Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens

Our final stop before heading back to Bordeaux was at Château Clos Des Abbesses where Clement, the owner and winemaker, gave us some great tips on how to taste wine. First, regarding colour, he advised us to have a white napkin to hold behind the glass to get a true sense of the colour. With the glass on its side, look at the middle to get an idea of the grape variety, then at the edges to get an idea of the age. And, let me tell you, it really works. Regarding aroma, he told us to take some time and use a two stage process; have an initial sniff to get a first impression, then swirl the wine around the glass for long enough for the aromas to emerge and have a second sniff. Finally, regarding taste, he told us to hold it in our mouths and swish it around before swallowing. After the theory, we had the prac class!

In addition to Les Abbesses, Clement has recently purchased another small vineyard and has a second label called Château La Roseraie. All up we got to taste three of his wines. We really liked Clement’s wines and found him to be very interesting and engaging. I have his card, as he said he is happy to ship wine to Australia, which I hope to make a reality.

The ride back to Bordeaux was a little subdued as I think we had all consumed a lot of wine over the course of the day. A very enjoyable day out indeed.

Once back in Bordeaux, Ian and I walked back to our apartment and had a light dinner of bread, cheese and saucisson, but definitely no wine.Read more