My week in Maury was up and leaving was not an easy task. I loved my apartment and from the looks of things I had truly made myself at home. I had my few possessions strewn from room to room, one end to the other. The time had come to say goodbye to the wonderful people who had allowed me into their homes and lives. I had had plenty of time to investigate the Roussillon and made solid commitments to making wine here in 2011. A return in spring is on the books.
Next up: Languedoc.
Richard
Sarah (taken by Amy or Sasha)
Bob
Carrie
Liam
Tomás
dahdy and his girls
mummy and her girls
Last Night, Amy Is In Charge of the Camera
mummy and dahd, end of the day
A Final Quiet Moment....Again, Taken by Amy
Amy Goes Camera Crazy
Of the several areas that are making a name for themselves Maury currently has the most momentum. As mentioned the mairie of the town is very progressive and has made every effort to bring outside investment to the area. Recognizing the ancient hillside vineyards as an asset he has aided development of not just winery related activities but is working hard to make Maury a food destination as well. The town has financed a first class restaurant and visitor’s center. We did not eat at the “Maison du Terroir” this time but David and I had a fabulous lunch there this past spring with Richard and Sara (and later daughter Amy who joined us after a short day at school).
My full day of “site” seeing in Maury was a foggy one and not the best for photos. The valley is absolutely breath taking and the vineyard opportunities varied and exciting.
With Richard’s help I am making inroads into winemaking opportunities and look forward to a return trip this spring to “seal the deal” for a KEEGAN CELLARS 2011 Cuvée Maury.
Dry Today, But Just Wait!!!
Castle Quéribus Keeping Watch
AOC Maury
Looking Down onto the Maury Valley
Yes, Vines Grow in This
The Schist of Maury
Schist & Shout
Shifting Schist and Site Variation
The First of Many Great Dining Establishments
There are just too many great interactions to get them all into a blog. But a day exploring Vingrau turned into a lot of fun. For the most part I am drawn to an area by the vineyards but as you can tell, find other wonderful things to enchant and delight. Vingrau is not far from Tautavel (both northeast of Maury and active parts of the winemaking community of the Roussillon…..I should probably have a map somewhere on this site!!??). This village is smaller than Tautavel because it does not have “Tautavel Man” to bump up its cachet.
There were a number of lovely alleys and impasse to draw one in. A front door with a CD disc nailed to it was a case in point. I stopped, observed, thought it of interest, took a shot or two and was quickly startled by a youngish man with a mop of unruly black hair jabbing at my chest with a cigarette asking what the hell I thought I was doing. “Taking a picture of a most unusual door knocker”, I said, pointing at the CD. Turns out that he had something to do with that CD, to little personal avail and was plenty unhappy about it. I heard the sad tale over a couple of glasses of rosé sitting in a waning October afternoon.
I also had a chance to visit Opoul which has a higher altitude than Tautavel or Vingrau and offers fruit with greater acidity and freshness. It is also remarkable close to the Mediterranean. This became important when visiting with the Castany family of Domaine de L’edre (www.edre.fr) a winery that is getting plenty of notice in the states (imported by Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections). The wines are full throttle, but have some racy acidity from these higher elevation vineyard sites. Don’t miss them if you can find them.
Just Another Front Yard
Just Around the Corner
More Delights
Native Succulent?
High Road to Opoul
The "Tractors" at Lunch
High Altitude Vines
TERROIR!
The Castany Family in Their Domaine
Jacques Castany, Vigneron
Le Heurtoir de la Porte
Jonathan Hesford and Rachel Treloar started their Domaine (Treloar) in the mid-oughts. Theirs’ is yet another remarkable story of how two people threw in the “success” towel to start something more meaningful and powerful in the pursuit of personal and familial fulfillment. Although Jonathan is British and Rachel from New Zealand, America (9/11 to be precise) had its own dramatic impact on their lives and decisions. Jonathan (ultimately) went to winemaking school in New Zealand with Erik Kramer who is the Associate Winemaker at Adelsheim Vineyard (hence the original introduction). David and I visited with Jonathan and Rachel last spring when we made our initial investigation of Languedoc/Roussillon. It also turns out that they are good friends with Richard and Sara Case from Maury…small world as we know.
I had a chance to return to their Domaine for an update on their busy lives. There wines are not sold in the states for the most part (a small number of cases go to NY) but their story is compelling (www.domainetreloar.com) and their wines lovely, elegant, and focused.
The Leafy Drive Down to Trouillas
Cultivated Beauty
Arbored Archways Abound
First Sample of the Day
Jonathan Hesford, Vigneron
Winery Kitties
The Small Cellar
Grape Press in the Air, Chute Open
Jonathan Backs In
Woosh! Down Falls the Pomace
Domaine Treloar
The famous attraction in the town of Tautavel is the “Tautavel Prehistoric Man” Museum. In 1971 remains were found of a 450,000 year old man. For me however the town is famous for two things, 1) the awesome harvest celebration that kicked off my stay in the Roussillon and 2) the incredible tiles and mosaics that I discovered around the town. I tried to find out why Tautavel had these little gems of art engraved in random walls throughout the village but have yet to discover the answer. If anyone knows I would sure love to be enlightened.
I did not visit the museum (perhaps next trip) but I did do my best to track down as much of the “mosaic history” as possible.
Tautavel Co-op, Party Scene Over
Tautavel Tiles
I First Noticed this Tilework
The Mairie
Close Up
Pruning
The Site (for lack of a dissertation on "terroir")
The Plantation or Vineyard
Man Arrives in Europe
Man Arrives in Europe and Discovers BBQ???
The Men of Tautavel
The Birth of Fire
Birth of Art
"Man"
An Artist with a Sense of Irony
Those are all that I found but as the story is not complete I am sure that there were several others!
