed on a descent and broke his collarbone. An update from Le Tour: Precision about Anthony Perez’ crash. He first had a puncture in the downhill of col des Lèques, then he hit a Cofidis team car and crash. His left collarbone is broken.
With 50 kilometers to go and the gap was 1:50.
With an acceleration at the intermediate sprint point, with Sagan taking maximum points from the field, the gap went under one minute.
Word from the tv team that there would be a headwind for the sprint ahead. 
Twenty two kilometers to go and the gap was down to thirty seconds.
Sixteen kilometers to go and there was the expected catch after a break of 182 kilometers. It was time for the sprint trains to form.
Small crash as they closed in, with most riders making it through.
That was an entertaining sprint, with a long enough straightaway for one rider to look like the clear winner before being overtaken. 
Our winner: Caleb Ewan!
Alahilippe retains yellow.

The wine: Originally I thought I would drink a Tempier rosé for one of these stages. I was lucky enough to visit there twice and it seemed the perfect sentimental choice. But then I remembered I had a few older vintages of the red in my closet. Not knowing which vintage to open, I consulted my go-to Tour wine advisors. Both suggested that 2003 had been a warm here and that of the four, I should try it first. To my relief, there was plenty of fruit left and the wine was still quite enjoyable.

From the importer: When Lucie “Lulu” Tempier married Lucien Peyraud in 1936, her father gave them Domaine Tempier, an active farm that had been in the family since 1834, near Le Plan du Castellet, just outside the Mediterranean seaport village of Bandol. Tasting a pre-phylloxera bottle of Domaine Tempier Bandol (a wedding gift from his father-in-law) inspired Lucien to research the terroir of Bandol extensively.  Up until that point, old vineyards planted with Mourvèdre had been systematically replanted to higher-yielding varietals. However, more research not only showed its historical roots to the area, but the grape proved to be more resistant to oxidation, producing wines with great aging potential. By 1941, with the assistance of neighboring vignerons, Lucien worked with the I.N.A.O. (Institut National des Appellations d’Origines) to establish Bandol as its own A.O.C. Needless to say, large-scale replanting of Mourvèdre ensued, and Bandol now requires a fifty percent minimum in all reds. Lucien will forever be celebrated as the Godfather of Bandol, but also as the man who revived Mourvèdre to its former glory. Raising deep and structured wines of such refinement and longevity has made Domaine Tempier truly a grand cru de Provence.  
Lulu and Lucien raised seven children, and nourishing family, friends, and wine lovers at table is a regularly celebrated tradition at the domaine. Much of that is attributed to Lulu, the beautiful, Marseillaise materfamilias who has carried on the great Tempier family ritual of serving guests fresh, cool rosé, hearty, soulful reds, and copious amounts of delicious homemade Provençal cuisine. Her traditional hearth cooking has attracted attention throughout France, even bringing Alice Waters over from California to learn in Lulu’s kitchen. When Lucien retired, sons François and Jean-Marie shared management of the domaine with François in the vineyards and Jean-Marie in the cellars. The two made a formidable team. Though Lucien passed away in 1996, and his sons have now since retired, the torch has been passed to the young, energetic, and talented Daniel Ravier, who has just the right savoir faire to carry on the great tradition and style of the domaine.
Beyond our affection and the enduring bonds of our friendship, objectively the celebrity of Domaine Tempier also lies deep in the soils of Bandol. Variations of clay and limestone soils between the vineyards produce wines that are undeniably world class. Whether it is the cult following they have established through their refreshing, age-worthy rosé (once praised by Robert Parker as the greatest rosé in the world), their Bandol Blanc, or the distinctive cuvées of Bandol rouge, the wines of Domaine Tempier stand as the proud benchmark when talking about Provençal wines. Through their passion, pioneering, and advocacy for Bandol, the Peyrauds have become legendary. We are fortunate to have their wines serve as the flagship of our portfolio, and even more grateful to have the Peyrauds and their extended family as cherished friends. If any wine can be said to have soul, it’s Tempier.
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Sunday, August 30, 2020

Wine of Le Tour 2020: Stage 2



This is an interesting stage for day 2 of the race and the second of three days in Nice. An unusual start for the Tour in many ways. 

From the Tour Director: The sprinter having captured the Yellow Jersey the previous day will be in a tricky situation as soon as the climb up to the Col de la Colmiane and will then have to face the steep turns heading to the Col de Turini and eventually head up to the Col d’Eze. A mountain stage with two passages at over 1,500m as soon as the second day of the race, that’s a grande première.


The stage: Three riders not starting today, John Degenkolb who missed the time cut after a crash and Philippe Gilbert and Rafa Valls who were injured in crashes. Everyone was hoping for fewer today. 
The break of the day: Peter Sagan, Lukas Pöstleberger, Benoît Cosnefroy, Kasper Asgreen, Toms Skujins, Anthony Perez, and Michael Gogl. After the first hour of racing they had covered 45.4km and had a 3' lead. Eventually, Cosnefroy would attack from that group in search of KOM points. At the top, he had 2:10 over the peloton.On the downhill, the seven man break would come back together. 
Meanwhile, a bike change for Kristoff, who went for full yellow today.

Under 100 kilometers to go and the gap to the break was still around 3 minutes.
As they started climbing again, off the front, Sagan was dropped from the break. Off the back, Kristoff and other sprinters. 
A reminder:
As NBCSN wondered if Kristoff could make it back, some trivia from Le Tour: In the past ten editions of the Tour de France, six riders who took the yellow jersey on stage 1 lost it the day after.
And then someone woke up the peloton and the gap started dropping quickly, likely ending Kristoff's chances to return. With 75 kilometers to go, the gap was down to 1:15.
What a road:
Fifty kilometers to go and the gap was still over one minute. Forty four kilometers and it was down to forty seconds. Forty kilometers to go and they had been caught.
Here at Chez Cleary, we were waiting/hoping for an attack from Alaphilippe. Not that the riders can it enjoy, but the scenery was first rate.

Crash, Dani Martinez. He would be back up and riding but had a lot of time to make up. Off the back due to a mechanical, Valverde. Both would make it back. As they neared the bonus point, there was the Alaphilippe attackHe would have company, Hirschi. Behind, Dumoulin down, but back up quickly. Next to jump, Adam Yates. He would take the 8 second bonus, followed by Alaphilippe with 5 seconds and Hirschi at 2. Four kilometers to go and they had twenty seconds over the peloton.
One kilometer and fifteen seconds. Was this expected? Yes. Is it really hard to actually do what is expected in these sorts of races? Yes.


The wine: Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol
From the importer: Reynald’s Bandols are different. There is a more ethereal quality to them, a real freshness—and with Mourvèdre accounting for 85% of the final assemblage, this is praise indeed. Soil, climate, and winemaking all play a role. Limestone dominates the subsoil of Bandol, with tremendous variation between vineyards. Throughout Terrebrune’s thirty hectares, beneath the layers of clay and earth, the blue, fissured, Trias limestone is silently at work. This bedrock lends a more noticeable minerality to the wine than others. The soil here is healthy and full of nutrients, because he adheres to organic farming practices; to achieve the balance in the vineyards, he plows regularly. Gentle maritime breezes funnel air into the vineyards directly from the Mediterranean, cooling the grapes from the bright sun—another factor in safeguarding the freshness. This, in turn translates to wines for great long-term cellaring, including the rosé and dry white. Reynald’s credo of “Philosophy, Rigor, and Respect” is not a catch-phrase. He believes that the hard work and extra attention to the vines is worth it, and, as they say, the proof’s in the pudding—a glass of Terrebrune!
Thanks DigWineSF!
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Saturday, August 29, 2020

Wine of Le Tour 2020 Stage 1

I assumed we were not doing this. From my perspective in a still basically sheltering in place San Francisco, I thought that after the postponement in July we would have a cancellation. So, I did no prep work. I researched no start or finish towns, stared at no maps and certainly prepared no regional recipes. I even ignored the wine! But then there was a last minute panic and here I am. Unprepared for class, but present. Let's see what the 2020 Tour has in store for us.

Oh, and yes, there are Covid 19 rules. One of the biggest being a two strikes and the team is out policy. More here, but essentially: whole teams will be excluded from the race if any two members of their riders or staff test positive for COVID-19 within the same seven-day period. On that note, with twenty two teams of eight riders each, there are 176 riders starting today. 

So here they are in Nice. I will share the Tour's regional specialities in the hopes that I may pull myself together enough to prepare some later in the route. Specialities: pissaladière, fougasse, socca, brissaouda, tapenade, salade niçoise, pan bagnat, porchetta, trulle, ratatouille, daube niçoise (stew), bellet (wine)

The race director describes today's route as: "A rather unfamiliar format perfect for a great popular show: three loops in the hinterland of Nice including one to be covered twice giving the spectators an opportunity to see the pack go by all along the day before possibly witnessing the first act of the great battle between the sprinters. A bunched sprint is indeed expected at the end of the long final straight on the Promenade des Anglais."


On the road, the expected breakaway, with the sprinters' teams behind making certain they do not get too much of a gap. The likely doomed breakaway riders are Schär, Gautier and Grellier. First crash of the Tour, as a light rain falls. Looks like everyone was up and back riding somewhat quickly.


At the first KOM point, Grellier takes it easily. At the start of loop two, another crash. First day nerves plus rain is a bad combination. With just under 100 kilometers to go, the gap to the three breakaway riders was around one minute. Another crash, this time on the descent. Two minutes behind the peloton, Sivakov, who was injured in an earlier crash. He's a very important support rider for Egan Bernal, last year's race winner. Issue for Alaphilippe and he would wait a long time for a new bike. Watching him try to make up time on the descent was scary, but he did make it back to the peloton.

Down again, Sivakov. He is having a very rough day. At the front, with 70 kilometers to go, the gap was 1:36. Another crash. And another. This is a bit of a mess. Down in one of the crashes, the stage favorite Caleb Ewan. Ahead, Grellier was picked up by the peloton, so only two riders remained ahead. 

Back on the descent, Astana sped up. Miguel Angel Lopez lost control of his bike and crashed, which really felt like karma. Eventually they declared a truce and the entire group slowed as they continued down. Thirty kilometers to go and they remained all together. Despite the slow down, another crash with George Bennett down.

Back on the flats and the pace was gradually lifting. As the train went by, yet again, it was time to think about sprint trains.


With twenty two kilometers to go, an attack by Benoît Cosnefroy. He would not get a significant gap. As expected, this was setting up for a bunch sprint. Thirteen kilometers to go and they were all together again. 

Important update: Upon request of may riders, the race direction and the commissaires' panel have decided to take the times for the general classification at the 3km to go mark in order to avoid danger in the finale. This means that although the sprinters will still contest the stage, the GC riders will be able to relax and not worry about gaps. Indeed, crash in the middle of the pack just at that point.

Stage winner: Kristoff!



The wine: I often start the Tour with bubbles, but see above for didn't do my homework and am unprepared. So we start with a rosé from Clos Sainte Magdeleine. From the importer, Kermit Lynch: "The ancient fishing village of Cassis has seen its fair share of visitors over the millennia. Greek sailors from Phocaea established the nearby colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille) in the sixth century BC, bringing their viticultural savvy to the region and planting what are thought to be Provence's first vineyards. The Romans later made their way here, establishing Cassis as an important fishing and commercial port while further developing the wine trade. Local wines earned an excellent reputation over the centuries, especially a sweet Muscat said to be among the Mediterranean's finest. In 1865, phylloxera struck, effectively destroying Provence's vineyards; when Cassis was replanted in the subsequent years, Muscat was left out in favor of Ugni Blanc, Clairette, and other grapes selected for production of dry whites. In 1936, Cassis gained the distinction of being named among France’s first official AOCs, in the elite company of Tavel and Châteauneuf-du-Pape."

The wine itself is 40% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 20% Mourvèdre and fresh enough to cut through the smoke in the air. Thanks DigwineSF!.

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