Picking, picking and more picking...
We slept at John’s last night because we were simply too beat up from the first day and could not bear driving home and getting up 6 hours later for the turn around. As it was, coffee was the only thing that fortified us and got us jump started. This is also one of the few times when Diana and I would love to have our apartment back in Beaune. The 20 minute drive to Orches is really not a big deal, but after several 15 hour days, the drive home is a form of punishment. (The other time is of couse is after dinner in town or at a friends house and one must deal with the Gendarmes’ and Mr. Sarkozy’s prohibitionist mandates.)
A beautiful morning in the vines in Chassagne-Montrachet.
I hope I am noty boring you too much because, at a certain point, the record will sound the same; picking grapes. We continued with the Puligny, I did another prelevement in St. Aubin Dents de Chien and I can only say again what spectacular weather we are having. It got hot on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon but today it has cooled off a bit and is just reaching 80 f. My sense is that the grapes are getting riper but not necessarily proportionally higher in sugar ( i.e. the grapes are sweet because they have good sugars, but more importantly because they are very well balanced). Thus, the acids are enhancing the sugar and vice versa. Time will tell what this will give us, but my sense is something exciting….why, you ask? Again, balance is the key but also the health/cleaniness: “etat sanitare” of the grapes. In other words the grapes are not only ripe but they are clean; no rot. As I wrote a friend today, this year is an “annee de fruit”, a year of fruit. We saw this in early June with the most wonderful and boutiful crop of cherries I have ever seen in my 17 years here. The cherries were ripe all at once, black, flavorful and no rot. In other words, a bumper crop of perfectly ripe fruit. This is the proverbial canary in the coal mine; when the cherries sing we will have great grapes. (Also, I have a ton of tomatoes with no blight, as were the roses; beautiful with no mildew.)
The beautiful grapes of Chassagne-Montrachet
Grime Factor:
The grime factor is begining to show itself. No matter how much you protect the floor, dirt, grapes and stickness begins to build up. I call it the grime factor. Some years, the grime is in the form of mud that clings to ones boots like super glue. Other years, dry ones as like this year with a north wind, it is the dust and stickness of the grapes that make another form of glue – but more in the form of a fine clear plaster of Paris. Just when you think you have gotten it all off, you sit down to read your emais or pick up the telephone and there it is – lurking, unseen, but felt as you lift your hand or fingers. The dust on the vineyard roads that is kicked up by convoys of tractors and trucks full of pickers reminds me of the scene from Patton as he looks out across the desert at the German tanks with armored vehicles approaching first noticed by the cloud of dust in the far distance.
The beginning of the GRIME.
The GRIME arrives in the cuverie.
Thr afternoon is clear but with a bit of haze in the sky as I picked up our Volnay 1er Cru Chevret, then finished with our Puligny. With all the superlatives that I have been relating to you about the weather and the condition of the grapes, I hope that the wines are as good I think they will be. I might have already written that the grapes have an additional demension this year due to the wonderful play between sugar and the acids. It is important to stress that the sugar levels are not over the top but the grapes seem very sweet. This is due to the acids and the percentage of Tartric to malic acid that give the grapes their zip, and in turn their enhanced sweetness. Think grape sugars on steroids and you get the picture.
Getting the first grapes of the day...with the sunrise.
“Poulet Smackdown”
Now we are getting serious. Denis and John cooked dinner with us judging between a poulet de Bresse and a basic grocery store “yard bird.” There were 13 judges with prizes awarded to the most interesting tasting notes.
Judge's Sheets. VERY official
I found the following:
“A” was juicier, more flavorful and delicous.
Poulet "A"
“B” was very good but seemd tough and dryer and more ordinary.
Poulet "B"
6 of us prefered “A” and 7 prefered “B.” We were then asked to identify what each chicken was. Of the 6 of us who prefered “A” 4 of us are French (I include Diana and myself in this group). Well, the upshot is that the chumps were stumped. We thought that “B” was the poulet de Bresse; wrong. Thus we preferred the Bresse chicken even though we thought that the dry chicken was the Bresse. Please note the poulet de Bresse is 5 times more expensive at 3 euros a kilo versus 15 euros a kilo. Is it worth it? Good question.
John Hayes prepping his "yard bird" as Stacia, our pastry chef, looks on.
Denis Toner looking for victory at the "Poulet Smackdown."
The awards cermony was very moving with Cara receiving athe tag from the Bresse chicken for 3rd place.
The judges, Denis and John, could not decide on 1st and 2nd place so they called it even between and Jane and Etta.
Here are some of thier eloquent comments:
Etta: A = “Breast chicken” “I can imagine this chicken running freely – eating what it likes – this chicken died happy.”
Jane: A tastes like chicken, “B” tastes like really good chicken. B = 5X better than A.
For such moving words they were each awarded a Poulet de Bresse black claw. Bravo to you both!
The awards were given with eyes closed and hands held out. I don't think Etta had this in mind!
THE WINNERS!
