Back to school

Children are not the only ones going back to school… for some, the holidays will bring back good memories; winemakers in Bordeaux are waiting for good weather in September (it should come at some point, no?), and in Maury it looks like another great year, very dry weather close to a drought (which shows by the leaves of the almond trees). New books have also reached the shelves.

I bought the French version of Parker’s new book: “Guide of the best French wines” (RVF), while waiting for the Guide Hachette and the new Bettane-Desseauve. I received from Gilles du Pontavice his latest book: “Forbidden Margaux”, which title caught my attention. I can’t wait to read it. I always liked Gilles style and sense of humor, a bit caustic, and especially his knowledge of Algerian wines…

This weekend, I visited the vines in Maury where one of my friends is buying a small vineyard of 2 hectares (4.94 acres) with a nice little “cassotte”. Every time we go to Maury, we are struck by the beauty of its vineyards and preserved nature.

We received the agreement from our banks for the loan to built the cellar. We are currently studying them and construction should start by this winter.

During our trip to Maury, while driving to the beautiful vineyards of Lesquerdes, located on incredible granites soil, Jean-Roger and Paul saw (I was driving) 2 puppies in a ravine under a bridge. A third puppy, dead for about 2 or 3 days, was lying by them. These abandoned puppies were thrown in this ravine by some unscrupulous man (I can’t believe a woman could do such a thing). The 2 survivors are lucky: Jean Paul brought them up from this ravine. Virginie (and Karl) will take care of these cute little puppies. By the evening, one of them found a home in Tautavel, the other will most likely be adopted here.