Letters from France: Return to a Happy Place

My move back to southwest France met some, let's call them administrative, challenges. I knew to expect to expect hurdles, because I’d had my practice in rural France the year before, but they can still get a girl down. and bring out the plaintive princess, or the grumpy sergeant side of my character. I decided to view them as rites of initiation. How much do I want to be here? All things considered, I really want to be here, and I’m grateful for the roof over my head, while I orient myself for further adventures among the Gauls. A woman of a certain age and uncertain means must be flexible and openminded.

The lower lefthand corner of France is the nurturing landscape that my heart seeks at this time in my life. For right now, I want to immerse myself in France’s secret belly. Stick with me, this is going to be good.

Ahh, Sunday dawned. A red sun fizzled the mist in the fields as it breached the treeline. There is some kind of line of weather and sunshine that I am north of, living in the Dordogne departement, as I do right now. I rolled south, past the chainsaw art mushrooms, symbols of the cepes of Perigord, but which look like giant penises sprouting on front lawns. The Lot department welcomed me, fairy sunshine sparkling in the grass along the tiny roads. When I dieseled up the hill to Floressas, my heart lifted, the mist settled, and the sun brought out the smile on my face.

This would be my third visit to Chateau Chambert. I invite you to read about my other experiences before, my first harvest, and the fermentation process, so you know why I love this place. Phillipe Lejeune is cultivating a 65 hectare vineyard based on biodynamic principles, which are the old, respectful ways of living off the land, and cutivating grapes by lunar cycles.

This terroir (land) has been producing wine since 1100, but had been left to its own devices for most of the twentieth century, which meant that when he began working the soil in 2007, it was already free of pesticides. In this ecosystem, the Earth’s own balance energizes the mostly malbec grapes, producing black Cahors wine, famous since Roman times. Chambert’s acclaimed wine displays the true taste of the terroir, unforced and vigorous, and with half the sulfites of even organic wine.

M. Lejeune guided his guests down to a gulley where we would harvest the grapes by hand. Placing only perfect grapes in the crates, we leave none on the vines. Mold, insect bites, or the smell of vinegar meant the grapes will go on the ground.

Resplendent grapes proliferate in this environment.

We dump our little harvest in the top of the machine that will begin turning the grapes into juice.

The stems are removed mechanically, in the egrappage machine.

Lin ensures the next pivot in the process runs smoothly.

Around the corner, we visually and manually make sure each grape is perfect before the seeds are removed.

Everybody lends a hand.

Then, it’s time to eat lunch provided by the Biocoop, the organic supermarket, including biodynamic French fries!

Sitting at long plank tables, we enjoy local food and drink dark, old wine with our new friends, and all is good and right in this little corner of the world. See you here soon.