All The Science, I Don't Understand

At the end of our bus tour of the massive chateaus of the Medoc, the various buses went to different wineries for a tour and tasting.  

We were taken to Chateau Leoville Poyfrerre in Saint Julien, a Second Grand Cru Classe in the famed, and unyielding, 1855 classification of Bordeaux done at Emperor Napoleon III's request.

We did a typical tour and tasting -- going from building to building to learn about the wine-making process.

I've done similar tours in different wine regions of the world -- California, Virginia, Tuscany, Myanmar, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and, well, probably some places I'm forgetting.

(Editor: Myanmar?

Writer: Yes, and the wine was actually worse then you think.  Our timing was a matter of luck -- we went before the military coup, and before the world learned about the genocide of the Rohingya.  Those two events sadden me about a country that had potential.)

Anyhow, I'm glad I never wanted to be a winemaker, because I can't remember all the details of the wine-making process and thus need to be reminded on each tour.

Then the winery's guide took us upstairs for a tasting of three of their wines.  A non-appellation blend (I don't remember the name), their second wine, Chateau Moulin-Riche, and, of course, their first wine, Leoville Poyfrere.

Since Don had invited the Second Captain (similar to a Chief Officer) to have dinner with us on the ship that night, I decided we shouldn't drink the blase wine that was being served in the dining room.  

With eight of us having dinner at the same table (the Bordeaux Seven of Don, Jennifer, Lisa, Jamie, Scott, Carol, and Glen, plus the Second Captain) I hatched a plan to buy a magnum of the Chateau Moulin-Riche.  Don kindly offered to pay for half, so I walked back onto the bus toting a magnum that was well-received at dinner.

Lisa had a glass of that wine, and a glass of the "house" (or ship, I suppose) wine, tasting one after the other.  She said there no comparison, that the wine from the magnum was far superior (which is a good thing, given that one wine was "free" and the other was. . .not free).

Village church spire as seen

from the grounds of

Leoville Poyferre.

Merlot grapes.

Whole clusters of them!

Tanks a lot.

One of the few places visitors weren't

allowed in the barrel cellar.  To be fair,

there may have been too many of us.