by Martin Field

Chateaux in St Emilion and Bordeaux
The neighbouring regions of St Emilion and Bordeaux are a wine lover’s paradise. Vineyards and wineries are everywhere and there are innumerable lovely reds and whites to sip, to drink, to wallow in. There are guided tours available from the St Emilion and Bordeaux tourist bureaux or, armed with a map, the adventurous wine tourist can simply drive around and check out likely looking chateaux. But check out the tourist brochures first – many places are open to the public ‘by appointment only.’

Yes, you quickly discover that French winemakers are very much into the semi-mystical (to Australians anyway) concept of terroir – the concept of wine quality based on soil types, micro- meso- and macro-climates and all that. But despite reported French antagonism to what they dismiss as Australia’s industrial wines we noticed that many wineries have now entered the equivalent of the oenological industrial revolution and purchased kazillions of euros worth of stainless steel fermenters and associated modern winemaking equipment. Just like the Australians.

St Emilion
Among the highlights in St Emilion were visits to Chateau de Lescours, a 14th century moated chateau built by one of Edward the First’s knights. We dropped in unannounced and were welcomed by chateau owners, the Chariol family. Pierre Chariol, vigneron of Chateau de Lescours was sitting in the winery enjoying a glass or two with winery staff after a hard day attending to post-fermentation duties.

We were invited to join the party. He immediately poured us his current vintage and then started to bring out older wines. ‘You must try this magnum of our ’96.’ Then, to one of the cellar hands, ‘More bottles for our friends!’ These were not tasting samples mind you, but generous glasses of glorious, sinewy reds. We left while we could still walk with promises to return next time we were in France. Appellation: St Emilion Grand Cru. Grapes: merlot 65%, cabernet franc 30%, cabernet sauvignon 5%. Situated in St Sulpice de Faleyrens.

Then there was Chateau Trotte Vieille, which sits on the plateau of St Emilion, overlooking the Dordogne valley. This famous appellation produces wines that typically cellar well for 15 years and more. The 2004 we tried was mid-red, dry and full with slight aniseed, blackcurrants and lashings of fine tannins. Appellation: Premier Grand Cru Classé. Grapes: merlot 50%, cabernet franc 40%, cabernet sauvignon 5%.

I thought the predominantly merlot-based wines of Chateau Mangot in Saint Etienne de Lisse would particularly suit Australian big red fans. The 2003 has purplish hues and is rich and thick with tannins on the palate along with plums, a hint of new oak and a long flavoursome finish. Appellation Grand Cru. Grapes: merlot 85%, cabernet franc 9%, cabernet sauvignon 6%.

Also in St Etienne de Lisse is Chateau Bernateau, the property owned by the Lavau family for more than two centuries. I liked their 2002 wine of 80% merlot rounded out with cabernet franc. It is a clear ruby with a fresh warm and aromatic nose, the palate mid-weighted with spicy fruit and fine, grippy tannins. Appellation: St Emilion Grand Cru.

Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne, situated in the northern part of St Emilion, just before you get into Pomerol, has been in the hands of seven generations of the Despagne family since 1812. The current owner, François Despagne is an intense winemaker who is hands-on to an almost obsessive degree. He uses no herbicides and is aiming in the direction of organic winemaking.

From 53 different plots of vines François’ staff sort the grapes by hand and put them through up to 27 different vinifications to achieve his final wine. I enjoyed his 2001 – clear and crimson with a youthful berry nose showing understated oak influence. The palate shows raspberry fruit and pleasant, assertive tannins leading to an edgy, firm finish. Appellation: St Emilion Grand Cru. Grapes: merlot 75%, cabernet franc 20%, malbec and cabernet sauvignon 5%.

Bordeaux
Drive north of the city of Bordeaux and you will come to the appellation of Pauillac – where we visited Chateau Batailley. The winemaker showed us a lovely example of the 2004 vintage – intense purple hues, an elegant, complex wine exhibiting sweet blackcurrant fruit, excellent acidity and a very dry finish. Appellation: Pauillac Grand Cru Classé. Grapes: cabernet sauvignon 70%, merlot 25%, cabernet franc 3%, petit verdot 2%.

Then it was onwards a tad further north to Chateau Beau-Site in Saint-Estephe. The 2004 barrel sample we tried had traces of new wood vanillan along with ripe fruit on the nose. On the palate the typical blackcurrant fruitiness of cabernet sauvignon asserted itself supported by well-integrated medium tannins. Appellation Saint-Estephe Cru Bourgeois. Grapes: cabernet sauvignon 70%, merlot 30%.

Napa and the Valley
After our stay in Saint Emilion we stayed four nights in Paris, flew on to San Francisco and then drove to the city of Napa. In downtown Napa we caught up with an old friend for brunch at the sunny First Squeeze Deli (1126 First Street). I had an enormous plate of huevos rancheros (for Australian readers: sunnyside up eggs served with a chilli salsa on corn tortillas along with black beans, fries and other bits and pieces). Absolutely scrumptious and it was all I could do to wash it down with a glass or two of Sierra Nevada beer.

In Napa we stayed at the Hawthorn Suites, a short drive from the town centre and the best hotel of our entire holiday. It features modern double suites with self catering facilities, all year pool, cable TV, free local phone, free newspapers, and the tariff included a generous cooked buffet breakfast. Highly recommended.

Napa wineries
From Napa proper you drive northish where valley wineries line the main roads. The tasting rooms struck us as more upmarket, more formal and more expensive than those in Australia. For example, wineries often charge between $13 to $19 to taste a ‘flight’ of four or so wines in good stemware.

You will not have to worry about drink driving though as, depending on the winery, some of the ‘flighted’ wines barely colour the bottom of the glass and are in danger of evaporating before they reach the tastebuds. Vignerons think nothing of charging $60 for a bottle of their pinots and cabernets. We abstained at those prices. Local hotels do have free winery tasting vouchers at reception for the asking, these can help defray tasting costs a little.

Napa was towards the end of the trip and the thought of visiting another swag of wineries was daunting – nevertheless we visited a few and these are two that stood out.

Beringer, of Beringer Blass fame – purchased by Fosters in 2000 – is ‘the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley’. Perched on a hillside in Main Street, St Helena, Beringer consists of a sprawling complex set in wooded gardens that could feature as a small city’s botanical garden. Among the lawns and trees are tasting rooms, tourist shops, the original, beautifully restored homestead and the old cellars, tunnelled cavewise into the slopes.

Among the Beringer wines we tried were the 2004 Pinot Noir – a smooth full-flavoured style showing plenty of cherries and raspberries and soft tannins. ($27). The 2001 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon showed spicy blackberry fruit notes, pencil shavings and mocha over a medium tannic base. ($47). The 2001 Napa Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon showed a deep purple tinge, smoky oak and lovely dark berry fruit on the nose. The fruit continued with good concentration to a dry, elegant palate, fleshed out with dark chocolate and hints of mint. Delicious. ($157).

Note – If you visit Beringer take the time to drive just up the road to Calistoga and see the Old Faithful Geyser pop its cork very 40 minutes or so. Fascinating.

Domaine Chandon is another squillion dollar property with a deluxe visitors centre surrounded by grand landscaped gardens and water features. Here you may be astonished by the spacious lobbies, meeters and greeters and sweeping gracious stairways leading to the interior designer tasting and dining facilities. This grandness is not exactly to my taste. But my taste runs to the old style Rutherglen dirt floors, trestle tasting tables and corrugated iron sheds.

Like the fizz made by their Australian cousins (Chandon in Victoria’s Yarra Valley), the sparklers of Chandon in the Napa depend more on fruit finesse than on the fine brioche-like nuances of champagne. They are none the worse for that. I liked the ’97 vintage brut for its full developed fruit and finish of hazel nuts. And the ‘etoile Brut sur lees 1999’ was a stunner. Dry, clean and elegant, it had a velvety mousse, a peachy sweetness and fine lemon-like acidity to finish. Address: 1 California Drive Yountville.

Then it was back in the car to return, via Sonoma and over the foggy Golden Gate Bridge, to San Francisco.

Across the veldt of my chest
Our hotel in San Francisco’s Chinatown had obviously just hosted a convention of entomologists. I assumed this on observing colonies of crawlies migrating across the veldt of my chest. On closer inspection these beasties proved to be blood-suckers, entréeing on vintage O Pos – mine. A word to the management secured us a hopefully insect-free room on another floor. Yet I slept uneasily and woke up humming a few bars of ‘I left my blood in San Francisco.’

Cheap eats
Chinatown, all 18 blocks of it, is the largest such enclave outside China. It features numerous Chinese restaurants, eateries and bakeries. We loved the Hang Ah Tea Room, a quaint little place with a very reasonably priced menu of dim sum and other Cantonese delights. Hang Ah is hidden away at 1 Pagoda Place.

Also in Chinatown is the Sabra Kosher Restaurant in Grant Street. The décor here is unusual, including holy texts on the tables. But they were happy enough to serve us heathens with Jewish delicacies and wine and beer to repletion. At 419 Grant Street.

Tragic but parental love abounds
One morning around 11am, just a few blocks from the central business district, I was amazed to see the number of street people hanging around. Presumably they are the poor, the homeless, the dispossessed, and those possessed by demons or drugs or by sheer hopelessness. I wondered (this was a warm autumn day) how they would cope in the depths of winter. Not that Melbourne or Sydney don’t have their share of homeless but the sheer scale of it in this rich city is tragic. At least to the eyes of the well-off Oz tourist.

Still, I was warmed by the family oriented values displayed by locals. In the streets and on public transport one could not help but overhear the younger folk talk about their parents. To my admittedly impaired hearing it seemed like every sentence was peppered with references to their moms and pops. Of course the local dialect accent rendered these familial references as something like ‘mutha-futta’ but I was touched nonetheless.

Haight-Ashbury – faded psychedelia
Worth a short bus trip from downtown San Francisco is a visit to that late sixties, summer of love precinct, Haight-Ashbury. The flower children are now somewhat jaded and faded (like me) but there is still a perfume of psychedelia that wafts amongst the retro clothing shops, the music shops, the cafes and the tattoo parlours.

If Melbournians can picture a cross between Sydney Road Brunswick, Brunswick Street Fitzroy and High Street Westgarth and add a splash of colour they will almost be there.

While strolling down Haight take a break and chew on a slice of excellent pizza served at Escape from New York, under the gaze of photos of previous patrons, including Leonard Cohen and the Ramones.

Hyatt hiatus
What do you do between hotel check-out – usually 11am, and airport check-in – usually 11pm? For a while you cruise around the shops spending unused foreign currency, then you walk into the nearest swanky hotel (not the one you stayed in obviously) as if you own it and find a bar with a view. In San Francisco this was the local Hyatt. On the 36th floor is a deluxe lounge with a view of the city and San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. You can pass a couple of luxurious hours there over coffee, a few beers and nibbles – none of it too expensive – then catch the airport shuttle at your leisure.

Prices in Australian dollars