France
beyond wine and cheese
RESHMI
R DASGUPTA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2003 12:06:28 AM ]
It’s
like having an insider’s view on a mysterious cult. An entree into
a select band of super-specialists, who speak their own lingo, live
in a curious warp-mix of past and present and parley with the outside
world for business, and then retreat into their vineyard hinterland.
That’s what a week in Bordeaux reveals when you stay not in any of
that city’s many good hotels but in the heart of the wine country
— in a chateau.
Not
many have seen Bordeaux from quite this angle. Certainly not those
hordes of American and Japanese wine-tourists who flock the guided
tours and crowd the squares and cafes of this old-world cradle of
wine. But staying at a chateau makes all the difference —
like adding 4 per cent of Petit Verdot to the usual grape mix of Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot. And all it takes is to look beyond that chain
hotel and stay in a chateau, even if it means forgoing room service
and laundry.
For
a chateau guest, nothing’s impossible. A peek into the fabled, locked
cellars of Haut-Brion to see priceless Nebuchadnezzars (enormous wine
bottles), a sip of the pricey 1996 vintage instead of the dicey 1997
in the tasting room, a chance to listen to the winemaker himself rather
than a guide, about the future price of the current vintage. Even
an impromptu skit by two old friends in the wine business on Bordeaux’
convulsions before the annual visit of the make-or-break American
wine critic Robert Parker.
A
spectacular al fresco dinner late into the first night in Bordeaux,
at the acclaimed Lion d’Or run by Chef Barbier, provided the first
inkling that a chateau guest is special. The restaurant has no wine
list. Only closed, bottle-laden cabinets run along the walls, each
bearing the name of a famous chateau. Our host’s chateau cabinet is
duly unlocked and an impressive selection made for the eclectic meal
of foie gras and steaks, served up à la minute by Barbier himself.
Then we notice that nearly all the tables have wine too…
Once
we return to our host’s 18th century chateau, an article in a magazine
in our room reveals the truth. “There’s no wine for strangers, and
Chef Barbier will probably ignore you,” goes a waspish comment. “Unless
you happen to come with a chateau owner. Lion d’Or is almost like
a secret club for Bordelais winemakers.” That cosy clubbiness is both
apparent and impregnable. But it’s also warm and hospitable, transforming
Bordeaux into a temptation for the tastebuds rather than a tedious
trek through wine and vinification yarns.
