La Balaye

I was delighted to find that the wine tasting today was in the vineyard of Tain l’Hermitage. Back home in North Carolina I have often bought the wine produced here. This is the quintessential wine country of France in the region formerly known as Burgundy. We took a hike up to the top of the mountain and learned that the Croze Hermitage is grown in soils at the bottom of the hill. This wine is very good French table wine, and it sells for $15-20 per bottle. However, at the top of the hill is the area where the grapes are grown for the more expensive Hermitage wines. Actually until the 1990’s none of the wines here were terribly expensive. Then the area was discovered by wine guru Robert Parker. Since then prices have been soaring. While all the wines here are made of Shiraz grapes, some of the Hermitage wines sell for over $200 per bottle. All of the wines here are grown according to the most extreme organic requirements. No insecticides are used. Only goat manure is used for fertilizer. Even though it is only the Shiraz grape that is used here, some of the grapes grow in limestone soil and others grow in granite soil. The difference in terroir makes a significant difference in the flavor and strength of the wine. If you want to know how the wine tastes, you can get a bottle of Epsilon from Hermitage and check it out for a mere $220. The land here is beautiful, and the photographs of the vineyards are iconic images of France. Finally we went to the Valrhona Chocolate outlet. Two brothers started this business in 1922. Now it has turned into one of the largest chocolate retailers in the world. Good wine and good chocolate make for a very satisfying day in Tournon. I must mention one other very complimentary item about this place: the road over this mountain comprises one of the stages in the Tour de France. Bicyclists are everywhere. This is my kind of place.Read more