Part I - France

(I just figured out how to add pictures!!!) So, this was a completely-working trip until the last 5 days when it was vacation... I'll go through the vacation wines as well at the end. For now, I'll focus on France where we visited one estate, Domaine du Tariquet. For those of you not familiar with Tariquet, I would become so as they produce some of the greatest value wines in the world. The family owns over 1000ha in Cotes de Gascogne and produce Armagnac and a wide variety of still and sparkling wines. This part is more about food, as that was the star of the show. I had quite a few varitals I've never had before (traveling with another Master Sommelier, we tend to try things we've never had before - grapes, producers, varietals, etc, with a strong emphasis on wines we can not buy in the US), but mostly it was a straight business trip with lots of meetings, tastings, and discussions. Most I can't discuss (which is a lot of what we were in France for), so please forgive me.

So, arrived in Bordeaux in the mid-afternoon of May 31st (Thursday). Took a much-needed nap and a shower, then walked around town. Stayed in the Hotel Normandie (more of a hole than a hotel, though we were only there for one night) in downtown Bordeaux... Found a great cafe for drinks/dinner... had a bottle of 1998 Chateau Pougeot... very nice from the often overlooked 1998 vintage... though truly a Right-bank year, it was very acceptable and the left bank wines are drinking beautifully right now. Also had a 1999 Chateau Pontet-Canet. Good drinking wine, and went nicely with dinner. All in all, a nice meal and a good start to the trip. Then next morning, got up and drove from Bordeaux to Eauze in Gascogne to have lunch at Tariquet... a huge basket of Foie Gras, various fish and meats, cheeses, and of course lots of wine... They make a wine called "Aperitif" which is mostly Ugni Blanc (they are within the boundaries of Armagnac) and slightly fortied... nice stuff, they drink it with sparkling water mixed in. Nice stuff... had a Syrah/Tannat blend, and some Petit Manseng for dessert... such a musky, slightly sweet wine (50gl/rs). At a great dinner at a restaurant called Restaurant La Vie en Rose in the town of Eauze... I started with 4 large pieces of pan-seared Foie Gras with a candied apricot sauce... fabulous... some of the best FG I've ever had (although not the best... the best was seared FG, on top of Brioche fried in the FG fat, then black truffles layered on top in a too-good-to-be-true sandwich had in the Languedoc a few years ago...) Had lamb for main course... Raspberry Ice Cream for dessert (mainly because one of my travel companions ordered the chocolate cake and we though it would go nicely - and indeed it did!). Great stuff... Drank some Sauvignon, 05 Chardonnay/Semillon, Petit Manseng, and then the highlite was Tariquet Fut no6 Armagnac XO (54.9% abv). Amazing earth and citrus notes... Only one barrel made, not exported to the US. Intense...
They next day we tasted unaged single-varietal "armagnacs", though at this point simply classified as Eau-de-Vie. Ugni Blanc (power & structure, sweet and smokey); Baco (22A) (the lone hybrid permitted in Armaganc - white peaches, smoky, sweet fruit, and beautiful and long on the palate); Plant de Graisse (lots of anise, citrus and minerals); and Folle Blanche (aka Gros Plant; very aromatic with pears, sweet pineapple, and very powerful). Great way to taste what adds what to the final blend.

Lunch was an adventure as we had a 8-course, 4 hour gastronomic experience. Started with an Amuse-Bouche of Salmon Tartar, then on to Foie Gras on Arugula with a bacon vinaigrette (yes, I could feel my arteries being to harden at this point from all of the Foie Gras so far...), then Foie Gras with Legumes (amazing the way the earth brings out the Foie Gras), then the "adventure course" of salted Cod Tongue and Cheeks with garlic and basil. A little too much for me... ate about 8 or 9 of them... then Duck Confit-stuffed red peppers (beautiful...), Mushroom Risotto (heavenly), Hanger Steak, and lastly Chocolate Souflee with Vanilla Ice Cream... a great meal from "Tariquet Embaseurs"... an adventure for all as the menu is not published and theh chef makes it on a whim... A great meal and a real treat for the senses... of course the wines were great as well (some Minervois (too much alcohol), and a Cote de Brulhois VDQS (mostly Malbec)) and many, many other wines.

As we were not very hungry after 3 large meals, we did the only thing we could - have a 4 course meal for dinner! I started with Langoustines in a bean broth... excellect, seared Foie Gras, then Lamb en Crote and lastly a Chocolate-Creme Caramel ice cream and cake. Some Jurancon Sec 04 (Gros & Petit Manseng w/ Corbu) and a Madiran "Penillet" 00 that was stunning... really killer Tannat (if you don't know, it's one of the most powerful and tannic grapes on earth... always needs time to soften and is mostly used as a blending grape... but we saw this and had to have it!).

That was it for France.. drove to Toulouse and few to Milan... as a side note, saw the huge Airbus 380 (actually about 10 of them)... wow are they huge, and boy are they ugly! Italy to come...

Pictures are the bottling line at Tariquet, the Famous Black Pigs of Gascogny, Copper Still (used for Armagnac production), Colombard Vineyard in Gascogny, and the smallest of Ugni Blanc grapes... flowering was mostly finished. Two weeks ahead of schedule.