A million birds...

… or just about, who sing their head off every morning to express their joy living in Saint Emilion where Spring is starting – the temperatures are so mild (a scary situation when you have vineyards).
With the reddish sun and the view on the hills of Château Troplong Mondot, there is no need to go to the Namibia desert to have the same feeling of beauty as in our little corner!

Yesterday, I tasted more than 20 samples of Château Fleur Cardinale 2007 – 2006 1st wine and 2nd (Bois Cardinal) and even the rare Secret de Cardinal (quiet!). Classified or not, when work is properly and seriously done, the wines show it. Looking forward to see the comments in April.

Adrien brought me 500 grams of pepper from Cameroun. Once more, a luxury product we receive from friends of ours who live part of the year their passion in this beautiful part of Africa, sad of having lost the football game against the Egyptians. The “untamed lions” finished second in the African Nations Cup.

I selected with pleasure the text written by Stéphane Toutoundji, who is now partner with Gilles Pauquet and was my 1st oenologist at the beginning of Valandraud:

“Clos Badon 2004, produced by Jean-Luc Thunevin. A Saint Emilion wine the way we like it! Freshness, well integrated wood, fullness. A success in this challenging vintage. Tasting this quality wine brought me back to the first vintage of Château Valandraud, in other words, the end of the aging process of the 1992 vintage, at the beginning of 1994. Once more, I liked how successful this wine was as well as the man who produced it.

The success of this compatriot brings back a thought I would like to share with you. Don’t think, like I do, that some winemakers have an inferiority complex? I am always surprise, even sadly surprised that some winemakers from the area of Entre-deux-Mers and Bordeaux appellation in general have an inferiority complex in front of great appellations. When I speak about investment, they stop the conversation short claiming their lack of funds. I try to make them understand that financial and human investments are necessary to compete in this marketplace. Most of the time, these winemakers prefer to get help from their agriculture federation which cost less than changing their oenologist or their work practice. Results: a standardized production!...”